Page:History of the Indian Archipelago Vol 2.djvu/25

OF JAVA. 11 it may be well believed that the vocabulary is meagre and confined. In the formation of the Javanese language of de- ference, the aim is to avoid what is ordinary or fa- miliar, as equivalent to what is not respectful. In a few words of rare occurrence, and not familiar by use, no change is effected. Recourse, in other cases, is had to the recondite language of literature, which is equivalent to the Sanskrit ; thus estri, putro, suri/o, chondro, are the respectful terms for a woman, a child, the sun, and the moon. When it happens, however, that, by frequent use, a Sanskrit word melts into the common idiom, a new proceeding is followed. Thus we have kari' chonOf gold, converted miojanne, the yellow ob- ject, and sdloko, silver, into pettaka?i, or the white object. Sometimes the word used in the language of de- ference is an entire synonym differing in sound and orthography, as, for gawe, to do, damal ; for turon, to sleep, save or tilam ; for watu, a stone, selo ; for dalaii, a road, mai^gi ; and for ball, to return, wangsul. The most frequent mode of all is, by effecting a slight orthographical change in words of the ordi- nary language. These changes are not wanton or capricious, but subject to a fixed principle, capable of being reduced, to rule. A termination in s, in ng^ and in tan, is respectful, and it is respectful