Consonants
There are 19 consonants in Tai Ahom language called to māe līk tái or the “main body of Tai Alphabet,” as the below table lists out in detail.
Aside from this there are also some extra consonants that are used to represent sounds from foreign languages like ga, dha, jha, bha, etc which we are not going to look at because they are completely irrelevant for us Tai learners. Let's move straight to vowels now
Vowels
There are 11 “pure vowels” in Ahom called māe káp ngāo. We here use the Ahom consonant ‘a’ to read them all
The er (𑜒𑜢𑜤𑜈𑜫) sound is same as ‘er’ in cheater, except that r is silent and you keep your mouth open when pronouncing it. The o (𑜒𑜥𑜈𑜫) sound is more ‘o’ in so or more while aw (𑜒𑜦𑜡) sound is more like ‘aw’ in saw or awesome.
Please note that ‘o’ and ‘aw’ are separate vowels, so some people who write like ‘khop’, ‘nong’, etc it is actually incorrect as we use the ‘aw’ vowel in ‘khawp’ and ‘nawng’ not ‘o.’ Although it is a very small issue but using the correct transliteration will help you to properly use our tools such as Ahom Keyboard.
Please also note that different graphemes are sometimes used for the same vowel in medial position and the same grapheme can actually be different vowel depending on whether it is in final position or medial. The only example of the latter is in case of uu (𑜒𑜥) grapheme which is used for representing o (𑜒𑜥𑜈𑜫) vowel in medial position. This will become clear in the following table
The graphemes for ‘e’ and ‘ae’ are currently not in Unicode but we will someday file an application for the same on their absolute necessity but for the meantime you can still use the existing graphemes. It will still work with Ahom translator and other tools.
Dipthongs
Aside from these 11 vowels, there is also something called māe káp sâwn or dipthongs, that are formed by combining two vowels.
Here you notice ai is formed by combining ‘a’ + ‘i’ vowels. au is formed by combining ‘a’ + ‘er’ vowel and so on.
PS: There are two consonants 𑜚 and 𑜈 for the same letter ba or wa. Although there is presently no standard on this, but the former should be preferred for final position i.e. for the “ao” dipthong 𑜈𑜫 while the latter should be preferred for initial position ba, as for example in the word bào (𑜈𑜈𑜫,) meaning negative and cognate with Lao bo (ບໍ່)
Additionally the different symbols in unicode can be used for differentiating the ba and wa sounds too such as bán (sun) or wán (day). Although there is presently no standard on this too
Also some of you who already might know the Ahom script from youtube videos might be wondering what is the am (𑜒𑜪) symbol here. The answer is ‘am’ is not a vowel or dipthong but just a short-hand of -𑜉𑜫) which is similar to the Sanskrit anusvāra (after-sound) at the end of word represented by an overdot.
The sign-killer (-𑜀𑜫) is used to close a syllable and is similar to Indic virāma
Consonant Clusters
There are just three consonant clusters (māe káp seng sâwn) in Ahom
Tones
Tones (tón seng) are the most important aspect of Tai languages, that distinguish one syllable from another that would otherwise be considered the same word in a non tonal language.
In Ahom there are five tones, as illustrated in below table and diagram
Since, tones are so important and so central to Ahom language, it is very important for you to read them correctly. You can check out Tones Quiz and improve your tone-reading (and pronouncing) skill.
For grammar lessons you can head to the Grammar section.
Happy Learning
- Learn Ahom Team
We thank @birmanicus for providing all audio in this lessons as well as other lessons. So please make sure to follow him on instagram
There are 19 consonants in Tai Ahom language called to māe līk tái or the “main body of Tai Alphabet,” as the below table lists out in detail.
