Wilson Philological Lectures on Sanskrit and the Derived Languages c8.54

c8.54

Another kind of assimilation must be noticed here. The vowels are open sounds and the consonants close. These being used together, the openness of the former has a tendency to diminish to assimilate them to the latter, and the closeness of the latter has a similar tendency to yield to the openness of the former. This latter change involves economy and is the same as softening; त् and प् for instance become more and more like vowels when they are changed to द् and ब्, and thence to लू and व्; while the latter ultimately does become the vowel अ. But the former does not involve softening in itself but rather hardening, since ए or इ, and ओ or उ, to which अ is sometimes changed, occasion motions of the tongue and the lips which the latter does not. But in this change there is an ease of pronunciation such as is involved in assimilation. Immediately after one closing of the passage of the breath, it is easier to make a shorter opening for it such as इ and उ require before another closing, than a longer one such as the pronunciation of ए and ओ requires, or a complete one such as is necessary for अ. This last vowel therefore has a tendency to pass off into ए and इ, or ओ and उ. But whether the shorter opening is to be made at the middle of the palate or at the lips, that is, whether अ is to be changed to ए and इ, or ओ and उ depends on the vocal habits of a people. Some are accustomed to open their lips and round them, others not. Similarly, whether the opening shall be the least possible or a little more, that is, whether अ is to be changed to ए or ओ first, and then to इ or उ, or at once to इ or उ depends upon habit. And the ease of pronunciation involved in this kind of assimilation is also relative. Some people may feel the muscular effort required for इ and उ to be more intolerable than the wider or complete opening, and prefer ए and ओ or even अ, as in the instances given under vowel softening, and in others occurring in some of the modern vernaculars. The Prâkrits change अ to इ in virtue of this law of assimilation, as in पिक्क for पक्क, इङ्गाल for अङ्गार, मुइङ्ग for मृदङ्ग, सिविण for स्वप्न, and णिडाल for ललाट; and to ए in गेन्दुअ for कन्दुक, एत्थ for अत्र, देख्व for दक्ष, &c.