1236 On the Aborigines of the sub-Himalayas. [Dec. 



think the subject requires and deserves to be treated with great care 

 and equal amplitude. But, as this method of proceeding will necessa- 

 rily entail much delay, I fancy that many of your readers, both in 

 India and Europe, may be glad to receive in the meanwhile a more 

 summary view of the affinities of these tribes as deduced from a toler- 

 ably copious comparison of their languages or dialects. 



Accordingly, I have now the honour to submit such a comparative 

 vocabulary of 1 2 of the dialects found in the eastern sub -Himalayas, 

 inclusive, for comparison's sake, of the written as well as spoken 

 language of Tibet, it being of much importance to give this language 

 in both forms, 1st, because it is employed in the former state with 

 many unuttered letters, and 2nd, because all the dialects or tongues 

 with which it is to be compared exist only (with two exceptions*) in the 

 latter, or unwritten and primitive state. 



With regard to the English vocables selected, I have adopted those 

 of Mr. Brown, in order to facilitate comparisons with the Indo-Chinese 

 tongues, as exemplified by him ; but, to his nouns substantive, I have 

 added some pronouns, numerals, verbs, adverbs, prepositions, conjunc- 

 tions, and adjectives, under the impression that nothing short of such 

 a sample of each of the parts of speech could at all suffice for the 

 attainment of the end in view. Geographically or topically, I have con- 

 fined myself to the east of the river Kali or Ghagra, as well because 

 the dialects prevailing to the westward of that river are for the most 

 part extremely mixed, and indeed almost merged in the ordinary 

 tongues of the plains of Hindusthim as also because I have no imme- 

 diate access to the people of the west. The case is very different in 

 the eastern sub-Himalayas, where I am domiciled, and where, as will be 

 seen, the Indian Prakrits have hardly been able to make a single cog- 

 nisable impression upon any of the numerous vernaculars of the people, 

 with the sole exception of the Khas or Parbatia Bhasha, which as 

 being a mongrel tongue, I have omitted. I have likewise, for the 

 present, omitted some interesting tongues of a genuinely aboriginal 

 character, which are spoken east of the Kali, either by certain forest 

 tribes existing in scanty numbers, nearly in a state of nature, such as 

 the Chcpang, Kusunda and Hayii, or by certain other peculiar and 



* The exceptions are 'the Newari and Lepcha, which form the topic of my second 

 Essay, now nearly ready. 



