On the non-Aryan languages of India

24
ON THE NOX-ARTAN LANGUAGES OF INDIA.
specimens whicli show the conjugation of the verb, and
they have the simple type of verb, and differ, therefore, in
this respect from the Kuki and Khyeng. Kumi has the
tjqDical sex-affix, as in tchi-po ' a son,* distinguished from
tchi-mi * a daughter.' In Mru we have ungcha ' a son,' and
ungcha-ma ' a daughter.'
The last class to be mentioned is the Karen, Class XIX.
There are eight dialects, namely, Sgau, Bghai, Red Karen,
Pwo, Taru, Mopgha, Kay or Gaikho, and Toungthu. The
Karen differs in some important respects from all the other
classes ; in fact, it is one of the most doubtful members of
the group. The structure of the sentence is different, the
accusative comes after the verb instead of preceding it, as in
the other classes. The most remarkable distinctions of the
Karen, however, are its numerous tones, five in number,
which are constantly employed, and turn speaking into
chanting. Yet Karen is certainly Tibeto-Burman in its
vocabulary, and also in the position it assigns to the quali-
fying noun before the qualified. Besides its use of tones,
Karen distinguishes the meaning of words by adding
significant determinative words instead of unmeaning deter-
minative syllables; thus in the Sgau dialect, it says hticie
hto * dog-hog' for 'dog,' hto hoan 'hog-fowl' for 'hog.'
The verb is of the simple type, but while the pronoun
of the first and second persons precedes the verb, that of
the third person follows; thus ya au 'I eat,' na au 'thou
eatest,' au we 'eats he,' pd au 'we eat,' thu an, 'ye eat,'
au we ' eat they.' In the passive voice, besides a special
suffix i/ui, the first and second pronouns are repeated after
the verb, as ya au ya tha ' I am eaten '
; ma prefixed makes
an intransitive verb transitive. In the perfect tense li is
affixed, for the future ka prefixed. Other relations of the
verb are expressed by a great number of prefixed and affixed
particles, and these describe with excessive minuteness all the
circumstances of the action : a, a form of the third personal
pronoun, as before stated, expresses the genitive relation : au
' with ' or ' from,' and leu ' with ' or ' by,' are prepositions.
Other relations are expressed by leu preceding and another