Grammar
Being part of the Indo-Aryan languages,Garhwali shares its grammar with other Indo-Aryan languages especially Hindi, Rajasthani, Kashmiri and Gujarati. It shares much of its grammar with the other Pahari languages like Kumaoni and Nepali. The peculiarities of grammar in Garhwali and other Central Pahari languages exist due to the influence of the ancient language of the Khasas, the first recorded inhabitants of the region and the root of Garhwali language.
In Garhwali the verb substantive is formed from the root ach, as in both Rajasthani and Kashmiri. In Rajasthani its present tense, being derived from the Sanskrit present rcchami, I go, does not change for gender. But in Pahari and Kashmiri it must be derived from the rare Sanskrit particle *rcchitas, gone, for in these languages it is a participial tense and does change according to the gender of the subject. Thus, in the singular we have: - Here we have a relic of the old Khasas language, which, as has been said, seems to have been related to Kashmiri. Other relics of Khasa, again agreeing with north-western India, are the tendency to shorten long vowels, the practice of epenthesis, the modification of a vowel by the one which follows in the next syllable, and the frequent occurrence of de-aspiration. Thus, Khas - siknu, Garhwali - sikhnu, but Hindi - sikhna, to learn; Garhwali - inu, plural - ina, of this kind.
| Khas-Kura | Garhwali | Kashmiri | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gloss | Masc | Fem | Masc | Fem | Masc | Fem |
| I am | chu | chu | chhaun | chhaun | thus | ches |
| You are | chas | ches | chhei | chhei | chukh | chekh |
| He is | cha | che | ch | ch | chuh | cheh |
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