[Assam] Asom or Oxom, phonetically speaking

[Rajen Barua]

Letters to the editor

THE STATESMAN, KOLKATA 4 March 2006

Asom or Oxom, phonetically speaking

Sir, - I am writing this letter with reference to a decision by the Assam government to change the name of the state to Asom. This is a wrong decision for certain reasons. Asom is a Sanskritised spelling and not an Assamese spelling. The proper Assamese spelling in the Roman script should be Oxom. The Assamese gutteral kh sound is a well-recognised velar fricative, and is also found among other languages including Greek and Russian. The International Phonetic Association has designated the Greek letter, 'X', for this Assamese sound. This sound is not represented by the letter, 'S', as written in the word Asom. As such it is 'X' and not 'S' that should be used. Again, the first letter should be 'O' and not 'A'. 
The letter 'A' is used in Sanskrit and Hindi where they have two 'A's. In Assamese we have only one 'A'. The correct vowel for the Assamese pronunciation should be 'O'. The Assam government by taking a decision to use the Sanskritised form of spelling - Asom instead of Oxom - is trying to kill the proper Assamese ethnic sound 'XO'. This will be a great letdown for the entire Assamese people, and we request the Assam government not to meddle with the Assamese language. If it has to change the name, it should adopt the correct spelling, i.e. Oxom. 
- Yours, etc., Rajen Barua, 
Katy (Texas), USA, 4 March. 


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