Learn Ahom
Diphthongs
Aside from 11 pure vowels, we also have something called mΔe kΓ‘p sΓ’wn or dipthongs, that are formed by combining two vowels
(or placing them on top of one another as word sΓ’wn means).
We have twelve of these diphthongs which we read with βπβ
| Diphthong | |
|---|---|
 |
A] (au) |
|
Aw (ao) |
|
A,w (aao) |
|
Aj (ai) |
|
A,j (aai) |
|
AuNq (ui) |
|
AUNq (oei) |
|
Aoj (oi) |
|
AENq (ei) |
|
Aiw (iu) |
|
ACw (eu) |
|
AVw (aeu) |
Special use of π and π
I mentioned it in the last lecture, that π 'nya' and π ''wa' works as a dipthong when in the final position. So πππ« is not kav or kab, but β¨kaoβ© or /kaw/ and similarly πππ« is just β¨kaiβ© or /kaj/ and not 'knya'. So ππ© πππ« and ππ©π¨ ππ¨ππ« both are just synonymical pairs. You can write it either way
Signkiller and Shorthand
We learned about signkiller in last lesson but let's revise again. Now in all abugidas, every consonant has an inherent vowel. In Thai and Assamese it is [Ι] while in Ahom and other Shan languages it is [a]. To kill this inherent vowel, we use a sign killer, so ππ is pronounced as raka while πππ« is pronounced as rak.In Ahom manuscripts sometimes the sign-killer is not used perhaps for artistic reasons but they are absolutely compulsory in modern Dai Ahom for clear reading. Also the shorthand -πͺ basically appends the -am phoneme to the consonant below it. It is just a shorthand of -ππ« and not a vowel like some people mistakenly call it.
Exercise
1.
What does ππ¦π‘ ππ₯ππ« read?
2.
How will you write 'Kaw Rak Mau' in Ahom script?
3.
What does ππ₯ππ« ππ£ ππ©π¨ ππ‘ read?
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