Assamese Monosyllabic words

CCV /tri/ ‘three’

CCCV /stri/ ‘wife, woman’

CVCC /bans/ ‘deprive’

ccvc /sthan/ ‘place’ /brom/ ‘illusion’

Assamese disyllabic words

syllablestructureexamples

vlcv / i t a / ‘ b r i c k ’

vlcvc / o z a n / ‘ u n k n o w n ’

VC lev / o n t o / ‘ e n d ’

cvlcv / p a n i / ‘ w a t e r ’

ccvc1cv / s t o b d o / ‘ s t i l l ’

VC 1ccv / o s t r o / ‘ w e a p o n ’

cvc1cv / s i n t a / ‘ w o r r y ’

VC 1cvc / o r p o n / ‘ g i v i n g ’

cvc1cvc / d o r p o n / ‘ m i r r o r ’

cvc1ccvc / h o i j g r o h / ‘ c o l l e c t i o n ’

cv 1 cvc / b i h a l / ‘ h u g e ’

ccv1cv / k r i j a / ‘ a c t i o n ’

ccv1cvc / p r o j a h / ‘ e f f o r t ’

cvc 1 cv / n i d r a / ‘ s l e e p ’ c

vc 1 ccv / s o n d r o / ‘ m o o n ’

cccv1cv / s p r i h a / ‘ d e s i r e ’

4.3.2.3 Polysyllabic Words

Thepermissible syllable structure of some randomly chosen polysyll

abic
words are shown in the table below:

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Table 6 Assamese polysyllabic words syllabic structure examples v 1 cvcl cv /arokkhi/ ‘security’ cv 1
cvl cv /zodola/ ‘shabby’ cv 1 cvl cv 1 cv /zilikibo/ ‘will shine’ cvc 1 cvcl cv /hanniddo/ ‘company’ cvc 1
cvl cv 1 cv /ksrketmva/ ‘squirrel’ v 1 cvcl cv 1 cv /anondito/ ‘happy’ CV I CV I CCV1 cvc /kalokromot/
‘in course of time’ cvc 1 ccvl cv /boktrita/ ‘speech’ CVICVI cv; 1 1 i /heuzija/ ‘green’ cv 1 cvl cv 1 cvl cv
/suwapatoni/ ‘garbage area’

4.3.2.4 Vowel Harmony The syllable structure of monomorphemic words in Assamese exhibits a
vowel harmony resulting from the non-toleration of /e, o, u/ in the preceding open syllables in intra-
word positions in disyllabic and polysyllabic words by /i, u/ nuclear syllables with a simple onset. The
following examples illustrate this discovery:

/zoldi/‘if /holti/‘a pure woman’ /khu!ri/ ‘club-footed (female)’ /zoldu/‘a name’ /belli/‘sun’ ' /surulni/
‘thief (female)’ /kolrun/ ‘tragic’ /golrib/ ‘poor’ /bullim/ ‘I shall walk’ /kelsu/ ‘earthworm’ /holru/
‘small’

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However,vowelharmonydoesnotoperatewhentheprecedingsyllablei
sa

closedone,forinstance,/onItim/‘last’.