Page:History of Bengali Literature in the Nineteenth Century.djvu/110

 ৪6৪ BENGALI LITERATURE approach our language, but as a pioneer work and as one intended for mere beyinners, uninitiated into the language, its value is greatly diminished. Even a cursory glance at the contents will show that the arrangement and division of the subject-matter is made chiefly on the plan of English grammars, beginning with the Elements (Chap. I), proceeding with Substan- tives (Chap. II), Pronouns (Chap. III), Verbs (Chap. 1V), Words denoting Attributes and Relations (Chap. V), Numerals (Chap. V1) and ending with a brief discus- sion of Syntax (Chap. VII), Orthography and Ver- sification (Chap. VIII).!. The rules laid down are more or less general and elementary ; but some attempt is made to arrive at broad underlying principles, al- thoueh in a somewhat tentative and impressionist fashion. The arrangement is as conprehensive as possi- ble but the author is scrupulously minute in his insertion of examples to every rule and is rather prolix in his observations upon the general grammar. One merit of the book consists, however, in the fact that Halhed was fully alive to the intimate relation of Bengali to Sanserit, “of which languige” he says “I have thought necessary to include within my design such of the grammaties] principles as might throw a direct’ or even a collateral lizht on those of the Bengalese............ I wished to obviate the recurrence of such erroenous opinions as may have been formed by the few ‘Euro- peans who have hitherto studied the Bengalese ; none 1 Bot it is curions to note that %# is included in the list of consonants. The orthography seems to have been yet unsettled and the border-line between colloquial and literary la guage seems to have been crossed very often, possibly owing to the difficulty of a fore gner, however studious, in entering into the genius of an allen tongue.