| C | Ahom | Manuscript | Unicode | Example | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
ka | k | k | 𑜀 | kài (kj!) - chicken |
|
kha | x | x | 𑜁 | khài (xj!) - egg |
|
nga | [ | [ | 𑜂 | ngúu ([U#) - snake |
|
na | n | n | 𑜃 | nûk (nukq$) - bird |
|
ta | t | t | 𑜄 | tàu (t]!) - tortoise |
|
pa | p | p | 𑜆 | paa (pa) - fish |
|
pha | f | f | 𑜇 | phērng (fE[q@) - bee |
|
ba | b | b | 𑜈 | bán (Bnq#) - sun |
|
ma | m | m | 𑜉 | maa (ma) - dog |
|
ya | y | y | 𑜊 | yúng (yu[q#) - mosquito |
|
tsa | c | c | 𑜋 | tsâang (c,[q$) - elephant |
|
tha | v | v | 𑜌 | thai (vj) - plough |
|
ra | r | r | 𑜍 | rérn (rEnq#) - house |
|
la | l | l | 𑜎 | líng (li[q#) - monkey |
|
sa | s | s | 𑜏 | seng (sC[q) - diamond |
|
nya | N | N | 𑜐 | nyāa (Na@) - grass |
|
ha | h | h | 𑜑 | hàan (h,nq!) - goose |
|
aa | A | A | 𑜒 | òi (Aoj!) - sugarcane |
|
da | d | d | 𑜓 | dam (dM) - dead |
Aside from this there are also some extra consonants that are used to represent sounds from foreign languages like ga, dha, jha, bha, etc which we are not going to look at because they are completely irrelevant for us Tai learners. Let's move straight to vowels now
Vowels
There are 11 “pure vowels” in Ahom called māe káp ngāo. We here use the Ahom consonant ‘a’ to read them all
| V | Ahom | Manuscript | Unicode | Example | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
a | A | A | 𑜒 | râk (rkq$) - love |
|
aa | Aa | Aa | 𑜒𑜡 | kaa (ka) - crow |
|
i | Ai | Ai | 𑜒𑜢 | mīt (mitq@) - knife |
|
ee | AI | AI | 𑜒𑜣 | dee (dI) - good |
|
u | Au | Au | 𑜒𑜤 | kún (kunq#) - person |
|
uu | AU | AU | 𑜒𑜥 | ruu (rU) - head |
|
e | eA | eA | 𑜒𑜦 | te (et) - will |
|
ae | eA] | eA] | 𑜒𑜦𑜧 | māe (em]@) - mother |
|
o | AUw | AUw | 𑜒𑜥𑜈𑜫 | tsō (cUw@) - place |
|
aw | eAa | eAa | 𑜒𑜦𑜡 | khāw (exa@) - word |
|
er | AEw | AEw | 𑜒𑜢𑜤𑜈𑜫 | ser (sEw) - tiger |
The er (𑜒𑜢𑜤𑜈𑜫) sound is same as ‘er’ in cheater, except that r is silent and you keep your mouth open when pronouncing it. The o (𑜒𑜥𑜈𑜫) sound is more ‘o’ in so or more while aw (𑜒𑜦𑜡) sound is more like ‘aw’ in saw or awesome.
Please note that ‘o’ and ‘aw’ are separate vowels, so some people who write like ‘khop’, ‘nong’, etc it is actually incorrect as we use the ‘aw’ vowel in ‘khawp’ and ‘nawng’ not ‘o.’ Although it is a very small issue but using the correct transliteration will help you to properly use our tools such as Ahom Keyboard.
Please also note that different graphemes are sometimes used for the same vowel in medial position and the same grapheme can actually be different vowel depending on whether it is in final position or medial. The only example of the latter is in case of uu (𑜒𑜥) grapheme which is used for representing o (𑜒𑜥𑜈𑜫) vowel in medial position. This will become clear in the following table
| V | Ahom | Manuscript | Unicode | Example | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
aa | A,- | A,- | 𑜒า- | kàat (k, tq!) - mart |
|
e | AC- | AC- | 𑜒𑜦- | tsét (cCtq#) - seven |
|
ae | AV- | AV- | 𑜒𑜦𑜦- | tāem (tVmq@) - write |
|
o | AU- | AU- | 𑜒𑜥- | lot (lUtq) - vehicle |
|
aw | Ao- | Ao- | 𑜒𑜨- | sawng (so[q) - two |
|
er | AE | AE | 𑜒𑜢𑜤 | kèrt (kEtq!) - birth |
The graphemes for ‘e’ and ‘ae’ are currently not in Unicode but we will someday file an application for the same on their absolute necessity but for the meantime you can still use the existing graphemes. It will still work with Ahom translator and other tools.
