Google 



This is a digital copy of a book that was preserved for generations on library shelves before it was carefully scanned by Google as part of a project 

to make the world's books discoverable online. 

It has survived long enough for the copyright to expire and the book to enter the public domain. A public domain book is one that was never subject 

to copyright or whose legal copyright term has expired. Whether a book is in the public domain may vary country to country. Public domain books 

are our gateways to the past, representing a wealth of history, culture and knowledge that's often difficult to discover. 

Marks, notations and other maiginalia present in the original volume will appear in this file - a reminder of this book's long journey from the 

publisher to a library and finally to you. 

Usage guidelines 

Google is proud to partner with libraries to digitize public domain materials and make them widely accessible. Public domain books belong to the 
public and we are merely their custodians. Nevertheless, this work is expensive, so in order to keep providing tliis resource, we liave taken steps to 
prevent abuse by commercial parties, including placing technical restrictions on automated querying. 
We also ask that you: 

+ Make non-commercial use of the files We designed Google Book Search for use by individuals, and we request that you use these files for 
personal, non-commercial purposes. 

+ Refrain fivm automated querying Do not send automated queries of any sort to Google's system: If you are conducting research on machine 
translation, optical character recognition or other areas where access to a large amount of text is helpful, please contact us. We encourage the 
use of public domain materials for these purposes and may be able to help. 

+ Maintain attributionTht GoogXt "watermark" you see on each file is essential for in forming people about this project and helping them find 
additional materials through Google Book Search. Please do not remove it. 

+ Keep it legal Whatever your use, remember that you are responsible for ensuring that what you are doing is legal. Do not assume that just 
because we believe a book is in the public domain for users in the United States, that the work is also in the public domain for users in other 
countries. Whether a book is still in copyright varies from country to country, and we can't offer guidance on whether any specific use of 
any specific book is allowed. Please do not assume that a book's appearance in Google Book Search means it can be used in any manner 
anywhere in the world. Copyright infringement liabili^ can be quite severe. 

About Google Book Search 

Google's mission is to organize the world's information and to make it universally accessible and useful. Google Book Search helps readers 
discover the world's books while helping authors and publishers reach new audiences. You can search through the full text of this book on the web 

at |http: //books .google .com/I 



i 




r 



mmmm 



w^aim 



"• 



. t 



STANDARD ALPHABET. 



STANDARD ALPHABET 



FOR 



REDUCING UNWRITTEN LANGUAGES AND FOREIGN 

GRAPHIC SYSTEMS 



TO A 



UNIFORM ORTHOGRAPHY IN EUROPEAN LETTERS 
BY C. R. LEPSIUS, D. PH. & d.d/ 

PROF. AT THE UNIVERSITY, AND MEMBER OF THE ROYAL ACADEMY, BERLIN. 



RECOMMENDED FOR ADOPTION BY 
THE CHUBCH KIS8I0NART 80CIETT. 



SBCOND EDITION. 



LONDON. 

WILLIAMS &NORGATE, HENRIETTA STREET, COVENT GARDEN. 

BERLIN. 

W. H B R T Z , BBHRBNSTRAS8E 7. 

1863. 



// * 



/ ^ i 



501. ^-. 



i^%r ^, -t-^r:^. 




I, , 



ill 

It 

■I 



ADVERTISEMENT 

TO THE FIRST EDITION. 



The need of a fixed system of orthography induced several of 
the missionary societies of London, a few years ago, to agree 
upon '^Rules of reducing unwritten languages to alphabetical 
writing in Roman characters." These Rules, .though imperfect, 
have been already applied with success to several African lan- 
guages. The societies were assisted in this work by the late 
Professor Lee of Cambridge, by Mr. Norris of London, and by 
Professor Lepsius of Berlin ; but feeling it to be necessary for 
the establishment of any £ltond^k{ system that an alphabet should 
be presented in a more coniplete form, and that the scientific 
principles should be explained upon which it was constructed, 
Professor Lepsius, at their request,* kindly undertook this 
work, and has furnished the following admirable treatise, which 
will prove, it is hoped, an invaluable help to missionaries. The 
clear and scientific exhibition of vocal sounds which it contains 
will relieve Missionaries from many of their first difficulties in 
studying a foreign language , and will spare future translators 
much painful uncertainty respecting the powers of the letters 
which they employ. It has therefore been adopted by the 
Church Missionary Society as A Standard Alphabet. 

It is not expected that those who have already adopted a 
different system of orthography will at once conform to all the 



IV ADVERTISEMENT. 

recommendations of Professor Lepsins, and in some minor 
points the genius of a language may possibly require a departure 
from the general standard. But such exceptions need not annul 
the standard character of this alphabet as one to which all 
parties may refer. Attention is particularly directed to the ob- 
servations of Professor Lepsius upon this point at page 23 (45). 

Founts of letters and matrixes are provided for printing ac- 
cording to this alphabet, and though its adoption may thus 
involve in the first instance some trouble and expense ^ these 
will be counterbalanced by the great and permanent advantage 
of a fixed orthography. 

The object of this treatise concerns not only missionaries, but 
also the interests of the natives whose language is to be reduced 
to writing. It is most desirable that a nation should be furnished 
with an alphabet combining simplicity and precision to the 
utmost degree in which they are attainable. The art of reading 
will be thus greatly facilitated, and the natives will themselves 
teach one another to read and write without the perpetual aid 
of European teachers. In illustration of this remark, we may 
refer to the following instances: — In West Africa the Vei 
tribe invented a syllabic alphabet, in which every sign had its 
fixed sound, and the people taught one another to write without 
the aid of European teachers or the knowledge of European 
alphabets. Similar instances of natives teaching one another to 
read and write by a syllabic alphabet have occurred among the 
Indians in America. In New Zealand a very simple alphabet 
was carefully prepared by Professor Lee, and many tribes 
learned to read and write by the help of instructed natives 
before they were visited by Europeans. 



ADVERTISEMENT. V 

In respect of Africa it is especially important to take every 
step which may facilitate the mutual instruction, and supersede 
the labours of European teachers. In this way only can we 
hope for the Evangelization of that vast continent.. 

It is a matter of much satisfaction , that in this, as in other 
instances, science lends its aid to the Christian zeal of mis- 
sionaries for communicating to mankind the highest benefits; 
and the work is commended under this aspect to the blessing 
of Almighty God for the furtherance of the Kingdom of Christ 
among the nations of the earth. 

H. VENN, B.D. Hon. Sec. 
J. CHAPMAN , B.D. Sec , 



Late Missionary in South India, and Prin- 
cipal of the Syrian College^ Travancore, 

H. STR AITH , Hon. Lay Sec. 
C. GRAHAM, Lay Sec, 

Late Persian Interpreter to the Com- 
mander-in-Chief m India. 



Church 

Missionary 

Society, 



Having been concerned in the preparation of the Rules, (fee, 

referred to above, which have been successfully employed in 

our West African languages — where the want of a uniform 

system was especially felt, — we express our cordial approval 

of this treatise, in which Professor Lepsius clearly explains 

the scientific principles upon which a standard alphabet must 

be constructed, and renders it, in its complete form, capable 

of the most extensive application. 

JOHN BEECH AM, D.D. Sec. | Wesleyan 

ELIJAH HOOLE, Sec, \ Missionary 

Formerly Missionary in South India. ) Society* 



a3 



VI ADVERTISEMENT. 



(Extract from a letter to the author.) 
Societe der Missions Evangeliques. 

Paris le 7 juin 1855. 

^J'ai le plaisir de vous annoncer que dans sa stance men- 
suelle d'faier, le Comite de la Societe des Missions a 
decide d'envoyer a nos Missionaires au Slid de FAfrique le 
^'Standard Alphabet''^ et de recommander a leur plus s^rieuse 
attention le systeme qui est propose pour arriver k uue ma- 
ni^re uniforme d'ecrire les langues etrangeres qui n'ont point 
encore de litterature. 

En outre, il desire vivement qu'apres avoir 6tudie ce systeme 
les Missionaires de notre Societe puissent en faire Tapplication 
a la langue S^chuana. 

II serait utile pour cela, que notre Comite piit avoir une 
vingtaine d'exemplaires de la traduction anglaise du Standard 
Alphabet, pour les envoyer au Sud de PAfrique.** 

Au nom du Comite: 
GRANDPIERRE, 

Directeur. 



London Missionary Society. 

London, June 28*^ 1855. 

The importance of the object proposed by Dr. Lepsius will 
be deeply felt by every individual conversant in any degree 
with the difficulties to be encountered in the formation of a 
language previously unwritten, and with the want of har- 
mony which has hitherto been found in such attempts. I can- 



ADVERTISEMENT. VH 

not therefore btit rejoice in the result of Dr. L.'s close and 
profound attention to this subject, as exhibited iri his pamphlet 
and I most earnestly hope that it may greatly tend hereafter 
to secure substantial agreement, and if possible, uniformity 
in the practice of Christian Missionaries who are labouring to 
give the Word of God to tribes and nations among whom the 
symbols of thought have been previously unknown. 

ARTHUR TIDMAN , 

Foreign Secretary L. M. S. 



Moravian Missions. 

London, Jane 1855. 
I beg to give my cordial assent to the general principles 
which Professor Lepsius has so ably sketched in his Treatise. 
That the adoption of his system, however modified in some 
of its details, will be of the greatest service to Missionaries 
in every part of the world and especially to English Missio- 
naries, can hardly admit of a doubt. Had such a system been 
originally applied to the languages of the Greenlanders and 
Esquimaux and to those of the Indian tribes of North and South 
America, much uncertainty and difficulty would have been 
avoided. P. LA TROBE, 

Secretary in England to the 
Moravian Missions. 



Bar men, den 30. Jail 1855. 
Die Deputation der Rheinischen Missionsgesell- 
schaft erklart hiermit ihre Zustimmnng zu den von Herrn 
Prof. Lepsius in Berlin in seiner Schrift ^das allgemeine lin- 



VIII ADVERTISEMENT. 

guistische Alphabet** niedergelegten Grunds&tzen der Ortho- 
graphic und wird demgemafs ihre Missionare fdr deren lin- 

guistische Arbeiten instruiren. Namens der Deputation: 

Insp. WALLMANN. 

[Barmen, 30^^ July 1855. The Committee of the Mis- 
sionary Society of the Rhine declares hereby its assent 
to the principles of Orthography laid down by Professor Lep- 
sius in his treatise on the Standard Alphabet, and will give 
directions accordingly to its Missionaries for their linguistic 
labours. For the Committee: Inspector Wall m an n.] 



Calw, Wurtemberg, den 29. Oct. 1855. 

Der Unterzeichnete mufs, auch abgesehen von dem umsich- 

tigen Fleifs, womit dieses Standard Alphabet entworfen ist, 

schon um des harmonischen Zusammenwirkens willen, dringend 

wiinschen, dais wenigstens auf diesera Theile des Missionsge- 

bietes Uniformitat zu Stande komme^ und schliefst sich darum 

demselben mit Freuden an. 

Dr. CHR. G. BARTH, 

Vorstand des Calw^r Verlags-Vereins. 

[Calw, Wurtemberg, 29"^ October 1855. The Undersigned, 
besides acknowledging the care and completeness of the views, 
upon which this Standard Alphabet is founded, cannot but 
earnestly desire for the sake of harmonious cooperation, that 
Uniformity may be attained at least in this part of the Mis- 
sionary field, and therefore begs to give it his cordial assent. 
Dr. Chr. G. Barth, Director of the Calw Publishing 
Union.] 



ADVERTISEMENT. IX 

Evangelischc Missions-Gesellschaft zu Basel. 
AiiSEug aus dem Protokoll vom 9. Nov. 1855. 

„Die Committee der evangelischen Missions-Gesellschaft hat 
5,in Anerkennung der grofsen Wichtigkeit fibereinstimmen- 
„der GrnndsMze bei Feststellung des Alphabets bisher nicht 
^gesehriebener Spraehen besonders auf dem Africanischen 
„Spracbgebiet bescbiossen, das von Hrn. Prof. Dr. Lepsius in 
^Berlin aufgestellte System der Orthographie zu adoptiren und 
^den in ihrem Dienst stehenden Missionaren dasselbe zu all- 

^mabliger Einfuhrung zu empfehlen.^ 

Namens der Committee: 
JOSENHANS, 

Inspector. 

[Evangelical Missionary Society at Basle. Extract 
from protocol of 9. November 1855. „The Committee of the 
Evangelical Missionary Society, acknowledging the great im- 
portance of uniform principles in fixing the Alphabet of pre- 
viously unwritten languages, particularly among the African 
races, has resolved to adopt the system of orthography pro- 
posed by Prof Dr. Lepsius of Berlin, and to recommend it 
to the Missionaries employed by this Society for gradual in- 
troduction.'* For the Committee: Josenhans, Inspector.] 



American Board of Commissioners for Foreign 

Missions. 

Missionary House, Boston, 
June 20, 1856. 

The Secretaries of the American Board of Commissioners 
for Foreign Missions have examined Dr. Lepsius's ^^Standard 



X ADVERTISEMENT, 

Alphabet for reducing unwritten languages and foreign graphic 
systems to a uniform orthography in European letters/' and 
regard it as an advance upon the practice of Missionaries of 
this Board heretofore in reducing languages to writing; and we 
will gladly do what we can to secure its general adoption. 

R. ANDERSON,) 

S. B. TREAT , Secretaries. 

S. L. POMROY, J 



XI 



ADVEBTISEMENT 

TO THE SECOND EDITION. 



A SECOND Edition of the English Version of the General 
Linguistic or Standard Alphabet is now oflfered to the public. 
It has undergone complete and careful revision; several minor 
points heretofore left undecided, have been setUed by the light 
of experience and in accordance with the judgment of many 
distinguished scholars; and the Second Part, which exhibits 
synthetically its applicability to particular languages, has been 
much expanded and enriched. 

The Church Missionary Society adopted the Standard Al- 
phabet more than five years ago on conviction that it was 
theoretically the best. It appeared to be founded on clear 
scientific principles consistently carried out, and therefore 
simple — capable of easy comprehension and unlimited applica- 
tion. The interval has not disappointed their hopes. It has 
been applied successfully to at least fourteen African^ and 
seven Asiatic!,, languages, and the test of experience enables 
the Society to commend it now, with far more confidence than 
when it first appeared, to all classes of students of languages, 
whether altogether unwritten , or rendered too often practically 
inaccessible by the cumbrous local alphabets in which their 
literature is embedded. 



^ AonglUy BornUy Ewe, FmIu, Gd, Hawa, Hertro, Ibo, Mosaic Naauij 
Nubian^ Kupe^ Oji, Zulu. 

' Turhmenianf Kurd, Kafariy Pailo, Sindhi, Hahha-Chinese , Korean. 



Xn ADVERTISEMENT. 

This Alphabet is available for two very different classes of 
readers— the European student, and the uncritical Native. For 
the former, whether traveller, iriissionary, or philologist, the 
whole apparatus of diacritical marks will be needed, and more 
especially for such works as Grammars, Praxes, Dictionaries, 
&c., where the object is technical and linguistic. For the 
latter, many of the diacritical marks may be dispensed with, 
or will gradually drop off of themselves; and the Alphabet 
readily admits of such simplification, while preserving all its 
essential principles in their integrity. 

The Standard Alphabet may be regarded as already lord of 
the domain of Africa, where it has had to compete with but 
few conflicting systems of any importance , either European or 
native. In Asia, the difficulties are greater, but here too its 
advance is encouraging. To refer more especially to India, 
not only is the . possibility and expedience of "Romanizing" 
still far from conceded by many oriental scholars, who are 
naturally attached to Alphabets which they have mastered at 
the cost of so much labour, but ever since the opening of that 
great country to Europeans, attempts have been made, with 
more or less of system, to represent Hindu words and names 
in Roman letters. There is however only one scheme that 
can profess to compete with that of Prof. Lepsius. Consider- 
able currency has been obtained in India for the system first 
propounded by Sir W. Jones, afterwards adopted with con- 
siderable modifications by Prof. Forbes and the late Prof. 
Wilson , and recently advocated with much earnestness by Sir 
C. Trevelyan and Prof. Monier Williams. The oriental student 
is much indebted to Sir C. Trevelyan for his weighty argu- 
ments in favour of the application of a Roman Alphabet to 
the langoages of the East, which have never been met by a 
satisfactory answer; but the particular system, which he re- 



ADVERTISEMENT. XIH 

coromends, is far from perfect. This is not the place to enter 
into the objections whidi present themselves, but the many 
changes which this alphabet has successively undei^ne at the 
hands of Prof. Wilson and others, and the further changes 
still suggested by different patrons of this alphabet, show a 
want of complete confidence in it. The system of Prof. Lepsius 
is the result of many years' patient study as well as exten- 
sive practical experience ; it is based on philological principles 
and a careful analysis of all the sounds possible to the organs 
of the human voice; full advantage has been taken of the 
researches of Sanskrit Grammarians; and, wherever available, 
the most widely received symbols have been adopted and 
incorporated into it. These are no slight claims to atten- 
tion and cannot be overlooked by candid scholars. 

