A Comparative Grammar of the Modern Aryan Languages of India v1.c5.71

v1.c5.71

Of this change among the modern languages Gujarati gives many instances. It must here be remarked that the spelling of most of these languages, owing to the want of a literary standard, is very irregular, and in the cases now about to be noticed, it is probable that the spelling has been made to conform to the pronunciation. If this had been done in Hindi and Panjabi, they too would to the eye seem to have changed the *a* into *e*. Thus the Skr. words quoted in § 32: *rahanam*, *sahanam*, *kathanam*, *vahanam*, *labhanam*, become in Gujarati रेहवुं, सेहवुं, केहवुं, बेहवुं, लेवुं. But, as has been shown, the Panjabi introduces an *i*, saying *rahiṇá*, and the Gujarati *e* seems to be only the amalgamation of this *i* with the preceding *a*, a process facilitated by the weakness of the *h* which separates the two vowels. In P. also, before *h*, the careless ordinary pronunciation results in a similar *e* sound. Thus we hear *rehná*, *sehná* for *rahiṇá*, *sahiṇá*, though the latter word is not frequent, and even in H. *rehtá*, *behtá*, is a not uncommon vulgarism in towns. In the verb *lená*, from *labhanam* (Pr. *lahaṇam*), P. *lainá*, G. *levuṇ*, the *h* has dropped out from constant use, leaving only the *e*.