Editing Ahom language (section)

=== Revitalization efforts ===
In 1954, at a meeting of [[Ahom people]] at Patsaku, Sibsagar District, the Tai Historical and Cultural Society of Assam was founded.{{sfn|Terwiel|1992}} Since the late 1960s, Ahom culture and traditions have witnessed a revival. In 1981 the Eastern Tai Literary Organization has been founded in Dhemaji, which produced language text books and publications in the Ahom script. Schools in Dibrugarh and Sibsagar districts started offering Tai language classes, teaching a mix of Tai Ahom, Phakey, Khamti and Central Thai.<ref>{{harvcol|Terwiel|1996|p=279}}</ref> The scholar Terwiel notes that the view of the Ahom language being a dead language is hotly contested by Ahom priests and spokesmen of the revival movement. According to them, the language did not die out because Ahom priests still use the language for religious purposes. Some even claim that the priestly class speaks Ahom as their mother tongue. Upon further investigation, it was determined that the priests could decipher the Ahom script and read the words aloud. However, because they did not know any tones, they did not have any idea of the meaning of the words except for the simplest expressions.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>

According to Terwiel, there are great differences between the old Ahom language of the manuscripts, which is easily recognizable as a Tai language, and what the revivalists call Ahom, which does not follow the rules of Tai grammar. It has also changed greatly regarding semantics, literally translating Assamese into Tai words, which leads to sentences which do not make sense to any Tai speaker. Terwiel therefore calls this revived language 'pseudo-Ahom'. Nevertheless, this revived language has been used passionately by revitalists and many neologisms have been created.<ref>{{harvcol|Terwiel|1996|pp=284–285}}</ref> The demand for translation into Tai-Ahom led to the creation of the first adequate modern dictionary by Nomal Chandra Gogoi in 1987, titled ''The Assamese-English-Tai Dictionary''. This dictionary allowed a reader to find the translation of 9,000 Assamese words into English and Tai. This dictionary filled in missing gaps of the Ahom vocabulary with Aiton and Khamti words and if those were not available, Lanna and Thai words were used. The result was a hodgepodge of multiple Tai languages, that was only linked to the Ahom language by the Ahom script in which the dictionary entries were written. The scholar Terwiel recommended in 1992 to base neo-Ahom on the grammar and tones of the very closely related Aiton language, which is still spoken in Assam.{{sfn|Terwiel|1992|pp=6–7}} Summarizing, the revivalists use a language consisting of a mixture of Tai words from multiple Tai languages, overlaid on an Assamese grammatical base.<ref>{{harvcol|Terwiel|1996|pp=286}}</ref>

In 1999, the scholar Morey reported that Ahom priests have resorted to compounding words to differentiate between words that are homophones in the revived language, since Ahom lost its tone system. For example in old Ahom, the word ''su'' for tiger and ''su'' for shirt would have sounded differently by pronouncing them with a different tone. In revived Ahom, they are now differentiated by compounding them with another word: ''tu'' for animal and ''pha'' for cloth respectively. Subsequently, ''tu su'' and ''pha su'' can be differentiated.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Stephen |first1=Morey |chapter=Tai languages of Assam, a progress report — Does anything remain of the Tai Ahom language? |year= 2002 |editor1-first= David |editor1-last=Bradley|editor2-first=Maya |editor2-last=Bradley |title= Language Maintenance for Endangered Languages: An Active Approach |location= London |publisher= Curzon Press |pages= 98–113 |url=https://www.academia.edu/34802388 |access-date=14 June 2020}}</ref>

An effort has been made to revive the language by following the phonology of existing sister languages, especially [[Tai Aiton language|Tai-Aiton]] and [[Tai Phake language|Tai-Phake]].{{citation needed|date=June 2020}}

The [[Institute of Tai Studies and Research]] (ITSAR), is a Tai-Ahom language teaching institute in [[Moranhat|Moran]], [[Sivasagar]], [[Assam]], India, established in 2001 and affiliated to [[Dibrugarh University]]. It offers a one-year Tai-Ahom language diploma course and a three-month certificate course in spoken Tai-Ahom.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Gogoi |first1=Chao Medini Mohan |title=Revitalization of Endangered Language and Culture of the Ahoms: The Background, Problems and Prospects |date=2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Centre for Studies in Languages – Dibrugarh University |url=http://dibru.ac.in/schools-of-studies/humanities-and-social-science/centre-for-studies-in-languages |website=dibru.ac.in |language=en-gb |access-date=2020-06-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190723154536/http://dibru.ac.in/schools-of-studies/humanities-and-social-science/centre-for-studies-in-languages |archive-date=2019-07-23 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Other initiatives have been taken, such as workshops and language classes.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/north-east/language-route-to-roots-16-sign-up-for-tai-ahom-course-in-guwahati-school/cid/807743 |title=Language route to roots – 16 sign up for Tai Ahom course in Guwahati school |access-date=9 June 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.sentinelassam.com/north-east-india-news/assam-news/workshop-on-tai-ahom-language-organized-at-doomdooma-assam/ |title=Workshop on Tai-Ahom Language Organized at Doomdooma, Assam |date=2 August 2018 |access-date=9 June 2020}}</ref> In 2019, the 'Tai Ahom Yuva Chatra Sanmilan, Assam' (TAYCSA), demanded that the Tai-Ahom language be included in the school curriculum of the state of Assam. They also demanded the creation of a two-year diploma course in Mahdavdeva University.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.sentinelassam.com/north-east-india-news/assam-news/include-language-in-curriculum-demands-tai-ahom-organization/ |title=Include Language in Curriculum, Demands Tai-Ahom Organization |date=29 October 2019 |access-date=9 June 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://nenow.in/north-east-news/assam/clamour-for-introduction-tai-language-in-assam-schools.html |title=Clamour for introduction of Tai language in Assam schools |date=28 October 2019 |access-date=9 June 2020}}</ref>

An online dictionary containing nearly 5,000 entries (see External links) has been created by analyzing old manuscripts, especially the Bar Amra. A descriptive grammar of Ahom, based on the grammar found in old manuscripts, is being worked on. A sketch has been released, titled “A Sketch of Tai Ahom” by Stephen Morey.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Morey |first1=Stephen |chapter=Metadata and endangered archives: lessons from the Ahom Manuscripts Project |title=In From Dust to Digital: Ten Years of the Endangered Archives Programme |editor-last= Kominko |editor-first=Maja |location= Cambridge, UK |publisher=Open Book Publishers |date=2015 |pages=31–66 |jstor=j.ctt15m7nhp.13 |isbn=9781783740628 }}</ref>