09-04-110

110

CENTRAL PAH (KUMAUN).

speakers. That may be taken as the same as the number of educated Kumauns, wherever they live, who, however, also employ one or other of the local dialects when speaking without formality to men of their own neighbourhood.

　As for the local dialects, we may first take Khasparjiy, the basis of the standard. As already stated it drops the final vowels that are still preserved in the literary form of speech. It is spoken in the centre of Kumaun, in Pargana Barahmandal and in the adjoining parts of Pargana Danpur, both belonging to the Almora District. Closely connected with it are (1) Phaldkiy of Pargana Phaldakot of Almora and of the adjoining country, including the north of the Naini Tal District, and (2) Pachh, or the 'western' dialect, spoken in the south-west of Almora, on the borders of British Garh- wal, and immediately to the west of Phaldkiy and Khasparjiy.

　The next group of dialects consists of those of the Kumaiy type, I.e., those which retain the final vowels of the standard with more or less completeness. Commencing at the south, there are, first, the Kumaun spoken in the greater part of Naini Tal, and the Kumaiy of Kali Kumaun immediately to the east of that district. Here the final vowels are almost entirely preserved. North-west of Kali Kumaun lie, in order, the three Parganas of Chaugarkha, Gangola, and Danpur, where we have, respectively, the Chaugarkhiy, Gagl, and Dpuriy dialects. The last-named is also spoken in the south of the adjoining Johar Pargana. Here the preservation of final vowels is not so complete. There is a distinct, but not universal, tendency to drop them. It may be pointed out that Khasparjiy lies immediately to the east of Chaugarkhiy.

　Next, in the east of the District of Almora, along the Nepal Frontier, there is a row of dialects in which Kumaun shows the influence of the neighbouring Khas-kur, or Naipl. These are named, after the Parganas in which they are respectively spoken, Sriyl, Ask, and Srl. It should be montioned here that in these localities there are some 12,185 Gorkhs from Nepal, who speak their own Khas-kur more or less cor- rupted by intercourse with the surrounding Kumauns. This mixed language will not be described in the following pages.

　Finally, north of Pargana Askot, lies Pargana Johar. We have seen that D- puriy is the dialect of the south of this Pargana. In its north, the language is the Tibeto-Burman Rangkas, and in the centre of the Pargana we find a mixed jargon, half Kumaun and half Tibeto-Burman, called Jhr.

　To sum up, the following is a list of the main dialects of Kumaun, excluding the literary form, together with the number of speakers of each, as estimated for the purposes of this Survey:-

Name of Dialect.	Number of speakers.	TOTAL.
Khasparjiy...	75,930
Phaldkiy...	20,908
Pachh...	95,750
	-----------------	192,588
Kumaun of Naini Tal...	56,679
Bhbar of Rampur...	300
Kumaiy...	37,696
Chaugarkhiy...	37,240
Gagl...	37,734
Dpuriy...	23,851
	-----------------	193,470
Carried over		386,058

See p. 108 ante.