Page:A Grammar and Dictionary of the Malay Language with a Preliminary Dissertation- Dissertation and Grammar, in Two Volumes, Vol. I (IA dli.granth.52714).pdf/301

 by continents inhabited by fierce and warlike barbarians, inac- cessible to themselves and their language. This comparison must be restricted to the languages of the Indian and Philippine Archipelagos; for the presence of Malayan words in the lan- guages of the islands of the Pacific and in that of Madagascar, it must be admitted, appears more to resemble that of certain plants conveyed to distant shores, by winds, currents, or accident, than the ordinary migrations of man in other parts of the world.

The languages have been diffused over a portion of the earth's surface, more extensive than there is any example of in the history of rude nations,—than, indeed, owing to the peculiarity of their position, there could possibly have been. But it may be asked how they came not to be still more widely diffused. The answer is obvious. The cause which mainly led to their diffusion,—the peculiar physical geography of the country, ceased, and all the obstacles increased. I shall briefly point out how these operated at different quarters.

Distance, want of enterprise for the purpose, and the pre- sence of nations far more civilised and powerful than Malays and Javanese, have been obstacles quite sufficient to prevent the Malayan languages from making the slightest impression in the country of the Hindus. On the contrary, the Hindu lan- guages and civilisation made a considerable impression on the Malayan people and their languages.

Similar causes, to a greater or less extent, have arrested the progress of the Malayan languages in all the countries from Hindustan to China inclusive. But here there is an additional cause in operation. The languages of these countries are generally monosyllabic, and the Malayan polysyllabic. They refuse to amalgamate or intermix, of which we have some striking proofs. The Chinese have been settled in great numbers throughout the Archipelago for many centuries, and intermarried with the native inhabitants; yet there are cer- tainly not a dozen words of any Chinese language in Malay, Javanese, or any other native tongue of the Archipelago. Far more Portugucse words have been naturalised in them, although the Portuguese have not been one half the time in the country,