________________
130
THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY.
[Mar, 1878.
RÂJMAHALI WORDS.
BY R. B. SWINTON, LATE.M.C.S. In Dr. Hunter's Comparative Dictionary of respond in name with any of Dr. Hunter's list the Languages of India and High Asia nearly under the heading Central India, though some two hundred words have been selected for com- classified as belonging to Western Bengal are parison in more than a hundred and forty lan- to be found in Dr. Hunter's list. The words in guages and dialects-one word to a luxurious the Bengal book have been better selected than page. Twenty of these dialects are bracketed those in Dr. Hunter's, and the sentence illustratogether as belonging to Central India, but tions are to be found only in the former; but, including the Chentsu and Yeru kala of as Dr. Hunter's book was printed six years the south; and there are seventeen under the earlier, it would have been better if the same Southern India division, including Tamil, Ma- words had been adhered to in the later volume. layalam, and Karnataka, ancient and The dialect of the Rajmahal hills appears in modern, Todu va and Toda. Malabar, as a both vocabularies, and as it has been always dialect distinguishable from Tamil and Mala- stated to be connected with the Dravidian lany alam, has been included by mistake; neither guages, though so widely separated by distance, has Siñhalese any relationship to any South- it may be interesting to see to what extent this Indian language. The Keikâdi dialect, wherever is borne out by vocabulary comparison. it may come from, has three words out of four the Among the numerals, only the name for 'one' same as one or another South Indian language. in Rajmahali-ort, ondong, kivong-will bear
The blue book entitled Specimens of Lan- comparison with the Tamil onru and the Kanaguages of India, published in 1874 under the rese ondu; all the other numerals are Hindi. authority of the Government of Bengal, has The pronouns in Rajmahali, as they are given about a hundred and fifty words, and under the by Dr. Hunter's informants and in the Bengal division appropriated to Central Provinces collection, are put down below for comparison languages' twenty-two names of dialects or of se- with those of the South Indian language to lected centres. Unfortunately none of these cor which they bear any resemblance.
Rájmahali English (Bengal Book) Hindi Rájm. (Hanter)
South Indian (Tamil) Ayn Main, ham En
Mân or yân, Kanarese (anc.) nâ We Aym Ham, hamani Nam, om
Nam, nangal Thou Nin
Tu, tou Nin
Ni Nin Tum
Nir, ningal He Ah
Wuh Ath
Avan Ahaber We, ohney
Asabar
Avargal, avar Of me Aynki Mera
Ongki
Ennudeiya, Telugu Na-yokka Of us Emsubki Hamara, ham- Emki, nâmki Nammudeiya
sobinkaer Of thee Ningkid Tera Nimki
Unnudeiya Of you Ningkid Tohåni
Ummudeiya Of him Ahikid Uska
Avanudeiya Of them Ahibkid Unka
Åsa-beriki
Avargaludeiya Mine Aynki Hamara
Ongki
Ennathu Our Emsobki Hamara
Nammathu Thine Ningkid
Ningki
Unathu Your Ningkid
Tumara Nimki
Ummathu His Ahikid Uska Ahiki
Avanathu Their Ahibkid Unka
Åsa-beriki Avargaluthu Apart from the different modes of spelling in other list ahaber. The sort of lisp which I am the two Rajmahali lists, there is an interchange informed a Bhill uses in trying to say the Hinof h for 8, or 8 for h. The word 'they' has been dustani word hdzir may have appeared to one taken down for Dr. Hunter asabar, and for the hearer ans, and to another an h. The words
I
You
They
Тcra
