Almost all of them have become extinct and most of those that are still there barely have any speakers. The only one which is actually thriving is Tai-khamti! What happened? And what did Tai-khamti do different?
r/TaiAhomLanguage is a burgeoning sub about the Tai-Ahom language off Ahom empire fame. The sub is dedicated to discussing about and learning the Tai-Ahom language.
This is a new sub and it needs to grow, so we are looking for moderaters.
What we are looking for in moderators
We are looking for either:
Knowledge of Tai-Ahom
Experience in linguistics
Experience in moderating
Our moderators need to be Linguistically experienced, capable in moderating and enthusiastic about the Tai-Ahom language.
If you feel that you fit 2 or more of these criteria, contact u/Icy_Function_5839 or u/GrumpyGuyMugdha.
Tai-Ahom pe ong le!
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In India's city that never sleeps, a unique dialect of Hindi has emerged.
Bambaiyya Hindi is not that different from standard Hindi, but what differences are there shows you a lot about the city which speaks it.
It started in the streets of Mumbai's early neighbourhoods and adopted a lot of Marathi and Dakhni influence, with other languages like Portugese and Gujarati chiming in. Historically, movies portrayed it as an uncouth dialect and reserved it for the speech of goons and villains. However nowadays, it has gotten fame in media, especially due to the Munna bhai movies, and Bambaiyya words like mereko and apan can be seen used in other parts of the country too.
FEATURES
Now we get to the juicy part.
Plenty of Bambaiyya vocabulary has been borrowed from Marathi, even though often there are suitable standard Hindi alternatives.
Examples:
Khadda (hole)
Gardi (crowd)
Yeda (crazy, idiot)
Kopcha (corner)
Shana (clever)
Kothimbir (coriander)
In fact, many of the words for excellent, like dhimchak, jhakas, dhansu, etc, all come from Marathi!
There is plenty of influence from other languages too, mostly from Rakhni but some from languages like Gujarati too.
Examples:
Mereko - Me (Dakhni)
Tereko - You (Dakhni)
Batata - Potatoe (Portugese)
Badbad/Machmach - Chipper-chapper (Marathi or Gujarati)
There are very little grammatical differences, but there are a few:
Use of Apan for inclusive we (Standard Hindi lacks clusivity and uses only Hum)
Use of -eka suffix (as in janeka, deneka, etc.)
Some final thoughts...
As a native speaker of this dialect, it really surprised me that many of the words I use daily come from Marathi. Most of these words aren't that different in Marathi! Imagine, knowing words of one Language all because of speaking another. Wild, right? Wikipedia says that this dialect evolved as a 'street-smart' vernacular, and I think there is some truth to that. It is truly wild that the stories of other people before me can be carried in the basic words I take for granted
In India's city that never sleeps, a unique dialect of Hindi has emerged.
Bambaiyya Hindi is not that different from standard Hindi, but what differences are there shows you a lot about the city which speaks it.
It started in the streets of Mumbai's early neighbourhoods and adopted a lot of Marathi and Dakhni influence, with other languages like Portugese and Gujarati chiming in. Historically, movies portrayed it as an uncouth dialect and reserved it for the speech of goons and villains. However nowadays, it has gotten fame in media, especially due to the Munna bhai movies, and Bambaiyya words like mereko and apan can be seen used in other parts of the country too.
FEATURES
Now we get to the juicy part.
Plenty of Bambaiyya vocabulary has been borrowed from Marathi, even though often there are suitable standard Hindi alternatives.
Examples:
Khadda (hole)
Gardi (crowd)
Yeda (crazy, idiot)
Kopcha (corner)
Shana (clever)
Kothimbir (coriander)
In fact, many of the words for excellent, like dhimchak, jhakas, dhansu, etc, all come from Marathi!
There is plenty of influence from other languages too, mostly from Rakhni but some from languages like Gujarati too.
Examples:
Mereko - Me (Dakhni)
Tereko - You (Dakhni)
Batata - Potatoe (Portugese)
Badbad/Machmach - Chipper-chapper (Marathi or Gujarati)
There are very little grammatical differences, but there are a few:
Use of Apan for inclusive we (Standard Hindi lacks clusivity and uses only Hum)
Use of -eka suffix (as in janeka, deneka, etc.)
