576 Some Bemarlcs on the Origin of the Afgh&n people. [No. 6. 



I formerly entertained an idea that some affinity might exist be- 

 tween Pushto and the language of that strange people, the Gypsies, 

 but subsequent enquiries have convinced me to the contrary ; and I 

 find that no trace of similarity exists between them. This may also 

 be seen by reference to a comparative table of languages which I shall 

 shortly publish. 



Whether the Afghanian language be a dialect of the Semitic, of 

 Zend or Pihlavi origin, or of the Indian stock, I will leave for others 

 better qualified to decide. Before entering into any investigation on 

 the subject, it must be borne in mind, that " no efforts of the learned, 

 can ever so far alter a language, as to deface every line of resemblance 

 between the speech of the present day and that of even the remotest 

 ancestry : nothing but the absolute extirpation of the aboriginal na- 

 tives can apparently accomplish so singular a revolution."* As an 

 instance of this, we have merely to examine the present language of 

 Persia, and the different dialects of the continent of India ; or for a 

 still more convincing proof, to look into the Gothic and Celtic ori- 

 ginal of the modern European languages, amidst the polish and 

 refinement of the Greek and Latin. 



Before bringing these rambling remarks to a close, I must notice a 

 few of the most striking peculiarities of the Pushto language, which 

 will, in some measure, serve as a guide in investigations as to its 

 origin and affinity to the other dialects of the Asiatic continent. 

 It will however be well, first to point out the best and most effectual 

 method of ascertaining the real affinity of oriental languages. 



Baron William Humbolt, in an essay on this highly important 

 subject remarks ; " I confess that I am extremely averse to the 

 system which proceeds on the supposition that we can judge of the 

 affinity of languages merely by a certain number of ideas expressed 

 in the different languages which we wish to compare. I beg you 

 will not suppose however, that I am insensible to the value and 

 utility of the comparisons ; on the contrary, when they are well 

 executed, I appreciate all their importance ; but I can never deem 

 them sufficient to answer the end for which they have been under- 

 taken; they certainly form part of the data to be taken into 

 account in deciding on the affinity of languages, but we should never 

 * Richardson's Dissertation, etc. 



