IIIF Color HighRes
National Institute of Informatics - Digital Silk Road Project
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| IIIF Color HighRes |
| Results of a Scientific Mission to India and High Asia : vol.3 |
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Citation Information
V. COMPARATIVE CONCLUDING REMARKS.
1. Connection of geographical terminology with history and ethnography.-2. General formation of geographical names.-3. Modifications in the different linguistic groups.
1. CONNECTION OF GEOGRAPHICAL TERMINOLOGY WITH HISTORY AND
ETHNOGRAPHY.
For India in general, a northern and a southern family of languages can be distinguished.' With the northern family, Hindostani is spread over the country as lingua franca, and in the geographical names also the Sanskrit element is still not • unfrequently met with. Ftom the general lists of names of which the preceding Glossary is but a selection,2 I found that for these regions about 80 per cent. belong to the Hindostani now in use (25 per cent. of these, however, being traceable to Arabic or Persian origin) and the remaining 20 per cent. are Sanskrit, more or less pure.
The number of languages formerly -spoken in . India' must have been much greater than it is at present. But from the migratory habits of the natives and
' See Sir Erskine Perry, "on the Geographical Distribution of the principal Languages of India," in the Bombay Branch of the R. As. Soc., 1853, p. 289.
2 This selection includes, however, as a natural consequence of the relative importance of the objects, a remarkably great proportion of the highest peaks, the largest rivers, and the most sacred places—the original form, as well as the knowledge of the interpretation of such names, being retained, whilst in many other names it has been altered and lost in the course of time.
3 It is also well known, that at no very remote period in the history of Europe, the number of languages and dialects spoken was very much greater than now, and some ethnologists even estimate them at eight times as many; though their disappearance was partly preceded by the formation of fixed settlements, the vestiges left are comparatively not very numerous.
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