Wilson Philological Lectures on Sanskrit and the Derived Languages c10.3

c10.3

sing. form in अ was in the Apabhraṁśa extended by analogy to the neuter singular also and, though the peculiar neuter plural termination was preserved, the fact shows that in the vernacular speech of the times there was a tendency to forget the distinction between the two genders. Accordingly we now find that in the Sindhî, the Panjâbî, the Hindî, Bangâlî and Oriya the distinction is entirely lost. In Gujarâtî also nouns ending in अ have retained none of the two neuter terminations but the Prâkṛit and Apabhraṁśa ई plural of that gender exists in the Marâṭhî combined with the preceding अ into एं as फळ ‘a fruit’ sing., फळें ‘fruits’ pl. This neuter pl. termination is applied in Hindî, Sindhî, and Panjâbî to pl. of fem. nouns ending in अ as in रातें ‘nights’ H., जालां ‘women’ S. and गल्ली ‘words’ P., though the ई is changed to आ in the last two cases. The change of the final syllables अओ of Prâkṛit words resulting from such Sanskrit words as आम्रातकः-को, पारदः-दो, दीपकः-को etc. to आ by the dropping of the final and lengthening of the penultimate through the force of the general accent on the penultimate in some of the modern dialects such as the Marâṭhî and the Hindî and to ओ into which the two vowels are combined in consequence of the weakness of the accent in such languages as the Gujarâtî and the Sindhî and in some of the minor dialects of the Marâṭhî, has already been noticed in the last lecture. Similarly the change of the Prâkṛit final syllables of neuter nouns अअं or अयं arising from such Sanskrit words as कदलकम्, मस्तकम् have been changed to ईं in the Marâṭhî and to ॲ in Gujarâtî and to आं in some of the dialects of the Marâṭhî. This also has been explained. The pl. of such neuter nouns, most of which are formed by the addition of क and may be called augmented nouns, is formed by the addition of the Apabhraṁśa ई, which being rendered emphatic by the nasal sound absorbs the previous अ or light य and thus we have केळीं for Ap. कअलअ+ई=Skr. कदलक+आनि. Fem. nouns in इ or ई add आं as घोडी-घोडियां H., घोडिआं P. This यां or आं represents the combination of य or अ with ई; such nouns as घोडी being derived from घोटिका=घोडिआ. In Panjâbî after fem. nouns in आ the ई appears distinct, as बला a calamity, बलाई nom. pl. In Sindhî the neuter termination is added to the original Prâkṛit fem. pl. उ, shortened from ओ, as घोड्यू ‘mares’ nom. pl.; हचा ‘murder,’ हचाऊं ‘murders;’ जाल a ‘woman,’ जालं ‘women’ nom. pl. This last has जालां also like the P. रातां. In Marâṭhî also it is not very unusual to speak of women in the neuter pl. when respect is intended as राणीसाहेब आलीं. This transference of neuter termination to the fem. must have taken place when genders began to be confused in the Apabhraṁśa period. The nom. pl. termination of masc. nouns, which in the Prâkṛit was आ, is preserved by the class of nouns we have been considering, *i. e.* augmented nouns, in Sindhî and Gujarâtî; while the ए of the Prâkṛit acc. pl. is used for those nouns in the Marâṭhî and its dialects and the Hindî and the Panjâbî. When the two cases were thoroughly confounded one can easily see how this came to pass. Other or unaugmented nouns have dropped both the terminations in all the languages as has been already noticed.