Indian Antiquary Vol 62

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

Page 307

APRIL, 1933)
IAV. AI.
( $$ 246-251
Skr.
246. In Dardic I have not noted any instances of the change of ă or yā to ē, but the prothesis of y before ē is very common. In Ks. y must be prefixed to every initial ē, and most people pronounce a medial é as if a lightly pronounced preceded it. Thus, Ks. er, wool, pr. yer; r mel., unite, often sounded meal.
247. è<*. We have seen ($ 240) how i sometimes >e. The change of to é is not frequent, and is due to a lengthening of e on account of accent. Thus :
Ap. nimbtikah, a lime
nimbúu Bg. Témū, others nimbu, &c. tintidi, tamarind
tintidi
Bg. ftul, but O. tétuli, A. tételi. The change of long i to é is confined to Northern Gujarati and to the closely related Western Pahāri. Thus, NG. märēs for māris, I shall strike; tego for Gigo, a husk; hedyo for hidyo, ho set forth; vei for viti, a ring (LSI. IX, ii, 394). In WPh. the two vowels are freely interchanged, see 223.
248. As regards Dardio, see $ 223 for the interchangeability of i and ē. In My. and Grw., has become ē, through i, in Skr. v nrt-, My. Grw. net-, dance, but others nat-, &c.
isai. See $ 180. It may here be noted that in Dardio s. ai and Ef are interchangeable (Ps. L. 86).
249. izo. We have seen (8$ 239, 240) that there is a tendency for a and i to become e before gutturals. The same is occasionally the case with 7. Skr.
Ap. róhitam, blood
lóhiu
B. téhu, but H. lóhe, Bg. lo. rõhitah, a kind
róhiu
P. B. réhu, H. rõhu, A. ro. of fish We might ascribe this change to the influence of the i in the next syllable but for the case of H. gehd, P. ghéll, A. ghehu, from Skr. gödhūmah, wheat. See $ 200. 250. Dardic. e. This is the Kš. è modified by epenthesis. See $$ 126, 164.
IAV. ai. 251. Regarding this diphthong, which represents a +i, not a+i ($ 110), see $$ 178 ff. There is considerable laxity in its pronunciation. In Bihāri, Eastern Hindi, Hindi, Panjabi, and Sindhi, it is almost a matter of the personal equation of the speaker as to whether it is pronounced as a true diphthong, or whether the a and the i are pronounced separately. In Sindhi it is a question of religion. When pronouncing ai in borrowed words Musalmāns make it a diphthong, but Hindūs separate the vowels. In indigenous words ai>ē (8.Gr. vi). So far as my ear can be trusted, in reading IAV. poetry the vowels are generally separated, and in common everyday communications it is much more common to write, e.g., baithai ( 18 ) he site, than baithai (4). The two sounds are so near akin that in ordinary rapid conversation it is impossible to say decisively which is used. On the other hand ai can be clearly distinguished from ai, which is not infrequent as a termination (§ 182) and has an altogether different sound. In some IAVs. (e.g., Bihāri) ai when final is often written ay, as in karai or karay, he does. This is merely a question of spelling.
In Bengali, Oriya, and Assamese ai is pr. oi. In the West there is a tendency to assimi. late it with ä, ē and < (8$ 209, 211). See also B.S.O.S., VII, 260.
According to the Central Pahāși rule (173), ā preceding a short vowel is itself shortened to å. Thus Hai, having come, becomes *ai. This finally becomes as, which is itself usually pronounced æ ($ 211) (LSI. IX, iv, 115).
While ai is almost always the result of crasis, now and then we find it with another derivation. Thus the common word bhūiyå, on the ground (thümi-) becomes bhaiya in Rājasthāni (J.). Again, the very common M.H.EP.B. bdigan, O. báigun, Bg. begun, the egg-plant,
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