Some final thoughts...
As a native speaker of this dialect, it really surprised me that many of the words I use daily come from Marathi. Most of these words aren't that different in Marathi! Imagine, knowing words of one Language all because of speaking another. Wild, right? Wikipedia says that this dialect evolved as a 'street-smart' vernacular, and I think there is some truth to that. It is truly wild that the stories of other people before me can be carried in the basic words I take for granted
India has a fascinating history of languages influencing, mixing with, and developing alongside one another. Many speech varieties emerged through migration, trade, cultural contact, literature, and the need for communities speaking different languages to communicate. Here are some interesting examples from across India:
Manipravalam is a literary language variety that combines Sanskrit and Malayalam. It developed particularly for literary works and devotional compositions. Some Manipravalam songs are still used in a few temples in southern Kerala. Its long literary use also played a role in the development of Malayalam literary culture.
Nagamese is a pidgin/creole-like lingua franca historically associated with Nagaland. It developed primarily on an Assamese base while incorporating vocabulary and influences from several Naga languages. It has traditionally been used as a common means of communication between communities speaking different languages.
Nefamese was another contact variety that was historically used as a lingua franca in what was then called NEFA, now Arunachal Pradesh. It was based largely on Assamese, with influence from languages of the Tani and other local communities. Its use declined considerably as other lingua francas became more prominent.
Badaga is a Dravidian language spoken mainly in and around the Nilgiri region of Tamil Nadu, particularly around Udhagamandalam. It is closely related to Kannada, while prolonged contact with Tamil has resulted in considerable Tamil influence. The Badaga-speaking community has traditionally been associated with migration from the Mysuru region to the Nilgiris, after which the language developed its own distinctive characteristics.
Dakhani is a group of varieties of Hindustani historically associated with the Deccan. It is sometimes treated as a variety of Urdu and sometimes discussed as a distinct literary and linguistic tradition. Dakhani has been strongly influenced by Marathi, Kannada, Telugu, Tamil and other South Indian languages depending on the region. For example, varieties spoken around Chennai have experienced Tamil influence.
Saurashtra is an Indo-Aryan language spoken particularly among the Saurashtrian community of Tamil Nadu. The community traces its historical origins to the Saurashtra region of Gujarat and migrated southward over several centuries. Their language developed through contact with the languages of the regions where they settled, particularly Tamil and Telugu. Saurashtra also has its own traditional script, although other scripts are widely used today.
Sankethi is spoken by the Sankethi community, primarily in Karnataka. It is closely connected historically with both Tamil and Kannada and has also received substantial Sanskrit influence. The Sankethi community originated in Tamil-speaking regions before migrating to Karnataka, where their speech developed through prolonged contact with Kannada and other local languages. Its classification as a dialect or language has been debated, but it is an interesting example of linguistic contact between Tamil and Kannada.
Lambani, also known as Banjari or Gor Boli in different contexts, is an Indo-Aryan language associated with the Banjara community. It has developed through extensive contact with several languages. Depending on the region, varieties can show influence from Marathi, Kannada, Telugu and other surrounding languages. The Banjara community historically spread across large parts of western and central India, contributing to considerable regional variation in their speech.
Kristi is a Portuguese-based creole historically associated with the Christian communities of the Konkan region, including parts of Maharashtra. It developed through contact between Portuguese and local languages, particularly Marathi and Konkani. Its history illustrates the linguistic effects of Portuguese colonial presence and long-term interaction with local communities.
Brajabuli is a literary language variety associated with the Vaishnava literary tradition of Bengal and Assam. It was constructed primarily from Maithili and Bengali elements and was used for poetry and devotional literature. It became particularly associated with the literary traditions surrounding Vaishnavism. Rabindranath Tagore also composed poetry in Brajabuli during his youth.
Kattunayakan is a tribal language spoken in parts of the Wayanad region of Kerala and neighbouring areas. It has developed in a multilingual environment and shows influence from Malayalam and Kannada, among other surrounding languages. Its linguistic position makes it an interesting example of contact between languages of the southern Western Ghats.
Arebhashe is a speech variety associated particularly with the Gowda communities of the Kodagu and Dakshina Kannada regions of Karnataka. It is generally classified as a dialect of Kannada, although it has significant influence from neighbouring Kodava, Tulu and other languages. The name Arebhashe is traditionally interpreted as meaning 'half-language.' It has received institutional recognition in Karnataka, including through the establishment of an academy.
