Page:Madras Journal of Literature and Science, series 1, volume 6 (1837).djvu/44

Before proceeding I must premise, for the information of some readers, that it has been a question among learned Orientalists, whether the refined Sanscrit was the parent of the common Hindi, the latter being a corruption, or whether the Hindi formed the basis or substratum of a common Indian language, adopted by the Brahmans on their entry into Hindustan, but polished by improvements and enriched by the addition of scientific and other terms, especially astrological ones, brought with them on their emigration. Perhaps from acquired partiality to the Sanscrit, there has been, with scholars in that language, a tendency to adopt the first supposition, just as there was with the same individuals a disposition to consider Telugu and Tamil as derived languages from the Sanscrit. But the erroneous character of this last deduction, reflects a doubt on the other part of the supposition as regards the Hindi; and I confess that when reading Mr. Colebrooke, in particular, the proof which he brought to bear in favour of Sanscrit being the original, and Hindi the derivative, produced in my own mind a strong doubt on that side of the question; while his admission of existing difficulties as insuperable on that hypothesis seemed to me to argue in favour of Hindi being the parent, and Sanscrit the polished, improved, and enriched, derivative. The very meaning of the term Sanscrit, implying finished, polished, perfected, argues towards the same conclusion. Even so our present polished English language, must be considered as founded on the Saxon; it would be absurd for any foreigner to term the old Saxon an early corruption of the original polished English. That view of the case which considers the Sanscrit to be a learned refinement on ruder dialects, if correct, leads to connection with another opinion, one that is likely to have strengthening evidence constantly added to it, which is, that there was one original substratum of an early and rude language, running through the whole of Hindustan and the peninsula; broken by time and distance into local dialects, which however still retain a strong affinity with each other. Such being supposed to be the case, is the Khoond dialect a relic of that common language, somewhat modified by time? or has it been made up by intercourse with people speaking the different languages, that have been discovered to exist, as if naturalised in the Khoond dialect? I am not able to determine either way; but, with some allowance for the latter source, in some cases, I incline rather towards the former view of the subject. I have read in some publication, concerning the Khoonds, that they have among them a tradition of having emigrated from the south, and from some mountain termed by them Dodah. This was the cause of my conjecturing some connexion with the mountaineers of the Neilgherries, whose highest mountain is Dodabet, and whose chief people