MALAYALIM LANGUAGE 35
The exceptions to this rule are that some nouns, chiefly relating to
persons, form their plural by adding മാർ to the singular; as, ഭാൎയ്യ,12
ഭാൎയ്യമാർ.
4th. Malayalim nouns, whose nominative singular ends in ആ, form
their plural by adding കൾ to the nominative case; as,
| തൂമ്പാ, | Hoe. | തൂമ്പാക്കൾ. |
| പാ, | Mat. | പാകൾ. |
| കടുവാ, | Tiger. | കടുവാകൾ. |
5th. Nouns ending in ഇ, ൟ or ഉ, form their plural by adding
കൾ or ക്കൾ to the nominative singular; as,
| പ്രവൃത്തി, | Work. | പ്രവവൃത്തികൾ. |
| സ്ത്രീ, | Woman. | സ്ത്രീകൾ. |
| ജന്തു, | Animal. | ജന്തുക്കൾ. |
12 The singular of ഭാൎയ്യ is said, by some, to end in ആ, and that in all
such cases the plural must be formed as above; as, ഭാൎയ്യാ, ഭാൎയ്യമാർ. This
is a mistake, which few Malayalim Moonshees, from the very scanty
knowledge they possess of the principles of grammar, would be able to
correct, and therefore noticed here. It is however an error of no trifling
magnitude, as it tends to confound the principles of the Sanscrit, with
those of the Malayalim language; and, as a consequence, to lead the
Student astray in an important branch of his studies. ഭൎയ്യാ and പ്രഭാ and
numerous other words are, as thus spelled, mot Malayalim, but Sanscrit.
When adopted into the Malayalim language the last ആ is dropped
both in writing and pronunciation; and in that altered state they follow
the rules of all Malayalim words of the same class. This will be fully
illustrated by the following comparison of ഭാൎയ്യ, which is from the San-
scrit with പിള്ള, which is not.
| SINGULAR. | PLURAL. |
|---|---|
| Nom. ഭാൎയ്യ, | Nom. ഭാൎയ്യമാർ |
| Gen. ഭാൎയ്യയുടെ | Gen. ഭാൎയ്യമാരുടെ |
| SINGULAR. | PLURAL. |
|---|---|
| Nom. പിള്ള. | Nom. പിള്ളമാർ. |
| Gen. പിള്ളയുടെ. | Gen. പിള്ളമാരുടെ. |
By these examples it will be seen that the above words are declined
alike, both, in the singular and plural; the reason is because the orthogra-
phy of such Sanscrit words are altered when they are adopted into the
Malayalim language: Whereas, the Fourth rule will show, in cases
where the nominative singular of Malayalim words ends with ആ that
letter is retained through all declensions; as,
| SINGULAR. | PLURAL. |
|---|---|
| Nom. മൂങ്ങാ. | Nom. മൂങ്ങാകൾ. |
| Gen. മൂങ്ങായുടെ | Gen. മൂങ്ങാകളുടെ. |
2F
