856 Application of the 'Roman Alphabet. rjfo. 4 



tensive vocabulary ; yet few words in that vocabulary can be said to 

 belong to it ; which is at once the most widely spread, the most popu* 

 lar, and the most useful of the languages of India, yet of which there is 

 no definite form or dialect that can properly be called a language of any 

 part of India ; which cannot be developed without losing its identity, 

 and yet which wanting, as it is, in all these, the attributes of a perfect 

 language, has a grammatical structure which is essentially its own, and 

 which it carries with it into whatever other language it may be merged, 

 The language I allude to, is that which is commonly called Hindustani, 

 It is the lingua franca of Hindustan, and is so universally familiar, 

 that many I dare say will say that my remarks are paradoxical, and 

 some that they are absurd. I venture to think that they are neither 

 the one nor the other. But_, as few will feel disposed to accept my 

 simple word for the fact, I beg to offer the following explanation. The 

 Hindustani language, as now existing, can hardly be called an indepen* 

 dent language, — a language which springing from an original and 

 ancient source, has existed, first in a primitive and rude form, and by 

 a gradual and progressive development, always preserving its original 

 basis, has finally received a polish, and been imbued with an elasticity, 

 such as to make it a suitable medium for the expression of complex 

 ideas. It cannot be said to belong to the Aryan ; it certainly does not 

 belong to the Semitic ; it does not belong to the Scythian family of 

 languages. It is a language, the elements of which are drawn from all 

 these sources. The basis, that is the grammatical structure of Hin- 

 dustani, if ever it was Sanskrit, is now so distinct from it, as to possess 

 quite a character of its own, and its vocabulary is made up from lan- 

 guages both of the Aryan, Seythic, and Semitic families. It is so far 

 then a composite language, but inasmuch as languages of distinct 

 and separate origin will not readily mix, the moment any attempt 

 at attaining a high degree of development is made, a conflict of ele- 

 ments takes place, which generally ends in the complete overthrow of 

 one and the merging of what is called simple Hindustani into lan- 

 guages which, while they preserve in a great degree their Indian 

 structure, indent for their vocabulary either on languages purely of 

 Aryan, or purely of Semitic origin. This conflict is mainly attribut- 

 able to the cause here assigned, the hostility of the primitive elements, 

 and possibly of the races, but there can be little doubt that it is greatly 

 fostered and encouraged by the maintenance of a double alphabet, and 