It was under the conviction of the great services already per- 
formed by this Alphabet, and its capabilities for much further 
usefulness, that the Committee of the Church Missionary So- 
ciety commissioned the writer of these lines to visit Berlin last 
autumn, and came to the following resolutions in consequence: — 

Extract from Proceedings of Committee. 

"The Rev. W. Knight reported his recent conference at 
Berlin, in company with the Rev. J. P. Sch5n, with Prof. 
Lepsius, respecting a final revision of the Standard Alphabet^ 
and explained that the object had now been satisfactorily ac- 
com])lished by the preparation of a second Edition of the work, 
and that it was now desirable to take steps for the promotion 
of its general adoption by circulating a large Edition among 
the Society's and other Missionaries, and also amongst learned 
men likely to take an interest in the question^ and by furnishing 
Founts of Types to such of the Mission Printing Presses as 
may be ready to employ them. 



XIV ADVERTISEMENT. 

Resolved — 1. That an English Edition of 1500 copies of the 
Standard Alphabet be printed at Berlin under the di- 
rection of Prof. Lepsius, for circulation as suggested. 
2. That the Secretary be authorized to urge upon 
the Missionaries of the Society the adoption of this 
system of orthography, and that as soon as there shall 
appear in any of the Society's Mission Presses in India 
or elsewhere a readiness to adopt and employ the 
system, the Committee will be ready to consider of 
the grant of a Fount of Types for such press." 

Ghureh Missionary Hoase, Londoo. 
Aug. 26, 1861. 

W. KNIGHT, 

Sec. 0. M. S. 



XV 



CONTENTS. 

AdvertisemeDts p. in 

iDtrodaction to the Second Edition , « . . - 1 

Firtit Part* Historical and Systematical Deyelopment -21 

The scientific Object of the Standard Alphabet - 23 

The practical Object of the Standard Alphabet - 26 

What has been done by Science for the Solution of the Problem 

up to the present time - 30 

What has been done by the Missionary Societies for the Solution 

of the Question - 39 

The System proposed T * 46 

A. The System of Vowels - 46 

B. The System of Consonants i . - 59 

Serond Part. Collection of Alphabets reduced to the Standard 

Alphabet - 85 

General Division of languages - 87 

LITERARY LANGUAGES p. 91-265 

A. GENDER LANGUAGES - 91-208 

I. Japhetic (Indogermanic) languages ............ - 91 — 173 

^onaXriV .«.,^ p. 91 ifod^n iVmn....... ...... p, 130 

Pali - 96 Armmian - 132 

Old Prakrit - 97 Kurd...:. -136 

Hindi - 98 Ossetian - 138 

Hindustant - 100 Ldtuanian - 141 

Sindhl - 103 Old Slovenian - 145 

Qujarati - 106 Serbian - 151 

Marathi - 108 Russian - 154 

Pmjabl or Sikh - 110 Cheshian (Bohemian) • - 157 

iVtpaZi.,,,,,... . Ill Polish - l^ 

Bangdll, ,,,. . 112 Sorbian ......,,,*.. - 162 

UrJya ..,.,.,,...,.,,,.... - 113 Rumanian (Walachian) - 164 

Paito ox Afyan -114 Old Icelandic.............. -169 

Old Bakirian (Zend) - 117 Welsh (Kimri) ...... ^..... . .^ 171 

Old Persian (Cuneiform) .... - 124 



XVI 



CONTENTS. 



II. Semitic languages p. 173 — 193 

Hebreu) p. 173 Qelez (Ethiopic) p- 18» 

Syrian - 182 Amharic - 191 

Arahic - 184 

III. Hamitic languages p. 193 — 208 

(M Egyptian p. 193 Ta^mdSeq (MaHy) p. 205 

Coptic - 200 Ilaha - 207 

Btja (BiSari) - 202 Nama (Namaqua) - d08 

Qalla . 204 



B. NO-GENDER LANGUAGES p. 209-300 

I. Asiatic languages - 209 — 255 

1. Talaric languaget * 209 — 231 

p. 209 Madyaric (Hungarian) ..... p. 220 



Manju 

Sarr a- Mongolian,,, 212 

Bufyetic - 213 

YakuHc 214 

Turkish - 216 

Turkmenian - 218 

Kazak (Kirghiz) - 218 

Samoyedic dialects -219 



Mcrdvinian - 221 

Livonian - 223 

Tamil (Tamuhan) - 224 

Malaydlam - 228 

Tulu - 229 

Karnataka (Kanareee) - 230 

Telugu (Telinga) - 231 



2. Monosyllabic languages p. 232 — 243 

{Kwan-hwa (Mandarinic) ... p. 232 Thai (Siamese) p. 237 
Hok-lo - 235 Kambejfa - 241 
Hah'ka « - 235 Mranma (Burmese) - 242 

3. Isolated languages p. 244 — 255 

Yykagiric p. 244 Georgian p. 251 

CauEau (Ghukchic) - 244 Tui... - 253 

Japanese - 245 Albanian - ^54 

Tibetan - 249 

II. Polynesian or Malayan (Oceanic) languages . . p. 255 — 265 



Malayan p. 255 

Baiak and MandaiUh, 257 

Javanese .................. - 259 

Dayak.. - 260 

Makcusar • 261 

Bugis. 263 

Eastern Polynesian languages - 264 



New Zealand p. 264 

Rare-Tonga - 264 

Qamhier - 265 

TahiHs. -.. - 265 

Marquesas • - 265 

Sandmch - 265 



CONTENTS. 



xvn 



ILLITEKATE LANGUAGES p. 266-300 

III. Australian or Papuan languages p. 266 — 268 

South Australian (Adelaide) . p. 266 Mare (Loyalty Islands) p. 267 

Annatam (New Hebrides; - 266 Viti (Fiji Islands) - 267 

IV. African languages p. 268 — 288 

Sudheli (Ki-SuaJieli) p. 268 Akra or Qd p. 280 

Makua (Mosambigue) - 269 Tyi (Otyi) or Akwapim .... - 281 



Tsudna (Se-tsudna) - 270 

Kafir - 271 

Zulu - 271 

ffOaa (Ma-ffOsa) • 273 

Herero (O-Tyi-Herero) - 273 

Fernando Po - 276 

Ibo - 275 

Yoruba - 276 

Ewe - 279 



Timm - 282 

Vei - 283 

Susu - 284 

Mandinga y - 285 

Wolof - 285 

Fula - 286 

Kdrmri (Bomu) - 287 

Kongara (Dar Fur) - 288 

Nuba - 288 



V. American languages pag. 289 — 300 



Indian langu. of North America p. 289 

Greenlandic - 289 

MasBothiset - 291 

Irokwois - 292 

Muskoki - 292 

TSahto - 293 



TaaJagi (Chiroki) p. 293 

Dakdta - 297 

Otomi - 298 

Ketsua - 298 

Kiriri - 299 



General Table of languages p. 301 — 308 

Postscript - 309 — 315 



Introduction 

to 

the Second Edition. 



Five years have elapsed since the first edition of the Standard 
Alphabet was published. It has during that period enjoyed 
a wide circulation principaUy owing to the recommendation 
of the Committee of the Church Missionary Society, and the 
progress it has made leaves no doubt on our mind that it will 
ere long be universally adopted in all Missionary literature. 

An intimate relation exists between linguistic science and 
Missionary labours. The latter, especially in new and hitherto 
unwritten languages, supply the former — chiefly by means of 
Translations, Vocabularies, Grammars, and Specimens— with 
rich , and in most cases the only, materials for further investi- 
gation and comparison. When we consider this close relation, 
we are led to expect that by degrees science also will employ 
our system more and more extensively, the fundamental prin- 
ciples of which have hitherto remained uncontraverted. 

This Alphabet has as yet been more frequently applied to 
African languages than to any others. The reason for this 
is obvious. No attempts, or but very insignificant ones, have 
been made to reduce them to writing: at all events none such 
as could have stood in the way of the general introduction 

A 



of an Alphabet otherwise acknowledged to be in every respect 
suitable. ^ 



^ The following works on African languages, in wliicli tlie Standard Al- 
phabet has been adopted, have come to the knowledge of the author: 

1854. 

S. W. Kolle (Church Miss. Soc): 

a) African Native Literature, or Proverbs, Tales, Fables, and Historical 

Fragments in the KanHri or B6rnu Language, and a Kdnuri — 
English Vocabulary. London. Church Miss. House. 

b) Grammar of the Bdrnu or Kdnuri Language, London. Church 

Miss. House. 

1856. 

J. B. Schlegel (North German Miss. Soc. at Bremen): 

Agbals he me denio osrg hlglg. Aohgla- Primer, printed for the Ger- 
man and Foreign School- book- Society at Calu>. Stuttgart. Steinkopf. 

1857. 

J. F. Schon (Ch. Miss. Soc): 

a) Fdrawd letdfin mdgdna Ha4sa ko Mdkdyi mdgdnan ga$kia etc. 

[Ha4sa Primer], Berlin. Print, linger. 

b) The Gospel according to St, Matthew, translated into Hausa. Printed 

for the British and Foreign Bible Society, London. Watts. 
J. Erhardt (Ch. Miss. Soc): 

Vocabulary of the Enguduk Iloigob, as spoken by the Masai- tribes 
in East-Africa. Ludwigsburg (Wurtemberg). F. Riehm. 
H. Tin d all (Wesl. Miss.): 

A Grammar of the Namaqua- Hottentot L anguage. Cape-town . (Sold 
by Trubner.) 
J. 0. Wallmann (Inspector of the Berlin Miss. Soc): 

Die Formenlehre der Namaquasprache, ein Beitrag zur Siidafrikani- 
schen Linguistik. Berlin. (Published by W. Hertz.) 
Hugo Hahn (Rhenish Miss. Soc. at Barmen): 

Grundiuge einer Grammatik des Herero im westlichen Africa y nebst 
einem Worterbuche. Berlin. (Published by W. Hertz.) 
J. B. Schlegel (North German Miss. Soc. at Bremen): 

Schlussel iur Ewe-Spraehe mit W6rtersammlung , nebst einer Samm- 
lung von Sprichwdrtern und einigen Fabeln der Eingebornen. 
Stuttgart. Steinkopf. 
J. Zimmermann (Basel Miss. Soc): 

a) Genesi alo Mose klehkUh itolo U; ys Gd wiemo h mVt. The firat 
booh of Moses in the Akra (Gd) Language* (London. Watts.) 



Par more difficult is the application of a new Orthography, 
even of the most perfect kind, to Asiatic languages, especially 



b) Daniel ghalo Ig^ ys Gd toiemQ Is mli. The booh of Daniel in the 

Akra (Gd) Language. London. Watts. 

c) Johane kg Juda wodsi Ig, etc. The Epistles of John and Jude, and 

the Revelation of St, John the Divine j in the Akra (G a) Lan- 
guage. (London. Watts.) 2d Ed. 1861. BaseL 

d) Spruchbuch dea Caltoer Verlagsvereins. Stuttgart. 
G. Christaller (Basel Miss. Soc): 

Kirchengebet und Katechiamua (Anhang za Barth's Biblischer Geschichte). 
Stuttgart. 

1858. 

J. F. Schon (Ch. Miss. Soc): 

Labari ndgari kdmmdda anrUbutasi dagd Lukas. The Gospel according 
to St. Luke, translated into Hausa, Printed for the British and 
Foreign Bible Society. London. Watts. 
A. Steinhauser (Basel Miss. Soc): 

KanemO'Wolo. Primer of the Gd Language. Stuttgart. Steinkopf. 
A. Steinhauser & J. Zimmermann: 

Geaangbuch, 168 Lieder in Akra. Stuttgart. 
J. Zimmermann (Basel Miss. Soc): 

a) A Grammatical Sketch of the Akra or Gd Language, and some Sped- 

mens of it from the mouth of the natives. Stuttgart. Steinkopf. 

b) Bgfoi Ig Asddai etc. The Acts of the Apostles translated into the Akra 

Language. (London. Watts.) 2d Ed. 1861. Basel. 
J. B. Schlegel (North German Miss. Soc at Bremen): 

a) Jesu Kristo etc. History of Jesus ^ from the raising of Laiarus from 

the death to the day of Pentecost, with the Epistles and the Reve^ 
lation of St. John the Divine, in the We Language. Stuttgart. 
Steinkopf. 

b) MatDU-agbaba me nya veve teu>e blaato vo eve. Dr. Barth's two 

times fifty two Bible Stories etc., translated into the Ewe Lan- 
guage as spoken in Anlg, Slave Coast, W.Afr. Stuttgart. Steinkopf. 

1859 
J. F. Schon (Ch Miss. Soc): 

Letafin Musa Nabiu. The second book of Moses called Exodus, trans^ 
lated into Hausa. London. Printed for the British and Foreign 
Bible Society. 
J. C. Taylor (Native Clergyman, Ch. Miss. Soc): 

isuama-lbo Katekism, translated from Dr. Watts* s first Catechism. 
(London). Watts. 

A2 



to those which have possessed a settled native system of writ- 
ing, and which, through either their literary or their practical 



G. L. Reichardt (Ch. Miss. Soc): 

a) Primer in the Fulah Language, Berlin. Unger. 

b) Three original Fulah fneces in Arabic letters, in Latin transcription y 

and in English translation. Berlin. Unger. 
Lewis Grout (American Board): 

The Jsizulu. A Grammar of the Zulu Language, accomp. unth a Ats- 

torical introducliony also with an appendix. Natal. J G. Buchanan. 

Published by May & Davis, Pietermaritzburg; sold by Trubner. 

London. 
J. Zimmermann (Basel Miss. Soc): 

a) Jesaya gbalg Is ye G3 wiemg h m^** The booh of the Prophet Isaiah^ 

in the Ahra Language, Printed for the British and Foreign Bible 
Society. Basel. C. Schultze. 

b) Bofo kronkron Paulo Ig woh ni enma eyamadse Romafoi Ig; ys Gd 

wiemg Is mli. The Epistle of St, Paul the Apostle to the RomanM, 
in the Ahra (Gd) Language. (London. Watts.) 

c) /. Kor, — //. Petri, 

d) 8 Wandtabellen, 

G. Ghristaller (Basel Miss. Soc): 

a) Otyi kehkaii hhoma, Otji Primer y together with a Collection of 

Scripture Passages, Basel. G. Schultze. 

b) Yen awurade ne agyehkwd Yesu Kristo ho asgmpa no, wq Otyi kasa 

ifitf. The Gospel of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, in the 
Otji Language, as spoken in Akuapem, Gold Coast, W, Afr. 
(London). Watts. 

c) Asomafo no nneyee ho asem a Luka kyerew mae, ttQ Otyi kasa mu. 

The Acts of the Apostles by St, Luke, in the Otji Language. 
Printed for the British and Foreign Bible Society. Basel. G. 
Schultze. 

d) Kristo fo asafo a u>qwq Akuapem Tyi^dyom-nhoma, Hymnbook for 

the Christian Church in the Akuapem country in the Otji Lan- 
guage, Stuttgart. Steinkopf. 
L. Grout (American Board): 

Jmisebemi YabalunytDa: i humselwe ngabafandisi ba semerika ngokwa 
*maiulu, (Acts of the Apostles translated by the Teachers of 
America among the Zulus.) Emsunduzi. J. Buchanan. 
H. Hahn and F. Rath (Rhen. Miss. Soc): 

Omahungi oa embo ra Yehova omukuru mu Otyiher^rd, (Tales of 
the word of Jehova in the Merer 6 Language;) Gapetown. S. Solomon. 



importance, have long since afforded to Europeans occasion to 
express by Roman Letters the sounds which they contain.^ 



1860. 1861. 

J. F. Schon (Ch. Miss. Soc): 

Ohu Ibo, Grammatical Elements of the Ibo Language, London. 
Watts. (1861.) 
J. Chr. Taylor (Natiye Clergyman, Ch. Miss. Soc): 

a) AkuhtoQ ehpere huama-lho, A Selection from the Booh of Common 

Prayer, translated into ibo, London. Watts. 

b) Isuama^ I bo Primer , by the Rev. Sam, Crowther, revised and en- 

larged by the Rev. J. Chr. Taylor. London. Watts. 

c) Jsuama-Ibo Sermon, preached at Trinity Church, Kissy road, Free- 

town, Febr. 17, 1859. London. Watts. 
Sam. Growther (Native Clergyman, Ch. Miss. Soc): 

Nupe Primer, London. Watts. 
G. Christaller (Basel Miss. Soc): 

a) Nhyontobea ama Tyi-dyom-hhoma ne Gd-lala-wolo no, TVine Book 

to the Otji and Akra Hymn-ioohs, Compiled by G. Auer. 
Basel. C. Schultze. 

b) Sechs Wandtabellen, Basel. 

