STHNOLOaz OF THE DTDO-PICIFIC ISLANDS. 31 



entirely absent in Dravirian as liaa already been i-« marked. Their 

 archaic use is evinced by the various forms of the 3rd pronoun and 

 demonstratives. But it must be observed that in the vocabulary 

 the prefisual vowel is frequently a contraction of the root or of its 

 first syllable, and that the general gtrnctiire of the words isScythic 

 more than Caucasian or Semitico-Llbyan, the vocables of those 

 formalious being compiratively curt and elltplic and more often 

 involving a prefix or infix,* 



In the Bravirian vocabularies the definitives are common hut 

 they appear to have lost their sexual functions in most cases. As 

 they have also plural functions they may indic<ite number 

 rather than gender in many words, most words being primarily 

 collective or plural and not singular. JLi!, 1^ lit, ruj the feminine 

 definitive, is common. The masculine -a?!, -»a, -» occurs less 

 frequently, but as the lax and flexile phonology renders the « easily 

 transmutable into dj or Ion the one side and into m on the other, 

 and as in some dialects d is the current masc. form, postfixes 

 that now appear to be pboneticatty fern, or neuter may originally 

 have been masculine. The neuter (sometime feminine) kbial 

 occurs under varied form -va, -au, -/m, -p, -ba, 



-wia, -WW, -arn^ -m &e. &c. The neuter definitive -dii, ~da, 

 -dij -thi is much less common. The ffuttural -/f«, -ga^ -gu &c, 

 is comparatively rare save in Gond. As in the dialectic groups 

 of other formations different glossaries affect different postfixes or 

 forms of postfixes, showinj^ that a separation into dialects preceded 

 the concretionary stage. At the mime time many roots have the 

 same postfix in all or several of the dialects, in some cases by iIm 

 direct transmission from the pre-dialectic period and in others 

 from, the dissemination of the form of one dialect amongst others. 



• Bopp hm reiiurkcd tliat San:jkrlt, Pnli and Pmkrit in corTiblninif the final 

 Yowcta of ttifj iminiry forma wil-!i cfwe-aiiiRxes begimiliig iivitli a v'ow«ri[it4*'*j»tiae 

 n eui>UonjCEilJy, a phenomenon whicJi i» utiiiost Hiiiik-d to tlAi t|nnip uf tiji; Iranian 

 laimuHijes, in'wliicli, also, it b most fre(|i;e!itly cmployeti l>y the iifniter gHntler, Ie*3 

 80 by tlie inftscniine aud must rarely by the ieiiiinidi; (Caiup, <Jrain. I, ^ ViH). In 

 the highly euijlioiilc Dravirmn ian^iiiiyr*-'^ coiijiynEuitd are interpo-ttsil, rtf* becoming 

 natn, rdtiif dam, ttun &c, antl k b ijcwaible tlmt the Ssmakritic jami^u iges liurivej 

 this peculi irity from the Inflnuncii of tliii l iii^unjtea of tiie Dmvimn fonuatfon 

 with H'hicli It CttJiie in contact in the ha^ina ot" llia Indus and Gaiif^ea. I do nitt 

 here consider thti tiuedti'iii vvhetlier tlie aEfreemeni in Kh^nm jmrticles httvvten Oriivi - 

 rian and Iranian was a con seijiie nee of the mlvance of tha latter into the praviuce of 

 tJie former or of an earlier cause. Tha tJ^flnitive is a cormnon o)ie. It occurs m 

 a piuflx in tlie Africo-.WnRsUiin langn lyty atit! a* a imsifix in the Caacaeian and 

 Ugrian, and it h evi tently the common lahiail dotLnitivt;. 



