A Comparative Grammar of the Modern Aryan Languages of India v1.c4.10

v1.c4.10

² I have explained my views more concisely in another place as follows: "It is a highly probable theory that the old Aryan, like all other languages, began to be modified in the mouths of the people as early as the Vedic period, and that the Brahmans at a subsequent date, in order to prevent the further degeneration of their language, polished, elaborated, and stiffened it into the classical Sanskrit. We cannot, however, suppose that they brought any new material into the language, but simply that they reduced to rule what was till then vague and irregular, that they extended to the whole of the language euphonic laws which had previously been only of partial application, and so forth; all the while, however, only working on already existing materials."—From a paper on the Treatment of the Nexus, Journ. Royal Asiatic Society, vol. v., p. 151.