ETHNOLOGY OF THB IWDO-PAOIPIC ISLAITDS. 



5 



In the Tamil ya-n/Tiduva ya-nu, the contracted forms a«, an«, take 

 the common y |>icfix. The Todava o/w, o» (pi, om) is a simitar 

 contracted variety, with the radical vowel changed to o. In the 

 broad form won, wow it assumes a quaai-eonsonantal augment, 

 like some other words, e, g;. on, won, "one." The o form of the 

 vowel also occurs in the Tamil verb form of the plural om» cori>ea- 

 ponding with the Todava; in the Gond oblique no-wa stag., and 

 in the Male poss. onff-hi sinj^. om pL (Tarn. Tod.) The substitu- 

 tion of 0 for a is characteristic of the Toda phonology. But aa 

 the Gond and Male form^ cannot have been immediately deriired 

 from it during the era in which tlie more civilised Dravirinn nations 

 have been interposed between theTodaaaml the Gonds, it is proba- 

 ble that the o forms are very archaic and were at one time widely 

 prevalent. The Tamil remnant in the plural of the verb postfix 

 U a strong evidence of the antiquity of o. Possibly it is the original 

 form, bvit the general character of Bravirian phonology makes it 

 more propable that variations in (he vowel eiisted from an early 

 statue of the formation. In unwritten languages dialectic changes 

 in the vowels are very common. • 



The Second Pronoun has the full form ni in all the Southern 

 dialects and in Gond, with ami without postfixes (-/IM, -vu, -cfiy -k). 

 The forms nu and ti [def. replacing pronoun] occur in the Tamil 

 plural poss., and na in the Todava pi. The contractions i and ai 

 are also found. 



Two kinds of pronominal plurals occur. In one the root post- 

 fixes the ordinary plaral definitives like substantives. All the 

 relative or "exclusive" plurals of the Isl pronoan are thus formed. 

 The second kind postfix m or Hexionnlly replace the n of the 

 singular by it. As it only occurs in the absolute or "inclusive" 

 forms of the 1st pronoun, it is possible that in Dravirian, as in 

 some other formations, one of thft plurals of this pronoun is formed 

 by the annexation or incorporation of the plural of the 2nd. In 

 ibis view m would be radically a plural particle or root of the 2nd 



the definitive poBtfix, The great coimnutability of tfie vowels in botti the proper 

 Bmvirian and the Kol dialtrcta, witU the agglutinnLtcd and concretionary condition 

 of the pmnoinimil pystem, reri lura iibiolute cei'laiiUy uoHtlJiinable in minute 

 analysis of forms. The K<tl aitiniiiw favour the ophiion that en, nc was the 

 oriirmai form, white the Au-tnilimv anr) the still more remote and primordial 

 tttHnitIca remlitr it liardly iiouhtf*il that the moat cummt ag^mtlve-fomi in the 

 Simth aa, ni^a with itii variuliimtt to o, b the mo^t archfiic. Whctlier Ihu three 

 v<iwels 0, c, wei-e arclmicaUy tiexLoriii!,— that ia, marked dllfi-rent foruis d the 

 pjojrryaii, agt-nlivc, olilifiu*; kc-^'u coiisidyrtict m a aubstifincsit |>»gtf. 



