LANG 
The Sanfkrit language, among other advantages, has a 
great variety in the mode of arrangement; and the words 
are lo knit and compacted together, that every fentence 
appears like one complete word. When two or more 
words come together in regitnine, the laft of them only has 
the termination of a cafe; the others are known by their 
pofition ; and the whole fentence fo connedled forms but 
one compound word, which is called a foot For particu¬ 
lars relating to the other languages and dialects of the vaft 
continent of India, with fome elegant tranllated fpecimens, 
fee the article Hindoostan, vol. x. p. i 52-162,‘and p. 185. 
In the tenth volume of the Afiat.ic Refearches, we have 
a paper from Dr. J. Leyden, On the Language and Lite¬ 
rature of the Indo-Chinefe Nations; that is, of the coun¬ 
tries between India and China. A voyage to the Ealtern 
Hies, required by the Itate of his health in 1805, during 
which he refided fome time at Penang, and vifited Achin, 
with fome other places on the coaft of Sumatra and the 
Malayan Peninfula, furnifhed Dr. Leyden with an oppor¬ 
tunity of collecting the materials for this difquifition. 
The iflands fcattered over the Indian Ocean between 
Hindooftan and China, are each inhabited by two clafi'es 
of people, dilfimilar in religion, language, and manner^. 
The peninfula of Malacca, and the fea-coafts of thefe 
iflands, are occupied by the hardy race of Mahometan na¬ 
vigators, denominated Malays, from their principal feat. 
There is, however, no reafon to fuppofe them of a differ¬ 
ent flock from the aboriginal inhabitants of the interior. 
Their converfion to Mahometanifm, their maritime fitua- 
tion, and their intercourfe with ftrangers, fufficiently ac¬ 
count for the changes they have undergone ; whilft their 
configuration refembles that of their neighbours in the in¬ 
terior. Their language, according to Dr. Leyden, con- 
fifts of three principal component parts. The firft of thefe, 
which is rather the moil copious and current in converfa- 
tion, may perhaps, in the prcfent ftate of our knowledge, 
be regarded as original, though it is not only connefted 
with the infular languages, but with fome of the mono- 
fyllabic, as of the Birmans and Siamefe. The fecond, 
which is obviouily derived from the Sanfkrit, is rather 
inferior in the number of vocables to the firft, though, as 
far as regards general life, greatly fuperior to the third 
part, which is derived from the Arabic. The firft, Mr. 
Marfden attributes to what he reckons the original infu¬ 
lar language of the South Seas ; and this language itfelf, 
fir William Jones conjectured to be a derivative from San¬ 
fkrit. Dr. Leyden, on the other hand, obferves, that,-if 
this original part ftiould itfelf turnout to be derived from 
different fources, the idea of an original infular language 
will fall to the ground. But it may be obferved, in re¬ 
ply, that, after allotting to the Birmans, Siamefe, Java- 
nefe, &c. the words derived from each. refpeCtively, it is 
ftill highly probable that a mafs will remain derivable 
from none of thole fources to which Mr. Marfden’s appel¬ 
lation may with propriety be applied. A curious f'aCl 
which Dr. L. has ascertained is, that the Sanfkrit part of 
the Malay tongue was derived from the kingdom of Ca- 
linga, of which the maritime portion is now better known 
by the name of the Five Circars. This probably reached 
Malacca through the medium of Java; for he obferves “it 
is from the Javan.efe that the Malays profefs to have received 
all their early mythological fables; and a great variety of 
their books profefs to be tranflations from that language: 
even in compofitions profeffedly tranllated from the Ca- 
linga language, the Javanefe name of the (lory is often 
mentioned.” Malay literature, though chiefly poetical, 
cpmprifes works on a variety of fubjeCts, written in a cha¬ 
racter flightly changed from the Arabic, to exprefs founds 
unknown to the latter. The language, and the manners 
of thofe who fpeak it, widely difperfed over the coalts of 
diftant ides, neceflarily receive an impreflion from thofe of 
their neighbours in the interior, to whom now we direct 
our attention. 
