The texts of a few of the stories in the second and third volumes
are appended at the suggestion of Professor Dr. Geiger of Erlangen,
who has expressed the opinion that they will be of interest to
philological students, retaining as they do some old grammatical
forms and expressions which elsewhere have been abandoned. They are
fair examples of the Sinhalese tongue which is found in the villages,
and the dialogues in particular give the language exactly as it is
spoken in them. I regret that the size to which the work has grown
compels me to restrict the number of stories thus given in Sinhalese.
In order that the texts should possess a representative character,
stories by different narrators have been selected. The village
orthography has been carefully adhered to except in instances where
a consonant has been accidentally omitted, or has been duplicated
in carrying forward part of a word to the next line. Where a missing
letter has been thus inserted by me it is enclosed in square brackets.
The stories were written in pencil, always in unbroken lines, without
separation into words and sentences, and without punctuation except
an occasional full-stop. For convenience of reference, however,
I have marked the dialogues and sentences as in the translations.
My acquaintance with Pali and Elu is too slight to enable me to make
special observations on the grammatical forms met with in the stories
generally. I therefore merely note a few peculiarities, most of which
I think are not included in Mr. Gunasekara's Grammar.
In the nouns and pronouns a genitive form in ae or lae is often
employed in both the singular and plural numbers. Thus, among numerous
other instances, in the singular we have:--Diribari-Lakalae gedara, the
house of Diribari-Laka (i, 177, line 14); nændamamalae gedara giyaya,
[they] went to the house of [his] mother-in-law and father-in-law (ii,
404, line 14); unnæhælae akkalae gedara sitinawa mama dækka misa,
tamuselae dihata nam giye nae, except that I saw [he] is at the
gentleman's elder sister's house, [he] did not go to your quarter,
indeed (ii, 214, variant); mi pætikkilae gamata gihin, having gone
to the f. mouseling's village (i, 310, line 2); rassayae gedara,
the rakshasa's house (iii, 122, note); umbalae gamata, to your
village; ummbalae gedara, your house; umbalae piya-rajjuruwo, your
father the king; as well as the titles of Nos. 127 and 216. In the
plural:--Mewwae ingan kiyapan, tell [us] the limits of these (ii, 241,
line 5); umbalae piya-rajjuruwanda enda bae, umbalae piya-rajjuruwo,
etc., your father the king cannot come, your father the king, etc. (i,
267, line 30); ayiyalae gaenu, the elder brothers' wives; mama danne
nae ewae wagak, I don't know anything of those [matters]; umbalae mas,
your flesh. (See also No. 207 below.)
Hotae (vol. ii, 214, line 24) is perhaps a special plural form. I
was informed that the word gara, a kind of demon, has two plurals,
garayo and gærae; I do not remember other instances.
As a termination, ae usually takes the place of a in such words as
kawaddae, [328] kawdae, kiyatadae, kohedae, kohomadae, mokaddae,
mokak weladae, mokatadae, monawadae; we have also such forms as,
awæn passe, baendæn passe, damamuyæyi, giyæn pasu, issaræhæta,
kapanneyæyi, nikæ hitapan, palapannæyi, weyæyi, wunæyin pasu.
There are numerous instances in which a noun or pronoun as the subject
takes an instrumental position, always governed by wisin or wihin,
by; this is a common feature in Hindustani and Gujarati also. In
translating such sentences I have occasionally made use of the passive
verb when it appeared to suit the context--(as in the last paragraph
of No. 98)--in order to retain the preposition. I may here mention
that the passive form with laba is practically never used by the
villager; there are not half a dozen sentences in which it occurs in
the stories. The following are a few examples of the subject in the
instrumental position--or, rather, governed by wisin or wihin:--
Vol. i, 247, line 19: Rajjuruwo wihin wandura allanda niyama-keruwaya,
(by) the king ordered [them] to seize the wandura.
Vol. ii, 126, line 15: Itin weda wisin kiyanne, well then, (by) the
veda says; line 31: Ewita raja wisin noyek tanantra di, thereupon
(by) the king having given several great offices.
Vol. ii, 137, line 3: Kumariyak genat dunna rajjuruwoyi dewinnanseyi
wihin, a princess brought and gave (by) the king and queen.