J. Zimmermann (Basel Miss. Soc): 

a) Exodus, in the Akra Language. 

b) Sddii kpakpai edSg Is, The four Gospels in the Akra Language, 
K. Rttdi (Basel Miss. Soc): 

Biblia mli s&dSi ha gbekebii fufobii. Bible Stories for little children in 
the Akra (Gd) Language. Basel. C. Schultze. 
R. Lepsius: 

Ingil YesU el Messihnilin Markosin fayistn nagitta. The Gospel accord- 
ing to St. Mark, translated into the Nubian Language, Berlin. 
1860. (W. Hertz.) 
These and some other works, which we shall mention hereafter, have ap- 
peared ander the auspices of no less than nine Missionary Societies or kindred 
Institutions of England, Germany, and America; and several of them have 
been printed and published at the cost of the British and Foreign Bible 
Society. 

^ With respect to the Asiatic languages the sanction of our system by the 
distinguished linguists of the Imper. Academy of Sciences at St. 
Petersburg, the natural centre for Asiatic Philology, is of decisive im- 
portance. We refer to the notice given in the Bullet, de la Classe Historico- 
philologique de TAcad. Imp. des sciences de St. Petersbourg, tome XIY. 
1857. p. 238, Stance du 5. (17.) dec 1856: M, Dorn en presentant le glos- 
suite Kourde de Mr, Lerek (Dialectes Kourmandji et Za§a) prit it etre mi$ 



6 

Among these again the most difficult as well as the most im- 
portant are the languages of India. Experience has convinced 

sous presse, communique que lui et MM. Bothlingk^ Kunik ei S chiefs 
ner se sont concertes avec M, Lerch quant au choix de V alphabet le plus 
propre pour la publication des specimens linguistiques Kourdes. On s*e»t 
dicide en faveur de V Alphabet panlinguistique, propose par Mr, 
LepsiuSy auquel ont concourru les linguistes de Berlin et de Londres. In 
consequence of this decision Mr. Peter Lerch has employed the Standard 
Alphabet in his work: ^^ Forschungen uber die Kurden und die Iranischen 
Nordchaldder'*, First part: Kurdische Texte mil Deutscher Uebergetiung, 
St. Petersburg. 1857. Second part: Kurdische Glossare, mit einer literar- 
histor, Einleitung, 1858. The alphabet has since been likewise adopted by 
A. Schiefner, Ueber die Spracke der Jukagiren (Bull, de TAcad. de 
St. Petersb. tome XVI. 1859. p. 242 ff.); by J. Wiedemann, Ueber die 
Livische Sprache und ihr Verhdltniss %u der Esthnischen (Bull. t. XYI. 
1859. p. 193ff.); by Ahlquist, Eine kune Nachricht uber das Wogu- 
lische (Bull. Hist, philol. tom. XVI, 1. 2. 1859. p. 25ff.); hy the same, 
Ueber das Mordvinische Verbum. Helsingforth. 1859; by Ilminsky, 
Ueber die Sprache der Turhmenen (Bull. tom. I. 1860. p. 663-571); by 
Badloff, Ueber das Tschuhlische und Koreatische. 1860. 

With reference to the Languages of Eastern Asia 'viq have principally 
to mention the application of the Alphabet to the Chinese language by the 
Rey. R. Lechler (Basel Miss.), in his translation of the Gospel according 
to St. Matthew into the dialect of the Hah ha Chinese ( Evangelium des 
Matthaeus im Volksdialekte der Hakka-Chinesen) Berlin. 1860. Unger. 
Prof. J. Hoffmann (Univ. of Leyden) has applied it to the Japanese lan- 
guage in his Shopping-Dialogues in Dutch, English and Japanese. London 
and The Hague. 1861. and the present writer to the Tibetan and tlie 
Chinese in two dissertations on the sounds of some of the languages of 
Eastern Asia, in the transactions of the Berlin Academy, 1860. 

It may here be added, that the author also introduced the new alphabet 
for the first time to a great extent for the transcription of Arabic names, in 
eight geographical maps of the North-eastern part of Africa and the adjacent 
countries of Asia, which form the first plates of the '^Monuments from 
Egypt and Ethiopia after the Drawings of the Prussian Expedition to those 
Countries", published by him, Berlin; 1849-1859. 

Dr. Trumpp (Ch. Miss. Soc.) was the first who employed the Standard 
Alphabet for one of the Indian Languages in his work: A Sindhi Read- 
ingbook in the Sanskrit and Arabic character, London. 1858 (publ. 1860). 
Careful observers will notice a slight deviation from our alphabet, as it at 
present appears , in the adoption of c and j instead of c and /. The reason 
is that his '^Reading book" had already passed through the press before the 
change, to the adoption of which he fuljy consents « was finally adjusted. 



us that neither the internal consistency nor the physiological 
basis of our system of transcription has in the case of some 
of the sounds of these languages been sufficient to secure 
a ready acceptance for the symbols which we had proposed 
for their expression. No Alphabet can however force itself 
into universal adoption. It must make friends. These it will 
find partly by a clear organization, founded upon the actual 
nature of the subject under discussion — the laws of such or- 
ganization being calculated to avoid the chaos of caprice which 
has hitherto prevailed — and partly by carefully considering the 
views and suggestions of all those concerned , whose approval 
we are anxious to purchase, when the concession would not 
overthrow the system itself.^ The ancient Sanskrit is the basis 
of the modern Arian languages of India; its written character, 



The greatest adyantage however will result from a universal alphabet for 
such general lingaistic works which have to deal with a great number of 
different languages simultaneously. In this respect we have the satisfaction 
to refer to the precedent of one of the most eminent linguists, viz. H. G. 
von der Gabelentz (not to confound with the Baron H. von Gablenz, 
the author of the fantastical Gavlensographic orthography), who in his re- 
searches on the Passive (Ueber das Passivum, Leipzig, 1860, and in the 
Transactions of the R. Saxon Society of Sciences, Vol. VIII.) has adopted 
the Standard Alphabet , and employs it for the languages he treats. Likewise 
does Dr. Steinthal (Univ. of Berlin), who uses the Alphabet in his work on 
the characteristic features of the principal types of all languages (Charak- 
teristih der haupUachlichsten Typen des Sprachhattes, Berlin. 1860), and 
produces at the close (p. 332 sqq.) the whole Standard Alphabet in extenso, 
under the name of the G^ettera/ LinguUtic Alphabet, the name which we used 
in our first Grerman Edition of the Standard Alphabet. (Hertz. 1855.) The 
same and Dr. M. Lazarus (Prof, on the Univ. of Bern) employ it throughout 
their valuable Journal for psychology of nations and linguistic science (Zetl- 
schrift fur Volkerpsychologie und SprachtDtssenschaft, Berlin. F. Dummler.). 

^ In the pamphlet of Mr. J. T. Thomson, an unpointed Phonetic Alphabet 
based upon Lepsius^s Standard Alphabet, 1859, many true views are expressed, 
but even if the theory were actually faultless, he shows such disregard as 
to the prospect of the practical adoption of many of his proposals, that 
we can only regret the industry employed. The same may be applied to 
the pamphlet of Prof. H. A. Barb, Die Transeription des Arabiichen Alpha- 
bets, Wien. 1860. (See below the remarks to the Arabic Alphabet.) 



8 

the Devanagari, is with some modifications extended to all 
those languages. While however the ancient Indian language 
was perfectly expressed by the Devanagari characters ^ the 
modern dialects have more or less departed from its pronun- 
ciation, but without transferring these changes into their writ- 
ten character. Of one fact indeed there is no doubt, and it 
is one that is recognized by all scientific judges of the Sanskrit; 
the ancient Sanskrit itself, as would naturally be anticipated, 
is not in various points pronounced by the Brahmans of the 
present day, as it was by those ancient Hindus to whom it 
was still a living language. Thus especially the palatals % ^, 
which were originally pronounced as simple sounds Jc, g (to 
our ears very much like the Gutturals ky g)^ are now read 
without exception as compound sounds tS, dz, into which they 
have passed in course of time, a process which has taken place 
in many other languages besides these. In the same manner, the 
sounds T( and ^ are described by ancient Grammarians as the 
diphthongs di, du^ and are treated as such in speaking and 
writing; at present however they are pronounced as simple 
vowels ^and o. The letters r and ^, originally cerebrals, have 
lost their cerebral pronunciation and become dentals , so that 
now both ""^ and ^ are read » without any distinction. The 
vowel sign * (r) written above the letters, which once formed 
a diphthong with the preceding vowel , seems to be now heard 
only as a consonant. The present pronunciation however 
of the Sanskrit forms the foundation of every attempt hitherto 
made to transcribe into Koman characters the actual languages 
of India. In the first edition of the Standard Alphabet only the 
ancient pronunciation of the Sanskrit was taken into con- 
sideration, which, if we treat the language in a strictly scientific 
manner, must indeed still be regarded as the Standard; but it 
cannot be denied that the present pronunciation of the Brah- 
mans must also be taken into consideration. And this the more, 
because the same pronunciation very generally reappears ia 



those cognate living languages which employ the Devanagari 
character. For this reason, although we still recommend the 
adoption for strictly scientific use of the transcription of the 
ancient pronunciation, it has appeared convenient to exhibit 
by its side a transcription of the modem pronunciation also, 
and at the same time to adopt the latter for all living lan- 
guages derived from the Sanskrit. This distinction at the same 
time facilitates the solution of a question which has been fre- 
quently mooted within the last few years, and which is of 
great importatice as regards the universal adoption of the 
Standard Alphabet. In the first edition we have already in- 
timated in several places (pp. 41, note 2; 44; 50), that the 
physiological principle of representing every simple sound by 
a single sign, and consequently every compound sound by 
several signs, may on Etymological grounds admit of certain 
appropriate exceptions. This is for instance the case, when 
an originally simple sound, although it may have been changed 
by assibilation into a double one, continues notwithstanding 
to be regarded in writing as a simple sound, and is so felt 
in the living language. With this view, for the double sounds 
ty^ dy^ tSy dzy ts, dz^ which have resulted from simple palatals, 
we proposed (p. 42) the single signs ^^ ct, ^, d, t, d. This actually 
happens in the case of the present pronunciation of the ancient 
Indian Palatals. The letters ^, B| have not only preserved 
their simple form in all Indian Alphabets, although they have 
passed into the double sounds tS and dz^ but the living lan- 
guage itself still treats these double sounds in more than one 
respect as simple ones. Yet notwithstanding all this there 
might still be a doubt whether we ought for these reasons to 
propose a single sign for the double sounds tS and dL Con- 
siderable experience during the last five years has however 
convinced us that there would be great practical difficulties, 
both in India and Europe, in the way of bringing into universal 
adoption in Indian languages the written forms l£ and dz^ 



10 

correct as these might be iu themselves. Uniformity is 
always the main object of the Standard Alphabet, and this 
object in the case before us appears to be only attainable by 
the substitution of the simple bases c and j^ to which the 
general suffrage seems to incline. We prefer therefore to make 
use of these two letters wherever the above mentioned reasons 
suggest an exception from the general rule. This will be 
chiefly the case in the Indian and in the Semitic languages, 
whilst for African or hitherto unwritten languages, as a 
general rule, we shall solve the difficulty by adhering to tS 
and dz. 

We have indeed formerly shown the special disadvantage 
attached to the use of the letters c and j, since they have 
in different European orthographies very different pronuncia- 
tions; viz.: 

English German French Italian Spanish 
c = kov 8 k or t8 k or 8 k or tif kor ^ 

J = dz y ^ y X 

In order therefore to indicate the linguistic use of c and j 
for t8 and dzj it is indispensable to add to them a diacritical 
sign, to distinguish them from the European letters c and j^ 
and to indicate the especial linguistic power, which we wish 
them to possess. It will be seen on a subsequent page that 
we have already adopted the diacritical sign "^ to distinguish 
the sounds S and z from 8 and z, and it therefore appears 
most natural that we should. employ the same diacritical sign 
over the new bases, c and jy to indicate the second part 
of the pronounced double sounds, viz. tS and dz. We con- 
sequently write c and /. 

It has also been before observed that the assibilation of 
originally simple palatal sounds has not unfrequently adopted 
other forms besides tS and dz^ and that the following is a com- 
plete series of transitions of which some languages possess 
several together. 



11 

^S 9 

kf-> 9y (^y 9) 
tyy dy (t\ d') 

tS, dz f <r, /) 

t8j dz (ty d) 
Of these forms the first amplifications, ky, gy^ happen to 
stand closely connected with their originals, the simple palatals, 
which can scarcely be pronounced without a distinctly audible 
y. Where then a simple basis is required, they need no special 
distinction, but may be denoted, like the simple palatals, by 
k and g. For the second and fourth amplifications the marks 
iy d! and t, d, have already been proposed in the first edition. 
For the third however, which we thought we had before most 
suitably expressed by tS and dz^ we now employ if and / for 
the reason which we have given. We write therefore the 
Turkish palatals U^ g = kyy gy. In the Sindhi alphabet there 
appears by the side of c , /, also a cT (= dy) , and in the 
Pashto by the side of (T and / also t and d (= fo, dz) , which 
have also descended from palatal sounds. 

Another deviation from the first edition consists of the changing 
the aspirates (f, ef, (&c.) into their corresponding mutes with an h 
following (thy dky <&c.)- That this change is not in contradiction to 
the fundamental laws of the Standard Alphabet is plain from the 
explanation of the aspirates we have already given (1*^ Ed. 
p. 44 ). Indeed , the aspiration is not absolutely one with 
the consonant, but partly follows it, and can therefore be ex- 
pressed separately. Following the practice of Bopp and others, 
we previously marked the aspirates in the Sanskrit by an 
added Spiritua aaper; we did so, because in the Devanagari 
the aspirates are represented by single signs. But it has also 
been mentioned that in the Arabic transcription of the Hin- 
dustani the Indian aspirates are already written separately. 
Still more decisive however is the practical ground that the 
notation of the aspirates as simple sounds, has not been 



12 

favourably received, on account of the inconvenience attached 
to it in writing and printing. We believe therefore that we 
shall, in this point also, meet the views of the majority of 
those interested, if we free the Standard Alphabet of the in- 
convenient hooks of the aspirates, and substitute in their places 
the full h; except only in the more accurate transcript of the 
ancient pronunciation of the Devanagari. 

Lastly, in the first edition of the Standard Alphabet, the 
choice was left open between ^^ ^\ and the new bases y^ d. 
We have found with great satisfaction, that the most intel- 
ligent voices have been raised in favour of the latter signs. 
We therefore do not hesitate to drop the reluctantly admitted 
signs ^y ^\ and to substitute for them /, 6, Of minor im- 
portance is the adoption in the present edition of the angular 
sign 8^ z instead of the circular b^ f , to denote the English 
sound ah and the French j. Whoever may prefer the latter 
form, may use it without hesitation. In favour of the former 
we find not only its use in several Slavonic languages, but 
also its greater clearness in writing and print, whilst the 
round form may easily be confounded with the SpiritiiB axper 
or lenia. 

We have already in the first edition protested against the 
use of Italics to denote the deviating classes of sounds according 
to which we should, for instance, have to write: "datwia" 
instead of in conformity with our system : danda. It gives us 
much satisfaction to perceive that Professor Max MQller 
has in his last publication, The History of Sanskrit Literature, 
relinquished this mode of transcription and substituted dots 
to express the Indian cerebrals. We must also repeat our de- 
cided protest against the use of ch and ^A, according to the 
English pronunciation, instead of our c and s. We rejoice 
at the accession to our view of Dr. Caldwell, at least 
as far as the former sound is concerned, since in his last 



13 

work^ he has given up the use of ch^ which he had previously 
adopted. Our Alphabet now agrees in most points with his, as 
far as regards the pronunciation of the present Indian languages. 
Still we consider the diacritical sign "^ over c and j (jK, /) to be 
unavoidably necessary in order to distinguish them everywhere 
from c and j as used in European languages. As ch instead 
of c, so also sh instead of ^, violates not only the fimdamental 
laws of all correct transcription, but also the requirements of 
practical applicability. The combination ah can, according to 
the analogy o£ khy ph etc., only indicate an aspirated^, as 
it actually occurs in the Chinese and other languages, and 
may also occur in any other, by the concurrence of a final s 
with h following, as in English mishap^ in German Grashalm. 
Neither can we approve of the stroke a, ^, 6 in the Alphabet 
of Dr. Caldwell to denote long vowels, because this stroke 
is, as a general practice, never used in European languages 
to indicate the prosodic length of a vowel, but the accent of 
the word, as in the Greek. 

