11-01-006
6
GIPSY LANGUAGES.
If we begin with S
s
,
it will be shown later on that the dialect varies according to the locality
in which it is spoken, it being Hind
st
n
in the East and a mixture of Hindstn
and Pa
jb
in the Northern Panjab, the stronghold of the tribe. Stray features such as
the softening of hard mutes in the dative and genitive suffixes gu, g
and in words such as dand, tooth, are such as are also found in Western Pah
.
The same is the case with the oblique base ending in
in weak bases, just as in Mar
h.
Forms such as the ablative suffix th
;
the pronouns ham, we; tam, you, remind us of Gujart,
but also of Western Pah.
The dialect of the Sss
is closely related to Klh.
The termination of oblique bases,
which is well known from Gujart
and Western Pah,
is here common. Forms such as m
r-ku,
to me, remind us of Dakhin
Hindstn,
while the use of the relative base ja with the meaning of a demonstrative in
forms such as jab, then, is in accordance
with the practice in Rjasthn
dialects.
If we now turn to Kanjar,
we again find that the oblique base of weak nouns ends in
or in , as in Western Pah.
Strong masculine bases often end in ,
plural , as in Rjasthn.
Demonstrative pronouns such as j,
j, that, are
also in accordance with the usage in that language. Pronouns such as ur,
he; y, you; verbal suffixes such
as ir, gir, in the present and past; the frequent use of relative participles;
the tendency to form a negative verb, and so forth, perhaps point to the existence
of a Dravidian element in the dialect. Kanjar
is a comparatively consistent form of speech and seems to possess less local
varieties than many other Gipsy tongues. The Kanjars are ethnographically related
to the Sss
and Klhs,
and also to the Hab
s.
Just as the latter speak Gujart
Bhl
in the Gangetic Doab, the language of the Kanjars reminds us of Gujart,
Rjasthn,
and Pah
even in districts where these languages are not home tongues. The Magahiy
ms
of Saran and Champaran speak the current Bhjpur
of the districts. There is, however, also a tissue of Rjasthn,
and the argot of the ms
in so many points agrees with that in use among the Kanjars that it is impossible
to separate the two. Na
also has some features which seem to point towards Rjasthn,
though the dialect underlying the argot of the Nas
varies very much according to district. Gr
is a mixture of Hindstn,
Eastern Rjasthn
and Marh,
and a similar position must be assigned to the so-called Mynwl,
while Qa
is based on Hindstn,
Sikalgr
on Gujart,
and Malr on Ngpuri.
Gulguli, finally, is too insufficiently
known to allow us to say anything definite about its position.
There are accordingly also some philological reasons for supposing a common
origin of many of the Gipsy tribes. It will be remembered that they are described
as belonging to the Dravidian race and that some of them use Dravidian forms
of speech. Most of them, however, so far as they come within the scope of this
Survey, speak Aryan tongues. If they are of Dravidian stock, that must be a
secondary development. Their original language cannot have been Aryan. Now the
existence of a Rjasthn element in so many Gipsy dialects may be
taken as an indication that they have abandoned their old speech and adopted
an Aryan tongue within an area where Rjasthn was spoken. It is a
curious coincidence that the stronghold of the Bhls, who must have a similar
origin, is found between the territories occupied by
Pah
is closely related to Rjasthn.
See Vol. IX, Pt. Iv, pp. 2ff., 103ff.