Vol. ii, 147, line 5: Mama wisin dæn maranawaya, (by) I shall now kill
[you].
Vol. ii, 206, line 3: Purusaya wisin ... kiwaya, (by) the husband said.
Vol. ii, 258, line 12: Raksayak wisin aragana giyaya, (by) a rakshasa
took away.
Vol. iii, 22, line 12: Ayet nariya wisin gona langata gihin, (by)
the jackal having gone again near the bull.
Other instances are: Anit badu horunda baena wisin dunna, the other
goods (by) the son-in-law gave to the thieves. Raja wisin æhæwwa,
(by) the king asked. Raja wisin asa, (by) the king having heard
[it]. Some examples are noted in the stories also.
In the Sinhalese Mahavansa, c. 37, v. 10, wisin is employed in the
same manner; in the Swapna-malaya occurs the line, Satten kiwu e bawa
pandi wisina, truly said regarding it (by) the pandit.
As in Elu works, there is much irregularity in the indefinite forms
of the terminations of feminine nouns, but very rarely in those
of masculine nouns, and never in neuter nouns, although these
last are irregular in Elu. Thus we have quite usually gaeniyak
instead of gaeniyek, a woman, but always minihek, a man. Similar
forms are:--diwidenak, a leopardess; duwak, a daughter; eludenak,
a f. goat; girawak, a parrot; kaputiyak, a f. crow; kellak, a girl;
kenak, a person; kumarikawak, kumarikawiyak, kumariyak, a princess;
manamaliyak, a bride; miminniyak, a f. mouse-deer; mi-pætikkiyak,
a f. mouseling; yaksaniyak, a yaksani.
Similarly, in Mah. ii, 37, 159, we have dewiyaktomo; in Thup. (1901),
p. 50, putakhu, p. 60, wandurakhu; in Amawatura (1887), i, p. 23,
ajiwakayakhu, p. 31, dewduwak.
With regard to the general use of the word atin,--which, in order
to retain the expression, I have translated, "at the hand of,"
[329]--this has virtually the power of a postposition commonly meaning
"to," "of" or "from," and more rarely "by." [330] The following
are examples:--E miniha æhæwwa me gaeni atin, the man asked (of)
this woman. E kumarayage kiri-appa atin kiwa, [he] told (to) the
prince's grandfather. Sitanange gaeni atin kiwa, [he] told (to) the
treasurer's wife. Welihinni me kolla atin æhæwwa, the f. bear asked
(of) this youth. E minissu atin rilawat illuwa, (from) the men the
monkey also begged. Ura atin æhæwwa ara hat dena, (of) the boar asked
those seven. Gamarala ... ketta atin kiwa, the gamarala told (to)
the girl.
The same use of this expression is found in Elu:--Amawatura, i, p. 24,
raja ... uyanpalla atin asa, the king having heard from the gardener;
Thup., p. 40, bodhisattwayo atin tun siyak la, (by) the Bodhisattwa
having put three hundred (masuran).
One of the commonest forms of the conjunction "and" is ignored by
the grammars. In these stories there are many hundreds of instances
in which "and" is represented by the particle yi or uyi, suffixed to
each conjoined word. When the word ends in a vowel, yi is suffixed;
when it terminates in a consonant, uyi, the pronunciation of this
being practically wi. Some examples have been given in the stories;
a few others are:--gætayi gediyi maluyi, immature fruits and [ripe]
fruits and flowers; hettiyage walatayi hettiyatayi, to the hettiya's
slave and the hettiya; kolayi potuyi, leaves and bark; minihayi
gaeniyi e bælliyi, the man and woman and the bitch; molgahayi
wangediyayi kurahan-galayi bereyi, the rice pestle and rice mortar
and millet stone (quern) and tom-tom; rilawayi pætiyayi ammayi, the
monkey and youngster and [his] mother; talayi aluyi, sesame and ashes;
udetayi haendaewatayi, in the morning and evening; yanawayi enawayi
[they] are going and coming; duwekuyi putekuyi, a daughter and a son;
girawekuyi, ballekuyi, balalekuyi, a parrot and a dog and a cat;
akkayi mayi, elder sister and I; umbayi mamayi, you and I,--(but tit
[331] mat, thou and I).
