45 
1874.] A. F. Rudolf Hoernle —Essays on the Gaurian Languages. 
contracted by sandhi (according to Gaurian law) to fgfq (originally 
or, as it is spelled in Marathi (acccording to a peculiar Marathi phonetic 
law # ), fW^T. Again, Sanskrit ^ng^f♦* sweetmeat , Prakrit ^Tf%, has in the 
genitive Sanskrit *rfW, Pr&krit'Vf^i^ifor or ; in Gaurian 
the latter is contracted to ^fT^T (originally ^rr^re). From the analogy of 
these, we may conclude that other nouns in ^ which have an oblique form 
in ^T, must also he derived from Prakrit nouns in ^3% (i. e. bases in ^r); 
and their oblique form in cfT is merely a phonetic modification of the 
Prakrit genitive. Thus the oblique form HTRT must be derived from a 
Prakrit noun brother (for Sanskrit ; the genitive of 
*TT^3% is or or the latter contracted in Gaurian 
becomes ViTCT (originally ; similarly, must be derived from the 
Prakrit noun (for pr?rp^:) 5 the genitive of it is or ^TT^T*jr 
or iT^TT^T^r, which in Gaurian is contracted to (originally q^c^T^"), the 
present Marathi oblique form of the word. Now we know from the Prakrit 
grammarians that these Prakrit nouns Hr3ijT, qtrrTj%, etc., realty do exist. 
Thus also Sanskrit 3TTW wheat , Pr. JIT^% (or 3tT^T) ; Gaurian Jl# (Hindi) 
or Jli (Marathi) ; genitive Prakrit or JIT^fTH or ; Gaurian 
contracted (originally 3T^r^), which is the present oblique form of the 
Marathi word. All these oblique forms are occasionally spelled so, as to 
separate the semivowel ^ from its conjunct consonant; thus fq^r or ; 
Tcpyrc£fT or qWM ; 3IWT ?T^T ; because in the case of the semivowel q, there 
is a tendency in all the Gaurian dialects, to sound the neutral vowel before 
it. It should be noted, moreover, that in the case of all oblique forms 
in qT of such nouns in 3i, the termination of which is a modification of the 
Prakrit termination 3"%, the conjunction of \ with the base consonant is the 
more original and correct spelling. But in the case of all oblique forms 
in qT of such nouns in 3>, the termination 3? of which is a modification of 
the Prakrit termination the separation of q from the base consonant 
is the better way of spelling. 
The analogy of the masculine nouns in 3T leads us further to conclude 
that also the masculine nouns in ^ which admit an oblique form in ^T, 
must be derived from a Prakrit base-form in (^^T), the genitive of which, 
ending in or or is modified into the oblique form in qT, 
and the nominative of which ending in is modified into the direct form 
in To this may be added a further argument, that the genitive of the 
only other kind of Sanskrit or Prakrit base which might have come into con- 
* Marathi has generally an unaspirate mute consonant, where the Hindi and Prakrit 
show an aspirate one; e. g., Skr. Prak. Hindi Mar. J Skr. 
f%qq, Prak. Hindi Marathi ; Skr. Pr. fq‘W% ; Hindi , 
Mar. etc. 
C\ 
