Wilson Philological Lectures on Sanskrit and the Derived Languages c7.25

c7.25

You have seen that in all the changes of conjunct consonants which we have examined, no element of the two sounds is omitted by the Pâli speakers. They had not the patience to hear and reproduce the two consonants immediately after each other, by putting their vocal organs into two different positions, or laboured under a physical inaptitude for doing so, their tongue not being sufficiently trained for the successive movements. But short of this, all the constituents of the sound, the *s'vâsa*, light and heavy, the completeness of contact, and the force of utterance, are represented in their pronunciation, and the amount of muscular exertion involved is the same as in the case of the original. This may be called the energetic mode of pronouncing conjuncts. There are, however, a few instances in which the components are separated by inserting a vowel between them. Thus Sanskrit सूक्ष्म is changed to सुखुम, औष्मिक to ओष्मिक, श्लेष्म to सिलेष्म, स्मरति to सुम्रति, श्री and ह्री to सिरी and हिरी, बैलव to बैलव and औपश्लेषिक to ओपसिलेसिक. The separating vowel is generally such as can be easily pronounced along with the previous or the following consonant, that is, belongs to the same organic position as either. Thus in the first four instances we have the labial उ in the syllables खु and owing उ to the influence of the following म्. The conjuncts र्य and ह्य are almost invariably dissolved into रिय and रह्य as in कारिय, अरिय, सुरिय, विरिय &c. and अरह, गरहा, बरिह &c. for कार्य, आर्य or आर्य, सूर्य, वीर्य &c. and अर्ह, गर्ह, बर्ह &c.; and in one or two instances we have the first change when the य is preceded by a consonant other than र, as in चैतिय for चैत्य. This change is to some extent due to the य being pronounced weak, *i. e.* almost like इ. In the same way, we have सिलोक, सिलेस, सिलाघा, किलेस, किलन्त, मिलान, मिलान, पिलुवति, सुपिन, सिनिद्ध, नहान or सिनान &c. for श्लोक, श्लेष, श्लाघा, क्लेश, क्रान्त, ग्लान, म्लान, प्लुवति, स्वप्न, स्निग्ध, स्नान &c. This mode of utterance wants the force of the one we have examined, but both the sounds of a conjunct are clearly reproduced in it. You will have observed that the second member of the conjunct dissolved in this way is what may be called an imperfect consonant, *i. e.* a semi-vowel, aspirate, or nasal, in pronouncing which the breath is not completely stopped. They therefore act like a vowel, and render the sound of the first consonant comparatively distinct and audible, but are not so weak themselves as to melt away into that sound. Hence both the sounds are audible but the Pâli speaker not being able to put his vocal organs into two consonantal positions successively, as we have seen, reproduced the two sounds by interposing a vowel between them. But when in some cases the second member was weakly pronounced it melted away into the first, and so we have the optional forms विस्सरति for विस्मरति, सेह for श्लेष्म, सोप्प for स्वप्न &c. When, however, its pronunciation became stronger than that of the first, it prevailed, and so we have कय्य for कार्य and अय्य for आर्य.