The Source Book On Sikhism

Process of Evolution

The transformation of the parent language into its derivatives follows certain general physical trends, or speech habits, of the speakers, and as a rule, similar geographical or ethnological factors produce similar changes in the language. Our business today is to show that transformation of Sanskrit into Punjabi has followed the same lines, more or less, as the transformation of Latin into its modern off-shoots, principally Italian. The change from the classical to the modern language has taken place in accordance with certain rules, which have, of course, a number of exceptions. Let us now examine some of these rules.