Indian Antiquary Vol 62

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

Page 299

FEBRUARY, 1933]
IAY. U.
[ $ 221-225
often represented in writing by i. Thus EH. dékhes or déthis, he saw; L. álche or áthia, said. In both cases the former of each pair represents the usual pronunciation, although owing to the vowel not being accented, it is not always easy to distinguish the exact sound. We hear the difference better in words like Bihāri ékarā, him. In the W Bh. dialect of that language the word is usually written ikarā, although the sound is still ekørā in the mouths of most speakers.
As regards Dardio we can only speak with certainty as to Ks. Here e and i are absolutely indistinguishable, and only natives who have made a study of the subject pretend to be able to see any difference between the two sounds, although a European can readily hear how a Kašmiri will at one time say, e.g., beh, sit, and the next moment say bih. Cf. Ps.L. 16. In Şină i and are liable to be interchanged (8.Ph., $ 24).
221. i ai. Cf. $ 180, where we have seen that ai is sometimes weakened to i.' The only instance of weakening to i that I have noted occurs in colloquial Assamose, when the ai is final. Thus kariba-lai, coll, kariba-li, for doing (LSI. V, i, 400).
In Dardie we have Kš. behi, he will sit, properly a present, and representing Skr. upavisati, Pr. uvaisai, and so in all other verbs.
222. Dardic. This is Kš, i epenthetically affected by a following vowel. When i is followed by u-mātrā or by u, it is pronounced yu. Thus, mil", reconciliation, pr. myul" ; gindun, pr. gyndun, he played. When it is followed by i-matră, it is pronounced vi, as in liv, pr. büy*, plastered. See § 126.
223. IAV. i. This usually represents an original i, but sometimes it represents the lengthened sound of i. See § 168. For the weakening of ai to i, see $ 180.
In Western Pahārī, which lies close to Dardic, i and ē are freely interchanged. Thus * si or sē, he; ik, ēk, one; bandi, bande, having divided ; boni, bónē, a sister; göhrci, göhrcē, household property, and so all feminines which elsewhere end in i.
As regards Dardic, in Kš. i and e, as in WPh., are absolutely interchangeable, exactly as in the case of i and e. Thus, the same man will say, or write, dorun or sirun, to arrange, in two consecutive sentences. Cf. P.L. 16, and $ 220 above.
We have lengthening of i in Skr. siras- ; Paš. dir, Ks. hir, a head (possibly under the influence of birpa); Av. nishidaiti, Skr, nişidati ; Paš. V ni-, sit; and Grw. jūbh, a tongue (borrowed from India). A change from ē to i occurs in Av. aēva.; Wai., Paš., Kh. i, one. Here ev has probably been contracted to i, as iv in Av.jiyvant. ; 8. jino, alive.
224. Dardic i. This is Kš. i epenthetically affected by a following u-mātrā or u. In such a case it is pronounodd yū, as in nils, blue, pr. nyüls. So the word bima, insurance, has its sg. gen. bimuks, pr. byūmuk". No other vowel epenthetically affects i. See $ 126.
IAV. u. 225. IAV. or u-mātrā. As in the case of final i, there is probably everywhere 'a tendency for a final u to be very lightly pronounced, or to be dropped ($ 146). In Bihāri and Sindhi, however, it becomes a distinctly half-pronounced vowel or u-matrā (Mth.Gr. 4, S.Gr.St. 10). Thus B. dekhidhw, let me see thee; dékhlah, I saw ; 8. árar", a coal. We have seen (§ 183) that in Kāšmiri nouns ending in had i-bases, and that the represents *yu < *ikah. Thus the obl. of Kš. gúru (for *ghóţikah) is guri. In Sindhi, on the contrary, nouns ending in have a bases, e.g., anaru, represents an older angārakah, and its obl. fem. is arara, not anari. There is this further difference between Kāšmiri on the one hand and Bihari and Sindhi on the other, that in the latter the u-mātrā does not usually epenthetically affect a preceding vowel (cf. however B. å, $ 207), while in the former, it has a very strong epenthetic influence.
U-matrā has not been noted elsewhere in the IAV8., except in the Pādari dialect of Western Pahāļi, in which that language is merging into Dardic. In Pāçari, the existence
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