The inhabitants of the inland part of the eaftern ifles, 
ftcluded, by their pofiiion, from intercourfe with foreign- 
UAGE. W37 
ers, retain their primeval manners and ancient fuperfti.- 
tions. But, concerning the latter, fo little is known, that 
it is but leldom we can afcertain whether they are branches 
of the Hindoo religion, or of that of Buddha, which pre¬ 
vails on the adjacent continent. This uncertainty, how¬ 
ever, does not extend to the more polifhed inhabitants of 
Java, whole early intercourfe with India appears to have 
introduced and eftablilhed among them the Brahminical 
doftrines, together with the feftive rites of the Hindoo di¬ 
vinities. The language of the interior has a clofe and in¬ 
timate connexion with Sanfkrit; and expreftes the fimpieft: 
objeCfs and ideas by vocables, which feem to differ no 
further from the Sanfkrit than in the corrupt pronuncia¬ 
tion neceflarily produced by the ufe of a lefs perfeCl al¬ 
phabet. The probability is flrong, that the inhabitants 
of the Malay peninfula were in poffeflion of an alphabet 
of the fame model with that of the Hindoos, and were 
even fkilled in compofition, before the Mahometans intro¬ 
duced their learning and charaCler among them. Fre¬ 
quent allufions to the moil celebrated works of the Hin¬ 
doo mythological poets, efpecially the Mahabharat and 
the Ramayan, occur in the Malay writings; and thefe al¬ 
lufions imply that tranflations of the works were formerly 
in the hands of the Malays. The Malayan language has 
been called the Italian of the eaft ; it poffefies a fmooth- 
nefs and fweetnefs of found rendering it well adapted to 
poetry, to which the Malayans are paffionately addicted. 
They amufe all their leifure hours, including the greater 
portion of their lives, with the repetition of longs, which 
are, for the moft part, proverbs illuftrating, or figures of 
fpeech applied to, the occurrences of life. Some, which 
they rehearfe in a kind of recitative at their bimbangs, or' 
feafts, are hiftorical love-tales, like our old Englifh bal¬ 
lads, but often extempore. There are numerous works 
written in the Malay language, befides hiftorical ballads,. 
or fongs on national traditions. 
Dr. Leyden confiders the language fpoken by theBATTA 
tribes as the moft ancient of Sumatra. Their favage 
manners, and the horrid cuftom of anthropophagy iubfilt- 
ing among them, have often been mentioned : but our 
author contends that their cannibalifm is not confined to 
prifoners of war, and to perfons condemned for crimes, 
as ftated by Mr. Marfden : “ When a man becomes in¬ 
firm, and weary of the world, he is faid to invite his own 
children to eat him, in the feafon when Lait and limes are 
cheapeft. He then afcends a tree, round which his friends 
and offspring afifemble ; and, as they (hake the free, joia 
in a funeral dirge, the import of which is. The feafon is 
come—the fruit is ripe—and it mujl defcend. The viftim def- 
cends; and thofe that are neareft and deareft to him, de¬ 
prive him of life, and devour his remains in a folemn ban¬ 
quet.” This, adds Dr. Leyden, is the account of fome 
of the Battas themfelves. This inhuman cuftom, and the 
fimilarity of name, naturally reminds our author of the 
Padaioi, mentioned by Herodotus, about five hundred 
years before our era, as not only addicted to eating raw 
flefh, but accuftomed to kill and eat their relations when 
they grew old. The Batta alphabet has nineteen letters; 
and is written from bottom to top, in a manner the reverie 
of the Chinefe. 
The Tagaea charadletyufed by the natives of the Phi¬ 
lippines, refembles that of the Battas, and, like it, is writ¬ 
ten from bottom to top. The inhabitants of many ifles 
have never advanced to the ufe of letters. The Tirun 
tribe, on the north-eaft of Borneo; the Idan, confidered as 
its original inhabitants; the Ilaraforras, found in moft of 
the eaftern ifles; have probably the fame origin, as they 
retain the fame manners. We think it probable that the 
difufe of the more atrocious practices of the Battas, and 
the want of letters,, alone diftinguifh them from that fa¬ 
vage race. One rational hypothefis appears to us to em¬ 
brace all the fadts brought before us. The favage tribes 
reprefent the aboriginal natives, unchanged by intercourfe 
with more civilized nations. The people of Java (or the 
IJle of Barley , which we think Ptolemy calls it, and which 
