Indian Languages #1: The Linguistic DNA Tag
In her book on Indian languages, Wanderers, Kings and Merchants , Peggy Mohan writes: “(Languages) did not sprout in continuity like new branches from the same tree from where they started, but were like different trees that happened to be neighbours stretching their branches, touching each other and sharing structure.” Take Sanskrit. It seems to have taken an entire sound system from other languages, feels Madhav Deshpande from Michigan University. (Note the difference – he isn’t talking of individual words ; he is referring to sounds ). How did he come to that conclusion? To understand that, we first need to understand “dental” sounds and “retroflexion” sounds. If you’re like me, you probably have no idea what that meant! But worry not. Dental sounds are made by the tongue touching the upper teeth (that means त , थ , द , ध , न , and श) . Whereas retroflexion sounds are made by the tongue curled upwards ( ट , ठ , ड , ढ , ण , ष ). Sanskrit started o...