Kamrupi dialects
| Kamrupi dialect | |
|---|---|
| Kamarupi[1] | |
| Pronunciation | /'Kæmruːpi/[2] |
| Native to | India |
| Region | Kamrup |
| Ethnicity | Kamrupi people |
Native speakers | 6 million (2011)Census of India |
| Dialects |
|
| |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | – |
| Glottolog | None |
| Part of a series on |
| Indo-European topics |
|---|
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The Kamrupi dialect,[4][5][6] (formerly Kamrupi language)[7] is a dialect of Assamese language,[8] that formerly enjoyed prestige status.[9] It was developed primarily in North Bengal and Western Assam.[9][10][11] It is one of two western dialect groups of the Assamese language, the other being Goalpariya.[12] Kamrupi is heterogeneous with three subdialects—Barpetia dialect (Barpeta), Nalbaria (Nalbari) and South Kamrupi (Palashbari).[13]
In medieval times, Kamrupi was used in the Brahmaputra Valley and its adjoining areas for literary purposes in parallel with Sanskrit, both for prose and poetry. This went against the practices of literary figures of mid India like Vidyapati who used Sanskrit for prose and Maithili for poetry.[14] In more recent times, the South Kamrupi dialect has been used in the works of author Indira Goswami. Poet and nationalist Ambikagiri Raichoudhury also used Kamrupi in his works to great extent.[15] In 2018, the Kamrupi film Village Rockstars became the first from the region to be selected for India's official entry to the 91st Academy Awards.[16]
Definition of the region
The Kamrup between Manas and Barnadi rivers,[17] where Kamrupi is spoken, formed the capital area of two of three dynasties of the ancient Kamarupa kingdom (4th–12th century), with Pragjyotishpura (Guwahati)[18] and Durjaya (North Guwahati).[19] Kingdom existed as parallel to Davaka of central Assam.[20] Absorption of Davaka by Kamrup marks eastward expansion of latter,[21] which ultimately covered area from the Karatoya in the west to the temple of Dikkaravasini at Sadiya in the east, Bhutan in north and Northern Bangladesh in south.[22][23]
Ancient
In the first half of seventh century, Xuanzang (Hiuen Tsang) visited Kamrup Kingdom then ruled by Bhaskaravarman, and noticed language spoken there is little different from mid India, which marked early Assamese or Kamrupi. This evidence convinced Upendranath Goswami that "Assamese entered into Kamarupa or western Assam where this speech was first characterised as Assamese. This is evident from the remarks of Hiuen Tsang who visited the Kingdom of Kamarupa in the first half of the seventh century A.D., during the reign of Bhaskaravarman."[24] Suniti Kumar Chatterji notes that "One would expect one and identical language to have been current in North Central Bengal (Pundra-vardhana) and North Bengal and West Assam (Kamarupa) in the 7th century, since these tracts, and other parts of Bengal, had almost the same speech."[25]
Kamrupi is initially spoken in Kamrup and areas later covered by Kamrup kingdom, spreading from its traditional boundary with the virtue of conquest.[26]
Medieval
Mughals established four sarkars (administrative units): Bangalbhum, Dhekeri, Dakkhinkul and Kamrup; placing Kamrup in "Sarkar Kamrup",[27] an area which according to some scholars is in harmony with ancient Shakti Pitha named Kamapitha. The Kamrupi is currently prevalent in Mughal Sarkar of Kamrup.[28] In late medieval times, Kamrupi literary style passed to eastern Assam.[29] The examples of medieval Assamese or middle Kamrupi are obtained from the 14th century from North Bengal, Western Assam and fewer in central Assam, and this was followed by a deluge of literary activity in the 16th century that accompanied the growth of Srimanta Sankardeva's Vaishnavite movement. The literary activities occurred throughout Assam and North Bengal, and influence of Kamrupi remain strong throughout.
Kamrupi forms (in italics) are easily discernible in the samples:[30]
- "manusya sahasrar madhyato kono janase punyabase gyanak lagi yatna kare......emane durlabh jnano tumat krpaya kaho". (Katha Gita, 1593-1597)
During the 17th century western literary language reached eastern Assam, and the western dialectal influence on the literary forms continued.
- আকে শুনি লক্ষ্মীনাৰায়ণে ঘিলাক খেদি আহিল। বঙ্গালে খাইবাক নপাই গড়ৰ ভিতৰতে শুখাই মৰে
- "ake xuni lokhminarayone ghilak khedi ahil. Bongale khaibak nopai goror bhitorote xukhai more" [31][clarification needed] (Kamrupar Buranji, 17th century)
- বৰফুকনে মহাৰাজাত জনোৱা ৰূপ কৰি সিহঁতৰ মানুহক মহাৰাজাৰ ঠাইক আনাই...
- "borphukone moharazat zonüa rup kori xihotor manuhok moharazar thaik anai..."[32][clarification needed] (Tripura Buranji, 18th century)
Colonial
Kamrup passed to the British in 1824, and the colonial district, largely congruous to the Kamapitha and Mughal Sarkar became the Undivided Kamrup district in the post-colonial period. Form spoken in Eastern Assam, come to notice due to translation of Bible in 1838 by American Baptist Missions, as part of conversion process. British adopted Eastern Assamese as the standard official language in 1873, due to recommendations of Christian missionaries.[33][34] Whereas the Kamrupi was non-uniform, the eastern dialect was uniform over a large territory in eastern Assam.[35][36] Nevertheless, Kamrupi pandits like Shyamal Choudhury, Amrit Bhushan Adhikary and Kaliram Medhi objected the imposition of eastern Assamese as official language of entire valley, especially in Kamrup due to distinctness and antiquity of Kamrupi language.
