Page:On the Non-Aryan Languages of India.djvu/29

Rh prefixed; thus, in Lushai, perfect of pé 'give,' sing. 1. ka-pé-tá 'I gave,' 2. í-pé-tá, 3. a-pé-tá; plural 1. kan-pé-tá, 2. in-pé-tá, 3. an-pé-tá; the full forms of the pronouns being koyma 'I,' nungma 'thou,' ama 'he,' koymani 'we,' etc. In Thado Kuki there is no difference between the singular and plural forms; these are: 1. ka-pe-ta 'I (or we) gave,' 2. na-pe-ta, 3. a-pe-ta. In Khyeng, again, sing. 1. ka-pek-niu 'I gave,' 2. na-pek-niu, 3. na-pek-niu; plural 1. ma-pek-niu, etc., the full forms of the pronouns being kie 'I,' naun 'thou,' ayat 'he,' kie-me 'we,' etc. The Khyeng has a different suffix for the dual and plural of the noun and pronoun, but the tense forms are the same for the dual as for the plural. All three languages have a negative voice formed by inserting da or d in Manipuri, hi in Kuki, and n, m, or mb in Khyeng. They all use a prefixed a extensively as a formative of adjectives or substantives. Manipuri is said to change the adjectival formative affix ba into bi for the feminine, but I do not find this to be the case in all the examples, nor is it clear that it ever takes place except for the purpose of harmonizing the adjectival termination with the ending of a noun in i. Several other languages in the neighbourhood of Manipur may also be included in this class, of which we have no grammars, from the close connexion of their vocabularies with Manipuri, such as Maring, Kupui, Tangkhul, Luhupa, Khungui, Phadang, Champhung, Kupome, and some others.

As Class XVIII. I take the Kumi, Mru, Banjogi, Shendu, Sak, and Kyau languages of the Arakan hills. They are, no doubt, very like the languages of the preceding class and the Burmese; but, on the whole, they are more like each other. They agree to a considerable extent in the non-Burmese words of their vocabularies, and in regard to words which they have in common with the Burmese; they differ principally in this respect from the Burmese, that they prefix a determinative syllable to the root, whereas the Burmese has generally the bare root only; as Burmese le 'air,' Kumi a-li, Mru ra-li, Banjogi ḣ-li, Shendu t-li, etc. Kumi and Mru are the only languages of which we have any