1880.] R. C. Temple— of the Tal Cliotiali Field Force. 163 



women and children in the villages passed by the army, the knowledge of 

 Hindustani, which is there so frequent as to carry one anywhere through 

 the valley, and the travelling habits of the people. These traits are more 

 specially to be observed among the Pishin Satads, than among the Taeiks, 

 though many of these speak Hindustani fluently, as also can some of the 

 Do'p and Gwal Valley Kakars. Many of the so-called Pathans who travel 

 to all parts of India and even to Burmah selling horses are Pishin Sayads, 

 some of whom make it a yearly practice to do so, keeping regular agents 

 at Bangaltj'ii (in Maisu'e) and other horse marts. "When the field tele- 

 graph was first opened at Gulistan Kare'z in the Pishin, all private 

 messages had to be countersigned by the Political Agent, whose tent was 

 besieged by applications for telegrams from the Sayads and Tarfns, who sent 

 messages to all parts of India, one being addressed to Kandy in Ceylou. 



VI. Language, 



My observations under this head were the most unsatisfactory of all, 

 as I was enabled to do little more than observe the variations in the pro- 

 nunciation of place names. 



The language spoken is Pusiito* in dialects not, however, differing 

 so much from the standard Pushto of our army as to prevent the soldiers 

 from being readily understood. Its most prominent feature, the excessive 

 gutturalness, seen in such words as Ghwazh, Ukhmughdai, Zhizha Tan- 

 GAi, is apparently such as is commonly to he found in the language, as 

 also are the harsh cerebral t, d and r, so frequently heard all along the 

 route. t 



The next most important feature for the purposes of this paper is the 

 interchange of consonants in place names. Those that came under obser- 

 vation are the following, some of which are doubtless due to local dialectic 

 variation. J 



Clianges of J. 



into d and z. Ngandeh = Nganjeh: Stajgai = Sxadgai = 

 Sazdai. 



into zli and y. Zho'b = Jo'b = Yo'b. 



into z. Zai (the termination) — Zo'l = Jai = Ji. 



into sli. KuusHLAK = Khujlak. 



* Or PuKiiTo. Kii (^) and sh (c^") are convertible sounds in the language. 



t This is especially the case in the Bo'hai Valley and in the country approaching 

 tho Bcloch Border. But this might be due to the propinquity of the Bclochhi dialects 

 in which t and d are very hard. 



+ All such interchanges are valuable for comparing and identifying tho names 

 given by various uulhurs to places along tho same route. 