Modern
Since the center of literary activity has moved back to Guwahati in Kamrup, the standard based on eastern dialects has started acquiring Kamrupi dialectal elements in recent decades. For example, the instrumental case is -di in Kamrupi (hatedi, "with hand") and -re in eastern Assamese (hatere),[37] and the Kamrupi form is increasingly common in the Standard.
These dialects are now spoken in the present districts of Kamrup Rural, Kamrup Metropolitan, Nalbari, Barpeta, Darrang, Kokrajhar and Bongaigaon. The name is derived from the region it constitutes.[38][39]
Scholarly views
Furthermore, the modern Bengali scholars like Suniti Kumar Chatterjee and Sukumar Sen[40] have named the dialect of Bengali spoken in North Bengal as Kamrupi. Chatterjee wrote, Assamese Kamrupi and Bengali Kamrupi is quite similar, the division possibly occurred due to political reasons and two forms dialect continuum.[41][42] According to him, Magadhi Prakrit, keeping north of the Ganga river, gave rise to the Kamarupa Apabhramsa dialects of Western Assam and North Bengal. He divides Magadhan dialects regionwise as Radha, Varendra, Kamarupa[43] and Vanga[10][36]Suniti Kumar Chatterji, The origin and development of the Bengali language, Volume 1 Eastern Magadhi Prakrita and Apabhramsa has four dialect groups (1) Radha-the language of West Bengal and Orissa (2) Varendra-dialect of North Central Bengal (3)Kamarupa-dialect of Northern Bengal and Assam and (4) Vanga-dialect of East Bengal.</ref>
Sukumar Sen says, "Oriya and Assamese have intimate relations with Bengali. All three were the same language initially. There is not much difference between Kamrupi dialect of Bengali and Assamese. Assamese has differed from Kamrupi in the modern period because of inclusion of innumerable Deshi words."[44] He referring to ancientness of Kamrupi, wrote, "Assamese, or more appropriately the old Kamarupi dialect entered into Kamrup or western Assam, where this speech was first characterized as Assamese."[45]
Upendranath Goswami wrote, "The Assamese language, coming from the west was first characterized in Kamrup or Western Assam whose boundary comprised in early times the whole of North-Bengal, including Cooch-Behar, Rangpur and Jalpaiguri districts of Bengal".[46]
According to Kanak Lal Barua, the Kamrupi dialect was originally a variety of eastern Maithili and it was, no doubt, the spoken Aryan language throughout the kingdom which then included the whole of Assam valley and whole of North Bengal with the addition of the district of Purnea. The language of the Buddhist Dohas is described as belonging to the mixed Maithili Kamrupi language.[47]
Features
Phonology
| Front | Central | Back | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IPA | ROM | Script | IPA | ROM | Script | IPA | ROM | Script | |
| Close | i | i | ই/ঈ | u | u | উ/ঊ | |||
| Near-close | ʊ/o | ú/o' | ও | ||||||
| Close-mid | e | é | এ’ | ||||||
| Open-mid | ɛ | e | এ | ɔ | o | অ | |||
| Open | a | a | আ | ||||||
The Kamrupi dialects have seven phonemes in contrast to the eight in standard Assamese dialect. The phoneme that is missing in the Kamrupi dialects is the close-mid back rounded vowel /o/ (অ’). In the Kamrupi dialects, this vowel is replaced by another vowel, a diphthong or a different form.
| Replaced by | Old Assamese | Standard Assamese | Kamrupi | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| অ | ɔ | ভৈল | bhoilo | হ’ল | /hol/ | হল | /hɔl/ |
| আ | a | ক’লা | /kola/ | কালা | /kala/ | ||
| উ | u | ব’ল | /bol/ | বুল | /bul/ | ||
| এ | ɛ | গৈল | goilo | গ’ল | /ɡol/ | গেল | /ɡɛl/ |
| ও | ʊ | কৈত, কহিত | koito, kohito | ক’ত | /kot/ | কোত | /kʊt/ |
| ওই | ʊi | ৰহিল, ৰহিলেক | rohilo, rohileko | ৰ’ল | /ɹol/ | ৰোইল, ৰোইলাক | /ɾʊil/, /ɾʊilak/ |
| ভৈব | bhoibo | হ’ব | /ɦobɔ/ | হবো | /ɦɔbʊ/ | ||
- The treatment of ks as kh which is a notable feature in Early Assamese and the Kamrupi dialect has been found in Kamarupa inscriptions, such as inscriptions of Ratna Pala where ksitimatha>khimatha was used.[48][49]
- One of the most prominent features of Kamrupi is the use of initial stress, as opposed to penultimate stress in the eastern dialects, which effectively shortens the word[50] (komora, Eastern dialect; kumra, Kamrupi dialect[51]). Though standard Assamese follows the pan-Indian system of penultimate, Kamrupi shares the initial stress, with some difference, with the Bengali,[52] where the initial stress system established itself as the dominant feature in the 16th century.[53] In Kamrupi dialect too, the initial stress is a later development which is a result of contact with some linguistic group.[54]
- Medial vowels are thus rarely pronounced or largely slurred over.
