[13] A long island in the Brahmaputra.—Ed. [↑]
[14] I.e., the putting on of kháru (bracelets) and mani (necklace).—Ed. [↑]
APPENDIX II[1]
To the stories taken by Mr. Endle from my little collection of Kachári folk-tales, I have ventured to add the following three tales, with an interlinear literal translation and some brief linguistic notes. This I have done in order to follow the example set in Sir C. J. Lyall’s edition of Mr. Edward Stack’s work on the [Mikirs]. A transcription followed by a loose translation is not of much use to linguistic students unless they have already some knowledge of the language. I ought to explain that I have not followed Mr. Endle’s system of transliteration. In a language which has no written character, it is best to trust to one’s own ear. In such languages dialect springs up quickly and local differences of pronunciation abound. I have merely tried, therefore, to record what I have myself heard. With the aid of the literal versions I now give, and by carefully reading Mr. Endle’s Grammar, anyone who wishes to compare Kachári with other Bodo languages, such as Garo and Tippera, ought to be able to make out the remainder of the stories in my little collection without much difficulty.
The vowels are recorded as follows:—
| a | is pronounced like | u | in English | hut |
| ā | | a | | father |
| e | | a | | mason |
| i | | i | | fit |
| ī | | ee | | green |
| o | | o | | hot |
| ō | | o | | lo! alone |
| u | | u | | pull |
| ū | | oo | | school |
| ai | | i | | bite |
| au | | ow | | how. |
The sound represented by ŭ is rather difficult to describe to Europeans. To my ear, it seems rather guttural, something like the u in “ugh!” or the vulgar pronunciation of girl as “gurl.” Or, again, it may be said to be like the French eu in peu, as pronounced by English people. Or perhaps a still nearer approximation is the Englishman’s “er” when he pauses in making an after-dinner speech. The sound is of some importance, as -ŭi is the suffix by which the adverb in modern Kachári is formed from the adjective. Thus ga-hām, good; gahām-ŭi, well. Also the continuative participle, as, thāng-ŭi, thāng-ŭi; going, going—as he went.
When ā is added to a noun, it is, as in Assamese, the sign of the nominative. If the word ends in a vowel, and especially in the vowel ā, an euphonic i is inserted between the two vowels. Thus hingzau-sā, is “woman.” Hingzau-sā-i-ā is “the woman,” in a narrative. Similarly -au is the inflexion marking the locative case. If the word ends in ā, this letter is divided from au by an euphonic i.