Wilson Philological Lectures on Sanskrit and the Derived Languages c9.3

c9.3

The varieties of speech prevailing in Northern India at the present day are almost innumerable. If even a few peculiarities were to be regarded as giving individuality to a language, the number of dialects spoken in this part of the country would exceed even the proverbial fifty-six. But they may be divided into classes on the principle of resemblance; and generally the dialects spoken in the adjoining provinces are so alike each other that they may be regarded as constituting one class or even one language. Thus we have nine principal languages; and starting from ourselves, and going northwards, first on the western side of the country and then turning to the east and south-east, I may state them as the Marâṭhî, the Gujarâtî, the Sindhî, including the Kachchhî, the Panjâbî, the Kaśmîrî, the Hindî, the Nepâlî, the Bangâlî, and the Oriyâ. Of these the Kaśmîrî and the Nepâlî have not yet been studied, and no grammars or books are available. Hence my observations will not extend to them. Each of these has its dialects; but those of some, such as the Gujarâtî and the Sindhî, differ from the main language in unimportant particulars. The same is the case with the Marâṭhî, except in some corners of the Maratha country. But in these there are five dialects differing in a great many important particulars from the main Marâṭhî. Thus, the Goanese prevails in Goa; the Mâlvaṇî, my own native tongue, and the Sâvantvâḍî, both of which, notwithstanding some minor differences, may be considered as one, are spoken in the Mâlvan, Vingorla, and Sâvantvâḍî districts. The Chitpâvnî is used only by the caste of Chitpâvan Brahmans in the district about Ratnâgiri; the Salsettî is spoken by the original inhabitants of that island and of Bombay; and the Khândeśî, which is a mixture of Marâṭhî and Gujarâtî, and contains to an appreciable degree a barbarous element, probably from a Bheel source, prevails in Khândeśa.