We are starting a long
journey with our ancestors. It is like going back in a time machine to as far
back as 200,000 year in human history to find out why and how our ancestors
created the first words and how these words underwent repeated mutations in
their passage to us. It is also like going on a biological expedition in the
past to experience the magic moments when our ancestors encountered a new plant
or an animal and needed a word to communicate that experience to other members
of their population. Let’s imagine the feelings of our ancestor at their
first view and experience of a donkey braying denchu-denchu melodiously! How
would they have described the experience to the others? Perhaps by
repeating the sound denchu-denchu just as a child mimics bho-bho or meon-meon
of dog and cat respectively. And how the new word would have been transmitted
down the generations?
Transmission of word –
channel 1
Original communication
|
DENCHU DENCHU
डेंचू डेंचू
|
D
|
E
|
N
|
CH
|
U
|
D
|
E
|
N
|
CH
|
U
|
|
1st mutation ( CH>K, च>क)
|
DENKU DENKU
डेंकू
डेंकू
|
D
|
E
|
N
|
K
|
U
|
D
|
E
|
N
|
K
|
U
|
|
2nd mutation (E>O; ए>ओ)
|
DONKU DONKU
डोंकू
डोंकू
|
D
|
O
|
N
|
K
|
U
|
D
|
O
|
N
|
K
|
U
|
|
3rd mutation (U>EY; उ>ई)
|
DONKEY DONKEY
डोंकी
डोंकी
|
D
|
O
|
N
|
K
|
EY
|
D
|
O
|
N
|
K
|
EY
|
Transmission of word –
channel 2 (diversion from channel 1 after the first mutation)
Original communication
|
DENCHU DENCHU
डेंचू डेंचू
|
D
|
E
|
N
|
CH
|
U
|
D
|
E
|
N
|
CH
|
U
|
|
1st mutation (CH>K; च>क)
|
DENKU DENKU
डेंकू
डेंकू
|
D
|
E
|
N
|
K
|
U
|
D
|
E
|
N
|
K
|
U
|
|
2nd mutation (D>DH; द>ध)
|
DHENKU DHENKU
धेंकू धेंकू
|
DH
|
E
|
N
|
K
|
U
|
DH
|
E
|
N
|
K
|
U
|
|
3rd mutation (K>G; क>ग)
|
DHENGU DHENGU
धेंगु धेंगु
|
DH
|
E
|
N
|
G
|
U
|
DH
|
E
|
N
|
G
|
U
|
|
4th mutation (U>A; उ>आ)
|
DHENGA DHENGA
धेंगा
धेंगा
|
DH
|
E
|
N
|
G
|
A
|
DH
|
E
|
N
|
G
|
A
|
|
5th mutation (E>A; ए>अ)
|
DHANGA DHANGA
धंगा
धंगा
|
DH
|
A
|
N
|
G
|
A
|
DH
|
A
|
N
|
G
|
A
|
|
6th mutation (deletion of N; न का लोप)
|
DHAGA DHAGA
धगा
धागा
|
DH
|
A
|
G
|
A
|
DH
|
A
|
G
|
A
|
|||
7th mutation (inversion of
sequence; अक्षरों
का क्रम उलट)
|
GADHA
गधा
Hindi, Urdu, word
|
G
|
A
|
DH
|
A
|
|||||||
8th mutation (G>KH; ग>ख)
|
KHADHA
खधा
|
KH
|
A
|
DH
|
A
|
|||||||
9th mutation (DH>T; ध>त)
|
KHATA
खता
|
KH
|
A
|
T
|
A
|
|||||||
10th mutation (A>O; आ>ओ)
|
KHOTA
खोता
Punjabi word
|
KH
|
O
|
T
|
A
|
Transmission of word –
channel 3 (diversion from channel 2 after the 7th mutaion)
7th mutation (inversion of
sequence; अक्षरों
का क्रम उलटा)
|
GADHA,गधा
Hindi, Urdu, word
|
G
|
A
|
DH
|
A
|
||||||
8th mutation (addition of
BHAR meaning burden; भार शब्द का जुड़ना)
|
GADHA + BHAR
|
G
|
A
|
DH
|
A
|
BH
|
A
|
R
|
|||
9th mutation (rearrangement of sequence; (क्रम का बदलना)
|
GARDABH, गर्दभ
Sanskrit word
|
G
|
A
|
R
|
DH
|
A
|
BH
|
A
|
|||
Ass, the synonym for donkey seems to be a degeneration of Ashva (अश्व), the Sanskrit word for horse. Looks like a case of mistaken
identity by some ancestors who were not very familiar with the horses.
Ashva > Asya >
Assya > Ass
Khar (खर) is another name for donkey in Sanskrit and
Hindi. Its derivation seems to be from Kshar ashva (क्षार अश्व) which means horse of the
sea salt: Kshar ashva > khar asya > khar ahya > khar. The only place
in the world where the ass is found in the wild is the Great Rann of Kutch,
which is salt Marsh located in Gujrat, India and Sindh, Pakistan.
It is interesting to
note that it took three mutations to get the English word donkey from the
natural sound dhenchu but seven, nine and ten mutations
respectively to get Hindi GADHA, Sanskrit GARDHABH and Punjabi KHOTA! The
original home of donkey is in Africa. The donkey must have travelled a
lot more to reach India than it did to reach Europe. Note that almost all the
mutation shown in the probable etymology of donkey and its synonyms take place
in the same phonetic group of letters of the Devanagari alphabet table.
You may also like to see what the linguists have to say on how donkey got its names:
Donkey
Word Origin & History
donkey
1785, slang, perhaps from dun "dull grey-brown," the form perhaps infl. by monkey. Or possibly from a familiar form of Duncan (cf. dobbin). The older Eng. word was ass.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/donkey
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ass
Word Origin & History
ass
beast of burden, O.E. assa (Old Northumbrian assal, assald), prob. from O.Celt. *as(s)in "donkey," which (with Ger. esel, Goth. asilus, Lith. asilas, O.C.S. osl) is ultimately from L. asinus, probably of Middle Eastern origin (cf. Sumerian ansu). Since ancient Gk. times, in fables and parables, the animal.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/ass
