The Khasi Alphabet

The Khasi Alphabet

Dawki, Meghalaya

There are 23 letters in the Khasi alphabet. In 1841 a Welsh missionary by the name of Thomas Jones used the Latin alphabet to write in Khasi, which is still used by the Khasi populace. The following are the Khasi alphabet which is similar to the English, however a few letters are not used in the Khasi language. 

A B K D E G NG H I Ï  J L M N Ñ O P R S T U W Y

a b k d e g ng h i ï j l m n ñ o p r s t u w y

The vowel sounds and consonant sounds in Khasi are unique as compared to the English language. 

Vowels

a =  similar to the long vowel sound in Car

e = similar to the long vowel sound in Play

i = similar to the long vowel sound in Bee

ï = similar to the sound in Yeast

o = similar to the sound in Saw

u = similar to the long vowel sound in Beautiful

Consonants

g = it is pronounced "eg"

ng = similar to the sound in Song

h = it is pronounced "esh"

ñ = similar to the "enya" sound