Arddhmagdhi Grammar

Author(s): P L Vaidya
Publisher: Modern Book Depot

Page 22

A MANUAL OF
gerna ), EFHET (JFHETT, 17H37 from f), steht (oposta, 3779277, from 1 ).
C. CONJUNCT CONSONANTS 34. The Amg. language, like other Prakrits, does not allow a conjunct consonant at the beginning of the word. There are a few exceptions to this rule when a nasal with the aspirate is allowed to stand so, as in my (FI), etfazt ( FITA), E ( STEH ). To tell the truth one is not a real conjunct but only an aspirated nasal for which no special symbol was introduced in the Sanskrit alphabet. Whenever, therefore, a Sanskrit word commences with a conjunct consonant, one of the two members of the conjunct is dropped. , The loss of this member is sometimes compensated by some change in the remaining consonant. For instance; au (STT) where
is dropped and the remaining er is changed to a; so also ator (fror), 507 or eu ( 707 ), berart ( Friedrari), ( Fort), afa or 97H ( FFH, Vedic FATH), 10 (7), are (PAN), ( are 17 orra), 377 (25), ATO (FT), per ( Fam ), etc. There is, however, another method of avoiding a conjunct at the commencement of a word, known to philologists as Prothesis. By this a vowel is affixed to the conjunct so that it ceases to be initial as in grafi ( Eft). Initial conjunct is also avoided by Anaptyxis, Fathit, for which see $39 below.
35. In the middle of a word, Amg., like other Prakrits, avoids a union of two consonants of different classes, and makes an attempt to reduce them to the same class; in other words, one member of a conjunct assimilates the other. The grammarians explain this phenomenon thus--one member of the conjunct is dropped and the remaining member is then doubled. Thus we have 7 ( 19 ), TOTT ( ), PET (TT), 379 (STT) etc.