The modern Hindustani scholar; or, The Pucca Munshi

1919·31.9 MB·English

by  Pahwa, Thakardass

THE
HINDUSTANI SCHOLAR
:01)KKN
or
TIIK PUCCA MUNSHI.
I
Specially adapted to the present-day requirements of the Lower and
Higher Standard Examinations.
BY
MUNSHI THAKARDASS PAHWA,
Qualified Hindustani Instructor.
CALCUTTA
:
KD AT THE BAPTIST MISSION PRESS AND PUBLISHED BY
THE AUTHOR AT JHELUM.
1919.
(All rights reserved.)
Price R*. 10.
Dedicated
to
all the Munshis
as a mark of grateful
respect for the profession.
PK
PREFACE.
IT is true that in the course of the following pages I have
traversed a much-beaten track. I found, however, during my
experience as a teacher for the last ten years that the track
was not yet sufficiently straight and smooth. Most of the
students' difficulties have been simply and lucidly explained in
this book, its sole object being to facilitate further the task of
the reader. In short, it claims to have removed most of the
stumbling-blockswhich still stood in the way of rapid and easy
progress of the student in the language.
It is divided into three parts and five appendices. The first
part treats of grammar in graduated lessons, most of which are
followed by two exercises (one from English into Hindustani
and the other from Hindustani into English) and a set of use-
ful colloquial sentences. The exercises are, of course, on the
rules in the lesson immediatelypreceding them, but the collo-
qui:il sentences have a free run over all the rules and words
given before, thus keeping the student in constant touch with
what has preceded them.
The second part consists of miscellaneous advanced exercises
from English into Hindustani and 50 from Hindustani
into English) which have been very carefully selected and
arranged. They have been introduced by a short essay on
paraphrasing and simplification whichare so essential in trans-
lations from one language into another.
The third part is meant to provide the student with a nice
and substantial collection of Idiomatic and Military Sentences,
while the appendices contain some common proverbs and a
tuiid of little odds and ends.
In the whole book no word that is not commonly used, finds
any place, and many knotty points have been unflinchingly
approached and amply clu<-hinted. In short, I believe that the
IV
Lower and the Higher Standard candidates will find it emin-
ently useful, in fact a mine of information.
Italso fully answers therequirementsof the present Military
Colloquial examinations. But the studentneed notgo through
the wholeof it for that purpose. Beginningat the third lesson,
and omitting those rules of grammar which are not printed in
bold type, he can stop at the 37th lesson, after which he should
go through the Military Sentences, translated into Hindustani
(pp. 581-626), and then take the examinations confidently.
Since a language is essentially a thing to be learnt more
through the ear than the eye, I would ask the teachers toread
out the Hindustani exercises to their pupils loudly and never
to get tired of talking to them. The pupils, on their part,
should never feel shy of talking in the language.
In conclusion, I beg to acknowledge my deep indebtedness to
those of my predecessors in the field, whose guidance I have
repeatedly sought in producing this book.
THAKARDASS PAHWA.
JHELUM
:
1st October, 1918.