Grammar of Gondi

( Neville J. Lincoln's Library ) Grammar of Gondi as spoken in the Betul district, Central Provinces, India: with vocabulary, folk-tales, stories and songs of the Gonds by C. G. Chenevix. Trench (Author) Printed by the Superintendent, Government Press, Madras, 1921 Author: CHENEVIX TRENCH, Charles Godfrey. 30.12.1877 — 1.9.1964. British (Irish) Civil Servant in India. Son of Colonel Charles Chenevix Tr. and Emily Lefroy. Educated at Loretto School, East Lothian. Studies at Oxford (Lincoln College, B.A.). Served in I.C.S., finally Settlement Commissioner, Mewar State. C.I.E. 1931. Married 1910 Margaret May Blakesley, four sons.

Excerpt from Gondi Grammar and Vocabulary: Gender. - The masculine'gender in Gondi is used simply for the names of males: all other objects may be spoken of as neuter or feminine. It is difficult to decide under which name non masculine nouns should be grouped if the lan guage be viewed from the stand-point of its neighbour, Hindi, they should be called feminine, but as one of the Dravidian languages it is more natural perhaps to view them as neuter. Number. - There are two numbers, singular and plural: dual does not exist in Gondi. Gondi (Gōṇḍī) is a South-Central Dravidian language, spoken by about three million Gondi people, chiefly in the Indian states of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and by small minorities in neighbouring states. Although it is the language of the Gond people, it is highly endangered, with only one fifth of Gonds speaking the language. Gondi has a rich folk literature, examples of which are marriage songs and narrations. Gondi people are ethnically related to the Telugus.