optionally pronounced as 'ল' or 'ড' and so 'ঈ' লে may be uttered as 'ঈডে.' We have not got this cerebral in Bengali, but there are a few words in Bengali, which disclose the transformation of 'ল' into 'ড়'; তাড়ি (to-dy) the juice of Tāl (palm), may be an imported word, but কুঁড়ি from কলি (bud), মুড়া (extremity) from মূল, পাড়া from পল্লী (village), শিকড় (on account of the chainlike ramifications of the roots) from শিকল (—Sk. শৃঙ্খল, Pr. শিঙ্খাড় and শিঙ্খাটক) etc., are pure Bengali words. These forms, however, should not be confounded with those in which 'ড' or 'ড়' has originated from 'দ' or 'ত.'
Though ব (v) has lost its position in the Bengali alphabet, its উ-অ sound is retained in many words of va origin ; গুয়া from গুবাক, দেঅর from দেবর, দুয়ার from দ্বার, ধাওয়া from ধাব, জোয়ান from যুবন, and সোয়াদ from স্বাদ, are some instances. It mnst be familiar to the students of Prākṛita, that at times no distinction is made between 'b' and 'v' and that in the later Māgadhi, 'v' as an adjunct to a consonant, drops out altogether; such as, দ্বি is reduced to simple দি. The reduction of 'v' to 'b' cannot be said to be due to Dravidian influence, as distinction between 'b' and 'v' is strictly mantained in Telegu, Tamil, Malayalam and Canarese; but the dropping out of 'v,' when it is an adjunct to a consonant, can be explained by the rule of the Dravidian Grammar, which does not allow consonants of different classes to form a compound. According to this rule, দ্বি and স্বা of স্বাদ have to be reduced to দি or দু and to সো or সা, if they are initial letters; but if they occur as medials, they have to become দ্দি and স্সা respectively; compare the forms দুই, and সোআ, স্বাদ or সাদ on the one hand, and the pronunciation of the words অদ্দিতিয় (অদ্বিতীয়) and বিস্সাদ (বিস্বাদ) on the other.
Consonants.—As the question of Dravidian influence is being considered all along, I should add here a few remarks