These and some other imperfections in the proposals of Sir 
Charles Trevelyan adopted by Professor Monier Will- 
iams^ and the Rev. G. U. Pope^, should be avoided before 



' On the BubsiituUon of the Roman for the Indian Characters (com- 
manicated to the Madras Literary Society by Sir Charles Trevelyan), 
1859. 

* A new collection of various essays referring to this subject has just 
been made by Prof. Monier Williams, entitled: Original papers illustrating 
the history of the application of the Roman Alphabet to the languages of 
India, London 1859. 

' One Alphabet for all India. Madras 1859. This pamphlet, like that 
of Dr. Caldwell, was elicited by Sir Charles Trevelyan, when at 
Madras. While both essays contain strong arguments in favour of a Roman 
Alphabet for India, it would be incorrect to regard the authors , as advocat- 
ing, in its integrity, the modification of Sir W. Joneses system, adopted 
by Sir Charles, and promoted by Professor Williams. Amongst other 
divergences, for example, Mr. Pope employs the circumflex to mark the 
ong vowels (Ay i, <&c.), and the Spanish n. We have noticed one of the 



14 

we can either wish or expect that his long continued and 
laudable exertions for the introduction of the Roman Alphabet 
will meet with complete success. Just as little can the report 
of the Sub-Committee of the Madras Literary Society, and 
auxiliary of the R. Asiatic Society, on writing Indian words 
in Roman Characters (in the Madras Journal of Literature 
and Science, Vol. 3, New Series, Madras 1S59), exert any de- 
cisive influence on the solution of the main question; since 
Messrs. Elliott, Bayley and Norman, the gentlemen com- 
posing the Committee, are not even agreed among themselves, 
but have conveyed in three appendices their own individual 
proposals, which deviate in some, and partly not unimportant, 
points from the main report composed by Mr. Elliott. Messrs. 
Elliott and Bayley have even gone so far as to return— 
in opposition however to Mr. Norman^s protest — to the ex- 
ploded method of denoting aspirates by k^hy g'h, ch'hy thus 
separating distinctly by means of a comma the mute from its 
aspirate, although the same is found to be so intimately con- 
nected that in the Devanagari it is expressed by but one letter. 
These writers can, in this, as in some other points, plead 
the example of Sir William Jones, whose great services 
we have always acknowledged (see below), especially with 
reference to the vowel-system. It has however been already 
pointed out, that his transcription of the consonants was 
very defective, principally because the physiological laws of 
the system of sounds were not then fully recognized. The 
Sub-Committee appear unfortunately to have been unacquainted 

most important of Dr. G aid well's yariations above— the abandonment of 
ch to express the first consonant of the palatal row. He has also mis- 
givings as to the acute accent for denoting the long Towels , and even says, 
"For cursive writing, I suspect, it will be found that the simple horizontal 
line— the ordinary prosodial line of length— is the easiest"* (p. 27). Even 
Mr. Williams hesitates not only as to ch but as to sh^ and appears to 
propose c with a diacritical mark, while he thinks that ''a similar modifi- 
cation of sh might perhaps be introduced with advantage.'' (See Williams's 
Bdg-o-bahar^ pp. xxvii-xxix.) We welcome such approximations to our system. 



16 

with the proposals of the Standard Alphabet, which is especi- 
ally based upon a critical choice, according to internal laws, 
amongst the di£Perent systems of notation hitherto used , and has 
the object not only to harmoni;se the wants and customs of In- 
dian writers with European science, but also with the wants 
of Missionaries beyond India, embracing, as they do, all the 
rest of the world. They would otherwise have perhaps at- 
tempted to combine their Anglo-Indian standing -point with 
that of the Standard Alphabet. 

Whilst referring to this subject we venture to call attention 
to the introduction to the Zulu Grammar by the Bev. Lewis 
Grout, in which the Standard Alphabet is thoroughly re- 
viewed, both with regard to its intrinsic value, and its gene- 
ral applicability. Mr. Grout, Missionary of the American 
Board of Missions, has for some time (see p. 41) taken the 
lead in the diversified and fundamental discussions of the 
question of the Alphabet in American Missions, and especially 
at Natal. He therefore has a strong claim to be heard, and 
his example in applying the Standard Alphabet to his learned 
work on the Zulu language cannot fail to cause those who 
take a cordial interest in the question, to follow him with 
all the more confidence. 

A few more observations on different points in relation to 
transcription into Roman Characters may now follow. We 
form the Appellatives of the letters in various ways. In naming 
the explosive Consonants we put the Vowel after, as: ka, te, 
de^ pe^ qu; in naming the fricatives and liquids we put the 
Vowel before, as: esy ef^ el^ em^ er. Others again we call, as did 
the Greeks, by special names: — as in the English: aitch^ double- 
youj wxfy zed; the German jod^ vau, zet, ypailon; the French 
€ich, ygrec. Lastly, we possess no common designation for 
sounds like ^, z, ^ ^^^ others, or for such as do not exist 
in European languages; yet it is necessary to have such 
both in teaching, and in other cases. Under these circum- 
stances it seems most advisable to follow the example of the 



16 

Sanskrit and other syllabic languages, adopting a uniform 
nomenclature throughout, and pronouncing every letter with- 
out difference, with an a following, thus: hi^ pa^ la^ ma^ 
j(a^ Sa^ za^ va^ ya^ and so on. 

It is also necessary to come to a definite understanding, with 
regard to the Order of letters in Lexicons and similar works. 
It seems that a scientific arrangement can only be obtained, 
by keeping the Vowels and Consonants respectively by themr 
selves, and by arranging the latter according to the different 
classes of the organs, i. e. gutturals, palatals, <&c., or as as- 
pirates, explosives (fortes, lenes)^ nasals, &c. In the first 
Edition (p. 47) we have (where an organic arrangement 
was necessary) given the preference to the classes of exspiration, 
because in them especially the bases of similar sounds are most 
closely kept together. For European use we have, however, 
recommended the European order of letters, and now con- 
sider it well to recommend the same to a still greater extent. 
It may in fact be introduced into all lexical arrangements, 
as a scientific order is only needed when one has to speak 
in a grammar or elsewhere of a scientific classification of 
sounds. Lexicons in foreign characters will necessarily follow 
the foreign arrangement; but, applied to Roman characters, 
either principle of arrangement deduced from sound would 
uselessly separate all the homogeneous roots and hard and 
soft letters, which belong to one another. Classified according 
to the organs, n, n, n, n, and again «, ^, s, § would be 
widely separated from each other; classified according to ex- 
spiration, k would be separated from ^, t from d, f from £, 
^ from (^, and so on. Within these classes of exspiration, 
it would also be necessary to place the bases with distin- 
guishing marks before the simple bases, e. g. t and t before 
^, n and n before n^ which seems not to be natural, and as 
to other letters such as <r, /, « , f, ^, d^ it would be altogether 
doubtful what place should be assigned to them. Besides this, 
any arrangement of the letters according to the oi^ans 



17 

would present great difficulty to Earopeans, who are ac- 
customed o&ly to the Latin mode) and this difficulty would 
be vastly increased , whei^ we come to the order of the letters 
not only at the commenoement, but in the body of each word. 
For foreigners however, who will have under any circum- 
stances to relinquish their accustomed succession of letters, it 
is of little importance what new arrangement they may adopts 
and a scientific one is of no advantage, where convenience 
and practical utility only are aimed at. The case would as- 
sume a different aspect, if the Alphabetical arrangements of 
European languages were as diversified as their orthographies. 
In this case a new and necessarily organical arrangement 
would be unavoidable. But inasmuch as all European nations 
use one and the same order of letters as handed down to them 
by the Bomans^ who received it from the Greeks, who again 
received it thousands of years ago from the Phoenicians, they 
possess also the right of communicating the historical arrange- 
ment, as well as the characters themselves, to foreign nations. 
To enter into detail. We shall give the precedence to let- 
ters without diacritical marks; the rest, when there are several 
of them 9 will be arranged according to the organs of speech. 
As far as the signs ' and / are concerned, the simple curve 
' is not likely to be of much lexicographical use. Should it 
however be called for, it also would be treated as the distin- 
goishiog mark of a vowel, and would either be dealt with 
as not existing at all, or follow the simple vowel as 'a 
after a, ^e after e^ and so on. For the Semitic sound ^ 
two curves / have been chosen in order that for European 
languages, we might not be obliged to take notice of this 
sound at all, more especially at the beginning of words. If 
We were to take any letter with a diacritical mark, for in- 
stance q\ some inconveniences would ensue. One would con- 
sent to write 'Abdallak^ iAli, but never Qabdallah, Qaii; 
we shall therefore treat $ like * as not existing, and should 

B 



18 

take no notice of it in lexical arrangements, except where two 
words have no other mutual distinction, in which case we 
should place the word containing the >* immediatMy after the 
one that does not contain it, or which contains only one 
curve '. Lastly, the four Greek marks may most easily be as- 
sociated with those Roman ones, whose fricatives they are, con- 
sequently 3 will come after d, y after g, x ^^^^ *» ^ ^^^^^ ^* ^^ 
conformity with this plan the Alphabet with the principal diacri- 
tical signs employed in the different languages could be arranged 
as follows: a, a, a,' a, fi, a, a, ^a, /a; ft, ff, ft', ft; c^ ^y cT*, 6; 
d, d^ cf, dy <f, 4, d, rf, d; ^, 8; e^ €, e^ <r, e, «, #, ^, e,^ «, e, 

?i ?»'/7 A' i79 ^9 ^9 /? ^3 ^» y^ f^ r^ '*> ^' *'? ^ ^9 '*^ ^^ h h 
i^ ^> y? h i» /> *5 ^S *5 *% *s *N *^ ^> *%• j5 i? j; ^ h ^ 

/, ^, Z, I; ?», m, w?, w; w, w, 9i^ ?2, n, «, w, n, n^ n; o, o, 6, 
0, ^, 0, 0, 5, p, p, p, o; ^, ^^ p, p; j, q^; r, r, r, »^, r, 

^\ ^5 .^9 o^^* «5 «? S? «> ?% ^5 *; ^ i^i ^'^ ?? A ^9 *% .^ s^ V^ 
t\ t; 0; u^u^ tJ, w, 5, w, w, u, t«, g; ^?, w, v; «?, w, tp; 

y? y; ^? ^^ ?» ^^ ^^ ^5; -^ -%• /» ^? /? /; -S -S -S -S -/» -i* 



The exposition of the scientific and practical principles ac- 
cording to which a suitable Alphabet for universal adoption 
in foreign languages might be <K)n6tracted , has, with the few 
exceptions above mentioned, remained unaltered. These rules 
are founded in the nature of the subject, and therefore, though 
they may admit of certain carefully limited exceptions, they 
can undergo no change in themselves; they serve as a defence 
against arbitrary proposals which do not depend upon universal 
laws; they will explain and recommend the application which 
has been made of them already to a series of languages, and 
will serve as a guide in their application to new ones. 

But we have not concealed, from the very beginning, that it is 
not in every person^s power to apprehend wiUi physiological 
and linguistic accuracy the sounds of a foreign language, or 
even those of his own, so as to apply with some degree of 



19 

certainty the principles of our Alphabet to a new system of 
sounds containing its own peculiarities. A few only of our 
most distinguished Grammarians are possessed of a penetrating 
ins^ht into the living organism of sounds in those very languages, 
whioh they have discussed. Much less can it be expected of 
Missionaries, who are often obliged without previous preparation 
to address themselves to the reduction and representation of 
a foreign language, that everything, which belongs to a cor- 
rect adjudication of particular sounds (frequently apprehended 
only with great difficulty even by the ear), or to their connection 
with one another and with other systems of sounds, should 
present itself spontaneously to their minds. 

We attach therefore, with reference to the practical utility 
of this book, special importance to its Second Part, which 
contains a collection of Standard Alphabets, carried out in 
conformity with the principles of our work. We have fre- 
quently observed that those, who have tried to make use of 
our Alphabet, have found the correct application less difficult 
by a comparison with a given and cognate Alphabet, than by 
the study of our preceding expositions. We believe that we 
have made the present edition stiU more useful by increasing 
the collection of Alphabets, as well as by a careful revision 
of those previously given. To facilitate the comprehension 
of the signs chosen for every Alphabet, we have added, 
in most cases, some short annotations, and a few connected 
lines of text. On the other hand we thought, that we might 
be permitted to pass over in silence, in this Edition, the 
Alphabets of other Grammarians, and only to add the in- 
digenous signs, as far as they were at our disposal. 

For the most essential advance,, more especially in reference 
to Indian Alphabets, the present Edition is indebted to the 
learned and intelligent cooperation of the Rev. Dr. Trumpp. 
This gentleman has resided for several years in difierent parts of 
India, and has paid particular attention to the pronunciation 

B3 



20 

of the most important Arian languages, with a special view 
to their practical applicalion (see above p. 6). He returned 
in the spring of 1660 to Europe, and the author rejoiced to 
avail himself of the opportunity of his visit, whioh wsa par- 
ticularly designed to bring, all scientific and practical questions, 
which in the application of our Alphabet to the Indian lan- 
guages would come into consideration, to a definite conelnsion. 

Finally, we have thankfully to state, that we are greatly in«- 
debted for a general revision of this second English Edition 
to the Secretary of the Obnrch Missionary Society, Rev, 
W. Knight, and another member ef its Committee, whom 
we have just mentioned. Rev. J. F. Sehon, the author of the 
Eaisa and Ibo Grammars, who both visited Berlin for this pur- 
pose in the autumn of 1860. 

^erliii; November 1861. 

R. Lepbius. 



FIRST PART. 



HISTORICAL AND SYSTEMATICAL 

DEVELOPMENT. 



23 



The endeavour to establish a uuiform orthography for writing 
foreign languages in European characters has both a acientifie 
and a practical aim. The scientific aim is to bring these lan- 
guages with their literature more completely within our reach, 
and to increase our knowledge of the nations to which they 
belong. * The practical aim is to facilitate the propagation of 
the Christian faith and the introduction of Christian civilisation 
among heathen nations, especially such as have no written 
language, by furnishing them with a suitable alphabet. 

The latter object is most intimately connected with the effi- 
ciency of all Christian missions. It is in this quarter that at- 
tention has been lately directed afresh to a want long felt in 
science, often suggested, but never yet satisfied, namely, the 
want of a standard alphabet universally cun*ent and applicable 
to all languages. In the Mission field, without doubt, the 
first decisive steps will be taken for the actual introduction of 
such a graphic system. 

The Scientific Object of this AlphabeL 

One of the grandest aims of modern science, and one which 
it has only lately been in a position to attempt, is the attain- 
ment of an accurate knowledge of all the languages of the earth. 
The knowledge of languages is the surest guide to a more 
intimate acquaintance with the nations themselves, and this not 
only because language is the medium of all intelleotual intercom- 
munication, but also because it is the most direct, the most co- 
pious and the most lasting expression of the whole national mind. 



34 

From the relations of separate languages, or groups of lan- 
guages, to one another, we may discover the original and more 
or less intimate affinity of the nations themselves. We learn, 
for instance, by this means, that the Indians, Persians, Greeks, 
Romans, Slavonians, and Germans form a catenarian series whose 
parts are far more intimately connected with one another than 
with any link of the chain, which consists of the Babylonians, 
Hebrews, Phoenicians, Arabs, Abyssinians; and that the Egyp- 
tians, and the African tribes on their north-western and south- 
eastern boundaries, are much more intimately allied to both 
these groups, than to the rest of the African oatiods of which 
those who inhabit the continent to the south of the Equator form 
another such circle of nations, all closely related to each other. 

In like manner wilt the chaos of the nations in Asia, America, 
and Polynesia, be gradually resolved into order, by the aid 
of linguistic science, the ultimate aim of which is the investiga^ 
tion and comparison of all the languages of mankind. 

In order to learn any lafiguage, we must be able to read 
and write its primary elements — the s&unda* Thia we can only 
do in so {at as we are able to express them in our own alpha- 
betical characters; and sounds which do not exist in our own 
language must be described by other methods. Every gram- 
mar of a foreig)a language must resolve these problems in its 
first pages. But since the orthographies of European nations 
vary considerably among themselves, grammarians of different 
nations represent the sounds of one and the same language by 
different letters. 

For example, the same sounds will be expressed 



by the Germans i^. 


d^h^ 


schj eh. 


„ English 00, 


• 


tfil, — • 


y, French ou^ 


dj. 


ch, — . 


„ Italians u^ 


9^ 


*c, — • 


^ Spaniards u, 


, 


— , j or a. 


„ Dutch o<g, 


*" T 


— >. oh. 



