Page:The history of the Bengali language (1920).pdf/108

86 being respectively the farther long sounds of এ and ও, the sound আ for অ has to be prefixed to ই and উ respec­tively, to obtain the proper sounds generated by ঐ and ঔ. The following examples collected by Prof. Macdonell in his Vedic grammar, may be profitably cited. We get in saptami singular অশ্ব + ই = অশ্বে, পদ + ঈ = পদে, and ভব + ঈঃ = ভবেঃ; notice also যমা + ঈ = যমে (twin sisters). When we get অনূপ (pond) from অনু + আপ, we see that উ has become long under the influence of succeeding আ. The two examples তস্ম + এ = তস্মৈ and দেব্যা + এ = দেব্যৈ are illu­minating. I may notice in passing, that in Orissa, ঐ is pronounced as এই and ঔ as আউ. It is clear that our Bengali pronunciation is wholly peculiar to us. ঐ and ঔ being merely long or augmented forms of এ and ও respectively, they ceased to be in use in the Prākṛta speeches.

এ.—(i) The sound of the vowel as indicated above is after the ancient Aryan sound of it, and this sound is uttered only in pronouncing the words which are at times designated by the technical term তৎসম. The initial sound of এ in indigenous Bengali words, can be represented by 'â' in mât. This normal sound of Bengali এ is so very exclusively peculiar to Bengali, that no letter or letter-signs of our ancient script, can represent it. It took me full six days to make a boy of the U. P. to pronounce the English word 'bat' correctly; the sound was altogether new to his ears and he was constantly varying his pronunciation from bet to bate. It is very important to note, that this â sound, as it occurs in bat, mat, etc., exists in the Dravidian tongue of Tamil; the pronunciation of the word কল্ (stone) as Kâil or of অন্&zwnj;বু (cajoling) as ânbu, are examples. Some Bengali writers, who do not know what the real sound of য় is, make at times the unscientific and useless attempt to