1849.] valley of As am and its mountain confines. 195 



Chinese colloquial medium. In after ages however, some great and 

 important event — probably the introduction and spread of Buddhism, 

 — seems to have carried the Sanskrit alphabetic system into these coun- 

 tries, and to have caused its adoption in those nearest to Bengal, with 

 such alterations however, as were necessary to accommodate it to the 

 colloquial medium already current in them. This we find to be the case 

 with Bhotan, where the colloquial medium, which, for ought we know, 

 may have been prevalent in the country from time immemorial, refuses 

 to be identified with the Sanskrit alphabetic system, and has such firm 

 hold on the country, as to induce the inhabitants while they receive the 

 Sanskrit alphabet, to reject some of the letters wholly, and change the 

 sound of others which they still retain. 



The literature of Bhotan, having for a long period of time, been con- 

 nected with that of India, if not entirely derived from it,* it cannot be 

 expected that the language continues to be a purely monosyllabic one. 

 It may perhaps be better represented as a connecting link between the 

 polysyllabic and monosyllabic languages. 



The alphabet is derived from the Nagri or Sanskrit system, and 

 some of the letters resemble the corresponding ones in the Bengali 

 alphabet. It contains eight series, the last of which has only two 

 powers. The first four of these are the K, T, Ch, and P series, com- 

 mon to both the Sanskrit and Chinese system ; but the alphabet is 

 alike destitute of the F series of the Chinese system, and of the double 

 modification of the T series, found in the Sanskrit system. The fifth 

 series of this alphabet, Tz, Tzh, &c. is evidently the Ts, Ts'h series 

 of the Chinese system ; and amidst the sixth and seventh, vestiges of 

 the other sibilant series may be traced. 



But the most singular feature in this descendant of the Sanskrit sys- 

 tem is, that the four first series, instead of possessing five letters, like 

 the Nagri alphabet, have only/bwr, the second aspirate in each series is 

 wanting, as it is in the Chinese system too, the first and third letters of 

 each series have pretty nearly the same sound affixed to them. 



Of Nouns. 

 Gender, in nouns, is usually expressed by the addition of the word 

 po, male, or mo, female, before or after the noun. Example : 



* If coeval with the introduction of Buddhism, it must have been between the 

 7th and 8th centuries of the Christian era. 



