I think this new spelling is worse than Assam. Assam sounds sweet, but Asom? Even we Assamese won't know how to say it. How do you say it? A`som as in 'etia'? It does not represent the pronounciation the way it should be. If it is "O" for the second part "a-SOM", why not "O" for the first vowel "Osom"?
I thought we were going for "O" and would spell "Olop" for a little, instead of "Alop", which would mislead people to pronounce it correctly.
Once that was fixed, we could have gone with the bigger fight - whether it should be "Oxom" or "Osom".
Well! my 'dui-poisa' worth opinion, or is it "dui-paisa"?
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED], assam@assamnet.org
Subject: Re: [Assam] The battle of the X's still continues
Date: Mon, 27 Feb 2006 18:56:11 -0500
>Well, it's not Asom, is it, when you and I say it? Asom is as bad as
>Assam in truthfully following how it's really pronounced. So, we are
>going from one bad pronunciation-based spelling to another. Earlier,
>"Assam" tried to follow the British way of pronunciation, now "Asom" is
>the way Hindi or Bengali speakers will pronounce it. It's not how
>people in Assam pronounce it.
>There should be some more thought put into this. There is nothing
>Assamese about the spelling "Asom", it's a spelling that doesn't do
>justice.
>
>Jugal
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Ram Sarangapani <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>To: ASSAMNET <assam@assamnet.org>
>Sent: Mon, 27 Feb 2006 12:21:19 -0600
>Subject: [Assam] The battle of the X's still continues
>
> As far as the letters 's' or 'x' in the spelling is concerned, the
>Cabinet informed that it would be open to suggestions from all
>quarters. But for the time being 'Asom' will be the effective spelling,
>it added . -Sentinel
>
> http://sentinelassam.com/
> _________________________
> BOur Bureau
>GUWAHATI/JORHAT/DIBRUGARH, Feb 27: In a landmark decision, the State
>cabinet has today announced to change the spelling of Assam in English
>to Asom. While discussing on the matter this morning, the Cabinet
>unanimously came to the conclusion that Asom has always been Asom but
>only twists in history had brought about the change in spelling.
>Although the English spelling of the State had been a matter of
>contention for some time, the Cabinet took a decision to hold a
>discussion on it following the article written by litterateur Chandra
>Prasad Saikia in a recent issue of the magazine Goriyosi. In the
>article Saikia advocated a change in the spelling and proposed Axom in
>place of Assam.
>As far as the letters 's' or 'x' in the spelling is concerned, the
>Cabinet informed that it would be open to suggestions from all
>quarters. But for the time being 'Asom' will be the effective spelling,
>it added.
>On the question of informing the Centre about the change, the Cabinet
>said that it would be informed as and when the time comes.
>Meanwhile, there has been a positive reaction to the Cabinet decision
>throughout the State. Axom Xahitya Xabha (AXX) president Kakaksen Deka,
>while expressing his happiness said, "The Cabinet has taken the right
>decision. Assam was a name (spelling) given by the British regime. The
>actual name is Asom and we are back with it."
>Chandra Prasad Saikia whose article had been instrumental in bringing
>about the change, said, "After independence, many places have changed
>their names ? Bombay has become Mumbai, Madras is changed to Chennai,
>Calcutta to Kolkata and Gauhati to Guwahati. Similarly, Assam has now
>become Asom. This is a matter to be proud of. The people of India
>should say Asom instead of Assam. Because Assam was a name given by the
>British.
>Former Vice Chancellor of Gauhati University Dr Deba Prasad Barua said,
>"I am happy that it has been changed to Asom. After all, it is Asom."
>Dr Nagen Saikia, while talking to The Sentinel said, "At different
>times, people from outside the State have been calling Asom Assam for
>its given spelling. Therefore, CP Saikia had proposed Axom for the
>spelling. It is a good thing that the decision to change the spelling
>has been taken." But at the same time Dr Saikia expressed his
>apprehension that now the people from outside the State might pronounce
>the word as 'Aasom'.
>The Assam Government's decision to replace the word 'Assam' by the
>indigenous-sounding 'Axom' has elicited positive response in Jorhat.
>Till the advent of the Ahoms in 1228, the State was known by Kamrup,
>Pragjyotishpur and other names given by the people residing in
>different parts. Stating this, Dr Ajit Dutta, Head of the History
>Department in Jagannath Barooah College here, said that the Ahom
>monarchs referred to their exalted status by calling the land 'Axom.'
>The name also denotes the unequal geographical terrain of the State,
>Dutta pointed out. When the British imperialists established their rule
>here, they pronounced Axom as Assam. The Congress Government has taken
>a timely decision by abandoning the Anglicized 'Assam' and reverting to
>the old name.
>Welcoming the change of name, former academician Prafulla Rajguru said
>that the Englishmen gave names to places on the basis of their
>pronunciation. These Anglicized versions of local names passed into
>usage, he said and added that there has lately been a bid to 'revive'
>past history by referring to the places by their earlier names.
>Dr Panchami Bhattacharyya of JB College said that the Government
>decision was a positive one as it amounted to a tribute to the past.
>Several intellectuals have earlier advocated for a change of name for
>the State, she added.
>The office-bearers of the Axom Xahitya Xabha here went a step a further
>and called for the use of Assamese as the official language. The apex
>literary body of the State has long been demanding the application of
>the Assamese language in all official correspondence, they pointed out.
>"Assam is an Anglicized form of Asom. When the British brought the area
>under its domain, they used to write 'Assam' in all the administrative
>work instead of its original nomenclature Asom. In course of time, the
>word Assam became so popular that some of the prominent Assamese
>writers also used the anglicized form." This was stated by Dr
>Dambarudhar Nath, Head of the Department of History, Dibrugarh
>University while welcoming the decision of the State Cabinet.
>Noted historian Dr Swarnalata Barua and former head of the department
>of History, Dibrugarh University, also welcomed the decision of the
>State Cabinet. She said that the spelling of the new nomenclature of
>the State should be Asam instead of Asom. 'This is what our Assamese
>scholars are demanding from a long time"..
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
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