03-02-220

220

NG GROUP.

ropes (i.e., head bands used for carrying loads) on the stone and bathed. Jesu, on seeing this, stole away a head-rope, and after stealing it, sat upon it. Then the rest exclaiming,

'If water (quick) we do not bring,

Our parents us will rate,'

went away. And she who had lost her head-rope cried out, 'O comrades, wait for me, I can't find my head-rope.' But her comrades had gone without waiting for her. When her companions had all gone, Jesu came forth and seized her, saying, 'what is your name? Unless you tell me your name, I won't give you back your head-rope.' She (replied), 'I will tell you, my name is Vihuju.' Then Jesu said, 'Be my wife, and I will give you back your head-rope.' (She replied) 'O then, I will be your wife.' Jesu (then said), 'come along let us go home.'

DZUN, NLI OR MIM, KEHEN.

　These three dialects are all spoken in the Nga Hills District, to the south of Kohima. Dzun is the most northern. Then comes Mim, spoken only in the village of that name, while Kehen is the most southern of the three. The numbers of their speakers are given on p. 205.

　I am indebted to the kindness of Captain A. E. Woods, I.S.C., and Lieutenant W. M. Kennedy, I.S.C., for lists of words in these Ng dialects. It was only after many attempts that these lists were obtained, and they both state that they found it extremely difficult to obtain accurate renderings of some of the forms. They, hence, cannot guarantee absolute correctness. No one is in a better position than the writer of these lines to appreciate the care and labour which have been expended in supplying materials for the Survey from this polyglot district. Of most of the languages illustrated little except the names has hitherto been known, and this opportunity is gladly taken of acknowledging the debt which linguistic science owes to these gentlemen.

　It will be seen that these dialects bear a very close relationship to Tengim. Kehen alone shows any striking points of divergence. The following are the principal points of difference in the grammar of each dialect:-

　In Dzun, the principal differences are in vocabulary, not in grammar. The parti- ciples, as in seen from Nos. 169-174 of the list of words, are formed differently, and the interrogative particle is k or g intead of g.

　In Nli, the suffix of the dative is ki and of the ablative is kilo, instead of ki and kinu, respectively. There is a contracted dual in popo-nn instead of popo kenna, two fathers. The particle of interrogation seems to be gh.

　 In Kehen the relative particle is usually written o instead of u. The suffix m sometimes becomes mi, as in relimi kesh po for relum kesh po, a bad girl. The suffix of the ablative is kin, instead of kinu. The comparative is construed with the ablative and not with the dative, see No. 133. The pronoun of the first person is i or , with a plural h-ko instead of he-ko. Regarding this pronoun Lieutenant Kennedy states that i and cannot be used interchangeably, but that he has not been able to find out when one should be used and when the other. H-o is 'this,' and lu- is 'that.' In verbs, the suffix of the past is l, and of the imperative t or l-t. The interrogative particle is gh. Generally speaking the pronunciation of this dialect is broader than that of Tengim, and the vowel is much more common than in the standard form of speech.