"——Si quid novisti rectius istis,
Candidus imperti; si non his utere mecum."
By Capt. George Hadley.
London:
Printed for T. Cadell in the Strand.
MDCCLXXII."
Captain Hadley's orthography is on a detestable system. He writes chookerau, chookeree, for chhokrā, chhokrī ('boy, girl'); dolchinney for dāl-chīnī ('cinnamon'), &c. His etymological ideas also are loose. Thus he gives shrimps = chînghra mutchee, 'fish with legs and claws,' as if the word was from chang (Pers.), 'a hook or claw.' Bāgḍor, 'a halter,' or as he writes, baug-doore, he derives from dūr, 'distance,' instead of ḍor, 'a rope.' He has no knowledge of the instrumental case with terminal ne, and he does not seem to be aware that ham and tum (hum and toom, as he writes) are in reality plurals ('we' and 'you'). The grammar is altogether of a very primitive and tentative character, and far behind that of the R. C. Missionaries, which is referred to s.v. [Hindostanee]. We have not seen that of Schulz (1745) mentioned under the same.
1752.—"The Centinel was sitting at the top of the gate, singing a Moorish song."—Orme, ed. 1803, i. 272.
1767.—"In order to transact Business of any kind in this Countrey, you must at least have a smattering of the Language for few of the Inhabitants (except in great Towns) speak English. The original Language, of this Countrey (or at least the earliest we know of) is the Bengala or Gentoo.... But the politest Language is the Moors or Mussulmans and Persian.... The only Language that I know anything of is the Bengala, and that I do not speak perfectly, for you may remember that I had a very poor knack at learning Languages."—MS. Letter of James Rennell, March 10.
1779.—"C. What language did Mr. Francis speak?
W. (Meerum Kitmutgar). The same as I do, in broken Moors."—Trial of Grand v. Philip Francis, quoted in Echoes of Old Calcutta, 226.
1783.—"Moors, by not being written, bars all close application."—Letter in Life of Colebrooke, 13.
" "The language called 'Moors' has a written character differing both from the Sanskrit and Bengalee character, it is called Nagree, which means 'writing.'"—Letter in Mem. of Ld. Teignmouth, i. 104.