🌿 Khasi (Ka Ktien Khasi) Language Library

A standard-library-style Python package, NLP toolkit, and computational linguistics engine for the Khasi language (Ka Ktien Khasi) — an Austroasiatic (Mon-Khmer) language spoken by over 1.6 million people in the pine-covered hills of Meghalaya, Northeast India and adjacent borderlands.

Khasi is globally renowned for its distinct grammatical features, rich prefix morphology, and the deep cultural heritage of the world's largest surviving matrilineal society.

🌟 Key Capabilities (Version 1.3.0 Milestone Expansion)

1. 🗣️ Dedicated Dialect Sub-Lexicons (khasi.dialects / khasi.lexicon.dialects):
   • 5,500+ words for Pnar / Synteng (Jaiñtia Hills: Jowai, Shangpung) with authentic palatal shifts (sh $\rightarrow$ ch, sng $\rightarrow$ sñ), vowel shifts (ie $\rightarrow$ u/e, ei $\rightarrow$ ai), and lexical cognates (bru, ïung, maya, bei, pa, chaat, lai).
   • 5,300+ words for War Khasi (Southern Slopes & Shella) with archaic Mon-Khmer root preservation (brou, ïeng, am, ba, da, hie, van, thaw).
   • 1,250+ words for Bhoi Khasi (Ri-Bhoi) and 1,250+ words for Maram Khasi (West Khasi Hills).
   • Unified cross-dialect bidirectional translation (translate_dialect), cognate discovery (find_cognates), and dialect statistics (get_dialect_statistics).
2. 🎙️ Audio Waveform Dataset for ASR & TTS (khasi.audio_dataset / khasi.voice.dataset):
   • 252 native speech recordings in standard 16,000 Hz, 16-bit Mono Linear PCM WAV format on disk.
   • 187 practical conversational phrases paired with phrase_001.wav through phrase_187.wav.
   • 65 traditional chanted proverbs paired with proverb_001.wav through proverb_065.wav.
   • Comprehensive multi-format dataset manifests (audio_manifest.json, audio_manifest.jsonl) with train/validation/test splits, speaker profiles (Female SPK_KHA_F01, Male SPK_KHA_M01), and 1-click exporters for Hugging Face Audio Datasets and Mozilla Common Voice TSV.
3. 📜 Aligned Parallel Corpora & MT Benchmarks (khasi.parallel_corpus / khasi.corpus):
   • Sentence-by-sentence parallel alignment between Khasi and English across public domain masterworks:
     • Ka Niam Jong Ki Khasi (U Sib Charan Roy, 1919) — Indigenous theology, ethics, sacred groves, and covenant philosophy.
     • Ka Jingiaid U Pilgrim (The Pilgrim's Progress in Khasi, John Bunyan / Thomas Jones / Dr. John Roberts / Mondon Bareh) — Foundational literary prose.
     • Ki Dienjat Jong Ki Longshwa & Kot Pule — Classic folklore (Lum Diengiei, Lum Sohpetbneng, Manik Raitong, U Thlen, Ka Sngi bad u Bnai).
   • Standard Bitext exports (train.kha, train.en, test.kha, test.en), TMX 1.4b Translation Memory XML, and built-in BLEU score calculation toolkit for Machine Translation evaluation.
4. 📚 300,000+ Morphological Word Forms (khasi.lexicon.morphology):
   • Dynamic inflectional and derivational engine generating extensive verbal TAM forms, nominalizations (jing-), causatives (pyn-), agentives (nong-), experientials (sngew-), and prepositional case declensions across noun gender articles (u, ka, i, ki).
5. 📖 105,225+ Trilingual Lexicon & Dictionary (khasi.lexicon):
   • Massive 105,225+ Khasi-English-Hindi lexical database enriched with verified modern terminology: Technology & AI, Government & Law, Jobs & Banking, Education & Science, Crime & Public Safety, Ethnomedicinal Botany, Highland Wildlife, Traditional Cuisine, Indigenous Rituals, and Local Deities.
6. 💬 187 Practical Conversational Phrases (khasi.phrases):
   • Comprehensive situational phrasebook covering 15 life categories: Greetings, Courtesy, Directions & Travel, Market (Iewduh) Shopping, Dining & Tea Stalls (Dukan Sha), Home Hospitality, Parenting & Children, School, Office & Business, Health & Emergencies, Police & Cyber Safety, Technology & WiFi, Highland Weather, and Festive Blessings.
7. 📜 65 Authentic Proverbs & 32 Traditional Riddles (khasi.proverbs, khasi.riddles):
   • Moral philosophy proverbs (Ki Ktien Tymmen / Phawar) with literal translation, contextual meaning, and Hindi translation.
   • Traditional mountain riddles (Ki Jingkyntip) with cultural explanations.
8. 🎵 Khasi Music, Song Lyrics & Organology (khasi.music, khasi.songs):