25 

The most difficult task, however, arises when we attempt to 
represent sounds which have no corresponding signs in our 
own alphabet, and when me must therefore introduce new 
characters or apply diacritical marks to our own letters. The 
French and German languages distinguishing only 20 simple 
consonantal sounds, and the English 22^ it is evident that these 
alphabets are not sufficiently extensive to represent the sounds 
of the Asiatic languages, among which, the Arabic distinguishes 
and represents 28 consonants, the Turkish 33, the Sanskrit 34, 
the Hindustani 35, or, including the aspirates, even 47. Still 
less is the European alphabet capable of furnishing a comprehen- 
sive system including all the essential differences of sound, which 
amount to more than 50 in number, in all these various languages. 

But since, generally speaking, each grammarian has only 
occupied himself with one language, or with a small circle of 
languages, he has been satisfied with explaining the symbols 
he has employed, and the reasons of their selection, without 
reference to fellow labourers, or to predecessors in the same 
field; especially if belonging to different European nations, and 
therefore starting from different bases. 

Hence the diversity of signs for one and the same sound in 
different languages, or even in the same language, is conti- 
nually increasing; and has at length become so great, that the 
translator of Oriental works , the Tourist, the Geographer and 
Chartographer, the Naturalist, the Ethnographer, the Historian, 
in short every one who has to do with the names and words 
of foreign languages, and above all others the Linguist^ who 
studies and compares languages, find themselves entangled in 
an intolerable confusion of orthographic systems and signs, from 
which each individual finds it impossible to extricate himself. 

It 18 therefore only in a comprehensive survey of the whole 
question that a solution of the problem will be found. We 
must start with that which is common to all systems, following 
their general direction, excluding arbitrary and isolated expr 





26 

riments, keeping in view all the theoretical and practical dif- 
ficulties of the case, and directing all our endeavours to the 
construction of a complete and definite system founded on the 
nature of phonetic organism. This is the scientific problem of 
a universal alphabet. 

It is scarcely necessary to state that we do not here advo- 
cate any change in the orthographies of European languages. 
Isolated attempts to alter established orthographies cannot pro- 
duce any practical results nor render any aid to science. 

The Practical Object of this Alphabet. 

The aboriginal tribes of Africa, America, Australia, and P,oly- 
nesia are almost intirely destitute of written language. This 
fact alone ccaracterises them as barbarous and uncivilised. And 
if there be no nobler calling for the civilised and Christian 
world than to impart to all mankind the treasures of religious 
knowledge and human culture so freely entrusted to their hands 
by Divine Providence, — and if the obligation of this calling, 
now more powerfully felt than ever, rests especially on those 
associations of high-minded Christian men, which have taken 
their name as Missionary Societies from this highest of all mis- 
sions ; — then it is their especial duty to furnish destitute na- 
tions, first of all, with that most important, most indispensable 
means of intellectual , moral, and religious culture, a written 
language. For universal experience has long taught that it is 
not sufficient for the missionaries to learn the language of the 
natives in order to introduce Christianity permanently into any 
country. Only where the word of God is read by the people 
themselves, and where a whole people are made susceptible 
of the spirit of Christianity by the distribution of the Bible 
and of Christian school-books, can a rapid, deep and lasting 
work be hoped for. Bihle Societies must go hand in hand 
with Missionary Societies. 
Hence for many years the Committees of the principal Mis- 



27 

sionary Societies have regarded it as an important object to 
reduce to writing the language of all the nations to which 
their missionaries have penetrated, and to prepare in all these 
languages translations of the sacred Scriptures, as well as 
Christian tracts. This presupposes an accurate and scientific 
study of those languages, and the preparation of grammars and 
dictionaries, which, in order to be clearly understood, must be 
founded upon a comparison of the foreign with the European 
languages, and upon the latest improvements of linguistic science. 

It was a sense of the necessity of such linguistic studies 
which induced the Church Missionary Society to send the Rev. 
iS. W. Kolle — a missionary especially adapted to the work — to 
Sierra Leone , mainly to study the languages of the thousands 
of manumitted slaves which are brought together from all parts 
of Africa at that point. The results of this exceedingly im- 
portant linguistic mission are a comparative vocabulary, com- 
prising more than one hundred distinct African languages, and 
carefully prepared grammars of two important languages — 
the Vai (Vei) and the Bomu. These works are now published 
by the same Missionary Society, in order to form the foun- 
dation for future translations into those languages of the Bible 
and other useful books. 

The various Bible Societies have made efforts on the largest 
scale to eiFect the same object. The British and Foreign Bible 
Society of London had published, down to the middle of the 
past year (1854), 26 millions of Bibles, or parts of the same, in 177 
different translations. These translations embraced 150 different 
languages, of which 108 belonged to countries beyond the bounds 
of Europe, viz. 70 to Asia, 1 7 to Polynesia, 8 to America, and 
13 to Africa 1. 



^ See the last Report of the Bible Society, and more on the same subject 
in the most valaable and interesting work of Samuel Baggier : The Bible of 
every Land, a History of the Sacred Scriptures in every language and dialect 
into which translations have been made; illustrated with specimen portions in 

C2 



28 

It was natural that the European system of writing should 
be used for all those languages which had no system of their 
own. But here the same question arose as in linguistic science : 
"Which orthography ought to be used? Was it advisable to force 
upon those nations to which the Bible was to be presented as 
their first reading-book, the English orthography, which is com- 
plicated, irregular, and singular even in Europe? Was it suitable 
that those nations should be compelled to learn to read and write 
for all future time after this fashion? And according to what 
principles should those sounds be expressed which are neither 
found in the English alphabet nor in any other European system? 

As, in these respects, there was no general law or authority, 
every missionary who had such a translation to prepare struck 
out a way for himself, and sought^ according to his own fancy, 
or from a very confined view of the case, to solve the difficulty. 
If we examine the long catalogue of Bibles printed in Latin 
characters we shall find the most multifarious systems of letters 
employed, often in cognate languages, and even in one and the 
same language. Sometimes difficult and unintelligible groupings 
of consonants are employed as representations of simple sounds ; 
at other times a multitude of new and unexplained diacritical 
signs are employed ; and often a refuge has been sought in the 
complete rejection of all diacritical marks, and thus the correct 
expression of the language has been sacrificed. The great and 
increasing confusion resulting from this arbitrary mode of pro- 
ceeding must be apparent. 

When the publication of the New Testament and Psalms 
in the language of the African TSuana (Betchuana, Betjuana, 
Sechuana) was lately completed by the London Missionary 
Society, the Secretary of the Church Missionary Society ex- 
pressed to the Secretary of the Paris Society the joy which 

wttite char octets J aeries of alphabets ^ coloured ethnographical mapsy tables^ 
indexes, etc, London, Sam. Bagster and Sons. 1851. 4to. In this book 
247 different languages are noticed in connexion with Bible translations. 



29 

he felt when he thought of the rich blessings which would 
thence accrue to that people, and to the labours of the French 
missionaries scattered among them. »But," replied his sym- 
pathising friend, ^is it not sad, that these thousands of copies 
already published are entirely unayailable and sealed to our 
French missionaries who labour among the same people, and 
to all those who have received instruction from them, simply 
because they make use of another orthography?" 

To avoid such palpable evils in future is the purpose of the 
proposed standard alphabet. 

In Asia, the birthplace of alphabets, the chief nations already 
possess a written literature in their own native characters. This 
has afforded to European colonists and rulers, as well as to 
missionaries, the means of exercising an intellectual influence 
over those nations. The English Oovernment in India therefore 
generally makes use of the alphabets most extensively employed 
in those regions, viz. the Persian and the Devanagari letters, 
in order to govern and instruct the nations subject to their 
authority. The fiible Societies have also published more than 
40 translations of the Sacred Scriptures in those foreign cha- 
racters. But, nevertheless, it has been often and forcibly urged, 
that many important advantages would arise from the substitution 
of a European for all the native alphabets. For besides the supe- 
riority which the uniform division of the syllable into vowel and 
consonant gives to the European alphabet over the unwieldy 
Syllabic Alphabets of Asia, and still more over the Chinese 
Word -Alphabet, with its many thousands of symbols, every 
new alphabet constitutes a natural and almost impassable barrier 
between foreign and European civilisation by materially in- 
creasing the difficulty of acquiring such languages, and of be- 
coming acquainted with their literature. 

Hence the introduction of the European characters for the 
Indian languages has been recognised by the Government, 
and Bible Societies have already published a number of trans- 



30 

latioDS upon the same system. Commencements of the same 
kind have already been made in China by the Missionaries, 
and bid fair to succeed. 

In every one of these instances the question recurred : Which 
European orthography is to be adopted? Which alphabetical 
system best harmonises the different European orthographies, 
and allows most easily of the application of diacritical signs 
to represent sounds not contained in the languages of Europe ? 

To this practical question, our proposal endeavours to furnish 
the answer. 

What has hem done by Science for the Solution of this Problem^ 

up to the present Time? 

The want of a uniform orthography was first seriously felt 
with regard to the Oriental languages in the British possessions 
in India, where the study of those languages became a practical 
necessity. At the same time no country could better suggest 
a comprehensive discussion of this question; for here the two 
most perfect, and, at the same time, most opposite phonic and 
graphic systems, the Sanskrit and the Arabic, have met, and 
have been actually blended together in the Hindustani alphabet. 
This alphabet being essentially Arabic, and ex^pressing the dif- 
ferent Sanskrit sounds by diacritical signs, we find here the pro- 
blem, which we propose to ourselves in respect of the European 
graphic system, already fully and historically solved in the Arabic. 

The first person who took a comprehensive view of these 
difficulties, and undertook their solution as a problem worthy 
of his special attention, was Sir William Jones^ a man of great 
learning and cultivated mind. He was President of the Asiatic 
Society in Bengal, and opened the first volume of its Transac- 
tions, published in Calcutta in 1788, with an Essay On the 
Orihogra'phy of Asiatic Words in Roman Letters. ^ 

^ Asiatic Researches^ Tol. I. 1788, p. 1—56. The Essai was repablished 
ia the edition of his works , London , 1799. 



31 

He points out the desideratum in simple words ^, and lays 
down, as the first principle, that the orthography of any Ian-- 
ffuage should never use the same letter for different sounds^ nor 
different letters for the same sound^; he complains also of the 
great complication and perplexity of the present English ortho- 
graphy in this respect. He declares himself opposed to the 
doubling of a vowel in order to represent its length; and in 
reference to the vowel-system he adopts the Italian or German 
notation. This was one of the most important steps towards 
reducing the European alphabets, as applied to foreign languages, 
to a uniform orthography. 

In reference to the consonants, he complains principally of the 
mixing up of Roman and Italic letters in the same words.' 

He justly admits (p. 13.) that the Sanskrit and Arabic alpha- 
bets represent the sounds of their languages so perfectly, that 
no character can be taken away from, or added to them, without 

' The treatise begins : ^Every man, itrho has occasion to compose tracts on 
Asiatic literature, or to translate from the Asiatic languages, must always find 
it conyenient, and sometimes necessary, to express Arabian^ Indian, and 
Persian words, or sentences, in the characters generally used among Euro- 
peans; and almost eyery writer in those circumstances has a method of notation 
peculiar in himself: but none has yet appeared in the form of a complete 
system, so that each original sound may be rendered inyariably by one appro- 
priated symbol, conformably to the natural order of articulation, and with a 
doe regard to. the primitiye power of the Roman alphabet, which modern 
Europe has in general adopted. A want of attention to this object has 
occasioned great confusion in history and geography,'' etc. 

' P. 7.: "Mr. Halhed (in his Bengal Grammar), haying justly remarked, that 
the two greatest defects in .the orthography of any language are the application 
of the same letter to several different sounds , and of different letters to the 
same sound, truly pronounces them both so common in English, that he was 
exceedingly embarrassed in the choice of letters to express the sound of the 
Bengal yowels, and eyen to the last was by ^o means satisfied with his 
own selection.'* 

' P. 8. : "If anything dissatisfies me in Mr. Halhed's clear and accurate system, 
it is the use of double letters for the long yowels (which might, howeyer, be 
justified) and the frequent intermixture of Italic and Roman letters in the 
fame word; which both in writing and printing most be yery ineonyenient," 



32 

maoifesi injarjr: and he unbesitatijigly takes his stand not only 
against the vain endeavour to represent/ora^ sounds by Eng- 
Ush letters, bat also against the introdaction of entirely new 
characters. 

He therefore recommenU^ as the only ndtabU and effusient method^ 
the use of certain diacritical signsj especially such as had already 
been adopted by several savans of France and England. 

These views are throagbont so sound and so well founded 
on practical experience, that even at the present time they com- 
mand our full assent. If, nevertheless, the alfdiabet proposed 
by him was imperfect, this was owing pardy to his defective 
knowledge of the general organism of sounds and of the distinct 
sounds to be represented, and partly to the imperfect appli- 
cation of his own principles.^ 

It is much to be regretted, that the dbtinguished scholar 
Gilchrist, who had published many valuable works on the Hin- 
dustani language, and had thereby gained great influence in 
India, did not become acquainted with the essay of Sir William 
Jones till too late to make use of the system in his own works ^, 
as he afterwards wished he had done. It is principally owing 
to this circumstance, that the unsuitable English vowel-system 
according to which Mr. Gilchrist writes ee tor l^ oo tor u^ ^o 
ior a^ ou iov au^ was almost universally adopted in India. 

It is only since 1834 that the correct principles of Sir William 
Jones have obtained in India the consideration due to their im- 



* He took, for instance, the Arabic x^ for an aspirate like the indian M, 
and the Arabic ya\n for a compound sonnd instead of a simple one. He con- 
sidered the Arabic Liognals as so similar to the Indian Cerebrals that he 
employed the same characters for both, although they differ materially, and 
in the Hindustani are placed by the side of one another. He also gives to 
the letter h different significations accordingly as it stands alone or in con- 
nection with other letters, as bH (=^), tk (=^), eh (=6), ck'h i=6k). In 
the same manner he assigns various values to the letters e, «, and others. 

3 Grammar of ike Hindoogiante Language, by John CfihkrisL Calcutta, 1796. 
p. 1. His EngltMh and Bindoofianee Dictionary had been published in 1787. 



33 

portance. This change was brought aboat by the critical inves- 
tigations and infloential exertions o£ Sir Charles Treoelyan^ who 
was, for many years, connected with the administration of India. 
He contended successfully against the English vou?^/- system, 
supported by the works of Mr. Gilchrist, and secured the more 
general adoption of the German, Italian, or ancient Latin me- 
thod, as proposed by Sir W. Jones. The former system may 
now be regarded as antiquated in India. 

But though the exertions of Sir W. Jones and Sir C. Tre- 
velyau have introduced a more correct voii?^- system, it yet 
remains that the same principles be applied to the (Kmsonant^ 
system, in which there has been no amendment since the time 
of Sir W. Jones ^, although it has been equally needed 

In the meantime an event occurred in France, which directed 
the attention of the learned to the necessity of establishing a 
consistent system of transcribing foreign alphabets into Euro- 
pean letters. 

The scientific results of the famous Egyptian Expedition were 
directed to be published by a commission of the most distin- 
guished scholars, appointed for that [purpose. The Geographical 
Atlas, condsting of 47 maps of the largest size, contained nearly 
5000 Arabic words. These were to be written in Latin letters, 
and upon an accurate and intelligible system. For this purpose 
special conferences were instituted in the year 1803, in which 
Messrs. Volney^ Monge^ Bertkolet, LangUa, Sylv^tre de Sact/y 
Caussifif Lacroiatj Baudeuf, Marcel^ and Michel Abeyd took part. 

The first of these, C, T, Volney (who on account of his poli- 
tical services at a later period was made a Count by Napoleon 
and a Peer by Louis XYIII.) , had written in 1795 an Arabic 

* Mr. John Pickering also adoptecl the voi^e^sysiem of Sir W. Jones in his 
Eesay on a umform Orthography for the Indian Languages of North America^ 
bat he retarded rather than advanced a correct system of Consonants. This 
Essay was first published by the Amer. Acad, of Arts and Sciences, of which 
he was a member; and also separately in Cambridge, U. S., 1820. 