Sadri, also known as Nagpuri in many contexts, is an Indo-Aryan language and an important lingua franca in parts of eastern and central India. It is spoken across multilingual areas where communities speak languages such as Hindi, Bhojpuri, Magahi, Bengali, Odia, Mundari and Kurukh. Consequently, Sadri has developed through extensive contact with both Indo-Aryan and Munda languages and serves as a means of communication between different linguistic communities.
Malame is a variety of Malayalam associated with parts of the Tulu Nadu and Kodagu regions. It has developed under strong influence from Kannada, Tulu and, in Kodagu, Kodava. It is particularly interesting for its retention of some older Malayalam vocabulary. For example, certain traditional Malayalam words that have been replaced by Sanskrit-derived vocabulary in other varieties may survive in local speech. Some scholars and community traditions have also discussed the relationship between Malame-speaking communities and the historical development of Beary.
Mavilan Tulu, sometimes called Markodi Tulu, is spoken among Mavilan communities in parts of northern Kerala, particularly around Kasaragod and Kannur. Its classification has been debated, with some researchers treating it as a distinct language variety and others as a dialect of Tulu. It combines Tulu features with strong Malayalam influence and is particularly notable for retaining a number of archaic Tulu characteristics.
Malvani is spoken along the southern Konkan coast of Maharashtra, especially in Sindhudurg. Its classification has long been debated, with some treating it as a variety of Konkani and others associating it more closely with Marathi. Linguistically, it represents a contact zone between the two, with features and vocabulary reflecting both Marathi and Konkani.
Surjapuri is an Indo-Aryan language spoken mainly in the Seemanchal region of Bihar and adjoining areas. It developed in a multilingual environment and shows influence from Bengali, Maithili, Hindi and, near the Nepal border, Nepali. It is written in both Devanagari and Eastern Nagari scripts, depending on the community and region.
Brajawali is a literary language variety associated with the Vaishnava tradition of Assam. It developed by combining elements of Braj Bhasha with Assamese and was used extensively for devotional literature, poetry and dramatic works. It became particularly important in the literary tradition associated with Srimanta Sankardeva and the Ekasarana Vaishnava movement.
Karhade is associated with the Karhade Brahmin community and is generally treated as a variety of Marathi. Some members of the community migrated into the Tulu Nadu region, where their speech came into contact with Tulu, Konkani and Kannada. As a result, varieties spoken in these areas acquired vocabulary and other influences from the surrounding languages.
Bishnupriya Manipuri is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Bishnupriya Manipuri community, particularly in parts of Assam, Manipur and neighbouring regions. Its development has involved extensive contact with Bengali, Meitei, Assamese and Sylheti, as well as smaller influences from other eastern Indo-Aryan languages. The community has a long and complex migration history within eastern South Asia, and the language reflects the multilingual environment in which its speakers have lived.
These examples show that languages are rarely isolated from one another. Migration, intermarriage, trade, religion, literature, political history and everyday contact can all create new varieties or transform existing ones. Some become recognised languages, some remain dialects, while others survive mainly as literary or contact varieties. The linguistic diversity of India is therefore not only a collection of separate languages, but also a history of continuous interaction between them.
Credits for the information: u/tuluva_sikh
Question same as title
The Tai-Kadai language family (Also known as the Kra-Dai language family) is an interesting language family. Much of SEA speaks a Tai-Kadai language, and some of them can be found as far as Yunan, China and Assam, India.
There are a little more than a half dozen Tai-Kadai languages spoken in India (spoken mainly in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh), with the one with the most speakers being Tai-khamti, with around 13-17 000 speakers.
Interestingly enough, the Tai-Ahom language of Ahom empire fame is also a Tai-Kadai language!
The other Tai-Kadai languages in India came much later, between the 17th and 19th centuries, due to wars in Burma.
Unfortunately, other than Tai-khamti the situation of the Indian Tai-Kadai languages is really dire. Most of them have either gone extinct or have less than a hundred speakers each. Some other Tai-Kadai languages spoken (or used to be) in India are Tai-Aiton, Tai-Turung, Tai-Phake, Tai-Khamyang, etc.