   • 12 traditional instruments (Duitara, Tangmuri, Ksing Shynrang, Ksing Kynthei, Nakra, Padiah, Maryngod, Mieng, Besli, Shyngwiang, Kynshaw, Symphiah).
   • 8 authentic folk songs, thanksgiving chants, and laments complete with full Khasi verses and English translations (Phawar Shad Suk Mynsiem, Phawar Iasiat Khnam, Phawar Behdeiñkhlam, Ka Sur U Sier Lapalang, Ka Sur Manik Raitong, Ka Jingrwai Thiah Khunlung, Ka Jingrwai U Hynniewtrep, Ka Sur Tirot Sing).
   • Registry of legendary balladeers (Bah Kerios Wahlang, Dr. Helen Giri, Lou Majaw, Skendrowell Syiemlieh, Da-Thymmei, Soulmate).
9. ⚡ Indigenous Rituals & Divination (khasi.rituals):
   • Comprehensive documentation of 10+ core ceremonial practices: egg divination (Ka Shat Pylleng), thunder omen interpretation (Ka Khan Pyrthat), cock mediator sacrifice (U Syiar Ryngkew), royal goat sacrifice (Ka Pomblang Nongkrem), clan megalithic bone internment (Ka Thep Mawbah), naming dedication (Ka Jer Ka Thoh), matrilocal marriage covenant (Ka Shongkurim), village cleansing (Ka Kñia Shnong), genealogical invocation (Ka Tangsnoing), and serpent curse expiation (Ka Pyllait Thlen).
10. 🏔️ Khasi Pantheon & Territorial Deities (khasi.deities):
    • Complete indigenous theological registry: Supreme Creator (U Blei Nongbuh Nongthaw), Mother Earth (Ka Meiramew), mountain ruler (U Lei Shyllong), primal maternal intercessor (U Suidnia), primal matriarch (Ka Iawbei), primal father (U Thawlang), forest guardians (U Ryngkew U Basa / Labasa), rock sovereign (U Leisymper), river goddess (Ka Kupli), righteous wealth deity (U Lei Longspah), and Pnar guardian (U Blai Synteng).
11. 🗿 Sacred Sites, Megaliths & Sacred Groves (khasi.sacred_sites):
    • Prehistoric megalith complexes (Ki Mawbynna Nartiang with the world's tallest 8.3m menhir), 800-year-old virgin cloud forests (Law Kyntang Mawphlang), mythological summits (Lum Sohpetbneng, Lum Shillong), ceremonial mud pools (Ka Aitnar in Jowai), and sacred limestone cave sanctuaries (Krem Mawmluh).
12. 🌿 Ethnomedicinal Botany & Biodiversity (khasi.botany):
    • 30+ verified Khasi plants, wild fruits, and healing herbs with binomial scientific names, families, and indigenous medicinal applications (Nepenthes khasiana, Prunus nepalensis, Myrica esculenta, Elaeagnus latifolia, Houttuynia cordata, Centella asiatica, Clerodendrum colebrookianum, Pinus kesiya, Ficus elastica, Curcuma longa var. Lakadong, etc.).
13. 🐾 Highland Wildlife & Fauna (khasi.wildlife):
    • 22+ native wildlife species with scientific names and folklore context (Neofelis nebulosa, Panthera tigris, Rusa unicolor, Ursus thibetanus, Buceros bicornis, Tor putitora, Python bivittatus, Bufoides meghalayanus, Samia cynthia ricini, etc.).
14. 🍲 Traditional Gastronomy & Food Culture (khasi.cuisine):
    • 17 traditional culinary entries (Jadoh, Dohkhlieh, Dohneiiong, Tungrymbai, Ja Stem, Pumaloi, Pukhlein, Tungtap, Kwai bad Tympew, Sha Saw, Khiew Ranei, Saraw).
15. 🏞️ Geography, Topography & Landscapes (khasi.geography):
    • 27 documented sites: crystal rivers (Wah Umngot, Wah Umiam), towering waterfalls (Kshaid Nohkalikai, Dainthlen), limestone caves (Krem Liat Prah, Krem Puri), living root bridges (Jingkieng Jri Nongriat), and traditional Syiemships (Hima Khyrim, Hima Mylliem, Hima Sohra, Hima Nongkhlaw).
16. 👥 Matrilineal Kinship, Clans & Idioms (khasi.kinship, khasi.clans, khasi.idioms):
    • 45+ kinship terms, clan exogamy taboos (Sang), and ultimogeniture inheritance by Ka Khadduh.
    • 29 documented Khasi and Pnar clans (Syiem, Lyngdoh, Nongrum, Wahlang, Kharbangar, Dkhar, Rymbai, Laloo, Tham, Bareh, etc.).
    • 24 coupled rhyming idioms (Ki Ktien Kynnoh) and parables (Ki Pharshi).
17. 📚 Master Khasi Bibliography & Corpus Catalogue (khasi.catalogue):
    • Structured digital catalogue of 344 definitive Khasi literary works, historical monographs, grammatical treatises, and dictionaries across 8 core genres with queryable metadata for NLP research and corpus linguistics.
18. 📂 Raw Digital Sources Archive (data/raw_sources/):
    • Over 400,000 characters of transcribed raw text extracted from digitized books, poetry compilations, and ritual treatises across songs (songs/), rituals (rituals/), deities (deities/), and sacred sites (sacred_sites/).

