Khasic | |
---|---|
Geographic distribution | India, Bangladesh |
Linguistic classification |
Austroasiatic
|
Proto-language | Proto-Khasic |
Glottolog | khas1268 |
Map of the Khasic languages |
The Khasic or Khasian languages are a family of Austroasiatic languages native to the Shillong Plateau, spoken in the northeastern Indian state Meghalaya and neighbouring areas of Bangladesh, spoken by the Khasi people.
Sidwell (2018: 27–31) classifies the Khasian languages as follows.
Varieties called Bhoi are dialects of both Pnar and Khasi.
Paul Sidwell (2011) suggests that Khasian is closely related to Palaungic, forming a Khasi–Palaungic branch.
The following eight Khasian- Palaungic isoglosses have been identified by Sidwell (2018: 32).
Gloss | Proto-Khasian (Sidwell 2018) |
Proto-
Palaungic (Sidwell 2015) [1] |
---|---|---|
blood | *snaːm | *snaːm |
claw/nail | *trʧʰiːm | *rənsiːm |
hair | *sɲuʔ | *ɲuk |
man/husband | trmɛ ( Amwi) | *-meʔ |
rain | *slap; slɛ ( Amwi) |
*clɛʔ |
swim | *ɟŋiː | *ŋɔj |
two | *ʔaːr | *ləʔaːr |
water | *ʔum | *ʔoːm |
Sidwell (2018: 23) lists the following Khasian lexical innovations (i.e., defining lexical forms) that are found exclusively in the Khasian branch, but not in other Austroasiatic branches).
English gloss | Proto-Khasian | Lyngngam | Maram | Khasi | Pnar | Mnar | War |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
cooked rice | *ʤaː | ʥa | ʤa | ja /ʤaː/ | ʤa | ci | ʧi |
moon | *bnəːj | bni | bne | bnai /bnaːi/ | bnaj | pni | pnʊ |
to sing | *rwəːj | rəŋwi | rwej | rwái /rwaːi/ | rwaj | – | rvʊ |
four | *saːw | saw | saw | sáw /saːw/ | so | sɔu | ria |
river | *waʔ | – | waɁ | wah /waːʔ/ | waɁ | waɁ | waɁ |
all | *barɔɁ | prok | barɔʔ | baroh /barɔːʔ/ | warɔʔ | – | bərɒʔ |
pig | *sniaŋ | sɲaŋ | sniaŋ | sniang /sniaŋ/ | sniaŋ | cʰɲaŋ | rniŋ |
sand | *ʧʔiap | ʥʔep | ʧiʔɛp | shyiap /ʃʔiap/ | ʧʔiap | ʃʔip | ʃʔiap |
to drink | *di:ʔ/c | dec | dɔc | dih /diːʔ/ | diʔ | deʔ | deʔ |
flower/star | *kʰloːr | kʰlor | kʰlɔr | khlúr /kʰloːr/ | kʰlor | – | khlʊə |
tongue | *tʰnləːc | təloc | tʰl̩let | thyllied /tʰɨlleːc/ | tʰl̩leɟ | kʰlut | kʰlit |
ice/freeze | *tʰaʔ | tʰaʔ | tʰaʔ | thah /tʰaːʔ/ | tʰaʔ | tʰaʔ | tʰaʔ |
Proto-Khasian and Proto-Pnar-Khasi-Lyngngam have been reconstructed by Paul Sidwell (2018). Proto-Khasian is estimated to have originated about 2,000-2,500 years ago, with War splitting from other Khasian linguistic varieties about 1,500 years ago (Sidwell 2018: 20).
Proto-Khasian morphology includes a causative *pN- prefix and verbalizing *-r- infix (Sidwell 2018: 66-67).
The following reconstructed paradigmatic and closed class morphemes in Proto-Khasian are from Sidwell (2018: 51-67).
Masculine | Feminine | Plural | |
---|---|---|---|
1st person | *ŋa (topic/oblique); *ʔɔ (default) |
*ŋa (topic/oblique); *ʔɔ (default) |
*ʔi |
2nd person | *me | *pʰa | *pʰi |
3rd person (animate) |
*ʔu | *ka | *ki |
3rd person (inanimate ~ diminutive) |
*ʔi | *ʔi | *ʔi |
Gloss | Proto-Khasian | Proto-Pnar- Khasi-Lyngngam |
---|---|---|
one | *wiː~*miː | |
one | *ʧiː | |
two | *ʔaːr | |
three | *laːj | |
four | *saːw | |
five | *san | |
six | *tʰruː | |
seven | *ʰnɲəw | |
eight | *pʰraː | |
nine | *kʰndaːj | |
ten | *pʰəw |
Sidwell (2018) lists the following sound changes from Pre-Khasian (i.e., the ancestral stage of Khasian that preceded Proto-Khasian) to Proto-Khasian.