On the non-Aryan languages of India

28
ON THE NON-ARYAN LANGUAGES OF INDIA.
are pronounced in the same manner. There are some letterchanges
between the different dialects; for instance, a Khamti
and Shan m frequently corresponds to a J in the other dialects,
a Khamti and Shan h to r in the others, and a Khamti n to a
Shan I and to d in the others. Again, in some dialects we
find the same word with the aspirated, in others with the
unaspirated form of the consonant. There are five tones
which play an important part in all the dialects, but, except in
the Siamese, they are not expressed in writing. The relations
of nouns are expressed by prepositions, with the exception of
the genitive relation, for which, however, there is a preposi-
tion in Siamese; but in the other dialects it is expressed solely
by the position of the noun in that relation after the noun on
Avhich it depends. The nominative and accusative also are
ordinaril}^ distinguished by collocation only, the one before,
the other after the verb. There are several compounds con-
sisting of two nouns, the latter of course being the qualifying
noun, which, when literally translated into English, have a
sort of poetry about them ; as in Siamese luk-mai ' son of the
tree' = fruit; me-ndm 'mother of waters ' =river ; ndm-ndm
'water of udders ' =
milk. Generic particles are extensively
used in all the dialects ; adjectives follow their substantives,
and there are relative pronouns. The structure of the verb
is of the simple type ; the signs of some tenses are prefixed,
of others afiixed; and the dialects do not all agree in this
respect.
I now come to the last group, the Mon, etc., of which,
however, Mon is the only representative among the Indian
languages. Mon is also called Talcing and Peguan. Pegu
was the original habitation of the Mons, but they were driven
out of a great part of it by the Burmese about 100 years
ago, and many of them have settled in Siam. Some affinity
has been supposed to exist between the Mon and the Kolarian
group, on account of the evident likeness between the first
numerals and some few other words ; but it is not upon such
slight evidence that the groups hitherto mentioned have been
formed. These have been established, not only upon the
resemblances of a much greater number of words, but of