Ahom Script - Translation Efforts

Translation Efforts

Unfortunately, fabricated samples of the Ahom script delayed translation of legitimate Ahom texts. Several publications were created based on the fabricated samples, leading to incorrect grammatical analysis and dictionary resources that acted as a barrier to future researchers. A later translation of Ahom Buranji, a major Ahom script was provided by Golap Chandra Barua, the same man responsible for fabricating samples of translated Ahom script. It was discovered years later, by Professor Prasert na Nagara, that the translation was unreliable. Despite theses difficulties, along with the lack of native speakers and specific text, studies in Ahom have prevailed, and certain available scripts have been translated and transliterated, using known words, characters and context.

The attempt to revitalize the Ahom culture has encouraged linguists to take interest again in translating Ahom texts. However, main attempts to translate text into Ahom merely rewrites Assamese into the Ahom script, without care for the underlying grammar. The authors of Tai Ahoms and the Stars believe that to properly revive this script, a Tai language must be chosen, Ahom must be recreated from that, tones must be chosen, based on existing Tai languages, and tones must be expressed in the new writing, or "neo-Ahom".