34 

grammar, under the title, Simiplification des langties orientalesy 
ou m^thode nouvelle et facile d'apprendre les languea Arabe^ Per- 
sane et Turque^ avec des caract^ea Europiena^ Paris ^ an III. 
He here speaks of the advantage which the use of European 
letters affords in learning the Arabic language; and proposes 
a method for representing the Arabic alphabet in the Latin 
characters. This transcription was founded on no definite prin- 
ciples^ but yet was guided by the correct feeling, that every 
simple sound should be represented hj a single sign or cha- 
racter, a rule, from which he only deviated in one case, by 
writing ai for e. This led him to seek some single signs to 
represent the three simple sounds not found in the Latin alpha- 
bet, viz. German cA, English ^A and eh. For the two first he 
chose the Greek letters x ^^^ ^t but for the third he in- 
vented the entirely new character ^. All other foreign sounds 
he sought to represent by graphic modifications of the letters 
most nearly expressing those sounds, not indeed by the addi- 
tion of disconnected marks of distinction, but by a change of 
the characters themselves, as for instance, ^9 ^, ^, i* 

The Commission of 1803 started upon this principle, and 
adopted the system for the geographical maps, yet with a change 
of nearly all the single characters. This change aimed at sim- 
plification, but only substituted one arbitrary system in the 
place of another, and even gave up some material advantages 
of the first plan. The characters x ^^^ ^ YitvB set aside for 
t and *t , whereby these letters were erroneously placed among 
the eaploHve letters ; and the representation of the German ach 
by the single character 9, which, though inconvenient, was 
right in principle, was given up for the inaccurate compound 
ch: and instead of 2^, <f , etc., f , ^, were written. But they 
did not stop here; they introduced for the Description de VE- 
gypte an orthography which dispensed entirely with all diacri- 
tical signs; which on this account was both materially incor- 
rect and decidedly antagonistic to the principle of using alway9 



35 

a single character for a simple sound. ^ Thus they wrote ouj 
ey^ khy ffh, ch, for our w, j?> Jfj y^ S, 

With this method Volney himself could not be satisfied. He 
therefore took up the same subject again at a later period, and 
published in 1818 his well-known treatise: U Alphabet Europeen 
appliqe aux Languea Asiatiquea. This title expresses more 
than the book contains. The first half of the volume is taken 
up with the iuTestigation of those sounds which belong to the 
European languages, and shows that the writer possessed but 
little native taleat for investigations of this nature. ^ The second 
half treats exclusively of the Arabic Alphabet into the sounds 
of which he likewise does not penetrate very deeply. For the 
linguals he gives up the curves, and adds instead a short line 
under each letter, viz. ?, d, «, g^. The characters i or kh he 
changes again to ;^, and t (=i>) to t or s^ and the character 
for the corresponding soft sound to z. For ah he proposes 
a lengthened or old-fashioned «, viz. f, or an inverted /, f; 
while for i, ^, ff^ ( = K^ ft y\ he retains the additions, although 
he changes their forms. The notations of the vowels also un- 
derwent changes. At the close, he makes an attempt to apply 
his system of notation to the Hebrew, and the first line of his 
Hebrew Lord's Prayer will give a good idea of the awkwardness 
of this third method of writing. It is the following (p. 209.) : 

Bihmui f* b'' O'mim i* q^dd"i i^m-k". 



^ Both transcriptions are placed by the side of the Arabic names in the 
Index Geogrofhique , vhich forms yol. xviu. of Panckoacke's edition. 

^ He discovers a difference between French ee or e» (donnee, donneii) and 
the simple e (arme, bonte)y and finds the former again in the German eh 
(dehnen)j the latter in the German besser, or in the English red^ head: 
s. p. 49 — 52. He pronounces the nasal in the German Anher as in the Blench 
Ancre^ p. 59; the German » he resolves into ds, p. 83; and the Arabic yain 
he calls a graaeyement dur, in opposition to the grasseyement doux of the 
modern Greek y , p. 100. The German ch in ich he places as a soft sound 
by the hard sound in bucA, p. 103, etc., etc. 



36 

No one of the three editions of Volney's system met with 
any approbation or adoption, because his proposal was ba- 
sed neither upon scientific nor upon practical principles, be- 
cause it embraced in its field of view only the Arabic alpha- 
bet, and because it admitted no direct application to other 
languages and especially not to those of India. 

His exertipns, however, were not forgotten, as by his will 
he founded an annual prize to be conferred by the Institute 
of France. This legacy was designated : Pour le meilleur ou- 
vrage relatif a Vdtttde philosophique des langties^ and at the same 
time the wish was expressed: d^encourager tout travail tendant 
a donner suite et execution a une methode de transcrire les lanffues 
Asiatiques en lettres Europeennes, This endowment, which was 
recognised by an Ordonnance of 1820, has produced many 
good results for the advancement of linguistic science, but it 
has conduced so little to the solution of the problem in question, 
that the French Academy finally determined to omit this sub- 
ject in their Programme, and only to propose exercises on 
comparative grammar. ^ The system of Sir W. Jones, which had 

^ Compare Mimoires de VInsiitut de France^ Academie des Inser« efe Belles 
Lettres, tome xiy., Paris, 1845, p. 7 seqq. In the year 1835 a book appeared 
by A. E. Schleiermacher: De V Influence de Vecrilure eur le language ^ Me- 
moire qui en 1828 a pariage le prix fandi par M. le comte de Volney^ euxti 
de Grammaires Barmane el MtUaie, et d'un aper^ de Valpkabei harmonique 
pour lc$ languea Asiatiques que llnelUut Royal de France a cauranni en 1827. 
The author giyes in the preface p. ix seqq. a transcription of the De^anagari, 
the Bengali, and fonr Slayonic alphabets , with respect to an Alphabet har- 
monique, which he exhibits in the Apergu mentioned on the title. But, as 
in neither place the reasons of this transcriptions are developed, and as 
the complete Memoir on the Alphabet harmonique has hitherto not been 
published, we must abstain from offering any opinion on it. The peculiar 
division, however, in 16 gutiurales, 12 palataleSf 15 sifflantesy 16 linguaUi, 
9 labiales, 9 nasales, and 16 meleee, and the 5 subdivisions of lettree s%mple$^ 
varices, fortes, mouilUee, and aspireee, seem to indicate that the author 
starts from a physiological and linguistic basis different from that which 
we consider the correct one. At the same time, however, the principle of 
using single signs for simple sounds is constantly observed. 



37 

proceeded upon more correct principles and upon a broader basis, 
was, indeed, occasionally alluded to by Yolney, but never followed. 

No language has a system of soimds more rich and regularly 
developed than the Sanskrit^ or expresses them so perfectly by 
its alphabets. The old grammarians of India did not, indeed, 
invent the Devanagari characters, but they brought them to 
the state of perfection which they now possess. With an 
acumen worthy of all admiration, with physiological and lin- 
guistic views more accurate than those of any other people, 
these grammarians penetrated so deeply into the relations of 
sounds in their own language, that we at this day may gain 
instruction from them, for the better understanding of the sounds 
of our own languages. On this account no language and no 
alphabet are better suited to serve, not indeed as an absolute 
rule, but as a starting-point for the construction of a universcU 
linguistic alphabet^ than that of ancient India. 

Hence it is that the late progress in the solution of the 
alphabet -problem has been associated in Europe, as formerly 
in India, with Sanskrit studies; especially since these studies 
were made the foundation of the new science of Comparative 
Philology. Here Bopp took the lead. In the earlier editions 
of his Sanskrit Grammar he had still employed the German 
compounds tsch, tachk, dsch^ dschh^ sch, ng^ khy (&c.; but later, 
in his Comparative Grammar^ published in 1833, he introduced 
single letters for all these sounds, and distinguished the va- 
rious classes of sounds by certain uniform diacritical marks. 
This orthography was soon adopted by the very numerous school 
of German and other linguists, and may now be regarded as 
the historical basis upon which, on account of its intrinsic value 
as well as its extensive use in science, the future superstructure 
must be built. JS. Brockhau8\ Benary, Gorresio^ Rothy Benfey^ 

' We mention particularly his Essay Ueher den Druck Sanscritiseher Werhe 
mil hUeinUcken BuchsiabeHf Leipiig 1841, in which he presents important 
considerations on the scientific adyantage of printing large Sanskrit works 
in Latin letters. 



88 

Boihlingk^ MulUr^ Stenzler^ Lassen^ Weber ^ and many others 
have adopted this principle, althoagb, in particular instances, 
they have often differed among themselves as to the choice 
of the diacritical marks. Bnt all these men had either the Sanskrit 
language alone in view, or at most those of the same family. 

On the other hand, the Semitic scholars were equally exclu- 
sive, and generally retained the use of «A, M, gh^ thj dh^ for 
our ^, ^, z', ^, (^. Yet some among them acknowledge the 
principle of single characters for simple sounds^ of whom we 
mention especially Caspari and Fleischer, The latter, an emi- 
nent scholar in the Semitic languages, and formerly himself a 
follower of the old method of writing, adopted in his Persian 
Grammar^ published in 1847, the signs ff^c^h^h^gf^s^jy in- 
stead of the double letters; as he had at an earlier period^ 
chosen the Greek chracter for the English th. 

After progress had thus been made by both parties acting 
independently of each other, it became necessary to discover a 
general system which might comprehend the two most important, 
but at the same time most widely separated, groups of the prin- 
cipal kuown languages. And it was evident that such a com- 
prehensive system required a broader basis than any which had 
heretofore been proposed. That basis was to be discovered in 
the common ground from which both had started , namely , the 
physiology of the human voice^ which is the common ground and 
standard, not only for the two above-mentioned groups of 
languages, but also for all the languages of the globe. 

The human voice has its natural bounds, beyond which no 
development of sounds is possible. Hence the apparent infini- 
tude of articulate sounds does not consist in a boundless extent, 
but rather in an endless divisibility, within assignable limits. 



^ In his Catalogue of the Arabic , Persian, and Turkish Manuscripts, in 
the Catalogus librorum manuscr, in bibl. genator. LipaienHf by R. E, Naumann, 
Grimms. 1838. 4<'. 



39 

They may air be classified upon a physiological basis, so that 
every sound may find its proper position in the general system. 

Since the laws of the physical organism are unchangeable, 
it is only necessary to understand them correctly, and to observe 
their application to linguistic science. 

In this department much has been effected, and most impor- 
tant steps have been taken towards a solution of the problem. 
We may here refer to the labours otKempeleny Liscomus, Dzondi^ 
Willis^ Brucke^ Czermakj and principally to the researches of 
Joh, MuUer.^ 

The results also of physiological investigations have in several 
instances been applied to the science of language by R, von 
Raumer, Rapp^ Schleicher^ Bindaeil^ Heyse^ and others. 

Hence it appears that all previous conditions of the problem 
have been fulfilled. It has become possible to construct an alpha- 
bet, based on physiological principles, answering all the requi- 
rements of linguistic science, and embracing all the sounds con- 
tained in the two great alphabetical systems of Asia. This 
possibility alone justified, and indeed demanded, a new effort 
to reach the goal. Nevertheless, thi^ attempt might perhaj^ 
have still been long deferred, or even given up entirely, on 
account of the great practical difficulties which oppose every 
attempt at union in the republic of letters , if another and more 
lively impulse had not been given to it, within the last few 
years, from another quarter. 

What has been done by the Missionary Societies for the 

Solution of the Question? 

We have stated above, that the want of a uniform alphabet 
for those nations which are to be gained over to Christianity 
and civilisation/ and which have no written language^ is more 
and more strongly felt every day in missionary labours. The 

* Handkwi^ der Pkytiohgie dea MenMchen, Band 2. p. 180 sqq. 1840. 



40 

difficulty of introducing a convenient alphabet into practice is 
here much less than in the scientific world, as the Directors 
may recommend such an alphabet to the missionaries dispersed 
over the whole earth, which will usually be a sufGoient mo- 
tive for its reception. 

The first recommendation from such a quarter was issued in 
the year 1848 by the Hon. Secretary of the Church Mianonary 
Society, the Rev, Henry Venn, under the title, RuUa for redu- 
'dng unwritten languages to alphabetical writing in Roman charac- 
ters ^ with reference especially to the languages spoken in Africa. 
We quote the first two paragraphs, which represent the mis- 
sionary point of view in a clear and comprehensive manner; 
"The want of a standard system of orthography has been expe- 
rienced by all persons engaged in the study of unwritten lan- 
guages. Each translator having to choose his own systena, it 
has not unfrequently happened that two or more persons en- 
gaged upon the same language have adopted different systems. 
This has prevented, in a great measure, the mutual assistance, 
which the parties might have rendered each other; and has 
retarded the formatton^f primers and educational works, and 
the translation of the Holy Scriptures." 

"To obviate these difficulties, several of the Missionary So- 
cieties, whose missionaries are engaged in Vernacular Trans- 
lations of -African languages, have proposed the adoption of 
a common system of orthography, to be regarded as a standard 
system, and to be employed, as far as possible, in all works 
printed under tbeir sanction. If in any particular case devia- 
tions from the system be thought necessary by the Translators, 
it is proposed that such deviations should be referred home before 
their adoption in printed works." 

Ti.:» -roposal adopts and consistently maintains the tme prin- 
at every simple sound is to be expressed by a single 
d rectifies the English vowel-system, 
year 1849, the attention of the American Mimon of 



41 

Port Natal was drawn towards the difficulties of the orthography 
adopted for the Zulu language, and they submitted the subject 
to the examination of a committee. 

About the same time the want of new signs for newly dis- 
covered African sounds, was felt in several other African Mis- 
sions; and some such signs were introduced into various books, 
as in those published by the Noi^wegian Society at Natal^ by the 
English Church Mission among the Suaheli on the eastern coast, 
and by the American board on the Gaboon Hver in the west, 
also in ApplegarcPs Kaffir Grammar^ printed for the Wesley an 
Society^ at King William's Town. These circumstances led the 
Committee at Port Natal^ in March, 1850, to address a general 
circular to the friends of Missions and African civilisation, pro- 
posing a plan for securing a uniform orthography for writing 
the South African dialects. In further pursuance of their plan, 
an essay was communicated in October, 1852, to the Confe- 
rence of the American Oriental Society^ at New York, and prin- 
ted in vol. in. No. n. 1853, p. 421. sqq. of the Publications of 
this Society, under the title. An Essay on the Phonology and 
Orthography of the Zulu and kindred dialects in Southern Africa^ 
by the Rev. Leuns Grouty Miss, of the Amer. Board in Southern 
Africa. 

The general principles and requirements of an alphabet, adop- 
ted especially for African languages , are here developed with 
accuracy and acumen, and are applied in particular to the Zulu 
language, including the clicks peculiar to the most southern 
African languages. This alphabet, however, is not based on 
a sufficiently comprehensive system of phonology, and the single 
letters consequently are not arranged according to their natural 
affinities. The Sanskrit and other written languages were not 
taken into account, and the former use of compound consonants 
is supplied partly by altering the form of letters, partly by com- 
bining them with diacritical signs, as j^, «;', i, /*, f, or , or 

s, or 5, for our w, w,;f, /, S. 

D 



42 

In the Autumn of 1852, the author of the present paper, being 
in London, had the opportunity of discussing this subject (which 
had occupied his mind for several years) with some of the most 
influential members of Missionary Committees: and he was in- 
vited by the Rev. H. Venn to furnish him with a development 
of his alphabet, which appeared suitable for general adoption 
and conformable on the whole to the ^Rules.^^ *Mr. Venn pro- 
posed to transmit such an explanation of the alphabet to the 
Missionaries. Prevented, at that time, from complying with 
this wish, he simply communicated a tableau of the alphabet, 
which was inserted by Mr. Venn in a second edition of the 
^Rules'' in 1853. 

Soon afterwards the author was again induced to direct his 
special attention to this subject, by a visit of the Kev. S. W, 
Kolle^ in consequence of which he determined to bring forward 
his own long prepared project, after discussing it minutely with 
this gentleman, whose valuable contributions to African philo- 
logy have been already mentioned, it was now judged proper 
to publish the proposed alphabet, which had hitherto only been 
communicated privately to several of the most distinguished 
linguistic scholars. 

The author therefore resolved to explain the principles of his 
plan in an essay to be read in a general sitting of the Academy 
of Berlin^ and to propose at the same time that the Academy 
should examine the alphabet in question, and, if approved, have 
types cut and cast for printing it. This proposal was laid be- 
fore the historico-philological class, and a committee appointed, 
composed of Professors Bapp, Jacob Ghnrnm, PertZy Gerhard^ 
Buschmann^ with the assistance of Professor J, Aluller from the 
physical class. This Committee approved the plan, with the 
exception oi one member who denied in general the usefulness 
of all such endeavours; and on the 23rd of January the Class 
ordered the cutting and casting of the proposed tiypes^ which have 
consequently been used in the present pages. 



43 

About the same time, the interest on the subject having 
greatly increased, chiefly from the progress of Missions, a new 
step was taken in London for the furtherance of the object in 
view. Chevalier Bunsen^ whose reputation as a statesman, a 
scholar, and a friend of every important Christian movement 
is universally acknowledged, called a meeting of distinguished 
men, more or less interested in the question, among whom we 
may name, Profs. WiUcny M, Muller^ Owen^ Dietrich^ Sir C. Tre- 
velyan^ Sir John Herschel^ Hon. Mr. Stanley Messrs. Norria, 
Pertz from Berlin, Bahbage^ Wheatstone^ and Gull; the Rev. 
Messrs. Venn^ Chapman^ Dr. Trumpp^ and Kolle^ and Mr. 
Graham of the Church Missionary Society, — the Rev. Mr. 
Arthur of the Wesleyan Missionary Society, — the Rev. Mr. 
Trestrail and Mr. Vnderhill of the Baptist Missionary Society. 
The author also had the honour of being invited to this meeting, 
and was happy to be present at the three last conferences. 
These were occupied principally with the physiological basis, 
which was generally acknowledged to be necessary, and was 
adopted without much dissent by the assembly. 

