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NOVEMBER, 1878.]
ELLIS'S ESSAY ON THE MALAYÅLMA LANGUAGE.
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and the general interrogative dr, 'who P which of those tenses; the former with slight change, with the usual changes, are common to the three the latter without alteration; and the gerund, with dialects. The demonstrative letters a, that,'i, or without alteration, for its past. The gerund “this,',' what which P' when they precede a con- is either the same as the past tense, or another sonant, are sometimes, as in Tamil, short and form is borrowed from the many it assumes in the double the following consonant, and sometimes parent language; the present and past participles long : when they precede & vowel they are always are retained, the future being supplied, as is frelong, as in Telugu, and require the letter y to be quently the case in Ködun Tamil, by a cominserted before the vowel.
pound. Comparative Conjugation of Verbs.
In Tami) there are three classes or conjugations The several forms of the verb in pure Tamil are of verbs, principally distinguished by the variation derived from the crude root by a method extremely of the gerund and past tense. The rules for each, artificial, and, as respects the permutation of as far as connected with the formation of the letters, refined to the last degree of nioety, this Malayalma, I shall explain. In the first class the artifice and this minuteness pervade and govern gerund is formed simply by the duplication of the the variation of the verb in the Kodun and Mala- consonant of the final syllable, which is always yêlma dialects, though the rules which direct them, either gu, du, or r preceded by a short syllable; and the reason on which they proceed, can be this is the root, which serves for the imperative; learned only from the grammarians of the Sěn in the present tense it is followed by a single g, Tamil. Hence the only distinctions in the verbal and the third person future neuter is formed from systems of the three dialects are, as in the noun, it by the addition of um, the preceding being that the Kodun Tamil selects one from the many lost. In the second class the gerund is formed personal terminations, and that the Malayalma by the elision of the 1, with which the root inrejects them altogether. The pure Tamil has variably ends, and the substitution of i: the three indefinite tenses for the three times formed present and future forms are the same as in the from the root; the definite tenses and, to use an former class, unless the imperative ends in douexpression of European grammar, the moods of ble k, in which case it is double also in the prethe verb, except the imperative, infinitive, and Bent. The third class requires du to be added to subjunctivo, are supplied by auxiliaries; the third the root to form the gerund, but it is duplicated, or person of each tense is declined through the three changed tondu,ndu ordu (uru), under the general genders; each tonse has an indeclinable participle, rules for permutation, according to the letter in which becomes declinable by affixing the first which the root ends : when the d is duplicated in the demonstrative pronoun in the three genders; gerund, or when the root has a final a, the present and a gerund of most extensive use serves for all requires a double k, and the third person future times, and for every person, until the suspended is formed by adding kkum to the root; in all other gense is closed at the close of the sentence by the cases the characteristic letter of the present is a conjugated verb in its proper form : this is the single 9, and the future is formed by um. idiom of the vorb in every dialect of the Tamil The appliontion of these rules to the two diaThe Malayalma from this extensive scheme selects lects of the Tamil and the Malayalma is exemplifor its present and future the third persons neuter fied and explained in the following synopsis :
Derivation of the Malayálma Present. Śện Tami]. Kodun Tamil. Malayaļma.
First Class. Pugu, enter Puguginradu-Pagudu
Pagunnu Padu, suffer Paduginradu-Padudu
Padunnu Pěru, obtain Pěruginradu-Pěrudu
Pērunnu
Second Class. Kattu, tie Kattuginradu-Kattudu
Kattukunnu 1, thos, Nikku, remove Nikkinradu-Nikkudu
Nikkunnu she, it, Third Class.
they, we, Śêy, do śěyginradu-Sěyudu
Cheyyunnu enter, Kodu, give Kõdukkinradu-Kodakkudu Kodukkunnu
suffer,
obtain, &c. Kadi, lite
Kadikkinradu-Kadikkudu Kadikkunnu Ari, know Ariginradu-Ariyudu
Ariyunnu Kõl, take Kõļļuginradu-Kõlludu
Kollunnu | Nil, stand 1 Nirkinradu--Nirkudu
| Nilkunnu
Common Roots.
Person Neuter, Present Tense.
Present Tense.
