Book Title: Indian Antiquary Vol 62
Author(s): Richard Carnac Temple, Charles E A W Oldham, S Krishnaswami Aiyangar, Devadatta Ramkrishna Bhandarka
Publisher: Swati Publications
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DECEMBER, 1933] INTERCHANGE OF SEMI-VOWELS AND CLASS CONSONANTS [ $$ 361-363
So, as in Pr., an initial I sometimes becomes n, as in :
kingalam, a
M. A. nagar, Bg. nánal, but B. lagal.
plough lisapia,
lángalu or áñgal lingaváṭṭu
B. nugot, Bg. (dial.) néngați.
waist-cloth lavaṇam, salt
lonu
H. B. non, nun.
In Bg. and O. initial l is almost universally pronounced n, by the vulgar. In Bg. writing n is usually written for 1. Thus, laiya asa, bring (impve.), is universally written (not printed), and is pronounced niy so. Very rarely do we find I representing a medial n. The only example noted by me is the B. name of the town Nakhaláur given above, and here it may be really a case of metathesis, the original form, of course, being Lakhanaur.
361. In Dardic I have noted a few instances of n>l, including words like Kš. srěh, sran mentioned above. A more clear example is Ks. halamat", for Hanumat, N.P.
I have not noted any case of I>n.
362. In connexion with their interchange with j and b, respectively, it will be convenient to consider uncompounded y and v together. It should also be remembered that these semivowels are often vocalized (§ 372). In Maharastri-Sauraseni Prakrit, y only survived as a euphonic sound, often not indicated in writing, between two vowels, one of which was a or i (Mk. ii, 2, comm. Cf. Pr. Gr. § 187). This y is very lightly pronounced, and in order to show this I write it in the present section as a small above the line. Thus náaram or navaram, a city; piaï or pivai, he drinks. This euphonic has survived in all the IAVs., and occurs between all vowels; e.g., H. rav (ráva), for ráa, a king; B. jivai, for jai, he lives; H. dhova, for dhóa, washed. So also Pr. had a euphonic v. The authority is Kramadisvara, VIII, ii, 2, 3.1 After giving (1) the usual rule for the elision of medial consonants, he adds sometimes y is optionally inserted, as in gaanam or gavanam (gaganam),' (kvacid yatvam vā) (2), and sometimes v is optionally inserted, as in suhaō or suharo (subhagaḥ) (kvacid vatvam vā) (3). This insertion of v seems to have been rare in Pr. exc. as a substitute for g (cf. Pr. Gr. §§ 231, 254), but, with the sound of w, is common in IAVs., especially between two a-sounds, as in IAV. rámava, for rámaa, N.P., S. chawa, for chāyā, shade, or, in EIAV. after u, e, or o, as in B. cuai or cúvai, he drips; léai or léwai, he takes; dhóai or dhowai, he washes. So also M. G. R. raw (ráva), for ráa, king.
Besides this, y is sometimes prefixed to an initial i or e, to help the utterance. As in H. yah, yik, yeh (written yah), for ih, this; R. yakalo, for kalo, alone; M. yeth or ethe, here. So also v is similarly employed, as in H. wah, wuh, or woh (for uh), that; M. (Kon.) vordo, for Latin ordo (§ 294). In S. an original initial y has been preserved in Vyabh- (Skr. Y yabh-, cohabit, and so also yato, corpulent, if it is connected with Skr. Vjat-, be clotted. In S. yarah, or ikāraha, eleven, the medial k has been elided, and the i has become y. In other cases original initial y>j in S. (S. Gr. xxi.)
1 I quote from an edition of the 8th pada of the Samkipta-sara, published by the Sanskrit Press Depository, Calcutta, 1889.
363. In Mahārāṣṭri-Saurasēni Prakrit original uncompounded y became in most cases j. It never remained unchanged. In Magadhi Pr., on the other hand, j became a sound which He. iv, 292, represented by y, and which Mk. xii, 21, represented by yj. The j which was so changed was the Sr. Pr. j, and therefore as often as not corresponded to an original y. In JRAS. 1913, 391 ff., I have given reasons for believing that the M.-Sr. Pr. j was sounded zor dz, as in modern M., while the Mg. Pr. y (Hc.) or yj (Mk.) was really a pure palatalj. This j was probably quite soft, and approached the sound of y (hence Hc.'s transcription), and
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