Page:The history of the Bengali language (1920).pdf/311

Rh should remember that আবার has no connection with আরবার, for আর has a different history. আ as a variant of অ (derived from চ) was once compounded with another particle উ to form the compound conjunction আউ, which is still in use in Oriya; this আউ reduced to the form আরু is in use in Bengali, but আরু is now generally confounded with আর-ও; 'আর' is a changed form of আউ or rather আরু, and its signification is 'and' as well as 'also.' To denote 'also,' the particle বি, a broken part of অপি or অবি, has been in use in Hindi and Oriya, and never in Bengali, so far as literary records show. 'অবি' was very likely pronounced in Bengal, as ওবি, as our phonetic peculiarity warrants us to hold; and thus perhaps we got ও which signifies 'even' as in আমি ও; this ও is different in meaning and origin from ও which signifies 'and' which comes from অ (= চ) by virtue of the peculiarity of our Bengali pronunciation. It is significant, that ও (= and) is also in use in Oriya, though the full সংবৃত sound of অ does not prevail in Oriya. [For another ও see (5) below.]

(4) উঁ—a particle, uttered in response to a call; though a variant of হুঁ (= yes), it has a different signification; the corresponding Oriya form is অঁ which is different from হঁ (Bengali হাঁ) as signifies assent.

(5) ও—which is uttered in response to a call as well as in addressing a man, is in use in Oriya as well. Vedic হয়ে was reduced to অহে and then to ওহে; ওহে is used in Bengali in addressing, following the traditional meaning, but its decayed form ও is generally uttered in response to a call.

(6) কতি and ততি.—These two Vedic indeclinables, signifying 'how much' and 'that much' respectively, are not met with in Sanskrit. We have added পয় (from পদ to signify many steps perhaps) to কতি and the compound form কতিপয় is in use in high-flown Bengali; 'ততি' being compounded