As in ordinary Sinhalese, many words that are well known as pairs are
commonly written without conjunctions, as amma-appa, mother and father,
(also, ammayi appayi or ammayi abuccayi); akko-nago, elder sisters and
younger sisters; ayiyo-malayo, elder brothers and younger brothers;
aet-maet, far and near; rae-dawal, night and day; hawaha-ude, evening
and morning; at-kakul, hands and feet; gankumburu, villages and rice
fields; ganu-denu, taking and giving; batmalu, boiled rice and curry,
(but also batuyi maluyi).
Usually when a particle, especially yi, is suffixed to a noun or
pronoun ending in a long vowel, this is shortened, in accordance with
the common village pronunciation, as in several of the examples given
above. Thus miniha, with yi or ta, becomes minihayi, minihata; amma
and ayiya, with yi or la, become ammayi, ammala, ayiyayi, ayiyala;
mal-amma, with ta, is mal-ammata; girawa, nariya, and hawa, with yi,
become girawayi, nariyayi, and hawayi; dewinnanse, with yi or ta,
becomes dewinnanseyi, dewinnanseta.
There are a few instances of a form of verbal noun derived from a
participial adjective, which is not mentioned by Mr. Gunasekara. In
vol. iii, 146, line 5, we have dipuwa, evidently equal to dipu ewwa,
the things [she] gave. In vol. i, 274, line 14, there is also,
me nuwara hitapuwo okkama yaka kaewa, [a] yaka ate all those who
stayed at this city. In vol. iii, 79, line 20, the same noun occurs
in the form hitapuwanda, those who were [there]. At p. 370, line 6,
we have pala tanbapuwa wagayak kanta dila, having given [him] a sort
of vegetable stew to eat. See also uyapuwæn p. 428, line 12.
From another form of the participial adjective we have in vol. iii,
66, line 38, redda allagattuwo, those who took hold of the cloth. In
the same vol., p. 228, line 1, there is, mæricci minissu malawungen
nækita ena ratakut ædda, dead men having arisen from the dead will
there be a country, also, to which they come? On p. 315, line 11,
there is, ita wisalawu dutu dutuwange sit pina-wana ... salawak, a very
spacious hall, which causes the minds of the spectators who saw it to
rejoice. In the Swapna-malaya the same expression occurs:--dutuwanhata
anituyi me sinat, for the beholders this dream, too, is inauspicious.
There are several examples of a peculiar form of subjunctive, one of
which has been given in vol. ii, 323, note 1. Some others are:--apage
piya-rajjuruwo awotin umba kayi, should our father-king come [he]
will eat you; e beheta e kumari atin dæmmotin, should the princess
apply the medicine with [her] hand; kiri tikak biwotin misa, unless
[I] should drink a little milk; yan wædak kiwuwotin, should [he] tell
[you] any work. In the work Swapna-malaya there are other similar
expressions, such as, pibidunotin, pibidunahotin, dutotin, dutuwotina;
the second of these exhibits the uncontracted form.
A short form of participle is often employed, with either a present or
a past signification. As a present participle:--balla burana enawa,
the dog comes growling; budiyana innakota, when [they] are sleeping;
eka balana hitiya, [he] remained looking at it; kumaraya budiyana
indala, the prince having been sleeping. With a past participial
meaning:--atu mitiyak kadana issarahæta pænna, breaking a bundle of
branches [he] sprang in front; ewwa kadana æwit, having come [after]
plucking them; kændana æwidin, having come [after] calling [her]; okke
isa tiyana budiya-gatta, placing [his] head on [her] waist-pocket,
[he] slept; wastuwa hoyana enda, to come [after] seeking wealth.
There is often omission to mark the long vowels, many of which,
however, are shortened in the pronunciation of the Kandian
villagers. As regards spelling, I have noted the following variations
of the word gos, having gone:--gosin, gosin, gohin, gihin, gihun,
gihun, guhin, gusin, gehun, gehun, ginun.
