I'm from Jorhat and when I speak I never get an uvular effect, more so with front vowels in words like /xex/. ... - http://groups.yahoo.com/group/assamonline/message/2368
Thought, the IIT Guwahati analysis is an account of the native Assamese. Here are the IIT Guwahati links: http://www.iitg.ernet.in/rcilts/Wave/word/assamese/X.wav http://www.iitg.ernet.in/rcilts/Wave/word/assamese/STONE.wav http://www.iitg.ernet.in/rcilts/Wave/word/assamese/xul.wav http://www.iitg.ernet.in/rcilts/asamiya.htm X.wav above is what is the reference phoneme of Assamese native speakers as per IIT Guwahati. But if you listen to STONE.wav you would realize a mistake, as X.wav does not have spectral match STONE.wav for what they called /x/. ... the /k/ of Kamrup/Nalbari ('velar voiceless plosive'to go by phoneticky descriptions)is much 'backer' than the one produced by people from my part of the state. - http://groups.yahoo.com/group/assamonline/message/2368 Kamrupi people are coward of scholarly Shakuntala :) Their Kamrupi great grand used the old Devnagari script-set along with several foreign alphabets including digit 7 and 5 that look like Roman and symbol /nita/ looks like Greek /nita/ as well. But Kamrupi did not use some conjunct as we find in modern Bengali script set (Assamese uses the same Bengali-developed scripts the Ratne script I developed is a replica of the same). Kamrupi will be better represented if they just hold on to the Old Devnagari style of mapping -- surprisingly all phonemes exits spoken in different areas of undivided Kamrup further west to Coosh Behar, strong in northern areas of villages. --BUT Kamrupi people are coward of scholarly ... The IPA authority did not do any analysis on Kamrupi either. Lets talk on native Assamese and IIT Guwahati paper first in order to explain/understand why they claim voiceless/unvoiced. Please try validate conducting spectral analysis. The same PRAAT tool that Shakuntala posted will be good enough, i.e., http://www.praat.org/ Create your own phoneme as you speak and post the results, we want practical results not observation. Would like to thank Priyankoo (www.geocities.com/priyankoos), Bezbora and Sanjib for writing to me in person. The solution of the two assignments will follow. Rabin
