| OCR Text |
Show vi PEBFACB. for explanations. Thus there came to be an urgent demand for an " Introduction to the Study of Indian Languages/' In the year 1877 the first edition was issued. The progress made by vari6us students, and the studies made by the author, alike require that a new edition be prepared to meet the more advanced wants and to embody the results of wider studies. Under these circumstances the present edition is published. It does not purport to be a philosophic treatment of the subject of language; it is not a comparative grammar of Indian tongues; it is simply a series of explanations of certain characteristics almost universally found by students of Indian languages- the explanations being of such a character as experience has shown would best meet the wants of persons practically at work in the field on languages with which they are unfamiliar. The book is a body of directions for collectors. It is believed that the system of schedules, followed seriatim, will lead the student in a proper way to the collection of linguistic materials; that the explanations given will assist him in overcoming the difficulties which he is sure to encounter; and that the materials when collected will constitute valuable contributions to philology. It has been the effort of the author to connect the study of language with the study of other branches of anthropology, for a language is best understood when the habits, customs, institutions, philosophy,- the subject- matter of thought embodied in the language are best known. The student of language should be a student of the people who speak the language; and to this end the book has been prepared, with many hints and suggestions relating to other branches of anthropology. In preparing the first edition the author appealed to the eminent scholar, Prof. J. D. Whitney, for assistance in devising an alphabet; since then further experience has demonstrated the propriety of some changes and a considerable enlargement of the scheme. For the alphabet as it is now presented, Professor Whitney is not responsible, but the writer is greatly indebted to him for laying the foundation of the chapter as it appeared in the previous edition. In the second chapter, entitled " Hints and Suggestions," the fourth section embodies a series of questions prepared by the Hon. Lewis H. Morgan, |