I also here mention the marked avoidance of the use of the personal
and possessive pronouns of the third person, and of the guttural n,
the palatal ñ, and the cerebral n, as well as the employment of the
binduwa in the story No. 207, "The Turtle Prince," for all forms
of mute n when followed by any consonant. Its use in this manner in
this story, as well as in others sometimes, may indicate the origin
of the curled form of the attached semi-consonantal n of all classes,
which originally appears to have been a degraded form of the binduwa
written hurriedly and united by an upstroke to the next letter. The
abandonment of the first two forms of n is, I venture to think,
an advantage in every way, since the class of these letters, and
especially of the first one, would rarely be mistaken in Sinhalese,
whatever form be used, and every step towards simplification of the
alphabet under such conditions is an improvement. On the other hand,
the class of t or t, d or d, is never mistaken by these villagers,
except in the word katantaraya (which is sometimes written katantaraya)
and in another word or two; but la usually takes the place of la,
and sa of s'a.
In his Sumero-Accadian Grammar, Mr. Bertin has classified the
grammatical elements of a sentence under seven headings:--s, the
subject; o, the object; i, the indirect object; r, the reason
for the action; c, the complement, or manner of the action; d,
the determinative of time (dt), place (dp), or state (ds); and v,
the verb, with or without pronouns and particles; together with q,
any qualificative which explains or specifies these elements, as the
words, 'of honour,' in the expression, 'sword of honour.'
With this classification, the ordinary formula of the arrangement of
a complete sentence in Sinhalese is, dt--dp--s--r--ds--i--o--c--v. In
the stories, however, the order of the components is most irregular,
and very rarely quite accords with this, although most of the sentences
partly adhere to this sequence. I have not met with all the elements
in one sentence, partly because of the constant omission of the
pronouns. The accompanying few examples show the want of uniformity
in the arrangement; their order follows the position in which s occurs:
s--dt--ds--v--c. Ibba hat-awuruddak weli weli hitiya diya nætuwa,
the turtle a seven-year having dried and dried up, stayed water
without.
dt--qs--qi--r--o--v. Ewita e nuwara rajjuruwo wena nuwarawalwala
rajunda kæmata enda liyun æriyaya, at that time the city king to
other cities' kings for the eating to come, letters sent.
dt--s--ds--o--v--i. Ewita berawaya issara wagema salli illuwaya
gamaralagen, at that time the tom-tom beater, in the former very
manner, money asked-for from the gamarala.
dt--r--qs--o--v. Me dawaswaladima, maha rajagen yuddayakata udaw
illa, wena raja kenek liyun ewweya, during these very days, from
the great king for a war assistance having asked, another king
letters sent.
r--dt--s--v. E kumarikawata dæn bohoma dawasaka hita pissurogayak
saedila, for the princess, now many a day since, an insanity
having been developed.
dt--c--i--s--v--o. Etakota hinen gaenita dewatawa kiwa, "Tota,
etc.," then, by dream, to the woman the dewatawa said, "For
thee, etc."
dt--qo--i--v--qs. Itapasse rajjen palatakuyi ætek-barata wastuwayi
dewinnanseta dunna kumarayage piya-rajjuruwo, after that, from
the kingdom a district and to a tusk-elephant-load wealth, to
the queen gave the prince's father-king.
i--o--v--s. E kumarayanta kaema uyala-denne mal-amma kenek,
to the princes food having-cooked-gives a flower-mother.
i--ds--o--v--s. E kumarayata, masuran haddahak dila, kumariyak
genat-dunna rajjuruwoyi dewinnanseyi wihin, to the prince, masuran
seven thousand having given, a princess having-brought-gave the
king and queen (by).
The following transliteration has been adopted in these texts, being
the same as in the translations of the stories, with the exceptions æ,
ae, and sa.
Initials: a, a, i, i, u, u, e, e, o, o, au, æ, ae.
Gutturals: ka, kha, ga, gha, na.
Palatals: ca, cha, ja, jha, ña.
Cerebrals: ta, tha, da, dha, na.
Dentals: ta, tha, da, dha, na.
Labials: pa, pha, ba, bha, ma.
Semi-vowels: ya, ra, la, wa, la, n.
Sibilants, etc.: sa, sa, sa, ha.
Semi-consonants thus: ng, nd, nd, mb.