Dipthongs
Aside from these 11 vowels, there is also something called māe káp sâwn or dipthongs, that are formed by combining two vowels.
| D | Ahom | Manuscript | Unicode | Example | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
au | A] | A] | 𑜒𑜧 | máu (m]#) - you |
|
ao | Aw | Aw | 𑜒𑜈𑜫 | kao (kw) - me |
|
aao | A,w | A,w | 𑜒า𑜈𑜫 | khaao (x,w) - white |
|
ai | Aj | Aj | 𑜒𑜩 | phai (fj#) - fire |
|
aai | A,j | A,j | 𑜒𑜩า | taai (t,j) - die |
|
oi | Aoj | Aoj | 𑜒𑜩𑜨 | doi (doj) - hill |
|
ui | AuNq | AuNq | 𑜒𑜤𑜐𑜫 | kūi (kuNq@) - banana |
|
ei | AENq | AENq | 𑜒𑜢𑜤𑜐𑜫 | hei (hENq#) - hey |
|
iu | Aiw | Aiw | 𑜒𑜢𑜈𑜫 | phiu (fiw) - whistle |
|
eu | ACw | ACw | 𑜒𑜦𑜈𑜫 | béu (bCw#) - cat |
|
aeu | AVw | AVw | 𑜒𑜦𑜦𑜈𑜫 | láeu (lVw#) - sword |
Here you notice ai is formed by combining ‘a’ + ‘i’ vowels. au is formed by combining ‘a’ + ‘er’ vowel and so on.
PS: There are two consonants 𑜚 and 𑜈 for the same letter ba or wa. Although there is presently no standard on this, but the former should be preferred for final position i.e. for the “ao” dipthong 𑜈𑜫 while the latter should be preferred for initial position ba, as for example in the word bào (𑜈𑜈𑜫,) meaning negative and cognate with Lao bo (ບໍ່)
Additionally the different symbols in unicode can be used for differentiating the ba and wa sounds too such as bán (sun) or wán (day). Although there is presently no standard on this too
Also some of you who already might know the Ahom script from youtube videos might be wondering what is the am (𑜒𑜪) symbol here. The answer is ‘am’ is not a vowel or dipthong but just a short-hand of -𑜉𑜫) which is similar to the Sanskrit anusvāra (after-sound) at the end of word represented by an overdot.
The sign-killer (-𑜀𑜫) is used to close a syllable and is similar to Indic virāma
Consonant Clusters
There are just three consonant clusters (māe káp seng sâwn) in Ahom
| D | Ahom | Manuscript | Unicode | Example | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
-ra | Ska | Ska | 𑜀𑜞𑜡 | phraa (Sfa) - God |
|
-la | kYa | kYa | 𑜀𑜝𑜡 | klaa (kYa) - indian |
|
-wa | koa | koa | 𑜀𑜨𑜡 | kwáam (ko,M#) - word |
Tones
Tones (tón seng) are the most important aspect of Tai languages, that distinguish one syllable from another that would otherwise be considered the same word in a non tonal language.
In Ahom there are five tones, as illustrated in below table and diagram
| T | Contour | Ahom | MS | Unicode | Example | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
aa | Rising | Aa | Aa | 𑜒𑜡 | kaa (ka) - crow |
|
àa | Low | Aa! | Aa! | 𑜒𑜡, | kàa (ka!) - go |
|
āa | Middle | Aa@ | Aa@ | 𑜒𑜡; | kāa (ka@) - dance |
|
áa | High | Aa# | Aa# | 𑜒𑜡: | káa (ka#) - car |
|
âa | Falling | Aa$ | Aa$ | 𑜒𑜡. | kâa (ka$) - trade |
Since, tones are so important and so central to Ahom language, it is very important for you to read them correctly. You can check out Tones Quiz and improve your tone-reading (and pronouncing) skill.
For grammar lessons you can head to the Grammar section.
Happy Learning
- Learn Ahom Team
We thank @birmanicus for providing all audio in this lessons as well as other lessons. So please make sure to follow him on instagram