Page:A Grammar of the Telugu language.djvu/59

Rh to prevent elision N is inserted because రా rā the Infinitive is a druta word as will afterwards be shewn.

These are particular words which are not allowed to add N in this manner, and these are called కళాశబ్దములు Cala-sabdamulu, or, Cala words. The earliest grammarians divided them into sixteen classes; whence they derive the name cala which signifies one anna or sixteenth.

All Nominative cases are included in this rule (excepting నేను I and తాను oneself) Thus వాడు + ఉండెను vādu + undenu, he was, may by elision become వాడుండెను vād'undenu; but not వాడునుండెను vadu-n-undenu.

Should however the N be inserted as here shewn, వడునుండెను vada-n-undenu would signify he was; because ను or న్ను (nu or nnu) may be the conjunction. Thus N may be inserted if it has a meaning; but cannot be inserted (as in the Greek words already noticed) for the purpose of preventing elision.

Further rules regarding Druta and Cala will be placed in another chapter: because they may be required by the advanced student, though unintelligible to the beginner.

The principles of Druta and Cala have been supposed peculiarly obscure: but we may observe that the Telugus even the most illiterate who never heard of the grammatical terms “Druta” and “Cala” find the distinction very easy. Hence we may fairly conclude that the difficulty has arisen from the mode in which the subject has been treated in grammars. There evidently are two parts of the subject: one is quite easy and has now been explained: the other being more refined can only be understood after we become acquainted with the Syntax and Prosody.

In all parts of speech words terminating in the vowel ఇ‍ are subject to one uniform principle.