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THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY
[SEPTEMBER, 1911.
Kaikidi and Burgandi (also dialects of Tamil) have ang as neuter plural suffix. Kaikadi lag also ga :-kudri, horse; kudriyang, horses; ndy, a dog; ndyang, dogs. These dialects have no separate rational plaral suffixes. The above suffixes are also used as epicene suffixes. (Vide L. S., pp. 334 and 343.)
To sum up, the neuter plural suffix of primitive or uncompounded nouns is ga! or ka! in Tamil and Malayalam, gal and kal in Canarese, kulu and ļu in Tolu, lu in Telugu, and k, ga, or nga in Korava, Kaikadi, Borgundi, and Gôndi. Brabui has sometimes t. Malto, Kurakh, and Bruhai have the same form in the singular and the plural.
(6) Neuter Plural Sufix in a. Besides the neuter plural in gal with its varieties, we find in all the Dravidian languages a neuter plural in short a. But the following is the difference in use between the two suffixes: - (1) Ga! is the neuter plural suffix of primitive or uncompounded nouns, wbile a is the neuter
plural suffix of compounded or derivative nouns. (2) Gal has a tendency in most languages to replace the rational plural suffix, and is often
found compounded with it, while a has remained purely a neuter plural suffix of com
pounded words. (3) Gal is not used as the verbal suffix of plurality, while a, like other suffixes of derivative
nouns (an, al, ar), is used also as a verbal suffix. We shall now treat of its various forms in the different Dravidian dialects:
Tamil. In Old and Middle Tamil the neuter plural suffix of compounded nouns is a:-ariya, rare things; siriya, small things. This a very early became ai, as it is found in the demonstrative and the interrogative pronouns :-avai, they; evai, what; etc. Gradually this ai form was extended also to other words. Thas Old Tamil ariya and siriya became areyarai and sireyavai in Middle Tamil. In New Tamil gal, the primitive neuter suffix, was added to ai. Thus we have, avaigal, ariyavaigal, etc
Dr. Caldwell is right in thinking that pala, sila, pira, etc., when they are used as nouns, may contain the neuter plural suffix a. The final a of these words is not to be confounded with the adjectiveal suffix a.
Malayalam. Malayalam faithfully preserves this suffix in its original form, a. We have, ara, they ; iva, these; eva, what. We have also the double plural form agul. Thus avaga!, evaga!, etc., are also found.
Canarese. In Canarese this a becomes u, which in Sandhi becomes ou with the homo-organic consonant. Thus we have aru, they ; ivu, these ; peravu, others; pallavu, many things. In verbal forms, too, we find (which becomes vu); e. 9., kéldapuva, they lear.
Tulu. The Tulu demonstratives and interrogatives are so contracted that it is impossible to say if they contain this neuter plural suffix. But the existerse of this a as a ploral verbal suffix of neuters points out to the existence of the normal suffix a also in very early Tulu. Compare the following verbs ; mulpundu, it makes ; mulduda, they make ; maltundu, it made ; malta, they made.
Double or Mixed Plural Suffixes. For a long time (till about the 7th century) the distinction between the rational and irrational suffixes was carefully preserved. But gradnally the rational suffixes r, aru, etc., were used to devote honorific singulars; and hence it became necessary to add to these words another suffix denoting plurality. The suffix that was used in all such cases was gal. Thus we have in all languages a donble or mixed plural, form : e. 9. Tamil, avargal, détarga!, etc. Malayalam: avargal, etc. Canarese : avargalu, etc. Telagu : ráralu and ra!!u, etc. Tula : In this, r has disappeared and we have, akulu those men.
Further kal or gal was extended to neater nouns as well. Thus we have avaigal, evaigal, etc., in Tamil; aragal, evagal, etc., in Malayalam; avagalu, etc., in Canarese and ailulu, they, in Tulu.
