Wilson Philological Lectures on Sanskrit and the Derived Languages c7.35

c7.35

A long vowel is shortened when it is followed by a double consonant; as in मग्ग for मार्ग, पत्त for प्राप्त, इक्खण for ईक्षण, कित्ति for कीर्ति, तिब्ब for तीव्र, रुक्ख for रूक्ष, मुत्त for मूत्र &c. The strong pressure that is necessary for the pronunciation of a conjunct cannot be properly exerted, as formerly observed, without momentum, for the acquisition of which the previous vowel has to be uttered with force and with a jerk. For this purpose a short vowel alone is fitted, but if a long one precedes, its utterance being by its nature slow and weak, the organs for want of momentum do not strike against each other with force, and hence the pressure they exert is weak. But the Pâli speaker, catching from his Sanskrit teacher only the generally strong nature of the pressure involved in the utterance of conjuncts, realized it to the fullest possible extent, without stopping to observe how much it was impaired by the length of the previous vowel, by pronouncing the previous vowel with force and rapidity, and thus rendering it short. And in this way the real quantity of the syllable is not diminished. Though the vowel is short the vocal organs take some time to emerge from the close contact and the strong pressure resulting from its forcible utterance, and hence the whole syllable इक्ख, for instance, in इक्खण, has the metrical value of a long vowel, *i. e.* is equal to two *mātrās* or syllabic instants. In the original ईक्षण, on the contrary, the pressure in the pronunciation of क्ष being weaker in consequence of the slowness of the previous vowel utterance occupies less time; so that in the one case the shortness of the vowel is accompanied by a longer duration of the contact, and in the other the length of the vowel is attended by a shorter duration of the contact. The change, then, we have been considering, is due to the pressure necessary for the formation of the conjunctal sounds in these words having made a strong impression on the ear of the Pâli speaker. When, however, the length of the vowel prevailed, and neutralized the pressure to such an extent as to render it incapable of attracting attention, the conjunct came to be in the condition of one standing at the beginning of a word; and like it preserved only the more distinct sound and dropped the other, leaving the long vowel unchanged. We have thus सीस for शीर्ष, दीघ for दीर्घ, सासप for सर्षप, &c. It is, however, clear that a long vowel followed by a double consonant is an impossibility in Pâli. A Sanskrit conjunct, whenever it made a distinct impression, was pronounced with the usual characteristics of that sound, viz., the previous rapid and forcible vowel utterance and the subsequent strong contact and strong pressure, the perceptible effect of which was the shortening of the previous vowel and the doubling of the following consonant.