The Tenrái alphabet was created by Judah Kapulare of Umbir in Meghalaya to write Khasi, a Khasi-Palaungic language spoken mainly in Meghalaya state in the northeast of India. The main reason for creating it is to write and document poetry and phawár (traditional chanting). The name Tenrái comes from the Khasi word tynrai (roots).
The letters are simple in nature and aesthetically bound, and it uses the Latin, Cyrillic and even Greek scripts in the uppercase and some in the lowercase. In addition the use of diacritics contributes to its own uniqueness.
Download an alphabet chart for Tenrái
Download a font for Tenrái
Ïa ki bynrëw baroh la kha laitlüid bad ki ïaryngkat ha ka burom bad ki hok. Haki la bsiap da ka bór pyrkhat bad ka jingïatiplem bad ha ka mynsëm jingsngew shipara ki dei ban ïatrei bynrap lang.
(Jinis 1: Ka jingpynbna-ïár satlak ïaki hok longbrëw manbrëw)
jaː ki bɨnreʊ baːrɔʔ lakʰaː lacloc bat ki jaːrɨŋkat haka burɔm bat ki hɔk. hakiː la bsjap daka bɔːr pɨrkʰat bat ka dʒɪŋjatɪplɛm bat haka mɨnseːm dʒɨŋsŋɛʊ ʃiparaː ki dɛːɪ ban jatrɛːɪ bɨnrap laŋ
(dʒinɪs banɨŋkɔŋ dʒɔŋ kaː dʒɨŋpɨnbnaː-jaːr satlak jaki hɔk lɔŋbreʊ manbreʊ)
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
(Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights)
Jarjar u im jarjar u jah,
Hapoh raieh raidam;
Jarjar ha jingtep ái un thiah,
Hapoh u phlang jyrngam.
Quietly he lives, quietly he dies,
Amidst the wilderness;
Quietly on the grave let him rest,
Beneath a lush full green grass.
Taken from the poem "U Phlang Jyrngam" by the poet Soso Thám
For more information, please contact at judahkapu[at]gmail[dot]com
Information about Khasi | Numbers | Tower of Babel
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