| Khasic | |
|---|---|
| Geographic distribution | India,Bangladesh |
| Linguistic classification | Austroasiatic
|
| Proto-language | Proto-Khasic |
| Language codes | |
| Glottolog | khas1268 |
 Map of the Khasic languages | |
TheKhasic orKhasian languages are afamily ofAustroasiatic languages native to theShillong Plateau and spoken by theKhasi,Pnar and other related ethnic groups. Most of them reside in thenortheastern Indian state ofMeghalaya where Khasi speakers form a plurality of the population. Smaller Khasic-speaking pockets are found inAssam,Manipur,Mizoram andSylhet Division ofBangladesh.[1]
Sidwell (2018: 27–31) classifies the Khasian languages as follows.
Varieties calledBhoi are dialects of both Pnar and Khasi.
Paul Sidwell (2011) suggests that Khasian is closely related toPalaungic, forming aKhasi–Palaungic branch.
The following eight Khasian-Palaungic isoglosses have been identified by Sidwell (2018: 32).
| Gloss | Proto-Khasian (Sidwell 2018) | Proto-Palaungic (Sidwell 2015)[2] |
|---|---|---|
| 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 Khasianlexical 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 byPaul 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 classmorphemes 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 followingsound changes from Pre-Khasian (i.e., the ancestral stage of Khasian that preceded Proto-Khasian) to Proto-Khasian.