Vocabulary, Idioms, Proverbs and Lexical Usage
The vocabulary domain checks three things at once: whether you know the word, whether you know its register, and whether you can use it inside a fixed expression without translating it literally.
Layers of the lexicon
- তৎসম (direct Sanskrit): সূৰ্য, অগ্নি, পৰীক্ষা - formal and literary.
- অসমীয়া/তদ্ভৱ (native): ৰদ, জোন, পানী - the ordinary spoken layer.
- Borrowings: কিতাপ, দোৱাত (Arabic–Persian), চাহ, স্কুল, টেবুল (English). These are naturalised and need no gloss.
Synonyms usually differ in register, not meaning: দেখা/দৰ্শন, কোৱা/কথন, খোৱা/ভোজন. A report uses দৰ্শন; a letter to a friend uses দেখা.
Idioms (বাগধাৰা)
An idiom has one fixed figurative meaning; changing a word destroys it.
- চকুত ধূলি দিয়া - to deceive someone.
- আঙুলিৰ মূৰত নচুৱা - to make someone dance to your tune.
- শিঙত তেল দিয়া - to flatter, to coax.
- গৰুৰ আগত বীণ বজোৱা - to waste good advice on someone unable to use it.
Proverbs (ফকৰা-যোজনা)
Proverbs are complete sentences carrying a general truth: যেনে ৰজা তেনে প্ৰজা. Place one at the close of an argument, not in every second line.
Worked example
মন্ত্ৰীজনে শিঙত তেল দি ৰাইজক সন্তুষ্ট কৰিব বিচাৰিলে. The literal reading (rubbing oil on horns) is absurd; idiomatically, the minister tried to please the crowd with flattery. The verb বিচাৰিলে keeps the idiom intact; writing তেলেৰে শিং মালিছিলে would destroy it.
Traps
- Translating an English idiom word for word instead of choosing an Assamese one.
- Using তই with an elder or a stranger; formal writing needs আপুনি.
- Mixing তৎসম and colloquial forms in the same paragraph.
- Substituting a near-synonym inside a বাগধাৰা.