FROM CENTRAL INDIA TO POLYNESIA. 165 



" Grundziige einer Lautlehre tier Mon-Khmer-Sprachen " (°) 

 laid down for the first time the main lines of the compar- 

 ative phonology of the Mon, Khmer, Stieng and Bahnar lan- 

 guages. Although perhaps subject to future modification in 

 matters of detail, there can be no doubt that this work gives a 

 new insight into the phonetic structure and past history of 

 these tongues and is an acquisition of permanent value. In 

 his " Grundziige einer Lautlehre der Khasi-Sprache in ihren 

 Beziehungen zu derjenigen der Mon-Khmer-Sprachen " ( 6 ) he 

 goes on to show that Khasi, a language spoken in Assam, 

 which had generally been regarded as standing quite alone, is 

 really a distant relative 'though not an actual member) of the 

 Mon-Khmer group, and exhibits a similar structure, both 

 phonetic and morphological. All these languages are in fact 

 built up on the same system, viz. from very simple 

 monosyllabic roots to which are added in many cases one or 

 more prefixes or infixes. The same work also for the first 

 time established the fact that the Palaung, Wa and Kiang 

 dialects of Upper Burma and the Shan States constitute a 

 linguistic group standing midway between Khasi and the Mon- 

 Khmer family, a fact which agrees remarkably well with the 

 relative geographical position of these several groups. 



In his most recent work on this subject Professor Schmidt 

 points out that to this list of cognate languages must now be 

 added the Nicobar dialects, which are not (as had previously 

 been maintained) essentially polysyllabic but are built up just 

 like all the others from monosyllabic roots. In the Nicobarese 

 dialects, however, there is the important difference that not 

 only prefixes and infixes but also suffixes are used in the 

 structure of their words. This last fact is regarded by 

 Professor Schmidt as a material piece of evidence in favour of 

 grouping the Munda languages, which make a great use of 

 suffixes, with the others already mentioned. Undeniably there 



(5) Denkselirift d. K. Akad. d. Wiss-, in Wien, Phil. -hist. Kl.„ 

 Rand III. 



(6) Abhandl. d. K. Bayer. Akad. d. Wiss., Kl. 1, land \A1I 

 Abt. HI. 



R. A. Soc, No. 53, 1909- 



