Page:Tamil studies.djvu/190

Rh merit of his commentary to make it more abstruse and unintelligible than the text itself. It will thus be seen that the classification of words, other than பெயர் and வினை, into இடைச்சொல் and உரிச்சொல் was neither definite nor philosophical. These words have been variously classified and often in a conflicting manner by later gramınarians. For instance, the author of Pravoga-Vivekam has said that சொல்லெல்லாம் உரிச் சொல்லேயா மெனத் துணிக.

The differences between the Tamil and Sanskrit parts of speech may be briefly stated as follows:

(1) Like all other classical languages Sanskrit has three numbers, while Tamil has only two. The dual number or இருமை must have existed in early Tamil. It evidently became mixed up with பன்மை or the plural number and so vanished out of Tamil grammar. இர் or ர் which means 'two' was the dual termination, and கள் for the plural. Now ர் is reserved as an honorific termination for pluralising 'high caste' nouns and verbs, and கள் for all.

(2) All nouns denoting inanimate objects and irrational animals are of the neuter gender (அஃறிணை ), and those denoting rational being; (like man, God, and Nagas) are of the high-caste or superior gender உயர்திணை. Whereas in Sanskrit no Such philosophic and sexual distinctions are made ; here the grammatical gender is only 'a secondary accident of speech ornamental, perhaps from an esthetic point of view, but practically highly detrimental.' No definite rules could, therefore, be laid down for the determination