CHAPTER SECOND. OF THE ELISION, INSERTION, AND PERMUTATION, OF LETTERS. ossessing the refined and inexhaustible Sanscrit, as the established me- 81 Possessing dium for the communication of knowledge, to the few among whom it's dissemination is thought to be lawful; Teloogoo writers have had little inducement to give much attention to the cultivation of their own language. Their literature consists almost entirely of poetry; and their Poets, desirous only to please the ear, or to flatter the vanity of the reigning Prince, seem to have deemed the improvement of their style a secondary consideration. The cadence of their verses, and the tones of the words composing them, have occupied almost their exclusive attention. The consequence has been a neglect of the more important qualities of composition, and a studied conciseness of expression, which, though not inelegant in itself, has frequently the effect of rendering their sentences obscure. At the same time, by a judicious union of the sweetness of the original Teloogoo, with the majestic sounds of the sonorous Sanscrit, they have succeeded in giving to the language a pleasing variety of modulation, which distinguishes it from all others current in the Peninsula. Another principal cause of this euphony is the extraordinary care that 82 has been taken to prevent any incongruity of sound arising from the conjunction of dissimilar letters. The numerous rules, for this purpose, are scattered, in a confused manner, through the works of many Grammarians; and, as the following is the first attempt to reduce them to methodical order, it may hereafter, perhaps, be found susceptible of great improvement. I shall endeavour to explain, 1st the alterations which take place in letters at the beginning and end of words; and 2ndly, the changes which occur in the middle of words. But it is proper, in the first place, to apprize the Reader, that the following rules are by no means rigidly observed, except in studied compositions. In the common or colloquial dialect, many of the changes will occasionally be found: it is true that they are not there adhered to systematically, but even in that dialect they are seldom entirely neglected. The Student, however, may find it more convenient to refer occasionally to this chapter as he advances, than, at the very commencement of his labours, to enter into some of the most perplexing niceties of the language. OF THE ALTERATION OF LETTERS AT THE COMMENCEMENT AND 83 84 In treating of this subject, the whole of the words in the Teloogoo language are divided into two classes; one termed ge kululoo, the other ద్రుత ప్రకృతులు drootuprukrootooloo. The class termed se kululoo includes, 1st the singular and plural nominatives of all nouns and pronouns, (except I and he she ør it) and the oblique case, or what I have termed the inflexion, of all nouns and pronouns, both in the singular and plural number. 33 through, respec3 for, on occount of, 2dly. The postpositions యొక్క o యొక of, కూర్చి or గురించి towards, on account of, through, is from, ting, on account of, or నుండి or నుంచి from, away from. or expressing interrogation, ✓ → or 3dly. The fiual significant letters 4thly. Indeclinableparticles, like e ట, కద, మంట, ఎలా, ఇంచుక, అంత, &c. 5thly. All Interjections, and vocative cases. Gthly. The words, ఇప్పుడు now, అప్పుడు then, ఎప్పుడు when? 7thly. Every part of the verb; except the first and third persons in the singular, and the third person neuter in the plural, of the first forms of the past and future tenses, and of the affirmative aorist; the first person singular of the negative aorist; the infinitive; and the present verbal participle terminating in ; and, when followed by vowels only, the indifinite relative participle ending. inor, or the root when used for this participle. The negative verbal participle, which always ends in %, is classed both in 85 the ∞ kululoo, and the es drootuprukrootvoloo. The nominatives 1, he she or it, and the several parts of the verb mentioned above, as exceptions; together with all the other words in the language, not included in the foregoing specification of the se kululo, form the numerous class denominated drootuprukrootooloo. తులు Every Teloogoo word, whether included in the class of kululoo, or ves drootuprukrootvoloo, naturally terminates in some one of the connected vowels I shall first point out the changes which occur when any of these words is followed by another commencing with an initial vowel; and shall then explain the alterations that take place, when any of them is followed by another beginning with a consonant.. In Teloogoo, two vowels never can come in contact; therefore, when a word terminating in a connected vowel is followed by another commencing with an initial vowel, there is either the change termed by Grammarians Sund,hi, or a consonant is inserted between the two words; unless the initial vowel be one of the Sanscrit letters 2.ro, roo, and m loo, which at the beginning of a word, are to be considered the same as consonants, The consonants inserted, when Sund hi does not occur, are a yif the former of the two words be included in the class termed še kululoo, and ↔ n if it belong to the ves drootuprukrooteoloo; but, whichever of these two consonants is inserted, it changes the following initial vowel into it's connected form, and, coalescing with it, forms, in conjunction with it, one syllable. 86 87. 88 899 90 91 92 93 94 Sundhi is the elision of the connected vowel terminating the first word, and of the initial vowel commencing the following word, and the substitution of the connected form of the latter vowel in lieu of both; as shewn in the examples hercafter given. Sund hi never takes place unless the first word terminates in one of the three short connected vowelsu, 9 i, oro, except in a few particular instances noticed hereafter. I FINAL. ~ It may be adopted as a general rule that a word terminating in followed by another commencing with an initial vowel, may at option have Sundhi; thus, && that gruzed, and dropping the final in for both the connected form of 2 a cow, make the cow that grezed, by and the initial in , and substituting viz. ; which, uniting with the preceding n, makes the syllable, by means of which the two words coalesce. Ent as the Sund hi of final ~ is optional, and is included in the class of 5 ges kululoo, 2 andes, when Sundhi does not take place, become %5 , by the insertion of a between the two words, and the change of in the latter to it's connected form, which, uniting with o, forms the syllable , by means of which the words coalesce, as above stated. EXCEPTIONS. త Words of the class termed ces drootuprukrootooloo, ending in, never admit of Sundhi. By rule 89, therefore, n is always inserted after such words, when the following one begins with an initial vowel. The word 20 more, is excepted; for adding to it what? we may say, either 20s what more? by inserting on, or co by Sundhi. 3 L 2 Vocative cases ending in, and the nominative case singular of pure Teloogoo nouns denoting women, and terminating in , do not admit of Sundhi, when followed by a word commencing with an initial vowel. Being of the class named g∞ kululoo, such words assume ay as explained in rule 89; thus, ecs a woman and he she, or it gave, make Becsap |