Indian Antiquary Vol 61

Author(s): Richard Carnac Temple, Charles E A W Oldham, S Krishnaswami Aiyangar, Devadatta Ramkrishna Bhandarka
Publisher: Swati Publications

Page 403

JUNE, 1932 j
B. VOWELS. Addition of Vowels.
155. Prothesis.-Prakrit does not suffer compound consonants as initials of a word, and hence such do not occur in IAV. Tadbhavas; but we often find them in borrowed words including Tatsamas and semi-Tatsamas, and in such cases, especially when the compound begins with a sibilant, it is usual to prefix a vowel in order to assist pronunciation. We have an example of this in Pr., in the word itthi, a woman for *istri (cf. Shb. istri), i.e., strī, a woman (Pr. Gr. § 147). In the IAVs. the prefixed vowel is generally an unaccented a or i. There seems to be no rule as to which vowel is selected, except that i seems generally preferred when the following syllable contains i or e. Thus IAV. asnán, bathing (snana-); istri or istiri, a woman (stri) (Haṛauți, a dialect of Rajasthani, and also old Western Rajasthāni have astri); astuti or (rarely) istúti, praise; istéóan, a station; iskúl, a school; ispáñj, a sponge. This added vowel is often pronounced like a mātrā- vowel, so that we hear "snan, istri, "stúti, and so on. In many cases we have anaptyxis instead, see below. Sometimes, in cases in which there is no true compound consonant and no sibilant, we find a prothetic a, with the accent, as in H. ác"pal, restless, Skr. capala-; ajwan (Tbh.), aniseed, Skr. yavāni.
[An amusing instance of prothesis is the Bengali pronunciation of the English word 'stink,' as isțink. This latter word became confused with the surname of the celebrated Warren Hastings, which came to be pronounced ěstink,' with the accent on the final syllable. In the Bengali pronunciation of Honorable,' the word is run together, so as to sound like 'horbal,' and, when I was in India, it was a common joke among Europeans that the Bg. pronunciation of the Honorable Hastings Sahib' was Horrible Stink Sahib.'] In Dardic prothesis of a vowel is not uncommon. Thus
C
a.
B. aže, but V. že-št,1 a bull, compared with Av. gav, Šiyni žāv, Sarīkoli, žau; Bš. ariu, Aš. aru, Skr. rupa-, silver.
i. Aš. istri, Wai. ištri, Av. Skr. stri, a woman; Kh. istor, Av. staora-, Prs. "stor, a horse; Kh. ispusar, Grw. išpō, Skr. svasar-, a sister; V. išti-kh, Kh. istari, Aš, istā, Av. stär-, Prs. sitāra, a star.
u. Only noted in V. ušu, six, but Wai. šū, Av. xěvaš.
e. Only noted in Gwr. etsi, a cow. Cf. Bš. aže, above.
VOWELS
Ts. tyag, generosity Ts. pratap, prowess
It will be observed that compound consonants commencing with a sibilant prefer i.
1 See GIP., 12, 300, 419. Morgenstierne (Aš. Gr., 245) derives this from sabha-, but this does not account for the Šiyni and Sarikoli forms.
156. Anaptyxis (Svarabhakti).
a. Initial. We frequently find this instead of prothesis, and, like prothesis, it is chiefly found in borrowed words including Tss. and sTss. Anaptyxis is more common in the upper Gangetic Doab, in the Panjab and the North-West, while prothesis is more common to the East. But while prothesis is nearly confined to compound consonants commencing with 8 initial, anaptyxis also occurs when one of the members of the compound is y, r, l, or a nasal. So also in Prakrit (Pr. Gr. § 131 ff.). Examples are:
becomes
S. tiyagu, P. H. EH.B. tiyag.
IAV. pártáp, exc. S. partap". (This is the regular form which the prefix
pra takes in sTss.)
IAV. tarús, exc. S. társ".
Coll. Bg. parún.
8. piribhur
8. pir or prl.
B. birich.
S. sirudhu, H. EH. B. sarádh.
Ts. träs, fear
Ts. prān, life
Ts. prabhat, dawn
Ts. priy, a friend
Ts. vrks, a tree
Ts. śräddh, funeral obsequies
..
[§§ 155-156
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