A Comparative Grammar of the Modern Aryan Languages of India v1.c7.97

v1.c7.97

The noticeable point in this class of words is that, though they have universally rejected the double consonant which arose out of the assimilation of the first member of the nexus to the last, they have nevertheless not lengthened the preceding consonant. Thus, उद्धार would become in Prakrit उग्गार, and by rule should be in H. ऊगार. The reason of the absence of the usual compensatory lengthening is that in verbal nouns of the forms given above the accent rests on the syllable of the root; so in *bhāraṇam*, *jvālanam*, etc., it would be on the first syllable, and consequently, when preceded by a preposition, the vowel thereof must needs be short. Hindi is excessively sensitive on this subject: vowels are shortened when followed by long or accented syllables, or by such as contain a heavy mass of consonants, or they are lengthened when conditions the reverse of those occur. As a rule, Hindi, when rejecting one of two assimilated consonants, always, if it can, lengthens the preceding vowel. If it does not, we may be sure there is some cause for its not doing so; and if this cause cannot be found in a succeeding long vowel or a heavy termination, it will probably be discovered in the accent.