I guess this is a reminder not to forget your mother tongues, since you never know how interesting the history behind it might be...
If you want to know more about Tai-Ahom specifically, check out r/TaiAhomLanguage!
Ik Bene Isrealis have the Kirtan tradition but when I try searching for Indian Jewish folk songs I don't find any.
Whereas if I search for Ashkenazi folk songs I find loads and loads of them such as Zol zayn yid Sabes, Ikh bin a Yid, L'chaim L'chaim, etc.
I saw a documentary about them made in Israel and all the Cochin Jews in the video spoke such fluent Hebrew so I was wondering
When Europe was busy colonising the world and blowing itself up in the 20 years war, enlightenment era thinkers like Locke and Voltaire flourished.
After devastating WW I, Dadaism took over France and modern art movements took over the world.
When the British were busy bringing India down to its knees, Rabindranath Tagore's literature soared high. The sweet respite and forward thinking of his work still enjoyed today.
Why does art and thinking bloom when there is nothing left to draw or think about?
Why do we go up in Maslow's hierarchy when there is everything is snatched from its base?
Well,
Turmoil is the flame of inspiration,
Because when life is good, you don't know how it can be better
SOURCE: Omniglot, Google
Avestan, a relative of old Persian, a language that grew and thrived in the sands of Iran... has been written in the Devanagari script for centuries.
Avestan is the holy language of the Zoroastrianins (Parsis), there holy texts the Avesta and Gathas are written in it. As Parsis have been living in India for multiple centuries they started writing Avestan in the Devanagari script, as well as in the Gujarati script too, to some extent. In fact, there has been a long tradition of Zoroastrian priests who were also Sanskrit scholars and translated avestan works and Zoroastrian holy texts into Sanskrit. It started with Neryosang Dhaval (11th-14th century, there is some debate amongst historians), who translated vital holy texts and preserved critical theological works. His scholarly contributions are so impressive that they are celebrated by Parsis in the form of Sanjan day.
As for the script itself, Avestan fricatives were mapped onto Indic aspirants. (nuqtas weren't actually used, no idea why omniglot included them).
Vowels were a different story, Avestan has quite an expansive vowel inventory, similar but quite different from Sanskrit's. Many Devanagari symbols were repurposed and even some new ones were created for the vowels.
The most interesting symbols have to be the unique Avestan ॹ, making the /ʒ/ sound, and the Devanagari aao, ाो (I only know how to make the diacritic), making the /ɑ/ sound.
Many people have a misconception that Modi script was the original script of Marathi,
The truth is more nuanced than that
While the exact time when the script originated is debated, we do know that it had consistent use since the 15th century and was used alongisde the Devanagari script.
Modi was a quasi-shorthand version of the Devanagari script, used for ledgers, record keeping and prose, while the Balbodh style of Devanagari was used for more official purposes, as well as for literature and poetry.
The Modi script was especially made to reduce the amount of times the pen had to be lifted from the page to refill with ink, as such many of the the characters are "deconstructed" and curvy versions of their Devanagri counterparts. The usual mechanisms behind consonant conjucts ("half-letters") were also modified. In fact, some of the letters look similar to the Gujarati script, due to similar reasons for the origins of that script too.
So why did the Modi script decline in use? Well with the advent of printing it was difficult for typefaces to switch between Modi and Devanagari, making Devanagari the sole survivor.
However there have been revival attempts. In 2014, Linguistis in Pune spearheaded the revival movement, teaching students how to use the script and in June of that year, Modi was added to Unicode for the first time and in subsequent years many fonts have been created for this script. There seems to be an enthusiastic online community for this script, especially on Reddit.
Even before the Ahoms arrived in Assam, the language has been deeply connected with the Indian subcontinent. The Tai-Ahom script descends from the Shan script which itself descends from the Pallava script which is a SOUTH INDIAN script. The Tai-Ahom language has many words of Shan and Burmese origin, many of which have been borrowed from Pali or Sanskrit, even though the Ahoms themselves followed an indigenous religion called Phralung. In fact, most of the days of the week in Tai-Ahom came from Pali/Sanskrit origin via Shan or Burmese borrowing. Kae Saap Te (the Tai-Ahom word for Thursday) came from a Burmese word coming from the Sanskrit word Brihaspati, making it cognates with Assamese Brihospotibaar. Sak kae (the Tai-Ahom word for Friday) came from a Burmese word descending from Sanskrit Shukar, making it cognates with Assamese Shukrabar/Xukurbar. The Ahoms are some of the finest people of India and these lions of Assam have connection to the land that is deeper than one thinks
What I mean by this is there a 1:1 correspondence with the spelling of a word and pronounciation of it in Tai-Ahom.
