145 
1872.] Hoernle — Essays on the Gaurian Languages. 
form of the noun in the nominative case I shall distinguish as the direct 
form. 
In the present essay these forms of the noun in the plural will be 
altogether set aside, as in some Gaurian languages they are of a nature, 
altogether different from that of these forms of the noun in the singular. For 
the present I must assume this ; the proof will he given afterwards in another 
essay. But it will greatly simplify the enquiry to confine our attention for 
the present to the singular. 
In the Hindi only one class of nouns possesses an oblique form in 
the singular ; viz., all masculine nouns the direct form of which ends in 
such an "ajr, as is a modification of the Prakrit nominative sing, masculine 
termination %. The oblique form differs from the direct form in chang- 
ing the termination to X ; e. g., nominative ur®T horse, genitive 
«fT[ ; u«TT large, 3\T &c. The above definition implies that all those 
nouns have passed info the Hindi from the Prakrit and, therefore, excludes all 
such nouns ending in as have been transferred to the Hindi direct from 
the Sanskrit or Arabic ; e.g., TT5TT king, firm father, mrm God, WT priest, 
God, &c. All other nouns, whether masculine or feminine, have no oblique 
form differing from the direct form ; e. g., nominative, fum father, genitive 
fum «TTT ; sr^r water, genitive ; m^rf gardener, genitive m 
devotee, gen. daughter, genitive uft 3 fr ; m«T (fern.) word, gen. 
mw ^TT, &c. 
The Panjabi agrees with the Hindi in every particular ; e.g., nominative 
boy, gen. ; but ^rirnr soul, gen. ^nwr ^1 ; man, gen. ; 
herdsman, gen. father, gen. ^ ; mni crow, gen. 
m ; calamity, gen. *H?TT ; *rri mother, gen. TTP3 m ; ft daughter, gen. 
tfj m- To the masc. nouns in must be counted also those termmating in 
agj ; e . y.,Wta)f shopkeeper, gen. mm ^T. (See Panjabi Grammar of the 
American Mission in Lodiana). 
The Sindlii follows the Hindi and Panjabi with this qualification, that 
it retains the Prakrit termination 'iff, and that, therefore, to the Hindi 
and Panjabi class of nouns in m correspond in Sindlii the nouns ending in 
%. The oblique form changes the tenninations m of the direct form into 
V , as Hindi and Panjabi ; e. g., nominative i(T^r horse, gen. oTT ; but 
man, gen. ; 5Tn?T woman, gen. STT^T 51 t; word, gen. Jl.r? mT ; 
Uufl mare, gem urfl mr ; m^f t bread, gen. TTl^fl sir & c. (See W . H. Wathen’s 
Sindlii Grammar). 
The Naipali and Gujarati again agree with the Sindhi, with this excep- 
tion that they change the termination Vjf of the direct form into of the 
oblique form instead of if. Similarly the Gujarati neuter nouns in ^ 
change their final in the oblique form into mj ; e. g., 