With regard to the graphic system to be employed, three 
different proposals were examined. 

The Jirst was supported by Sir Charles Trevelyan (above, p. 31), 
who recommended the orthography which originated with Sir 
W. Jones, and which has been frequently applied in India. Its 
merits and soundness, in comparison with that of Gilchrist, 
were fully acknowledged ; but at the same time its want of a 
physiological basis, and of a complete development in detail^ 
could not be overlooked. 

The second^ by Prof. M. Muller^ proposed to mark the devia- 
tions from known European sounds by printing the known 
letters in Raman characters, the foreign in italics. The principal 
objections against this intermixture of Roman and italic letters, 
of which Sir W. Jones had already decidedly disapproved (see 
above, p. 29), were the following : — This plan would exclude 

D2 



44 

the ordiDary significftnce of italics, wbicfa could hardly be sup- 
plied by any other means; neither is it applicable at all to 
writing. On these grounds it would prove most inconyenient 
for all missionary purposes. It would uot meet the cases in 
which a European letter undergoes more than one modification, 
and would thus be incapable of expressing even whole classes 
of sounds. Finally, this theory, neglecting the continuity of 
historical development, introduces a novelty, which it can hardly 
be expected will be universally adopted.' 

The third proposal was that of the author, and its object 
was only to bring the orthogr^hy hitherto used in science 
into more exact conformity with the laws of physiology, and 
to adapt it to practical purposes. 

The object of the meetings was rather to prepare the ques- 
tion for further discussion and examination, than to adopt re- 
solutions which should be considered as binding. The physio- 
logical system of phonology upon which the proposed alphabet 
bad been based, was acknowledged to be substantially sound. 
And the author considers himself justified in stating that with 
respect also to the graphic system the views of the majority did 
not widely differ from his proposal. 
The most important result of this conference, in the author's 
ehension, was the determination announced at the last 
,ing in reference to i^ pracHeal object of this alphabet. 
Venn expressed his "conviction that the interests of Mis- 
) would allow of no longer delay in the adoption of a 
lard alphabet: that the Church Missionary and other So- 
es had already substantially adopted, for this purpose, that 
rofessor Lepsius : and that as nothing had been concluded 
1 by this conference which held out any prospect of super- 
ig or materially improving it, he and the parties with whom 
cted must go forward in the course upon which tbey had 

9m Prabce of XUb edition p. 12.] 



45 

entered ; and without pledging their Missionaries to the adoption 
of every mark or sign, in every case, they must put forward 
Professor Lepsius's system as the standard; and all departures 
from it must be carefully canvassed, and marked as deviations, 
in works printed by the Societies." 

The author was also requested to draw up the present sketch 
for the purpose of communication to missionaries. At the same 
time the Berlin Academy was requested to have two sets of 
their types struck off for the Church Missionary Society, that 
the forms of the characters might be identical ; and orders were 
given for the execution in these types of two works on African 
languages, already prepared for the press. 

It is hoped that this determination may be favourably re- 
garded by all other Missionary Societies. We do not expect 
that everybody should agree in every detail of this alphabet; 
but it is not unreasonable to hope that it will be considered 
as a standard^ and as affording a common basis by which other 
alphabets may be brought into the greatest possible agreement. 
Different languages may require different modifications. No 
language will require all the diacritical signs which must ap- 
pear in the complete alphabet ; while some languages may re- 
quire still other marks of distinction peculiar to themselves. It 
is therefore necessary that the system should be elastic enough 
to admit of such reduction and enlargement without alteration 
in its essential principles. Cases may even arise in which 
material deviations from the proposed alphabet may appear 
unavoidable, and be advocated, on sufficient grounds, hy scho- 
lars engaged in such researches. In all such cases, it is hoped 
that the Committees of Societies will require the reasons of 
such deviations to be laid before them and discussed, before 
the deviations are introduced into books printed by their autho- 
rity. This principle is most important for the furtherance of 
the object in view, and was repeatedly insisted upon by Mr. 
Venn , as indeed it had been ahready laid down in the ^ Rules'*^ 



46 

(sea above) issued by the Committee of his Society in the 
year 1848. 

After these preliminaries we pass on to develop 

The System proposed. 

A comprehensive exposition of the physiological basia would 
here be out of place. We must limit ourselves to facilitating 
the understanding of the system. This will be best accom- 
plished by not separating the phonic from the graphic system, 
but by presenting the former immediately in its application to 
the latter. We do not enlarge, therefore, on the definition of 
Voice and Sound^ of Vowel and Consonant^ and other physio- 
logical explanations, and shall only refer to them as necessity 
may demand. 

A. The System of Vowels. 

There are three primary vowels , as there are three primary 
colours. Like the latter, they can be best represented by the 
analogy of a triangle, at the top of which is to be placed a, at the 
basis i and (^(pronounced as in the German and Italian languages). 




The other vowels are formed between these three, as all co- 
lours between red, yellow, and blue. In the most ancient lan- 
guages these three primary vowels only were sufficiently distinct 
to be marked in writing even when short. The Hieroglyphical, 
Indian, oldest Hebrew, and Gothic systems of writing admitted 
either of no other vowels at all, or at least of no other short 
vowels ; in Arabic writing, even now, none but these three are 
distinguished. 

Next after these were formed, the intermediate vowels e be- 
tween a and «, o between a and u^ and the sound of the Ger- 



47 

man u (French u) between i and «, also that of the Geiman o 
(French eu) between e and o. Thus arose the pyramid^ 

a 

e 
i u u 
The distance between a and % and that between a and u is 
greater than that between i and u. The intermediate vowels 
e and o were, therefore, divided each into two vowels, of which 
one was nearer to a, the other nearer to i ov u\ and in the 
same manner two sounds were formed out of o, AH these Vowels 
exist in European languages, and compose the following pyramid: 

Germ, a 
Fr. b Yr.eu d Ital. 

(in peur) 

Fr. ^ Fr. eu an Fr. 

(Id pen) 

Germ, i Germ, u u Germ. 

We might have wished to maintain for the middle series of 
vowels the two dots over the u and o, on account of the ge- 
nerally known precedent in the German orthography, the French 
double letter eu not answering the simple nature of the sound. 
A practical objection, however, to this mode is found in the 
circumstance, that occasionally over every vowel the sign of 
long ' and short ", and also that of the accent of the word 
will be necessary, for which the whole space over the letter 
is required. We have preferred, therefore, to preserve the 
two dots, and to place them under the vowel, as o and y>. 

The distinction of the two modes of pronouncing e and o 
cannot be marked by the French accents, partly because the 
upper space is wanted for other signs too generally in use to 
be dispensed with, and partly because the acute accent would 

* It may be compared with the following pyramid of primary and mixed 

colours : 

red^ 

orange^ brown, violet , 

yellow , green , blue. 



48 

not be distinguished from the accent of the word. We add, 
therefore, as others have done before us, a line below to mark 
the broad open vowels e, o, and a dot below, to mark the 
pointed and closed vowels <?, p, the shape of these marks of- 
fering a certain analogy to the pronunciation itself. 

From these combinations, the following system results. 

a 
& o 

^ J? (> 
i 11 u 

We must mention, however, one other vowel, which exists 
in almost all languages, and ought not to be neglected by lin- 
guists. This is the indistinct voweUsound from which, according 
to the opinion of some scholars, the other vowels, as it were, 
issued and grew into individuality, and to which the unaccented 
vowels of our non European languages in their old age often 
return, as in the English words nation, velvet; the German 
lieben, Verstand; the French sabr^?, tenir. This vovel comes 
among the clear sounding vowels next to o, being itself a 
mixture of all the others, but it is capable of various shades, 
and sometimes approaches nearer to a, and sometimes to i or 
u. From all of these, however, as also from o, it is distin- 
guished by the absence of that clear resonance common to the 
others, which is lost by partially contracting the mouth or 
even closing it entirely: in the latter case it is heard through 
the nose. ^ This vowel is inherent in all soft fricative conso- 
nants, as well as in the first part of the nasal ejoplosive sounds 
(see below); whence all these letters as z^ w, m, appear some- 
times as forming syllables. ^ It assumes the strongest reso- 
nance, as may be easily explained on physiological grounds, 



^ It may be compared to grey^ vrhich also does not belong to the series 
of indiyidual colours. 
* In the Chinese language, for instance, ft is used as a YOTel in the roots 








49 

in combination with r and Z, which, as is well known, appear 
in Sanskrit as r and /, with all the qualities of the other vo- 
wels. We should feel inclined to represent this sound by the 
Greek letter £, in order to distinguish it more fully from all 
the other vowels, and to fall in with the practice of Ludolf, 
Isenberg, Piccolomini, and others. However, there are strong 
objections to this: for it is not only very desirable to confine 
ourselves as much as possible to the use of Latin characters, 
but the ancient and modern pronunciation of the Greek e is 
also as different from the sound we wish to represent as that 
of the Latin ^. Besides this, we represent the same sound in 
the vocalised consonants by a little circle (as /, r, n), and so 
it seems but natural to transfer this mark to the vowels. Ac- 
cordingly we take the letter ^, which, in most European ortho- 
graphies, is used for an indefinite voweP, and subscribe the 
little circle to it (6). Hereby we gain the advantage that we 
can easily provide signs for those cases where the indefinite 
vowel approaches more closely to any of the common vowels, 
by subscribing the circle to them (as a, j, o, u). Such a case 
occurs, e. g., in the Kanuri or Boruu language, where Mr. 
KoUe^ finds it necessary to distinguish between e and a. 

[If we compare herewith the vowel-system of the English 
language and certain dialectic shades of vowels in other 
European languages, this pyramid of the vowels, it is true, 
is not sufficient for their complete notation. In the English 
language a new degree comes in between the top of the py- 
ramid formed by the pure a, and the first row from it viz. 
e o o. It will not be useless perhaps to add some observations 
on this point, although these sounds as far as we know are 
not developed in the foreign languages which form our spe- 
cial object, and it would therefore hardly seem necessary to 
settle their transcription. 

* Burnoufy Roger, Endlicher, Petermann, Edwards, also Bopp and Schvn 
and others write i. 

* In Us Qrammfir of the B^nu or Kaimri Limguagt. London, 1854. 



50 

« 

In the English language the pure full a has almost entirely 
disappeared, being divided into two sounds, one of which ap- 
proaches to Bj the other to o, both still bearing traces of 
their origin. This applies still more to the short than to the 
long sound. Although the a m father ^ mastery past^ half, demand^ 
aunt J papar^ is not unfrequently pronounced pretty full and 
most resembling to the German and Italian a, yet according to 
others the most approved pronunciation softens its sound percep- 
tibly towards e. We may write it for the present d. Still more 
decidedly the short a of hat^ catchy havCy waXy marry takes 
the same direction. On the other side it is well known how 
nearly the a in water^ ally broad^ faulty approaches to o. It is 
more open i. e. it is nearer to the a than the French o is in 
or, encore^ sonne. Let us indicate it now by a. The cor- 
responding short sound is heard in what^ wasp^ as well as 
in hoty horrid^ and is more open than o in the French votCy 
the German Gott, On the same degree of the scale as the sounds 
a and a we find a short sound in the middle column which 

e o 

leads from a to g and w, viz. the vowel in buty cuty sorty does, 
blood a sound still more peculiar to the English language. 
We might, following the analogy of the two other sounds 
of this row, write it a, but we prefer the simpler nota- 
tion 0. Thus we get as a new row peculiar to the most 
approved English pronunciation the line of sounds ^ p g^* 

Another peculiarity of the English language by which the 
vowel system is influenced, is the double pronunciation of r. 
When this letter is followed by a vowel, it is pronounced as 
a dental consonant with the top of the tongue as in other 
languages. When it closes a syllable or is followed by a con- 
sonant or a mute vowel, it changes its nature and becomes 
a vowel, exactly in the same sense in which the ancient In- 
dians looked upon their r as a vowel; to which it would cor- 
respond exactly if it were not pronounced on the guttural in- 
stead of the cerebral point of the mouth. The tongue and 
the soft palate are put, at the guttural point, into a slight 



51 

sounding vibration without friction. The dental r thus be- 
comes a guttural vocalic r, which in our system may be ren- 
dered very accurately by f. This sound appears most unblen- 
ded in words like/wr, her^ Sir^ word^ waiter, steward^ splen-' 
dour &c. The same sound becomes distinctly perceptible, like 
the second half of the diphthongs ir er ur or air aur in 

A O o'o 0*0 o o 

words like year^ swear, moor, borne ^ hire, hour; but it blends 
more closely with the vowels of the higher degrees, in ar ar gr^ 
as in far J war^ hom^ curve, because a a g are formed at a spot 
nearer to the place of its own. As a short sound it appears 
only in mute or quite unaccented syllables of the common 
conversation like er or r, as in waiter, steward. When such 
a diphthong is followed by a vowel, f is resolved into the 
consonant r, as is the Sanskrit r in r, f. i. star, starry; abhor, 
ahhyrrent; swear, swearing, which are pronounced: star, stdri; 
dbhaf, dbhdrent; sw§f, swprin. The preceding vowels in these 
combinations have no distinct qualification of long or short, 
but must be considered as ambiguous, in a similar manner as 
the nasalized vowels in the French language; yet together 
with f they always form a long sound, being a diphthong. 
Frequently f exercises an influence upon the quality of the 
vowels combined with it; and certain vocalic shades are pro- 
nounced only before r; f. 1. in or is more closed than 0, cur^ 
tain being pronounced more closed than cut; and even er and 
or in swear, four seem to be pronounced somewhat more open 
than ^ and p in way and no, not distinctly enough, it is true, 
to take notice of. 

In the French language also the pure a not unfrequently 
inclines towards an altered pronunciation. In Paris, femme 
it has clearly a sharper sound; and in common language a 
is often heard instead of a in passer and others, and a in- 
stead of a in pas and others. In Germany also: a is a 
provincial pronunciation, as in Prussia proper Fdnster is 
spoken instead of Fenster, whilst a and a are frequently 
heard in the common Saxon dialect. In the south of Ger- 



52 



many p is decidedly distinct from ^ or #, f. i. in BpU, SteUe 
by the side oi fett^ b§Uen &c. On the contrary people born 
in Berlin do not distinguish e or e from p^ but pronounce wer^ 
bpten instead of wer^ beten. 

These remarks will suffice to explain the following table, into 
the details of which it is not necessary to enter, though they 
may perhaps imply some slight deviation from what has been 
received hitherto; we add a few examples of pronunciation. 



English. 

dCd)ar 
Cd)d(ar) 



' e ~ 



e - er 

•o 

t I ir 



' ' \a a ar 
— or 

no 



o - or 
u^ ur 

o 



a past a naught 

ar heaH 6 what^ hot 

o * 

a hat ar war 

e wo 

e head 6 note 

e hate or borne 

€7* swear u hoot 

heat u hood 



• o 

I 



t hit 
ir year 
6 hut 
or fur 

tiO •' 



ur mow* 

o 



French. 



a a a 



(?)(?)■]- --mi)- 



•V — w ^ — *< 



S e e 



- .&; u t; 



e - - !.^ - - 

r 

i •• •• 



d male 
a mal 
a an 
e etre 
e nette 
§ lin 
e epie 
I ctme 
% mte 
6 peur 
heurter 



9 

9 
u 

•• 
w 



w 

g 
o 
6 

9 

u 
u 



Q 
- - 
u ii ' 

un 

peu 

8ur 

8ur 

cor 

vote 

on 

cone 

sourd 

sourde 



German. 



e ^ 



e 
I 



I 



a a 



- 

U 

9 - 



r?; m 



O' 

O 



O (O 

u ii 



d That 
a hat 
e Bar 
/ fett 
^ Weh 
I mir 
I mit 
o Hornet* 
g Konig 
u Thar 
u dUrr 



g Sonde 
g Mond 

& ffUt 

u KuUe 



If we leave out of question the prosodial length, the com- 
plete pyramid of the European vowels may thus be traced: 



a 

e 



e 



a 

9 

9 
9 



a 

o 



U 



53 



But we have already observed that this accurate subdivision 
of vowels in our European languages needs not be applied to 
foreign languages. It would even be practically inconvenient 
to look for and to denote such subdivisions, instead of ranging 
them, where they may exist, under the more general heads 
— as far as it can be done without offence to the linguistic 
feeling. We should therefore not hesitate to reduce even- 
tually the above pyramid to the simpler one without the se- 
cond row, by the following parallelisms: 





English. 


