Collected Articles Of LA Schwarzschild On Indo Aryan 1953 1979

Author(s): Royce Wiles
Publisher: Australian National University

Page 94

104
Journal of the American Oriental Society, 98.1 (1972)
homophonous clash also accounts for the comparative rasity of cethai "to strive' in Middie Indo-Aryan and its atanty survival in the modern languages.
The neutralization of the opposition between palstal and dental consonants can secount for a number of other irregular forms that have come to notice since Pischel's grammar was published. A series of such forme have been quoted by Laders in his study of eastern linguistic fes
tures in P
ji> di in Aloka's Rock Ediet X at Kalsi palitidis (Dhaali, Jaugada politidis),
the Pali name of King Prusensjit, Pasenadi Pali vidita (ita) 'conquered", Pali palissadissati<palissajissati (pari-maj- 'to em brace").
There is also a possible example from the Delindmandla matran mandiram chain' (8.116, 6.141).
H. Liders, op. cit., pp. 100 E. H. C. Bhayani, Studies in Hemachandra's Delindma ald, Benares 1966, p. 45.
Other examples which could be quoted in this con
The hypothesis of a limited neutralisation of opposi tion between dentals and palatals before ( in the eastern dialects seems thus confirmed. It was however a strictly limited neutralisation, and all the apparent wider exten sions of such a development are due to sporadic changes, contamination, assimilation and dissimilation. Basically, despite certain phonetic differences, the phonemin aystems of the Middle Indo-Aryan dialects appears to have been. very stable and remarkably uniform. L. A. BowwARESCHILD THE AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY
nestion involve the supposed change of to toe, and deto (vis ty, dy). This has been previously discussed (7408 76, 1906, p. 111). The Pall form daddallati (Lüders, op. cit., p. 100 a.) has not been taken into account in this discussion, nor -ddara < jeara (?) (Gandhari Dharmapads). The dificulties connected with these words have been studied by J. Brough, The Gandhart Dharmapada, London 1962, p. 186.
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INITIAL RETROFLEX CONSONANTS IN MIDDLE INDO-ARYAN
L. A. SCHWAR SCHILD THE AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY
ALREADY IN THE VERY EARLY DAYS OF INDIAN LINGUISTICS the retroflex consonants attracted at tention. Retroflex consonants are absent from the other old Indo-European languages, and very early writers therefore thought of these sounds as typically Indian. Thus F. Bopp, writing in 1868 says: "Diese Buchstaben bezeichnen eine besondere Art von T-Lauten welche dem Indischen Organ eigenthümlich ist."
Discussion has been centered mainly on the problem of the origin of the retroflex consonants: some writers believe that the retroflex consonants are the result of spontaneous phonetic develop ments, while others, particularly in recent years have favoured the theory of Dravidian influence But it is not only the origin of the retroflex phonemes that is of interest, but also their distribu
tion. There are two basic rules delimiting the position of retroflex consonants in Vedic and Clasaical Sanskrit: retroflex consonants are not usually found:
It is well known that in Sanskrit, apart from a few exceptional cases, retroflex plosives do not occur initially except in a few borrowed words. These words are attested mainly in late texts - and particularly in lexicographical works; some have clearly come into Sanskrit via Middle IndoAryan. They fall into the usual loan-word cat
1. in the initial position,
2. In the immediate vicinity of a vocalic or egories, a high proportion of them being names consonantal r.
of fauna and flora, as has been shown by A. Master. Most of these words are patent loans and Initial retroflex - does not occur in any or have other features that are unusual in Sanskrit, dinary Sanskrit word, though there are some arquite apart from the retroflex initial: such features
tificially coined grammatical technical terms sit and soul; there is also a rare term so which is found with a vast variety of meanings in lexical
works.
include the prevalence of intramorphemie nasalplosive clusters, eg, -, -, -mb-. One could hardly expect to find any inherited Sanskrit word beginning with a dental consonant that would form minimal pairs contrasting with loan-words like dhenika a bird, dundubha water-snake," dimba 'child, dambara 'a loud noise. This means
that there are only very few and obscure instances of any possibility of contrast between retroflex and dental plosives in the initial position. It
RETROPLEX PLOSIVES Retroflex plosives do not occur initially in
Vedic texts. The earliest example is probably
ditore following rapidly (7), climbing nimbly (7), which is found in the Salapatha-Brühmana (IV.5.5.5). A form fela occurs in the Hiranyakell Grhya-siltra (II.7.2.) but the passage is ob scure and the meaning remains quite uncertain: moreover in a parallel verse in the Apastamba Mantra-patha the reading is teks, not feka (II. 16.8). Winternite in his edition states it may be doubted whether it will ever be possible to restore the text so as to bring out a satisfactory meaning. In fact I do not believe that those who used these charms to cure children's diseases... knew the actual meaning of the words which they recited. There is an equally uncertain word tra in the Jaimilya-Upanisad-Brühmapa.
F. Bopp, Kritische Grammatik der Sanskrita Sprute in kürer Fassung. (Berlin, 1868), p. 19.
H. W. Balley, "Arya III," BSOAS 24, p. 480. For earlier opinions see J. Wackernagel, Altindische Gram melik, Vol. I (Göttingen 1896), pp. 165.
* M. Emeneau, "India as a Linguistic Area," Lan page 32, (1966).
F. B. J. Kuiper, "The Genesis of a Linguistic Ares, 11JX (1987), pp. 81-102 and "The Sanskrit Nom. Sing pl, bid., pp. 100-125
M. Winternitz, The Mantrapha or the Prayer Book of the Apartamina (Oxford, 1897), pp. xxv-xx
These categories are defined in an important article by F. B. J. Kulper, "Rigvedie Loanwords," Studia In dologies (Festschrift Kirfel), (Bonn, 1955), pp. 137 ft.
A. Master, "Initial Cerebrals in Indoaryan, P. K. Gode Commemoration Volume, (Poona, 1960), pp. 1-10.
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