- In standard Assamese if a word has two /a/ sounds side-by-side, the first /a/ turns into an /ɔ/ or /ɛ/, a feature that became prominent in writings of Hema Saraswati, Harivara Vipra, Kaviratna Saraswati etc.[55] In Kamrupi, two consecutive /a/ are tolerated (star: /taɹa/ (Kamrupi), /tɔɹa/ (Standard)).[56] The early Assamese used pan Indian system of tolerance of both the parallel /a/.[57] In disyllabic words, the second /ɔ/ becomes an /a/ (hot: /gɔɹam/, Kamrupi; /gɔɹɔm/, St. Assamese).[58]
- Epenthetic vowels are the rule in Kamrupi dialects, with even diphthongs and triphthongs appearing in initial syllables (haula Kam; haluwa St) (keuila Kam; kewaliya St), and a complete absence of diphthongs in the final syllables.[59]
- High vowels are feature of Kamrupi, in contrast to predominance of medial vowels in east Assamese. Kapur, tule, mul, tamul and khalu in eastern Assamese as against Kapor (cloth), tole (raises), mol (worth), tamol (betel-nut) and khalo (I have eaten) in Kamrupi.[59]
- The east Assamese favours de-aspiration as against aspiration of Kamrupi in same phonological context.
- /X/ does not occurs finally in Kamrupi, it does sometimes in eastern Assamese. In non-initial position Old Indo-Aryan sibilants become /kh/ and sometimes /h/, whereas in eastern Assamese it becomes /x/, e.g. Akha (hope) and Axa (east Assamese).
Morphology
- Western Assamese shares morphological peculiarities with North Bengali. The plural suffixes in Western Assamese -hamra and -gila have parallel forms in North Bengali -amrah, the remote demonstrative plural and -gila, -gla.[60] The plural suffixes of Kamrupi are very different from the eastern Assamese (Kamrupi: -gila, -gilak; Standard: -bür, -bilak). Kamrupi plural suffixes has continuity from ancient times, as opposed to late medieval appearance of bür and bilak in Eastern Assam.
- Standard uses -loi in the dative case ending, Kamrupi uses the dative-accusative case ending -k or the locative -t (Kamrupi: ghorot/ghorok zaü̃; Standard ghoroloi zaü̃).[61]
- The instrumental sense -di in Kamrupi is increasingly accepted in the Standard now (Kamrupi:hatedi; Standard: hatere).
- Kamrupi has large variety of adverbial formations such as - ita, - ethen, - enke and - kahai, which are quite different in Eastern Assamese.
- Pleonastic suffixes of East Assamese are distinct from those of Kamrupi like - ni, - na, - holi.
- The enclitic definites are separate in both the languages.
- In the Eastern variety - heten is used for past conditional, as against Kamrupi - hoi.
- Formation of verbs from nouns and participles are more common in Kamrupi than Eastern Assamese.
- Kamrupi has - lak and - ilak for third personal affix while East Assamese uses - le and - ile for the same (Kamrupi: xi khalak; Standard: xi khale).
Similarities with Eastern Assamese
According to Upendranath Goswami, differences between Kamrupi and east Assamese is not insignificant, they ranged over whole field of phonology, morphology and vocabulary.[62]
Its unique features distinguishes it from Eastern Assamese, there may some commonalities—case endings, conjugational affixes, pronominal roots, derivatives and vocabulary—that underscore a fundamental unity,[63] nonetheless, Kamrupi dialect, with a long history of its own differs greatly from the eastern variety of Assamese.[64]
Dr. Nirmalendu Bhowmik, while discussing similarity of Kamrupi with Eastern Assamese, observes that despite some similarity in morphology, there is absolutely no similarity in terms of phonology, though both languages shares few common words.[65]
Comparison with other Eastern Indo-Aryan languages
Eastern Indo-Aryan languages share a common phonological structure.
| Kamrupi | Sylheti | Standard Assamese | Translation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Xi ghorot/ghorok gaesi | He Goro gese | Xi Ghoroloi/Ghorot goise | He has gone home. |
| Tai Ghorot gaesi | Tai Goro gese | Tai Ghoroloi/Ghorot goise | She has gone home. |
| Eta Kamot aisu | Exta xamo aisi | Eta Kamot Ahilû/Ahisû | I have come for some work. |
| Deksa na? | Dexso ni? | Dekhisa ne? | Have you seen it? |
| Zaba na tumi? | Zaibay ni tumi? | Zaba ne tumi? | Will you leave? |
Glossarial
There is differences in vocables of Kamrupi and Eastern Assamese, such that even common objects are denoted by different words. In eastern variety there are no generic terms to such English words like brothers and sisters, Kamrupi do have, such as bhak and bainak. Kamrupi also uses /soli/ for both boys and girls collectively for children, East Assamese lacks such forms.[66]
| Khüam | Xauaimu | Khüam | Feed (Someone) |
| Kumra | Kumṛa | Kümüra | Gourd |
| Mekur | Mekur/Bilai | Mekuri | Cat |
| Hosa | Hasa | Xosa | Truth |
| Dhól | Ḍul | Dhül | Drum |
| Nun | Nun | Lün | Salt |
| Sana | Aulad | Püali/Sona | Offspring |
| Dima | Ḍim/Enḍa/Boida | Koni | Egg |
| Gila/Gilak | Guin | Bilak | Plural suffix |
| Pani[67] | Fani | Pani | Water |
| Taka | Texa | Toka | Money |
| Bazar | Bazar | Bozar | Market |
| Souk/Sairali | Souk | Tiniali/Sariali | Town square |
| Manhu | Manu/Manuš/Mainš | Manuh | People |
Old Indo-Aryan words
Kamrupi retained many Old Indo-Aryan words.
