Grammar Of Apabhramsa

Author(s): Madhusudan Mishra
Publisher: Vidyanidhi Prakashan

Page 26

15
Historical Apabhramsa Phonology
t is original as well as secondary. Often the r sound in the surrounding has been lost, cerebralising t: kệta (done) → kața, etc. It is also voiced to d, which appears as flap sound s in Hindi : ghoțaka-ghoďaa-gbodā Hindi IST. țh also is voiced to ạh, which results as the flap sound șh in Hindi : pathati (reads) →padha-i, Hindi 9671. d, coming from t and d, also without any phonetics jutification, changes intor and 1, specially in the numerals. The nasal n is a common Apbh sound, more numerous than n, specially medially.
t is an original sound. It is voiced to d in intervocal position, but more often it is lost, the gap then filled by y: gata →gaas gaya. th has been rarely preserved, because it has either been reduced to h or voiced to dh. d is original, but very often it is dropped, the gap then filled by y. th also has a tendency to be weakened to h.n also is original, but replaced by n in the middle of a word. It is also thrown back on the preceding vowel in the form of nasalisation, its place then taken by -v- : sthāna> thậna thấya.
p is an original sound. But its change into v is well-known in Prakrit. In Asokan Prakrit -tvā appears as-tpă in absolutive forms. In Apbh the absolutive suffixes -ěppi and -ěppinu thus
epresent the very old Vedic -tvi and "tvina of the popular language. The Apbh base pa- in pai for tvayā tells the same story. Similarly, p in-ppana has developed from-tvaņa through - tpapa. On the other hand, p continues to be changed to v till the last days of Apbh. Thus ěppi and ěppiņu also appear as evi and eviņu. ph is an original sound, but it is often voiced to bh and weakened to h. b is generally an original sound, but it also results from p through voicing : paitra (from pitr Father) > bețța. bh is an original sound, but it is also weakned to h. Rarely bh also represents sm and hv: smarati> mharai> bharai (remembers), jihvā>jivhā> jibb (tongue). etc. The change of -hy- to bb is known to Vedic : jar-hvar-i-ti> jarbhuriri (stumbles). m has never suffered any disfigurement, but for the first time in Apbh it is thrown back on the preceding vowel in the form of nasalisation, its place then taken by -v- : grāma (village)>gāma> gãva, etc.
Towards the closing period of Apbh and beginning of Hindi, y bad appeared in place of k, g, c, j, d, P, v and begun to