THE DECLENSION OF NOUNS 254 existence in these two classes must be regarded as an importa- tion from the root stems in i and u which are declined in the same way ( dhis , dhiyds , bhils, bhuvds) . For the rest the declen- sion is of the normal consonantal type calling for little comment. The stem and ending are pronounced as separate syllables in the Veda (tanuvam, etc.) although written according to the later system (tanvdm, etc.). The normal type of loc. sg. appears in catnvi , tanvl, etc., the endingless variety in camu, etc. The few locatives in -t of the f-s terns could either be the result of con- traction (<*iyi <*iui) or be locatives without ending. In the gen. pi. -n- has been introduced on the general analogy of the vocalic stems. The devi type is the one that normally appears in the feminine of non-thematic and some thematic stems (rdjnl, datri, prtkvf, kalydnl). It is thus predominantly an adjectival suffix, and although the accent of stems of this type has become variable in Sanskrit, the suffixal accent which frequently appears maybe considered to be the more original type. The strong forms of the suffix, which are to be explained by this adjectival accent, appear in the dat., abl.-gen. and loc. sg. In the nom.-acc. the weak form of the suffix appears, so that there exists an alterna- tion here parallel to that which appears in the i- and w-stems. Theoretical considerations indicate that the weak form of the nom.-acc. sg. (and of the nom. pi. following suit) are innova- tions, just as the similar formations in the adjectival i- and u- stems, and the related languages provide some evidence that this is so. This is clearest in the case of the acc. sg. which for phonological reasons cannot be original, since these stems were originally consonantal and *-inam could only produce -iyam (-yam). In Balto-Slavonic and Germanic the strong form appears in the acc. sg. (Lith. ncfusia, O. SL nesusa, Goth, bandja, etc.) and there is no reason to believe that these forms are in- novations.. On the other hand these languages have the weak stem in the nom. sg. (Goth .frijondi, Lith. vezanii, O. SI. vezasti) a fact which indicates that the weak form was earliest established in the nom. sg. Greek on the other hand has *-ya in the nom. sg, (ttotvmx, pepovoa, fila), and this cannot be phonetically equated with the l of the other languages since IE -in- develops into t in Gk. as elsewhere. The final -a here as elsewhere (wfipa, etc.) represents IE -an and the short vowel, as opposed to the long a elsewhere, arises from the pre- vocalic sandhi of this combina-
