1853.] On tie Indo-Chinese borderers. 7 



Hear, attend. — Nyen in Bhotia and Lhdpa and Lepcha, Nyo in 

 Newari. 

 Ne in Khyeng, Ka-na-i, in Kami. 



Bemark, the materials for the above striking comparative view are 

 derived from my own original vocabularies for the northern tongues, 

 as published in the Journal No. 185, for December 1847, and from 

 Capt. Phayre's for the southern tongues, hereto appended. 



It is seldom that vocabularies so trustworthy can be had, and had 

 in series, for comparison; and yet it is abundantly demonstrable 

 that every thing in regard to the discovery of the larger ethnic 

 affinities of dispersed races depends upon such a presentation of these 

 materials, the distinction of roots and of servile particles, as well as 

 the range of synonymous variation, in each of these classes of words, 

 being thus only testable, and these points being all important as 

 diagnostics, even more so than grammatical peculiarities which, at 

 least in our sense, are apt to be excessively vague, or else palpably 

 borrowed, among the Mongolidse. Syntactic poverty and crudity 

 and etymological refinement and abundance seem to be the charac- 

 teristics of this vast group of tongues, and hence the importance of 

 its vocables and the necessity of obtaining them in a state accurate 

 enough for analysis, and copious enough to embrace the average range 

 of synonymes. 



A common stock of primitive roots and of serviles, similarly em- 

 ployed, indicates unmistakeably a common lineage and origin among 

 the several races to which such stock belongs : preference for this 

 or that synonyme among the radicals, as well as various degrees 

 and modes in the employment of serviles, whether prefixed, infixed 

 or postfixed, indicates as unmistakeably the several branches from 

 the same family stem with the relative ages and distances of 

 their segregation. By the above comparison of vocabularies I pur- 

 pose to illustrate the common lineage of tribes now and for ages 

 most widely dispersed, and of which the intimate relationship is or- 

 dinarily overlooked : by a subsequent and more detailed examination 

 somewhat differently conducted, I will endeavour to illustrate the 

 true character of the minor distinctions of race, showing that these 

 distinctions are by no means inconsistent with the common lineage 

 and family relationship now exhibited. 