| Kamrupi | East Assamese | Sylheti | O.I.A | Translation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Theng | Theng/Bhori | Teng | Tanga | Leg |
| Pek | Büka | Fex | Panka | Mud |
| Phen | Phen | Fen | Phena | Foam |
| Bor | Dora | Damand | Vara | Bridegroom |
| Bari | Bari | Utan | Vatika | Enclosed ground with plantation |
| Soli | - | Sabal | Challi | Offspring |
| Boni | Bhoni | Boni/Boin | Bhagini | Sister |
| Dima | Koni | Dim/Enda/Boida | Dimba | Egg |
| Kake | Kakoi, Phoni | Siroin | Kanikattika | Comb |
| Niar | Nior | Nior | Nihara | Fog |
| Kurma | Mitir | Kutum | Kutumbaka | Relative |
Script
The Kamrupi language was written in Kamrupi script in earlier times, which been bifurcated in 'Kaitheli script', 'Lakhri script', 'Bamoniya script' and 'Gadgaa script' in second century A.D.
History
Irrespective of dialect status today, Kamrupi is directly separated from Magadhi Prakrit, along with other middle eastern Indo Aryan languages like Radhi, Vanga and Varendri.[41] This form of Apabhramsa, further gave rise to modern Assamese in east.[68] All ancient and medieval Assamese literature is written in Kamrupi,[69][9][70] before usage of eastern variety by American Christian missionaries, to translate bible in the middle 19th century.[71] Politically, socially and culturally Kamrup formed a separate unit and its speech also was compelled to take a shape to form a distinct dialect. It is only by chance that this dialect had to lose its prestige and had to remain as a dialect.[72]<
Literature
The early examples of Kamrupi writings and literature are copper plate seals of Kamrupi kings, issued in different parts of eastern and Northern India and the Charyapada, which is a collection of 8th-12th century Vajrayana Buddhist caryagiti, or mystical poems. Being caryagiti (songs of realization), the Charyapada were intended to be sung. These songs of realization were spontaneously composed verses, that expressed a practitioner's experience of the enlightened state. A manuscript of this anthology was discovered in the early 20th century, by Hariprasad Shastri in Nepal. It provides the examples of the Kamrupi and other eastern Indo-Aryan languages.
The writers of the Charyapada, the Mahasiddhas or Siddhacharyas, belonged to the various regions of Kamrup (Assam), Gauda (Bengal), Kalinga (Orissa) and Mithila (Bihar). A Tibetan translation of the Charyapada was also preserved in the Tibetan Buddhist canon.[73]
The notable medieval Kamrupi literary figures are Rama Saraswati, Ananta Kandali, Sridhara Kandali, Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya, Kalapachandra Dvija and Bhattadeva, the father of Assamese prose.[9] Hema Saraswati and Haribara Vipra are two other well known Kamrupi poets. Hema Saraswati composed the "Prahlad Charitra" based on the Vamana Purana, while Haribara Vipra translated the Aswamedha Parva of the Mahabharata. Kaviratna was the author of the "Jayadratha Vadha". His home was at Sila, a village within the Barpeta district. The writings of all these three poets are still extant. To a some what later period belonged Madhava Kandali and Rudra Kandali. The former versified portions of the Ramayana and the latter composed, in Kamrupi verse, portions of the Mahabharata.
Sankara Deva who was born in 1449 A.D., refers to Madhava Kandali as one of the reputed poets belonging to an earlier age. It may therefore place both Madhava Kandali and Rudra Kandali towards the end of the fourteenth century. In his Ramayana, Madhava Kandali himself states that his other name was Kaviraj-Kandali and that though he could easily compose verses in Sanskrit he composed the Ramayana in Assamese verse for the benefit of the people at large. Madhava Kandali wrote also another poem entitled "Devajit." Sixteenth century, witnessed a great development of the vernacular literature of Kamarupa. The Yogini Tantra, a well-known Sanskrit work which gives the boundaries of the kingdom of Kamarupa, as it existed during the rule of the Pala kings, probably written in Kamarupa during the first pact of the sixteenth century. To this period it must also assign the compilation of the Behula Upakhyana by Durgabar Kayastha, a native of Kamakhya.[74]
See also
References
- ^ Goswami, Upendranath (1970). A study on Kāmrūpī: a dialect of Assamese. Dept. of Historical Antiquarian Studies, Assam. p. ii.
Dr. U. N. Goswami, the author of the present work, already a well known writer on the science of Assamese language, has, however, made an honest attempt at the treatment of the linguistic study of Assamese, based on the Kamarupi dialect
- ^ "1970, English, Thesis edition:A study on Kāmrūpī : a dialect of Assamese.Goswami, Upendranath". trove.nla.gov.au. Retrieved 22 February 2017.
- ^ The Journal of the Assam Research Society - Volume 27. Kāmarūpa Anusandhān Samiti, Assam (India). 1983. p. 27.
The Kamarupi script developed into the medieval Assamese script and the latter into the modern Assamese script. The Assamese script maintains some relationship with the Bengali and the Maithili scripts.
