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BROKEN DIALECTS OF THANA AND THE KONKAN.

　The various forms of speech dealt with in the preceding pages represent one and the same main dialect, with slight local variations. There are, besides, a few dialects spoken in Thana and neighbourhood which are of a more mixed nature.

　To these belong Ktkar or Kthd, which is originally a Bhl dialect closely related to Khnd, but has now been so much influenced by Marh that it can con- veniently be classed as a dialect of that form of speech.

　Another dialect of a similar kind is Vrl. The Vrls, as also the Ktkars, are said to be more like the Bhls than the Ks. Their dialect is still more influenced by Marh than Ktkar.

　Lastly there are three small dialects in Thana, viz., Vval, Phug, and Smvd, which still have preserved many of the characteristic features of Gujart Bhl.

KTH OR KTKAR.

　The Ktkars are a forest tribe inhabiting the mountain fastnesses in the Konkan and the Sahyadri Hills. Their name is usually derived from kath, catechu, which they extract from the terra japonica, or khair tree. Their dialect is sometimes called Ktkar and sometimes Kth or Ktva. The numbers of speakers which have been returned for the use of the Linguistic Survey are as follows,-

　No specimens have been received from Khandesh and Jawhar. The dialect spoken in Thana, Janjira, and Kolaba is not everywhere the same. The base is, however, identical throughout, and Kth must be derived from a form of speech closely related to Khnd. The influence of the surrounding Marh dialects has, on the other hand, been so strong that the speech of the Ktkars all over the Konkan now looks like a form of Marh. Their dialect is, accordingly, no more pure.

　The suffix of the genitive is n; thus, bhs-n, of a father. Here the oblique form bhs corresponds to bps in the Marh of the Konkan, while the suffix agrees with Khnd and Guart. The Marh form in is also used; thus, mjy b-chy kr-l, to the servants of my father. Similarly we find ghar-m and ghart, in the house; shr and shr, sons; m-n, my; tu-n, thy; and tujhy samr, before thee; t, that, and y (gh), this (horse).

　The verb substantive forms its present tense as follows,-

　Singular, 1, h; 2, hs; 3, h; plural, 1, hv; 2, h; 3, ht and ht. The past tense is 1, hat (); 2, hat (s); 3, hat; plural, 1, hatv; 2, hat; 3, hatt or hutt. Another base h occurs in forms such as hin, he was; hint, they were; h-hna and hn, having been. Besides, we often meet with Marh forms such as ht, he was.