A Comparative Grammar of the Modern Aryan Languages of India v3.c17.121

v3.c17.121

§ 7. The scenic Prakrits represent a further step in development. Despite the admittedly artificial character of these dialects, they probably retain forms which were at one time in general use, although that time may not have been the epoch when the dramas were written, and without referring to them, the structure of the modern verb could not be clearly understood. It is expedient to avoid discussing this question, lest attention should be drawn away from the real subject of this work, namely, the modern languages. All this part of the present chapter is merely introductory and is only inserted in order to pave the way for a more intelligent appreciation of the origin and growth of Hindi and its fellows.