- ^ Asama Sāhitya Sabhā patrikā - Volume 31. Asama Sāhitya Sabhā. 1974.
এই সকলোবোৰ ৰচনাৰ ভিতৰত ১৬ শ-১৭ শ শতিকাত পীতাম্বৰ সিদ্ধান্ত বাগীশে ৰচনা কৰা ১৮ খন কৌমুদী'কামৰূপী পদ্ধতি আৰু হিন্দু সংস্কাৰৰ সৰ্বভাৰতীয় পদ্ধতি উভয়ৰে ক্ষেত্ৰত আটাইতকৈ উল্লেখযোগ্য ৰচনাৱলী ॥
- ^ Bhattacharyya, Harichandra (1968). Asamīẏā nāṫya sāhityara jiliṅani: Ādira parā 1967 cana paryyanta.
কামৰূপী সঙ্গীতৰ বৈশিষ্ট্যৰ ব্যঞ্জন কৰিছে। প্রতীক-ধর্মী কাব্যিক নাটৰূপে এনে ব্যঞ্জনাত্মক ভাব-মাহাত্ম্যত নাটখনিৰ সার্থকতা। - "উদাৰ-চৰিতানাং তু বস্থধৈৱ কুটুম্বকম"—'লুইত কোৱৰ নাটৰ ৰহস্যৰ অন্তৰালত এই উদাৰ মহান ভাব এটি ধ্বনিত হৈছে।
- ^ Golden Jubilee, Assam State Museum Souvenir, 1990. Directorate of Museums, Assam. 1990.
অকল যে তেওঁলােকৰ ক্ষমতা সিমান দূৰীলৈকে ব্যাপ্ত হৈছিল এনে নহয়, কামৰূপৰ ব্ৰহ্মণ সমাজৰ আচাৰ ব্যৱহাৰ, কৃষ্টি আৰু সভ্যতা, কামৰূপী ব্ৰাহ্মণে সেইবিলাক ঠাইত গৈ চলাইছিল আৰু তাৰ চিন আজিকোপৰ্যন্ত সেই সেই দেশৰ লােক সমাজত পোৱা যায় ।
- ^ Sen, Nigam, Sukumar, Ramesh Chandra (1975). Grammatical sketches of Indian languages with comparative vocabulary and texts, Volume 1. p. 33.
This prestige was lost due to reasons mentioned below, and the Kamarupi language has now become a dialect, termed as Kamrupï dialect as spoken in the present district of Kamrup.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Kamrupi is defined as a dialect of Assamese in the title of the seminal work—Goswami, Upendranath (1970), A Study on Kamrupi: A dialect of Assamese
- ^ a b c d Goswami, Upendranath (1970). A Study on Kamrupi: A dialect of Assamese. Department of Historical Antiquarian Studies, Assam. p. 4.
Assam from ancient times, was known as Kamarupa till the end of the Koch rule (17th century) and ancient Kamarupa comprised the whole of North Bengal including Cooch-Behar, and the Rangpur and Jalpaiguri districts of Bengal. Its permanent western boundary is said to have been the river Karatoya in North Bengal according to the Kalika Purana and Yoginitantra, both devoted to geographical accounts of ancient Kamarupa. So the Aryan language spoken first in Assam was the Kamrupi language spoken in Rangpur, Cooch-Behar, Goalpara, Kamrup district and some parts of Nowgong and Darrang districts. As also put by K.L. Barua "the Kamrupi dialect was originally a variety of eastern Maithili and it was no doubt the spoken Aryan language throughout the kingdon which then included the whole of the Assam Valley and the whole of Northern Bengal with the addition of the Purnea district of Bihar". It is in this Kamrupi language that the early Assamese literature was mainly written. Up to the seventeenth century as the centre of art, literature and culture were confined within western Assam and the poets and the writers hailed from this part, the language of this part also acquired prestige. The earliest Assamese writer is Hema Saraswati, the author of a small poem, Prahrada Caritra, who composed his verses under his patron, King Durlabhnarayana of Kamatapur who is said to have ruled in the latter part of the 13th century. Rudra Kandali translated Drone Parva under the patronage of King Tamradhvaja of Rangpur. The most considerable poet of the pre-vaisnavite period is Madhava Kandali, who belonged to the present district of Nowgong and rendered the entire Ramayana into Assamese verse under the patronage of king Mahamanikya, a Kachari King of Jayantapura. The golden age in Assamese literature opened with the reign of Naranarayana, the Koch King. He gathered round him at his court at Cooch-Behar a galaxy of learned man. Sankaradeva real founder of Assamese literature and his favourite disciple Madhavadeva worked under his patronage. The other-best known poets and writers of this vaisnavite period namely Rama Sarasvati, Ananta Kandali, Sridhar Kandali, Sarvabhauma Bhattacharyya, Dvija Kalapachandra and Bhattadeva, the founder of the Assamese prose, all hailed from the present district of Kamarupa. During Naranaryana's reign "the Koch power reached its zenith. His kingdom included practically the whole of Kamarupa of the kings of Brahmapala's dynasty with the exception of the eastern portion known as Saumara which formed the Ahom kingdom. Towards the west the kingdom appears to have extended beyond the Karatoya, for according to Abul Fasal, the author of the Akbarnamah, the western boundary of the Koch kingdom was Tirhut. On the south-west the kingdom included the Rangpur district and part of Mymensingh to the east of the river Brahmaputra which then flowed through that district," The Kamrupi language lost its prestige due to reasons mentioned below and has now become a dialect which has been termed as Kamrupi dialect as spoken in the present district of Kamrup.
