[Assam] A Letter to the Editor

[Chan Mahanta]

I happened to run into this on the Sentinel web site, and I agree 
with it wholeheartedly:


Needed: Native Words
I have gone through the Assamese dictionaries from the times of 
Hemchandra Baruwa, and the Anglo-Assamese dictionaries written by the 
likes of Budhin Chandra Bhattacharyya. But I feel that several native 
words have been left out and in their place Sanskrit words abound.
Let it be said here that the tribal languages have contributed 
substantially to the formation of the Assamese language. As such, 
colloquial words like tengor and botaah should be given the first 
place in lieu of words like dhurtta and vaayu. This is just one 
example.
The Father of the Turkish nation, Kamal Attaturk, made use of 
colloquial Turkish words in place of Arabic words to retain the 
distinct flavour and lucidity of the Turkish language. I urge the 
scholars concerned with lexicography to compose dictionaries which 
have a profusion of indigenous words in the Assamese language.
Satyen Brahma,
Lokhora, Guwahati.