Amrita Collected Papers by A M Ghatage

SR No.: 006968
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: Jitendra B Shah
Publisher: Kasturbhai Lalbhai Smarak Nidhi Ahmedabad
Total Pages: 530
Language: English
Classification: Book_English
File Size: 10 MB

Page 23

Amrita
The limitations on their occurrences are also clear. Initial ț and y are rare or do not exist. There is free variation between n and ņ. Both ń and ñ have no phonemic status and can be easily assigned to n.
The germinate consonants can be considered as clusters along with clusters of unaspirated and aspirated stops and clusters of nasals and the homorganic consonants. Their examples are : (1) CC :
pakka, khagga, bhiccu, jajjariāu, phutta, boddia, rattadī, niddae, uppari, nibbalu, suvanna, annu, sammānei, dhollā, parassu, nivvahai. There are no germinates of h, r and y. (2) CCH
lakkhu, nigghina, vacchahe, majjhahe, ditthi, daddhā, patthari, muddha, tadapphadai, abbhuddharanu. (3) NC :
vanka, sangara, sankhaha, 'sandha, ghanghalai, kañcana; kuñjaru, ghuntehī, ganthi, khandai, pavasanteņa, panthia, sundara, sandhihi, campaya, vilambu, kumbhai.
As there is no contrast between a cluster of an aspirated stop and an unaspirated stop after a simple stop it is possible to consider them as germinates of aspirated stops, which is also the practice of some writing systems current in the Mss. In fact a difference of writing in kkh and khkh has no linguistic significance. Phonologically speaking it may lead to greater economy to favour the second solution and the same may be true of using the solution of a consonantal cluster of a nasal stop and a homorganic stop following it in place of using the phoneme of anusvāra in place of the nasal. Both these linguistically inferior methods are, however, favoured by the Middle Indo-Aryan philologists.
The case of the other aspirated consonants like the nasal n and m or the lateral l is interesting in another direction. The initial clusters like lh or mh or nh do not contrast with the medial Ilh or mmh or nnh and can be considered as the same phonemes and in view of their clustering habits may be considered as aspirated unit phonemes and should be added to the list above as
nh mh lh.
This will make them exactly parallel to the other aspirates like initial