{{cite book}}: line feed character in|quote=at position 1192 (help) - ^ a b Bangladesh Itihas Samiti (1999), Sylhet: History and Heritage , Page 591 Suniti Kumar Chatterjee in his Origin and Development of Bangla Language (ODBL) divided the Bangla dialect into four groups in accordance with the name of the regions such as Rada, Pundra or Barindra, Banga and Kamrupi
- ^ Barma, Sukhbilas (2007), Socio-Political Movements In North Bengal (A Sub-Himalayan ... Suniti Kumar Chatterji, in "The Origin and Development of the Bengali Language" published in 1926 has given to this dialect of North Bengal the name 'Kamrupi'
- ^ (Kakati 1941, p. 16)
- ^ Goswami, Upendranath (1970). A study on Kāmrūpī: a dialect of Assamese. Dept. of Historical Antiquarian Studies, Assam. p. 28.
- ^ Medhi, Kaliram (1988). Assamese grammar and origin of the Assamese language.
Prose had also been used by the Maithili poets, Vidyapati, Harsanatha and others,--in their dramas. But whereas the Maithili poets prose was in Sanskrit and their songs alone in Maithili Sankara Deva's prose and songs were both in Kamrupi.
- ^ Sahitya Akademi, Indian literature: Volume 30, 1987 Ambikagiri set a new trend in Assamese by his abundant use of Kamrupi language in his writings.
- ^ "'Village Rockstars, Film On Guitar-Playing Girl, Is India's Oscar Entry'". Retrieved 11 October 2018.
- ^ Deba Brat Sharma (1995), Changing Cultural Mosaic of a Village in Assam, Page 10, an end the kingdom of Kamarupa and since then the area between the rivers the Manas on the west and the Barnadi on the east came to be known as Kamrup
- ^ T. Raatan (2006), History, Religion and Culture of North East India - Page 70 Known in the ancient lore as the kingdom of Pragjyotisha and Kamrupa, the capital having been Pragjyotishpura situated in or near Guwahati
- ^ Chandra Dhar Tripathi, Indian Institute of Advanced Study (2002), Aspects of the medieval history of Assam, Page 17 Ratnapala founded a new city called Sri Durjaya and shifted his capital there. It has been identified with the ruins at modern North Gauhati
- ^ Suresh Kant Sharma, Usha Sharma (2005), Discovery of North-East India: Geography, History, Culture, ..., Davaka (Nowgong) and Kamarupa as separate and submissive friendly kingdoms
- ^ Kanak Lal Barua (1966), Early history of Kāmarupa, Page 31 in the sixth or the seventh century this kingdom of Davaka was absorbed by Kamarupa
- ^ S. P. Sinha (2007), Lost Opportunities: 50 Years of Insurgency in the North-east Kamrup included the whole of Brahmaputra Valley, Bhutan, Rangpur district (Bangladesh), Cooch Behar, part of Mymensingh district of Bangladesh and Garo
- ^ ...the temple of the goddess Tameshwari (Dikkaravasini) is now located at modern Sadiya about 100 miles to the northeast of Sibsagar" (Sircar 1990, pp. 63–64).
- ^ Upendranath Goswami, A study on Kāmrūpī: a dialect of Assamese, Department of Historical Antiquarian Studies, Assam Assamese entered into Kamarupa or western Assam where this speech was first characterised as Assamese. This is evident from the remarks of Hiuen Tsang, who visited the Kingdom of Kamarupa in the first half of the seventh century A.D., during the reign of Bhaskaravarman..
- ^ Suniti Kumar Chatterji, The origin and development of the Bengali language, Volume 1 One would expect one and identical language to have been current in North Central Bengal (Pundra-vardhana) and North Bengal and West Assam (Kamarupa) in the 7th century, since these tracts, and other parts of Bengal, had almost the same speech.
- ^ Goswami, Upendranath (1970). A study on Kamrupi: a dialect of Assamese. Dept. of Historical Antiquarian Studies, Assam. p. 4.
- ^ (Gogoi 2002, p. 99) The Sarkar of Kamrup was between the Manas and the Barnadi rivers on the north bank, and was bounded in the east by the Asurar Ali
- ^ "Uttorkol or Dhenkiri north of the Brohmoputro, Dokhyinkul south of the same, Bangalbhumi west of the Brohmoputro, and Kamrup proper, called so as containing Gohati, the most ancient capital of the country." (Martin 1838, p. 417)
- ^ (Goswami 1970, p. 10) harv error: multiple targets (11×): CITEREFGoswami1970 (help)
- ^ (Goswami 1970, p. 8) harv error: multiple targets (11×): CITEREFGoswami1970 (help)
- ^ Goswami, Upendranath (1978). An introduction to Assamese. Mani-Manik Prakash. p. 14.
āke śuni lakśminārāyane ghilāk khedi āhil. baṅɡāle khāibāk napāi gaṛar bhitarate śukhāi mare...tāhnār mukhat; āhnār sange
- ^ Goswami, Upendranath (1978). An introduction to Assamese. Mani-Manik Prakash. p. 14.
barphukane maharajat janova rup kari sihatar manuhak maharajar thaik anai...sidikir parā
- ^ Garg, Gaṅgā Rām (1992). Encyclopaedia of the Hindu world: Volume 3.
