Editing Khasi language (section)

==Script==
{{Unreferenced section|date=November 2022}}
Before British colonization, some of the Khasi Syiems (Royals) used to keep official records and communicate with one another on paper primarily using the Bengali script. [[William Carey (missionary)|William Carey]] wrote the language with the [[Bengali alphabet|Bengali script]] between 1813 and 1838. A large number of Khasi books were written in the Bengali script, including the famous book ''Ka Niyom Jong Ki Khasi'' or ''The Religion of the Khasis'', which is an important work on the Khasi religion.

The Welsh [[missionary]], [[Thomas Jones (missionary)|Thomas Jones]], arrived in [[Cherrapunji|Sohra]] on June 22, 1841, and proceeded to write down the local language in the [[Latin script]]. As a result, the modified Latin alphabet of the language has a few similarities with the [[Welsh alphabet]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Standardising Khasi Language |url=https://themeghalayan.com/standardising-khasi-language/ |website=The Meghalayan |date=18 June 2022 |access-date=8 June 2023 |archive-date=6 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230606121539/https://themeghalayan.com/standardising-khasi-language/ |url-status=live}}</ref> The first journal in Khasi was ''U Nongkit Khubor'' (The Messenger) published at [[Mawphlang]] in 1889 by [[William Williams (missionary)|William Williams]].

===Khasi alphabet===
Khasi in Latin script has a different system, distinct from that of English. Khasi uses a 23-letter alphabet by removing the letters c, f, q, v, x and z from the basic Latin alphabet and adding the diacritic letters ï and ñ, and the digraph ng, which is treated as a letter in its own right. The diagraph ng is also present in Welsh alphabet.
{|class= "wikitable" style ="text-align: center;"
|+Khasi Alphabet
|-
!'''Capital letters'''
|style="border-right: 0;"| A
|style="border-right: 0;"| B
|style="border-right: 0;"| K
|style="border-right: 0;"| D
|style="border-right: 0;"| E
|style="border-right: 0;"| G
|style="border-right: 0;"| Ng
|style="border-right: 0;"| H
|style="border-right: 0;"| I
|style="border-right: 0;"| Ï
|style="border-right: 0;"| J
|style="border-right: 0;"| L
|style="border-right: 0;"| M
|style="border-right: 0;"| N
|style="border-right: 0;"| Ñ
|style="border-right: 0;"| O
|style="border-right: 0;"| P
|style="border-right: 0;"| R
|style="border-right: 0;"| S
|style="border-right: 0;"| T
|style="border-right: 0;"| U
|style="border-right: 0;"| W
| Y
|-
!'''Small letters'''
|a
|b
|k
|d
|e
|g
|ng
|h
|i
|ï
|j
|l
|m
|n
|ñ
|o
|p
|r
|s
|t
|u
|w
|y
|-
!'''English Pronunciation'''
|''ah''
|''bee''
|''kay''
|''dee''
|''ay''
|''eg''
|''eng''
|''esh''
|''ee''
|''yee''
|''jay''
|''ell''
|''emm''
|''enn''
|''eñ''
|''oh''
|''pea''
|''aar''
|''ess''
|''tee''
|''oo''
|''double yu''
|''why''
|-
!'''Assamese'''
|''আ''
|''ব''
|''ক''
|''দ''
|''এ''
|''গ''
|''ঙ''
|''হ''
|''ই''
|''য''
|''জ''
|''ল''
|''ম''
|''ন''
|''ঞ''
|''অ''
|''প''
|''ৰ''
|''স''
|''ত''
|''উ''
| ''ৱ''
|''য়''
|-
!'''Bengali'''
|''আ''
|''ব''
|''ক''
|''দ''
|''এ''
|''গ''
|''অং''
|''হ''
|''ই''
|''য়ি''
|''জ''
|''ল''
|''ম''
|''ন''
|''ঞ''
|''ও''
|''প''
|''র''
|''স''
|''ত''
|''উ''
|''ঊ''
|''ঈ''
|}

===Pronunciation===
* Vowel length is not usually marked in the orthography, although it can be marked optionally by an [[acute accent]] (''s'''i'''m'' {{IPA|/sim/}} "bird" vs. ''r'''í''' {{IPA|/riː/}} "country").<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cLxfnQEACAAJ |title=A Grammar of the Khasi Language |access-date=13 March 2023 |archive-date=25 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230425081227/https://books.google.com/books?id=cLxfnQEACAAJ |url-status=live}}</ref>
* The peculiar placement of ''k'' is due to it replacing ''c''. ''c'' and ''ch'' were originally used in place of ''k'' and ''kh''. When ''c'' was removed from the alphabet, ''k'' was put in its place.
* The inclusion of ''g'' is only due to its presence in the letter ng. It is not used independently in any word of native origin.
* ''h'' represents both the [[fricative]] sound as well as the [[glottal stop]](ʔ) word-finally.
* ''y'' is not pronounced as in ''year'', but acts as a [[schwa]](ə), and as a [[glottal stop]] between vowels. The sound in '' year'' is written with ''ï''.
===Digraphs===
Besides ng, which is considered a single letter in the alphabet, Khasi has 8 other digraphs:
* [[Aspirated consonant|Aspirated consonants]] are represented by digraphs '''kh''', '''ph''' and '''th'''.
* [[Breathy voice|Breathy voiced consonants]] are represented by digraphs '''bh''', '''dh''' and '''jh'''.
* The [[Voiceless postalveolar fricative|/ʃ/]] in Khasi is written '''sh'''.
* The digraph '''ie''' represents the [[/e/]] sound, as opposed to '''e''', which represents the sound [[/ɛ/]].
This digraphs are not treated as single letters but rather as combinations of letters.

===Lost Khasi Script===

A local legend tells of how the Khasi people received their script from God, and that subsequently the Khasi people lost their script in a great flood.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Legend about how the Khasis lost their script - Cherrapunjee Holiday Resort |url=https://cherrapunjee.com/the-legend-about-how-the-khasis-lost-their-script/ |access-date=8 June 2023 |date=18 September 2019 |archive-date=14 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230514061412/https://cherrapunjee.com/the-legend-about-how-the-khasis-lost-their-script/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Review: Funeral Nights by Kynpham Sing Nongkynrih |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/books/reviewfuneral-nights-by-kynpham-sing-nongkynrih-101635512540898.html |access-date=8 June 2023 |work=Hindustan Times |date=29 October 2021 |language=en |archive-date=24 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220124230854/https://www.hindustantimes.com/books/reviewfuneral-nights-by-kynpham-sing-nongkynrih-101635512540898.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=742 Esther Syiem, The survival of languages: the Khasi |url=https://www.india-seminar.com/2021/742/742_esther_syiem.htm |website=www.india-seminar.com |access-date=8 June 2023 |archive-date=28 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211028055632/https://india-seminar.com/2021/742/742_esther_syiem.htm |url-status=live}}</ref> In 2017, it was reported that there is evidence of an [[Undeciphered writing systems|undeciphered script]], currently stored at the Kamarupa Anusandhan Samity Library in [[Guwahati]], Assam, that is considered to be Khasi in origin.<ref name="LostScript_2017">{{cite web |title='Lost' Khasi script in Guwahati museum remains undeciphered |url=https://theshillongtimes.com/2017/05/08/lost-khasi-script-in-guwahati-museum-remains-undeciphered/ |website=The Shillong Times |access-date=8 June 2023 |date=8 May 2017}}</ref>