Khasic languages

Khasic
Geographic distribution	India, Bangladesh
Linguistic classification	Austroasiatic Khasi–Palaungic Khasic
Proto-language	Proto-Khasic
Language codes
ISO 639-3	–
Glottolog	khas1268
Map of the Khasic languages

The Khasic or Khasian languages are a family of Austroasiatic languages native to the Shillong Plateau and spoken by the Khasi, Pnar and other related ethnic groups. Most of them reside in the northeastern Indian state of Meghalaya where Khasi speakers form a plurality of the population. Smaller Khasic-speaking pockets are found in Assam, Manipur, Mizoram and Sylhet Division of Bangladesh.^[1]

Sidwell (2018: 27–31) classifies the Khasian languages as follows.

Varieties called Bhoi are dialects of both Pnar and Khasi.

Paul Sidwell (2011) suggests that Khasian is closely related to Palaungic, forming a Khasi–Palaungic branch.

The following eight Khasian-Palaungic isoglosses have been identified by Sidwell (2018: 32).

Sidwell (2018: 23) lists the following Khasian lexical innovations (i.e., defining lexical forms) that are found exclusively in the Khasian branch, but not in other Austroasiatic branches).

Proto-Khasian and Proto-Pnar-Khasi-Lyngngam have been reconstructed by Paul Sidwell (2018). Proto-Khasian is estimated to have originated about 2,000-2,500 years ago, with War splitting from other Khasian linguistic varieties about 1,500 years ago (Sidwell 2018: 20).

Proto-Khasian morphology includes a causative *pN- prefix and verbalizing *-r- infix (Sidwell 2018: 66-67).

The following reconstructed paradigmatic and closed class morphemes in Proto-Khasian are from Sidwell (2018: 51-67).

Personal pronouns

Demonstratives

• *ni 'proximal'
• *tu 'mesiodistal'
• *taj 'distal (visible)'
• *te 'mesioproximal'
• *tɛ 'distal (non-visible)'

Negators

• *ʔǝm 'not'
• *ham 'do not'
• *ta 'not'

Prepositions/case markers

• *ha 'locative/oblique'
• *ʤɔŋ 'to possess'
• *da 'instrumental'
• *ba (?) 'and/with'
• *tV 'oblique'

Tense/aspect morphemes

• *la:j 'to go'
• *dɛp 'finish'
• *diʔ 'to go'
• *daː 'have'
• *ʤuʔ 'same'

Morphological affixes

• *pN- 'prefix'
• *-r- 'verbalizer'

Numerals

Sidwell (2018) lists the following sound changes from Pre-Khasian (i.e., the ancestral stage of Khasian that preceded Proto-Khasian) to Proto-Khasian.

• Pre-Khasian *b- > *p-, *ɓ- > *b- chain shift
  • Proto-Austroasiatic *b- > proto-Khasian *p-
  • Proto-Austroasiatic *ɓ- > proto-Khasian *b-
• Pre-Khasian *d- > *t-, * ɗ- > *d- chain shift
  • Proto-Austroasiatic *d- > proto-Khasian *t-
  • Proto-Austroasiatic *ɗ- > proto-Khasian *d-
• Pre-Khasian *-l > *-n/*-Ø
• Pre-Khasian *-h > *-s > *-t
• Pre-Khasian *-ʔ > *-Ø >, *-k > *-ʔ chain shift
• Pre-Khasian *g- > *k-

• List of Proto-Khasian reconstructions (Wiktionary)

• Sidwell, Paul. 2011. Proto-Khasian and Khasi-Palaungic. Journal of the South East Asia linguistics society Archived 2016-07-23 at the Wayback Machine, Vol. 4.2, pages 144-168, December 2011.
• Sidwell, Paul. 2011b. Proto-Khasian (or -War-Khasi); reconstruction and classification. Presented at SEALS 21, Kasetsart University, Bangkok, Thailand.
• Sidwell, Paul. 2018. The Khasian Languages: Classification, Reconstruction, and Comparative Lexicon. Languages of the World 58. Munich: Lincom Europa. ISBN 9783862889143

• Khasian Languages Project (by Paul Sidwell)