With the publication of the translation of the Bible (1838) done by Nathan Brown of the American Baptist Mission Group, modern period of Assamese language began.
- ^ George, K. M. Modern Indian literature, an anthology: Volume 3.
In the restoration of the language (Eastern Assamese), American Baptist missionaries played a very significant role.
- ^ (Goswami 1970, p. 11) harv error: multiple targets (11×): CITEREFGoswami1970 (help)
- ^ a b (Chatterji 1970, p. 140)
- ^ (Goswami 1970, p. 21) harv error: multiple targets (11×): CITEREFGoswami1970 (help)
- ^ Robert Montgomery Martin, Puraniya, Ronggopoor and Assam, 1838 The ancient Hindu territory of Kamrup, which extends east from the Korotoya, where it joined the kingdom of Motsyo, to Dikkorbasini.
- ^ Great Britain. India Office, The India list and India Office list, 1819 The earliest authentic traditions attest the existence of a Hindu kingdom of Kamrup, with its capital at Gauhati.
- ^ "Kamarupa". banglapedia. Retrieved 11 August 2012.
- ^ a b Barmā, Sukhabilāsa (2004). Bhāwāiyā: Ethnomusicological Study. Global Vision Publishing House. p. 101. ISBN 8182200709.
Based on the materials of the Linguistic Survey of India, Suniti Kumar Chattopadhyay has divided Eastern Magadhi Prakrita and Apabhramsa into four dialect groups (1) Radha-the language of West Bengal and Orissa (2) Varendra-dialect of North Central Bengal (3) Kamrupi-dialect of Northern Bengal and Assam and (4) Vanga-dialect of East Bengal.
- ^ Barmā, Sukhabilāsa (2004). Bhāwāiyā: Ethnomusicological Study. Global Vision Publishing House. p. 103. ISBN 8182200709.
Acharya Suniti Chattopadhyay has commented that Assam was practically an extension of North Bengal, from its geographical position, so far as its speech and early history were concerned'.
- ^ Chatterji, Suniti Kumar (1926). The origin and development of the Bengali language, Volume 1.
One would expect one and identical language to have been current in North Central Bengal (Pundra-vardhana) and North Bengal and West Assam (Kamarupa) in the 7th century, since these tracts, and other parts of Bengal, had almost the same speech
- ^ Barmā, Sukhabilāsa (2004). Bhāwāiyā: Ethnomusicological Study. Global Vision Publishing House. p. 103. ISBN 8182200709.
Dr. Sukumar Sen says, "Oriya and Assamese have intimate relations with Bengali. All three were the same language initially. There is not much difference between Kamrupi dialect of Bengali and Assamese. Assamese has differed from Kamrupi in the modern period because of inclusion of innumerable Deshi words.
- ^ Sen, Sukumar (1975). Grammatical sketches of Indian languages with comparative vocabulary and texts, Volume 1. Controller of Publications. p. 31.
Assamese, or more appropriately the old Kamarupi dialect entered into Kamrup or western Assam, where this speech was first characterized as Assamese.
- ^ Goswami, Upendranath Goswami (1970). A study on Kamrupi: a dialect of Assamese. Dept. of Historical Antiquarian Studies. p. iii.
{{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ Choudhary, Radhakrishna (1976). A Survey of Maithili Literature. p. 16.
According to Kanak Lal Barua, the Kamrupi dialect was originally a variety of eastern Maithili and it was, no doubt, the spoken Aryan language throughout the kingdom which then included the whole of Assam valley and whole of North Bengal with the addition of the district of Purnea. The language of the Buddhist Dohas is described as belonging to the mixed Maithili - Kamrupi language.
- ^ Goswami, Upendranath (1970). A study on Kamrupi: a dialect of Assamese. Dept. of Historical Antiquarian Studies. p. 3.
{{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ The Assam Academy Review - Issue 1. Assam Academy for Cultural Relations. p. 47.
{{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ "The word stress in the Kamrupi dialect is uniformly and dominantly initial as opposed to the penultimate stress of the standard colloquial." (Kakati 1941, pp. 16–17)
- ^ (Goswami 1970, p. 19) harv error: multiple targets (11×): CITEREFGoswami1970 (help)
- ^ "Assamese follows the pan Indian system of penultimate stress and bengali has an initial stress. Even in that respect Bengali differs from Kamrupi dialect which also has an initial stress." (Kakati 1941, p. 7)
- ^ "...the initial stress had the victory ultimately and by the end of the Middle Bengali period [c1500 CE, p132] it is very likely that it was active in west central Bengali and most Bengali dialects thus giving to modern Bengali their typical form (ODBL 282) (Southworth 2005, p. 141)
- ^ "In Western Assam perhaps in contact with some people speaking a language with a strong initial stress the penultimate stress of the primitive language got shifted to the initial syllable. In Eastern Assam the original penultimate stress persisted." (Kakati 1941, p. 84)
- ^ "In all these writers, the Assamese idiom seem to have been fully individualized...So is an anterior ā shortened before a following ā." (Kakati 1941, p. 12)
- ^ (Goswami 1970, p. 15) harv error: multiple targets (11×): CITEREFGoswami1970 (help)
- ^ Upendranath Goswami, A Study on Kāmrūpī: A Dialect of Assamese, 1970, Page 96 In early Assamese we find such forms : dayaluka rama tumi bolaya sansare
- ^ (Goswami 1970, p. 16) harv error: multiple targets (11×): CITEREFGoswami1970 (help)
- ^ a b (Kakati 1941, p. 17)
- ^ Goswami, Upendranath Goswami (1970). A study on Kamrupi: a dialect of Assamese. Dept. of Historical Antiquarian Studies.
