kha ISO 639
Khasi Autonyms
Khasi
Visualizations
A language of India
- ISO 639
- kha
- Alternate Names
- Kahasi, Kassi, Khasa, Khashi, Khasiyas, Khuchia
- Autonym
- Khasi
- Population
- 1,050,000 in India (2011 census).
- Location
- Assam state: Cachar, Kamrup, Lakhimpur, Nagaon, and North Cachar Hills districts; Meghalaya state: Jaintia Hills, and East and West Khasi Hills districts; Manipur, Tripura, and West Bengal states.
- Language Maps
- India, Map 5, Northeastern Bangladesh
- Language Status
- 2 (Provincial). Statutory provincial language in Meghalaya State (1950, Constitution, Articles 345–347 inclusive), unscheduled language.
- Classification
- Austro-Asiatic, Mon-Khmer, Northern Mon-Khmer, Khasian
- Dialects
- Bhoi-Khasi, Khasi (Cherrapunji, Sohra), Khynrium, War. Bhoi Khasi in East Khasi Hills, Nongpoh block, and Nonglung in East Khasi Hills, Umksning block are very different from standard Khasi, with different word order. Many varieties have only partial mutual inherent intelligibility. War dialect is separate from War-Jaintia [aml]. Cherrapunji (Sohra) is the standard. Lexical similarity: 75% between War dialect and standard Khasi.
- Typology
- SVO.
- Language Use
- Government, courts, mass media in Meghalaya. Used as L2 by Biate [biu], Sakachep [sch], War-Jaintia [aml].
- Language Development
- Literacy rate in L2: 63% in Meghalaya (2001 census). Taught in primary and secondary schools through grade 5 and as subject thereafter in Meghalaya state. Literature. Radio. TV. Dictionary. Grammar. Bible: 1891–2016.
- Writing
- Bengali (Bangla) script [Beng], no longer in use. Latin script [Latn], used since about 1842.
- Other Comments
- Christian, Hindu, Muslim.
- Language Resources
- OLAC resources in and about Khasi
Also Spoken in
- Location
- Sylhet division: Brahman Bazar enclave south of Sylhet town, Jaintiapur north border enclave; Barlekha area southwest to Kamalpur.
- Language Status
- 6b (Threatened)
- Language Use
- Also use Bengali [ben]. Used as L2 by War-Jaintia [aml].
- Other Comments
- The Lyngngam [lyg], Pnar [pbv], and War-Jaintia [aml] of Bangladesh identify ethnically with the Khasi. View other languages of Bangladesh
Language Name
Khasi
User Population
Very few speakers.
