I agree. There are few words in the English language starting with an 'a' that is pronounced as 'o', as in 'oxom' ( or 'olop' as Alpana writes). The very few where the 'a' is pronounced as 'o' or close to it, are either followed by an 'l' ( as in ALL, or ALTAR or ALMOST) or an 'u' ( as in autism, auspicious etc.)
Therefore for a segment of the people of Assam ( or Oxom) to ape a Hindi form - one that lacks the 'o' sound in their language, for transliteration of the 'o' sound on 'Oxomiya' in Roman script by using the 'a' letter, demonstrates a half-baked understanding of the English words and its pronunciations if not speak poorly of their ethnic self-esteem. cm At 6:56 PM -0500 2/27/06, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: >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".. > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ >assam mailing list >assam@assamnet.org >http://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.org > > >________________________________________________________________________ >Check Out the new free AIM(R) Mail -- 2 GB of storage and >industry-leading spam and email virus protection. > > >_______________________________________________ >assam mailing list >assam@assamnet.org >http://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.org _______________________________________________ assam mailing list assam@assamnet.org http://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.org
