Page:On the Non-Aryan Languages of India.djvu/18

12 present group the verb comes at the end of the sentence. In general the relative clause is denoted by a relative participle, and the construction of the sentence is, according to our notions, of an inverted character. In these respects the Tibeto-Burman agrees with the two preceding groups. Some of the languages have a negative voice, but in most of them the same separate particle of negation, má, is used. Interrogative sentences are also denoted by what is probably in its origin the same particle, but appears under a greater variety of forms, such as na, ma, am, mo, mon, man. But though the different members of the group resemble each other in some respects, in their grammar as well as in their vocabularies, yet the differences in other respects are very astonishing, and not easily to be accounted for on the supposition of the languages having all had a common origin. While, in many of the languages, the verb has no form to indicate any recognition of the number or person of the noun, in others, again, numerous complicated forms are employed to express the agreement of the verb with both subject and object, and these viewed in every variety of aspect, as singular, dual and plural, and in the case of dual and plural of the first person as including or excluding the persons addressed. Some of these points of difference will be referred to presently.

An interesting part of the inquiry into the non-Aryan languages always is the extent to which change of root is had recourse to for grammatical expression. Such a change will always be an exception to the general rule of fixed roots; but, in the present group, in regard to many of the languages of which we have only very meagre, if any, specimens of grammar, we must not conclude that they are wanting in exceptions to the general rule, because such exceptions are not mentioned. In many of the languages of the group of which we have anything like adequate details, we meet with such exceptions. Tibetan in particular abounds with them. The formation of the tenses in Tibetan depends, to a great extent, on certain prefixed letters; but, besides these, we have commonly, in transitive verbs, both vowel and consonant