INTRODUCTION. 



1. The Balochi language belongs fco the Iranian branch of the Arj'an 

 family. It is found in two distinct forms ; the Northern dialect which 

 's here treated of, and the Southern or Makrani dialect which has been, 

 lately dealt with in Major Mockler's Grammar. The Northern dialect 

 is spoken among the Rind Baloches living in the neighbourhood of the 

 Bolan Pass in Kachi, and on the Upper Sindh and South Pan jab frontiers. 

 The tribes speaking this dialect are the Rinds, Dombkis, Maghasis, Jakranis, 

 Marris, Bugtis, Mazaris, Drishaks, Gorchanis, Lasharis, Durkanis, Legharis, 

 Hadyanis, Lunds, Khosas, Bozdars, and Kaisaranis. These tribes come 

 into contact with populations speaking Sindhi, Panjabi, Brahoi, and Pashto. 

 The Indian languages, Sindhi and Panjabi, have affected the Balochi 

 Vocabulary considerably, Pashto very slightly if at all, while Brahoi 

 has probably borrowed considerably from Balochi. The Brahdis commonly 

 understand Baloclii, and it is the commonest medium of communication 

 between them and the Balochi speaking tribes. The best Baloch is pro- 

 bably spoken among the Dombkis and Bugtis, the most corrupt perhaps 

 among the Bozdars. But the differences in dialect between one tribe and 

 another are very slight, while between the Northern and Southern dialects 

 the difference is so great that the one is almost unintelligible to the tribes 

 speaking the other. The Sarawan and Jahlawan tribes of Brahois occupy 

 a broad belt of country dividing one dialect from the other. 



2. This dialect was first dealt with by Leech in the Journal of the 

 Bengal Asiatic Society for 1840. His sketch was commented on by 

 Lassen in the "Zeitschrift fiir die Kunde des Morgenlandes" for 1841. 

 Leech gives a small Vocabulary. Gladstone's Bildchi Manual (Lahore, 

 1873) and Bruce's Manual (Lahore, 1869) both include Vocabularies, but 

 no attempt has hitherto been made to compile a full or systematical 

 vocabulary. There is a scanty vocabulary of Southern Balochi in Masson's 

 travels, but this dialect is fully dealt with by Major Mockler, and a 

 vocabulary is also promised. The difference between the dialects is so 

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