{{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ (Goswami)
- ^ Goswami, Upendranath (1970). A study on Kāmrūpī: a dialect of Assamese. Dept. of Historical Antiquarian Studies, Assam. p. 9.
- ^ (Kakati 1941, p. 18)
- ^ Sen, Nigam, Sukumar, Ramesh (1975). Grammatical Sketches of Indian Languages with Comparative Vocabulary and Texts. Controller of Publications. p. 36.
This Kamrupi dialect, with a long history of its own differs greatly from the eastern variety of Assamese.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Barmā, Sukhabilāsa (2004). Bhāwāiyā: Ethnomusicological Study. Global Vision Publishing House. p. 104. ISBN 8182200709.
- ^ Goswami, Upendranath (1970). A study on Kamrupi: a dialect of Assamese. Dept. of Historical Antiquarian Studies. p. xvii.
{{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ (Goswami 1970, p. 80) harv error: multiple targets (11×): CITEREFGoswami1970 (help)
- ^ Datta, Bīrendranātha (1999). Folkloric Foragings in India's North-East. Anundoram Borooah Institute of Language, Art, and Culture. p. 134.
Scholars have shown that it is rather through the western Assam dialects that the development of modern Assamese has to be traced.
- ^ Medhi, Kaliram (1936). Assamese Grammar and Origin of the Assamese Language. Sri Gouranga Press. p. 66.
The language of the pre-Vaisnava and Vaisnava was the dialect of Western Assam while the language of the modern literature is that of Eastern Assam. This latter has been accepted by the common consent as the literary language of the country. Political power thus determined the centre of literary activity and also of the form of literary language.
- ^ Goswami, Golockchandra (1982). Structure of Assamese. Department of Publication, Gauhati University. p. 11.
The Eastern and Central dialects may be regarded as uniform to a certain extent in their respective areas, while Western Asamiya is heterogeneous in character, with large regional variations in the east, west, north and south. There must have been in early times as well, diverse dialects and dialect groups as at present. But then, there seems to be only one dominant literary language prevailing over the whole area; and that was Western Asamiya, the sole medium of all ancient Asamiya literature including the Buranjis written in the Ahom courts. This was because the centre of all literary activities in early times was in western Assam; and the writers were patronized by the kings and local potentates of that region. In the later period, however, even though the centre of literary activities moved to eastern Assam in the Ahom period, the writers continued to accept and use the existing model of the literary style of that time.
- ^ Gaṅgā Rām Garg, Encyclopaedia of the Hindu world: Volume 3, 1992
- ^ Goswami, Upendranath (1970). A study on Kamrupi: a dialect of Assamese. =Dept. of Historical Antiquarian Studies, Assam. p. 14.
Politically, socially and culturally Kamrup formed a separate unit and its speech also was compelled to take a shape to form a distinct dialect. It is only by chance that this dialect had to lose its prestige and had to remain as a dialect.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) - ^ Upendranath Goswami, A study on Kamrupi: a dialect of Assamese, 1970, They cannot furnish the grammatical structure of Kamrupl or Assamese for which we are to turn our attention to the songs of the Buddhist Siddhacaryas, known as Caryas, composed in between 8th to 12th centuries A.D.
- ^ Shashi, S. S. (1996). Encyclopaedia Indica: India, Pakistan, Bangladesh: Volume 100. Anmol Publications. ISBN 8170418593.
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Bibliography
- Goswami, Upendranath (1970). A study on Kāmrūpī: a dialect of Assamese. Dept. of Historical Antiquarian Studies, Assam. p. 312.
{{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help); Invalid|ref=harv(help) - Goswami, Upendranath (1957). Onomatopoetic and echo-words in Kamrupi.
{{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help); Invalid|ref=harv(help) - Goswami, Upendranath (1957). O. I. A. sibilants in Kāmrupi.
{{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help); Invalid|ref=harv(help) - Goswami, Upendranath (1978). An introduction to Assamese. Mani-Manik Prakash. p. 126.
{{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help); Invalid|ref=harv(help) - Medhi, Kaliram (1936). Assamese Grammar and Origin of the Assamese Language. Sri Gouranga press. p. 547.
{{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help); Invalid|ref=harv(help) - Chatterji, Suniti Kumar (1926). Origin and Development of Bengali. Calcutta university press.
{{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help); Invalid|ref=harv(help) - Kakati, Banikanta (1941). Assamese: Its Formation and Development. Gauhati: Department of Historical and Antiquarian Studies.
{{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help); Invalid|ref=harv(help) - Sharma, Mukunda Madhava (1978). Inscriptions of Ancient Assam. Guwahati, Assam: Gauhati University.
- Southworth, Franklin C. (2005), Linguistic Archaeology of South Asia, London/New York: RoutledgeCurzon
- Goswami, Upendranath (1958). A study on Kāmrūpī: a dialect of Assamese (Thesis). Gauhati University. Retrieved 8 February 2018.
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