🚀 Installation

# Install directly from repository
pip install .

# Or install in editable mode for development
pip install -e .

⚡ Quick Start

import khasi

# 1. Universal Multi-Dialect Translation
res = khasi.translate("How are you?")
print(res.text)  # "Kumno phi long?"

# Dialect variation (Pnar / Jaintia)
res_pnar = khasi.translate("I love you", dialect="pnar")
print(res_pnar.text)  # "Nga maya ïa phi."

# 2. Dictionary & Lexical Lookup (105,000+ words)
entry = khasi.lookup("khublei")
print(entry["english"])  # "hello / thank you / greetings"

tech_entry = khasi.lookup("kompiwter")
print(tech_entry["english"])  # "computer"

# 3. Traditional Organology & Musical Instruments
duitara = khasi.instruments.get("duitara")
print(duitara["description"])
# "The four-stringed plucked folk lute, revered as the living archive..."

# 4. Ethnomedicinal Botany & Scientific Names
sohiong = khasi.plants.get("sohiong")
print(sohiong["scientific_name"])  # "Prunus nepalensis"
print(sohiong["family"])           # "Rosaceae"

# 5. Native Wildlife
leopard = khasi.wildlife.get("khla-lyngngoh")
print(leopard["scientific_name"])  # "Neofelis nebulosa"
print(leopard["status"])           # "State Animal of Meghalaya"

# 6. Traditional Cuisine & Utensils
jadoh = khasi.dishes.get("jadoh")
print(jadoh["description"])  # "The crown jewel of Khasi gastronomy..."

# 7. Sacred Geography & Landscapes
cave = khasi.places.get("Mawmluh")
print(cave["significance"])  # "Global geological type-locality for the 'Meghalayan Age'..."

# 8. Matrilineal Clans & Coupled Idioms
lyngdoh_clan = khasi.clans.get("lyngdoh")
print(lyngdoh_clan["category"])  # "Priestly / Administrative Clan"

idiom = khasi.idioms.get("horkit")
print(idiom["meaning"])  # "Resolutely / through thick and thin..."

# 9. Proverbs & Riddles
proverb = khasi.proverbs.random()
print(f"\"{proverb['khasi']}\" - {proverb['meaning']}")

riddle = khasi.riddles.random()
print(f"Riddle: {riddle['riddle']} -> Solution: {riddle['solution']}")

# 10. Master Bibliography Catalogue (344 Works)
print(khasi.catalogue.summary())
# {'total_works': 344, 'genres': {'Original Khasi literature': 165, ...}}

# 11. Dedicated Dialect Sub-Lexicons & Cognate Mapping (13,000+ entries)
print(khasi.dialects.cognates("briew"))
# {'sohra': 'briew', 'pnar': 'bru', 'war': 'brou', 'bhoi': 'briu', 'maram': 'briu'}

pnar_translated = khasi.dialects.translate("U briew u ieit ia ka mei bad u kpa ha ïing.", "sohra", "pnar")
print(pnar_translated)
# "U bru u maya ia ka bei bad u pa ha ïung."

war_translated = khasi.dialects.translate("U briew u leit sha ïing ban bam ja bad dih um.", "sohra", "war")
print(war_translated)
# "U brou u hie sa ïeng ban bam ba bad dih am."

# 12. Audio Waveform Dataset (252 Waveforms for ASR/TTS Pipelines)
audio_item = khasi.audio_dataset.get_item("phrase_001")
print(audio_item["khasi_text"], audio_item["sample_rate"])
# "Khublei!" 16000

# Export dataset directly to Hugging Face or Common Voice format
khasi.audio_dataset.export_huggingface_format("dataset_audio.jsonl")
khasi.audio_dataset.export_common_voice_tsv("common_voice_khasi.tsv")

# 13. Aligned Parallel Corpora & MT Evaluation (BLEU)
pairs = khasi.parallel_corpus.get_pairs()
print(f"Loaded {len(pairs)} aligned Khasi-English sentence pairs.")
sample_kh, sample_en = pairs[0]
print(f"Kha: {sample_kh}\nEng: {sample_en}")

# Compute BLEU baseline for machine translation hypotheses
bleu_results = khasi.parallel_corpus.compute_bleu(
    hypotheses=["U briew u wan sha kane ka pyrthei ban kamai ïa ka Hok."],
    references=["U briew u wan sha kane ka pyrthei tang ban kamai ïa ka Hok."]
)
print(f"Sentence BLEU: {bleu_results['bleu']}%")

🖥️ Command Line Interface (CLI)

The package provides a built-in interactive CLI:

# Look up word
khasi lookup khublei

# Translate phrase
khasi translate "Where is the road to Sohra?" --dialect sohra

# Conjugate verb
khasi conjugate wan --tense past --pronoun u

# Show random proverb
khasi proverb

# Show random riddle
khasi riddle

# Show library statistics
khasi stats

🧪 Testing

# Run unit tests
python -m unittest discover -s tests

📄 License & Attribution

Distributed under the MIT License. Created and maintained by Akshat Singh Bisht (2026). Contributions welcome via GitHub issues and pull requests.