09-03-138

138

PANCH.

　The Panchals, or brass-workers, of Buldana have been reported to speak a separate dialect called Panch. The number of speakers has been estimated at 560.

　 A version of the Parable of the Prodigal Son in Panch has been received from the Melkapur Taluka on the Khandesh border of Buldana. It exhibits a form of speech which, in many points, is related to Khnd, though of a much more mixed nature.

　The pronunciation is apparently the same as in Khnd. It should, however, be noted that final and or u are frequently interchanged. Thus, pry and pry, a son; tr, tr and tru, thy; gay and gay, he went; ht-m, on the hand; g-ma, on the body, etc.

　 The inflexion of nouns differs from Khnd in so far as there are no traces of the oblique plural ending in s; thus, chgly mnus-na, of good men.

　The case of the agent is formed by adding n, na, or ; the dative by adding na; the locative by adding ma, etc. Thus, bp-n and bp, by the father; mnus-na, by the man, to the man; wwar-ma, in the field. Note also y ritan, in this way.

　There is apparently no neuter gender. Compare gn aiku , singing to-hear came; p bhar astu, he would have filled his belly; I-na k nkar-na puch, he asked a servant.

　Pronouns.-'I' is h as in Gujart and Mlv; 'my' is mr; 'thy' tr and tr; 'his' u-na; 'your' tumr, and so on. Note also , he; u-na and t-n, by him; y, this; y-ky, to this; j, who, etc.

　The verb substantive is chha as in Gujart and the Khnd of Nimar. Chha (or chh) is used for all persons and numbers of the present tense. The past tense is, singular, 1, ht, or t; 2, hts; 3, ht, ht, th, and huy; plural, 1, ht; 2, ht; 3, ht.

　The present tense of finite verbs is formed by adding chha to the old present; thus, h ju-chha, I go; tu ji-chha, thou goest; ji-chha, he goes. Other forms are h maras, I die; tu rahi-ch, thou remainest; was, he comes; hm mr, we strike; h mras chh, I am striking.

　The past tense is formed by adding the suffixes or y; thus, lgy, he began; gay, gay, he went; rah, he remained; didu nahi, that was not given; h tri w kari, I did thy service, etc.

　 There are only a few instances of a future. Thus, kawhas, I will say; mrs, I will strike; bin, I shall be; pu nand kar, we shall make merry. The last men- tioned form kar is probably simply the first person plural of the present. In pun kh p maj kari, let us eat and drink and make merry, kari seems to correspond to the Khnd future ending in .

　The verbal noun is formed as in Khnd. Thus, sukw, to say; karw and karw-n, to make; achan pay lg, distress began to arise. In poshkh g-ma mln, put a cloth on his body, the form ending in n seems to be a future participle passive, corresponding to Marh forms ending in v.

　The conjunctive participle is formed as in Khnd. Thus, w, having divided; achn, having been; karin, having done. Note also aikiy, having heard, where the suffix of the case of the agent has been substituted for n.