Given that the Tai-Ahom script was created after the arrival of the Ahoms in Assam, and the script and language were natively and concurrently used for a few hundred years, how phonetic would Tai-Ahom spelling be?
The Tai-Ahom language is central to the soul of Assam. It is a grand language, one of royals and rulers, of poets and priests. Even though the Ahoms don't natively speak the language today, it still has a vibrant community, interested in learning, speaking and preserving the language.
r/TaiAhomLanguage is the digital home for this vibrant linguistic community, expect passionate posts about the language, its history and learning the language.
This is a new subreddit, so now there might not be much, but only with your contribution can we take it to new heights!
The Tai-Ahom language is central to the soul of Assam. It is a grand language, one of royals and rulers, of poets and priests. Even though the Ahoms don't natively speak the language today, it still has a vibrant community, interested in learning, speaking and preserving the language.
r/TaiAhomLanguage is the digital home for this vibrant linguistic community, expect passionate posts about the language, its history and learning the language.
This is a new subreddit, so now there might not be much, but only with your contribution can we take it to new heights!
The Tai-Ahom language is central to the souls of Assam. It is a grand language, one of royals and rulers, of poets and priests. Even though the Ahoms don't natively speak the language today, it still has a vibrant community, interested in learning, speaking and preserving the language.
r/TaiAhomLanguage is the digital home for this vibrant linguistic community, expect passionate posts about the language, its history and learning the language.
This is a new subreddit, so now there might not be much, but only with your contribution can we take it to new heights!
Hey guys and gals, my name is Ryan - I am an SEO operator in the United States.
I've been working on an open source chrome extension that scans posts on X (Formerly Twitter) that tells users why a post did well and I have hit a massive speedbump in the development process from a feature request that a user requested.
The chrome extension is called BANGERMETER (A play on what Musk calls a good tweet)
What I would like from anyone feeling motivated is the following:
What does a bait post read like in Devanagari? I'm running into transliteration problems that I simply CANNOT answer because I don't know enough about the quirks of Hindi especially once it verges over to the Urban/Bollywood style Hinglish in written prose.
I'll be posting examples to get the conversation started. Any insight is helpful and if I include your examples in the project I will credit you in the changelog for your contributions if you'd like, just say you're okay with that in your replies.
Examples:
Common Hindi/Hinglish bait patterns:
Rhetorical question with "kya" opener — mirrors the English "Is X still necessary?" structure.
"Kya sach mein pyaar jaisi koi cheez hoti hai?"
"Kya aajkal ke bacchon ko sanskaar nahi sikhaye jaate?"
False binary / "ya" (or) forced choice
"Ladka smart hona chahiye ya rich — dono nahi ho sakta"
"Shaadi pyaar se karo ya samajh se?"
"Sach batao" / "honestly" command bait — demands a confessional reply
"Sach batao, tumne bhi kabhi affair socha hai?"
"Honestly batana, tum apne parents se sab kuch share karte ho?"
Gender-war absolutist statement (very common in his niche too)
"Ladkiyan sirf paisa dekhti hain, change my mind"
"Mard kabhi royega nahi — agree?"
"Comment karo agar" / explicit CTA bait
"Comment karo agar tum bhi single ho"
"1 likho agar tumhe bhi yeh feel hua hai"
Exaggerated relatable trauma-bait
"Kisi ne tumhe bhi choose nahi kiya na?"
"Sabse akela tum hi mehsoos karte ho na?"
कमेंट करो) or Latin inside otherwise-Devanagari text (comment करो), because code-mixing is common and those are different strings to match.Remember, I will require them written IN Devanagari to get it right due to the English/Hinglish > Devanagari issues in transliteration.
THANK YOU IN ADVANCE!!
Or do each of the major dialects (Goan Hindu, Goan Catholic, Mangalorean catholic, etc.) have their own standardised forms