Indian Antiquary Vol 62

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

Page 349

OCTOBER, 1933]
CHANGES OF SIBILANTS
[$335 336
sfngam, a horn singu
M. sing satam, a hundred M. Pr. savam
M. 6 sindāram, red lead senduru
M. sedür And so many others. See Bhn. 178, 187, and FLM. & 155 for longer lists. In M. dialects, there is often no palatal 8, the dental sound being the only one used (ISI. VII, 23).
In Gujarāti, s generally follows the M. rule, but in the literary language somewhat capriciously. Thus, it has sing, a horn, and so or 80, a hundred, but there are also words like sidi, a ladder, and r sic-, sprinkle. We shall see that in NG. original :>h, but the 8 derived from ch (see $ 332) becomes & before palatal vowels and the semi-vowel y. Thus, téțē, for chēli, far: sédu, for chodu, a cultivator : pásyù, for prichyi, asked (LSI, IX, ii, 426) (cf. & 332).
In Rājasthāni (Mw.) the f-sound prevails universally, though not shown in writing. Every written 8 is pr. &; while, as we have seen c and ch have the sound of the dental 8. The language therefore has two distinct sibilants, viz., ś, represented in writing by 8, and 8, represented in writing by c and ch. Thus, sāw cēt, conscious, is pr. sāwasēt, and naiwasi, an inhabitant, is pr. närrisi. For further examples of c, ch, see § 332.
In some dialects of Central Pahāļi there is a tendency to changes to &. Thus, mais, for mais, a man (LSI. IX, iv, 218). In WPh. 8 and 8 seem to be almost interchangeable. Thus (Sirmauri) tesi or tesi (according to locality), him ; dēs, for divasa, a day;r nas. or nas-, go. Judging from the spelling of the specimens of W Ph, that I have been able to examine, an original Skr. & or p is represented in sTs. by 8, as in dēs, a country, manas (mānuga-), a man. Just as in Täkki Pr. (8 327) original é remained unchanged, but, for $, I have also come across spellings such as mānach, which would indicate a pronunciation manas', - again as in Takki-and also, such as mänukh. In the present state of our knowledge all we can say for certain is that in CPh. and WPh. both the 6-sound and the 8-sound exist, and that they appear to be used somewhat capriciously one for the other.
335. In Sindhi and Lahndā we shall see that sibilants generally pass into h; but the sounds of 6 and 8 also occur. In S., putting Tss, and other borrowed words to one side, 8 has become & in 67, a lion (simhab); sāhu, rich (sädhuh); and fikha, a spit (Prs. six). So, é represents a Skr. 8 in kas-, pull (Skr. kro-); kión", Krsna ; visu, the world (visayah). In Tss. we sometimes find 8 substituted for an original 6, as in soriru or sariru, the body. Similarly, beside vig, there is viss. The word corresponding to Skr. vēņa., disguise, is tēs, (S. Gr. xvi, xvii). In S. the dental 8 may represent an original 8, as in mās" (or māhs), flesh (mimsakam); or may, as shown above, represent & or $. Cf. dēs (or deh) (dēšakab), & country (8. Gr. xxx). But, as already said, the sibilants generally become h in S.
In Lahnda, the sibilant may be represented by 8, or, as in S. occasionally by 6, but ordinarily becomes h. As examples of & we may quote the change of 8 to é in bāh, a rich shopkeeper (S. säh"), and of to é in r kas-, urge on (ef, S. r kas-, above). As examples of 8 we can give dés, a country (dekah); rdas-, show (darśayati), jas, a laudatory ode (yabab); kēsi, name of a flower (kēšava-); r ghas-, rub (ghargati); kösā, lukewarm, (kavõsnab); mās, flesh (mammam); sip., sew (sivyati); sinnh, the Indus (sindhuh); has laugh (hasati).
336. There remain Bihāri, Eastern Hindi, Hindi, and Panjabi. In these there is only one sibilant, the dental 8, but in B. this is written, but not pronounced, 6.
We thus see that the lines of interchange of 8 and 6, and of the use of two sibilants, follow much the same as those of the interchange of c, ch and sibilants, and are confined to the OuIAVs. In fact, as a rough generalization we may say that in the IIAV8. (including P. and EH.) and in B. there is only one sibilant,-the dental, --while in the OuIAVs. (including R., and excepting B.) there are two sibilants, a palatal and a dental, the latter being often, and in some languages always, represented by c or ch.
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