Indian Antiquary Vol 62

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

Page 350

$$ 337-338]
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ON THE MODERN INDO-ARYAN VERNACULARS
(OCTOBER, 1933
337. As regards borrowed words, in those languages wbich have only dental, 8, 8 and ở become that letter, although in Tss. ó is generally written. Thus H. Ts. nās, destruction, written nāśa ; Prs. šahr, a city, H. sahar. In those languages which possess two sibilants, ś and š are represented by s, and s by 8. Thus, M. Ts. nas, destruction ; sahr, a city; satya, truth; siddhi (334), not siddhi, success. Dialectically Prs. šis represented by sy, as in R. (Mlv. Kota) bidaryā, for Prs. pidšāh, through H. bādšah. In Tss. in P. H. EH. B. R. CPh. and EPh. uncompounded Skr. becomes kh. In fact, in the Kaithi alphabet, the character for kh is that properly belonging to $. Thus, yastha, sixth, pr. khasth. The same change is occasionally found in Sindhi. This, in North India, is commonly called the Benares pronunciation of , and is really a bad attempt to reproduce the sound uttered by Benares Vedic pandits when enunciating the letter. Thus:
Skr. bhấga, speech
sTs. P. H. R. CPh. EPh. EH. B. bhákhā, but S.
bhásā. mánusah, a man
P. R. CPh. WPb. mánukh (WPh. also mánus,
mānach see 9 332), H. EPh. EH. B. mānukh, S.
mānulch. In other languages (except those in which sibilants do not become x or h), in Tss. generally has a sound practically indistinguishable from that of 6, except in the mouths of purists.
When & forms part of a compound consonant in a Ts, it is everywhere sounded as ó (for 8), except by purists.
338. The change of a to h was rare in Sr.-Mg. Pr., but was not uncommon in M. Pr. and Ap. (Pr. Gr. 262-4). Similar changes are not uncommon in the IAVs., esp. in Assamese and in the NW. languages and those (such as Gujaräti dial, and Bhili) connected with them.
In Assamese all sibilante when uncompounded, or compounded with r, are pronounced as x. When compounded with y, they are pr. š. In other compounds they are pr. 8. As usual the spelling is that of Skr., although in A. Diey. Br. all sibilants are uniformly written 8. Thus,-xástra, scripture (sastra.); xisya, a disciple (siøya-); danxan, sight (darsana.); xangrám, a fight (sargräms.); xasthi, the sixth lunar day (anthi); xa, a hundred (cf. H. sau, &c.); xanlux, satisfaction (samtöpa.) (LSI, V, i, 401). A similar pronunciation obtains in the Bengali of the neighbouring parts of Eastern Bengal (LSI. V, i, 209).
In Standard Bengali all uncompounded sibilants become $. We have seen that in some parts of Eastern Bengal bordering on Assam they become x but in most EBg, and SEBg. they become h. Thus (LSI. V, i, 224) in EBg, in words not borrowed from Prs. we have häph, for såp, a snake; hakal, for sakal, all. So in SEBg. (LSI, V, i, 292), an initial sibilant often becomes h, as in hakal, all; hur (Prs. šor), noise.
339. So far for Eastern India. In the West, it will be convenient to commence with Gujarati. In coll. G. both band s are cominonly pr. h, and this is the rule in the North. Thus mánah, for miinas, a man; ho, for śő, a hundred ; híraj, for stiraj, the sun ; hû, for sü, what ?; dēh, for dēs, a country; hamajáró, for samo já vyo, caused to understand ; bárah, for báras, a year; hácū, for sácù, truo (LSI. IX, ii, 330). We sometimes meet the same change in Eastern and Western Bhil dialects, as in huno, a dog (cf. Ks. hon), but as in Central Bhili we here generally have the stronger aspirate x. Thus, Xona, for sönü, gold; bēx-, for bēs-, sit (LSI. IX, iii, 2, 11). So in the Ahīri Bbili of Cutch, xât, for säl, seven; dax ten; tap'yo, you will warm yourself (LSI. IX, iii, 63); in the connected Bāori of the Panjab xat, seven ; vix, twenty ; manuxo, a man; khēx (kēša-), hair (177); in the Siyalgiri Bhili of Midnapur in Bengal xob (sab), all; dēx, country ; barax, year (197); and other Bhili dialecta, such as Pardhi paixo (H. paisa), money: ximlina (G. sabhalinē), having heard (188).
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