102<3 Comparison of Indo-Chinese Languages. [Dec. 



ch, which the northern tribes change to ts ; d, for which they use / or n; 

 r, which becomes h ; and ua, which they exchange for long 6. 



Different systems of writing have been introduced to express the sounds 

 of the Tai ; the Khamti and Shyan alphabets are evidently derived from 

 the Barmese ; the Laos is nearly related to the Barmese, but more com- 

 plete and better adapted to the wants of the language than the Shyan ; 

 while the Siamese character bears only a remote resemblance to the Bar- 

 mese. 



All the dialects of the Tai have nearly the same grammatical construc- 

 tion. The arrangement of words in sentences is, for the most part, as in 

 English ; unlike other eastern laguages, where the words are generally 

 placed in an inverted order. The nominative precedes the verb ; the verb 

 usually precedes the objective. Prepositions always precede the nouns 

 which they govern. The possessive case follows the noun by which it is 

 governed, as mii man, the hand [of J him, i. e. his hand. Adjectives follow 

 the nouns which they qualify. 



A striking feature in many eastern languages both monosyllabic and 

 polysyllabic, is the use o£ numeral affixes, or, as they have sometimes been 

 called, generic particles. These particles are affixed to numeral adjectives, 

 and serve to point out the genus to which the preceding substantive be- 

 longs. Thus in Tai, the expression for two elephants would be, tsang song 

 to, elephants two bodies. When the number is one, the generic particle 

 precedes the numeral, as tsang to niing, one elephant. In Barmese, the 

 generic particles invariably follow the numerals, as Id ta-yauk, man one 

 person ; lu nhi-yauk, men two persons, i. e. two men. 



III. — A'kd and A'bor. These languages have been but partially examin- 

 ed ; it is evident, however, from the table, that they are closely allied to 

 each other, nearly half the words being found alike in both. One-fifth of 

 the words agree with the Mishimi ; and a considerable number with the 

 Barmese, Singpho and Manipur. 



The A'bors occupy the lofty ranges of mountains on each side the river 

 Dihdng, or Tsdmpu, and are probably very numerous. The Miri is a dia- 

 lect of this language, which is spoken by the people of the plains ; but is 

 said not to be essentially different from the language of the highlands. 



IV. — Mishimi. This language is spoken by the inhabitants of the 

 mountainous regions on the river Dibdng, east of the Abor country. Little 

 is known of them. There are three principal tribes, the Mdi Mishimis, 

 the Tdron or Digdru Mishimis, and the Maiyi or Meme Mishimis. Their 

 language is substantially the same. It is distinguished by several very 

 peculiar tones, and some of its consonants are extremely difficult of enun- 

 ciation. In this respect it differs from the Abor, the sounds of which 

 are easy and flowing. 



V. — Barmese. This language is originally monosyllabic, although it 

 now contains many polysyllabic words. These are mostly terms belonging 

 to their religion, which have been introduced from the Pali, their sacred 

 language. The Barmese delights in the multiplication of synonymous 