French. 


German. 


a 


pasty heart 


male 


That 


a 


hat 


mal 


hat 


a 




an 









etre 


Bar 


e 


head 


nette 


fett 


^ 


— 


lin 


— 


e 

• 


hate J swear 


epee 


Weh 


I 


heaty year 


ctme 


mir 


I 


hit 


vite 


mit 


6 




peur 





§ 


huty fv/r 


heurter 


Horner 







un 


_ 


9 


— 


pen 


Konig 


U 




8ur 


Thur 


^ 


— 


stir 


durr 


9 


naughty war 


cor 







what^ hot 


vote 


Sonde 


g 




on 




9 


notey borne 


cone 


Mond 


u 


hoot^ moor 


sourd 


gut 


u 


hood 


sourde 


Kutte 



We pass to another question respecting the vowels and ask : 
what is the position of the Russian "hard" i ti, the Polish 



54 

y, in our system? We have to answer it so much the more 
as this vowel appears also in many other eastern languages. 

The vowel u takes the middle between i and u. The phy- 
siological reason is that in forming the «', the lips are broad, 
the tongue sUghtly elevated and stretched out, whilst, in 
forming the u the lips are round and put forwards, the 
tongue drawn back in itself, so that in the forepart of the 
mouth a cavity is formed, the diameter of which is greater 
than its entrance and issue; which is the reason of the hollow 
sound of this vowel. In forming the t«, the lips have the 
position of the t/, the tongue the position of the t. So we 
are right in saying that ii takes the middle between i and u. 
But it is on the other hand evident, that there must exist 
still another middle which has the same right to be counted 
as a peculiar sound. For we may form a vowel in such a 
manner, that the lips take the broad position of the z, and 
the tongue is withdrawn as in the u. This is the vowel 
which is called in the Slavonic languages the hard t, the yeri 
bi of the Russians, which we write (. 

The origin however of this sound is, according to my opi- 
nion, not in the ^l^^onic, but in the Tataric languages, where 
we find it in the Turkish, Turkmenic, Yakutic^ and other 
cognate languages. Here this vowel is an essential part of 
the so called harmonic vowel system , whose peculiar arrange- 
ment demanded it as a necessary complement^. Vestiges of 



^ Without entering into the details of this question, we remark only, 
that the distinction of the lower and darker Towels a o u on the one side, 
and the sharper and clearer vowels eg « i on the other, exists in all lan- 
guages and manifests itself in different ways. The same opposition however 
is of much greater influence in those languages, where it forms, as in the 
Mantschu, Mongolian, Kalmuki, Turkish, Jakutic, Hungrian, Finnic and 
others , the basis of the "yocalic harmony." There the three **hard" yowels 
a o fi, which are pronounced in withdrawing the tongue, correspond to the 
opposite "soft"' vowels e p «, which are pronounced in stretching out the 
tongue. The fourth "soft'' vowel i would have no corresponding "hard'' 
vowel, if it were not the vowel t, which is formed in drawing back the 



55 

it are even found in the Dravidic languages of India. Although 
there are intermediate vowels between a and iy as there are 
between a and u^ a and i, a and u^ all these languages have 
taken up only the one vowel ly because this is the most distinct 
vowel of the column and the only one they wanted for their 
parallelism of vowels. There is however at least one language 
known to me , which makes use also of a second vowel of the 
a — i column, viz. the one which corresponds to o, as i cor- 
responds to u. The Bu manic or Wallachian language, as 
spoken north of the Danube, distinguishes a lower and a 
sharper vowel of the same kind, so as to fill up the place left 
open for it in our system. 

We should like to keep for the sharper sound the Polish 
writing y. But this sign is already generally received for the 
semivowel of the palatals, and moreover would not be fit to 
form at the same time the basis for the deeper sound of the 
Rumanic language by taking a diacritical mark, because this 
Aiark ought to be added below where the space is occupied 
by the tail of the letter. No doubt, the basis of the sharper 
sound must be t, of the deeper sound e. They demand a 
common diacritical mark, difierent from those, which are al- 
ready in use for other purposes (i e e e). We regret not to 
find any symbol already adopted and tiferefore propose as a 
clear and convenient sign for handwriting to put the angle 
below I e. 

The vowel -pyramid of our system takes in consequence 

the follovnng form, where the new vowels i e may be put 

with the same propriety on the e—i side or on the o — u side. 

a a 

e e o or e o e o 

i I u u i ^ I u 

Lips: broad broad round round broad round broad round 

Tongue: forward back forward back forward forward back back 

tongue as far as the palatal point in the middle of the hard roof of the 
palate. Now there is a regular correspondence between a o u % and e o u u 



56 

In most of the European languages the ^^sofb" vowels of 
the middle have supplanted the ^^hard'' ones. In the Rumanic 
language the contrary has taken place, and in the Slavonic 
also no or u has been received , but only t , as the following 
comparison shows. 



German. 


Rumanic. 


Polish. 




Russian. 


a 


a 


a 




a 


e^e 


e e 


e ' 




e,e - 


u u 


i I u 


• • 


u 


i i u 



In the languages however of the Turks and Jakuts the pa- 
rallelism of the "vowel -harmony" has called forth the two 
forms between i and u^ viz. ( and u. The deeper sound e has 
not been received; it would have been the most perfect cor- 
responding "hard" vowel to the "soft" one e. But it has 
been in this respect supplanted by its nearest neighbour a, 
which in reality is neither "hard" nor „soft", or both together. 
The parallelism became (a) 

hard: a o u i • j^ ■% o ^ o u t 

_ \ mstead of *^ \ 

soft: e o u t e o u % 

or according to our pyramidal arrangement the Turkish and 

Yakutic vowels are 




a 
^ [^] 9 ^ instead of e ^ o 
i i u u i i u u 

It would be interesting to know, if there is no cognate lan- 
guage, where this last form of vowel harmony has been de- 
veloped. 

Similar, but not to be confounded, is another formation of 
vowels which one might call Gutturalisation. In no lan- 
guage^ as far as I know, this formation has been independently 
organized as a peculiar part of the vowel system. But it 
has got a secondary influence in the Semitic languages, espe- 
cially in the Arabic. 



57 

In forming the f , the middle tongue is lifted ap to the palatal 
point in the middle of the hard roof of the palate ; from this point 
forward it slopes down almost perpendicularly so as to leave 
a cavity between this point and the teeth. We may however 
also pronounce an i in lifting up the tongue only to the deeper 
guttural point near the velum palati, and in pressing down 
the whole middle part of the tongue so as to form a cavity 
between the concave and lengthened tongue and the roof of 
the mouth. This position of the tongue is very different from 
the shortened shape of it in forming the u The tone of the 
vowel becomes generally somewhat deeper then the tone of 
the ordinary i. The change of formation and sounding is less 
in the other vowels and almost none in uttering the o, be- 
cause also the ordinary pronunciation of this vowel is formed 
at the deeper guttural point. Again the vowel a, which is 
formed beyond the guttural point in the larynx itself, can not 
be pronounced purely with the same guttural motion of the 
tongue; it approaches perceptibly in its pronunciation to the o. 

In the Arabic language this ^^gutturalisation'' of the vowels 
is distinctly heard after and in consequence of, certain con- 
sonants. The Arabic Orthoepists call this pronunciation the 
'Hhick'- or ^^fat'^ one, the modern Grammarians use to call 
it the ^^ emphatic" pronunciation. It is very naturally con- 
nected with the deep guttural consonants, which are with pre- 
dilection developed in all the Semitic languages, and besides 
with the four linguals, viz. ^ * ?, ^ /, d(t) § s z^ sometimes 
also with I and r; it is not connected, and could not be, with 
' and A, which are formed behind the deep guttural point in 
the larynx, nor with £, which, as well sls K s y and all the 
rest, is pronounced before the same deep guttural point. But 
it strikes us as a peculiarity of the Semitic languages, that 
this gutturalisation of the vowels takes place after the four 
letters dCt) S § z^ which are called by the Arabs, for this very 
reason, the ^^closed" letters, meaning the cavity-letters, and 

S 



58 

by the modem Linguists conventionally, though very improperly, 
the "lingual" letters. They are principally distinguished from 
the dental letters d 3 8 z hj the circumstance that in pro- 
nouncing them with the forepart of the tongue, the throat is 
contemporaneously narrowed at the deep guttural point, as if 
one of these gutturals was to be uttered. This movement of 
the throat not only causes a somewhat different position of 
the forepart of the tongue from the dental position, but it 
imparts to them also the thick emphatic sound, which they 
transmit to the following vowels in gutturalising them. In 
the same way also I and r may be pronounced (as well as n, 
although it is not mentioned), if they are preceded by a lin- 
gual consonant without an intervening vowel. In the word 

^Jt Allah the I after a and u is always and by law of the 
orthoepists pronounced emphatically. It is in this case no 
other letter then the Slavonic "hard" Z, the Polish J, which 
in consequence is to be written in our system I, 

It must be granted that the "thick" pronunciation of the 
vowels in the Semitic languages proceeds really from the con- 
sonants and has therefore no linguistic value in itself, because 
this vocalic tone appears exclusively after the said consonants 
which, on their part, keep their peculiar pronunciation even 
if they close a word or are followed immediately by another 
consonant. It is evident therefore that we have also in our 
transcription, as in the indigenous writing, not to express the 
gutturalisation, either in the vowels, or in the guttural con- 
sonants, but only in the lingual consonants d(t) 3 § z and in 
the Slavonic J.] 

Finally, the clear vowels are further capable of a peculiar 
alteration, that of nasalisation. This is produced not by closing 
nor even by narrowing the canal of the mouth , but by simul- 
taneously opening the canal of the nose. There is no conso- 
nantal element brought into play (although the nasalisation is 
mostly caused by the dropping of a nasal consonant), but it 



59 

18 an alteration entirely within the vowel. As such it has been 
rightly understood by the Indian Grammarians, who express 
the nasalisation (anusvara) by a vowel-like sign, namely, by 
placing a dot over the letter. For the European alphabet, we 
choose the sign " placed over the vowel ^, as the dot would 
be inconvenient in the case of the t, and write — 

a, ^, %, o, u^ p, u; %y S etc. 

The length of vowels is not expressed by the Greek sign \ 
but by the line used in Latin prosody, which requires less 
space, and is more easily combined with the accent a, d, /, 
and so on. The shortness, if required to be specially ex- 
pressed, is likewise, as in prosody, marked by **, a, ^, i, etc. 

A complete and accurate theory of transcription would re- 
quire a distinction of diphthongs, as such, since two vowels 
united by accent into one syllable are pronounced otherwise 
than when placed unconnectedly by the side of each other, 
and forming two syllables; the German word Mai having a dif- 
ferend sound from that of the Italian mai. Where it is necesary, 
the ordinary mark of diasresis may be imployed to indicate 
the separation, as mat. Practice, however, seems in most 
languages not to require any distinction. 



B. The System of Consonants. 

On the Division of Consonants, 

The Consonants may be divided on different principles. Two 
principles of division, however, are prevalent, and will therefore 
be here adopted: although the exact place of every sound in 
the physiological system can result only from a minute inquiry 
into all its qualities. 

^ The same mark has occasionally been employed by Burnouf in his Cooi- 
meniaire sur U Yagna (p. oxxm, p. zl, tableau). 

£3 



60 

The first and most important division is that determined hy 
the place in the mouth where the sounds are formed. The breath 
which forms the sounds issues from the larynx into the mouth, 
and is here modified in a manifold manner, until it passes the 
outward gate of the lips. Thus the breath on its way can be 
stopped in various places either by the lips or by the tongue. 
We are accustomed in our languages, like the Greeks and Ro- 
mans, to distinguish three such stoppings, and thus to divide 
the consonants into three classes, gutturals^ dentals^ and labials^ 
according as they are formed in the throat, at the teeth, or 
with the lips. 

There is another essential difference in the pronunciation, in 
as far as either the mouth at the above-mentioned places is 
completely closed and reopened, or the passage of the breath 
is only narrowed without its stream being entirely interrupted 
by closing the organs. The consonants formed by the first 
process we call explosive or divisible (dividuae), because the 
moment of contact divides the sound into two parts, ^ the others 
fricative^ from their sound being determined by friction, or con- 
tinuotis (cantinuae) because this friction is not interrupted by any 

^ It will, on examinatioD, soon appear that we often pronounce only half 
of a consonant, as, for instance, in all cases in which a nasal consonant meets 
another explosive letter of the same local class. The full pronunciation of 
an explosiye letter requires the closing and opening of the organ. In anda 
we close the mouth with n and open it with d, the reVerse in adna, pro- 
nouncing thus only half the n and half the d, whilst in ana and ada we pro- 
nounce the whole of n and the whole of d respectively; the same in ampa 
and ahka, and so on. It is a decided mistake, to reckon m and n among 
the consonantet conlinuae; for in m and n it is only the vowel-element in- 
herent in the first half, which may be continued at pleasure, whilst in all 
the continuous consonants it is the consonantal element (the friction) which 
must be continued, as in ^, o, «, s. When in a final m we do not reopen 
the mouth, we pronounce only half an m, not a whole one. The completie 
consonant is best perceived when placed between two vowels. It is evident 
that in ama closing and opening are as necessary to the completeness of m, 
as in aba to that of b. This has been correctly understood by the Indian 
grammarians. 



61 



cIosiDg of the organs. The sounds r and I participate of both 
qualities, being continuous^ and at the same time formed by a 
contact, i^bich is vibrating in r, and partial in L 

We are thus enabled to give the following synopsis of the 
most generally known simple consonantal sounds. 

The Simple Consonants in the European Alphabets. 



Guttu- 
rales 



Denta- 
les 

Labia- 
les 



ezplosivae 

or 

dividuae. 

fort. len. nasaL 



t 



d 



n 



m 



frioativae or continaae. 

fortla. l«nli. aemiyoo. 

Oer. ch^h Mod. Gr. y ^^-j 



sharp 8 
lBngl.^A(-in) 

/ 



Pr. J 
Ft. Z 



Engl. ^A(-ine) 



EngL V 



Engl. W 



ancipites. 



gntt. T 



dent r I 



Upon what Principles are these Sounds to be rendered 

in a General Alphabet. 

Of these sounds only 11, viz. k, A, t, rf, n, r, Z, jp, b, m, /, 
have one and the same universally acknowledged value in the 
European alphabets, putting aside a few minor differences. The 
others require to be specially defined. Even among these the 
simple signs, ^, «, z^ v^ and w are already so generally intro- 
duced into linguistic books in the value indicated above, that 
we may safely use them without further discussion. 

We meet with some difficulty, however, with respect to the 
sounds of the German ng^ ch^ and y, the French j and ch (or 
English «A), the English sharp and soft th, the Modem Greek y^ 
and the guttural r. These nine sounds have been represented 
in linguistic books by various means. 

The inconvenience of the common way of writing them will 
be evident, when we refer to \ht principles upon which every 



62 

alphabet, aiming at general application, must be grounded, and 
which are essentially as follows: — 

I. Every simple sound ought to be represented hy a single sign. 
This excludes the combinations ng^ ch^ ih. 

n. Different sounds are not to be expressed by one and the same 
sign; contrary to which principle ch^ jy th have been each used 
with a double value. 

III. Explosive letters are not to be used to express fricative 
sounds y and vice versa. On the contrary, the simple characters 
(bases) must form a separate series in each of the two great 
divisions; if not, inextricable confusion will inevitably arise. 

If, then^ we look for signs which can be applied to the 
sounds above indicated, so as not to violate these most impor- 
tant principles, we shall find the choice of letters more cir- 
cumscribed than it would at first appear. 

German ng. 
In German and in English (as for instance. Germ, enge^ Engl. 
singing^ ng expresses the guttural n^, for which linguistic use 
has very generally adopted n, particularly in transcribing the 
Sanskrit. It is evident that n must remain the basis, and there 
is no reason for introducing any fresh diacritical sign. 

Guttural r. 
The guttural r difiers from the usual dental r, in as much 
as the velum palati is put in vibration instead of the tip of the 
tongue. It is often thus pronounced in difierent dialects of the 
German, French, and other languages. The point over the 
letter marking already the guttural pronunciation of n, no 
other diacritical sign will be chosen for the same purpose in r. 
We write it, therefore, r. 



^ In most other languages, as in Sanskrit, it appears only before other gut- 
turals; Indian scholars, therefore, do not generally distinguish it from the 
dental it. 



63 

German j. 

The German j is the semi -vowel which, ia English Ci/ear, 
yes), and sometimes also in French (Mayence, Bat/onne), is 
expressed by y. Following these precedents and the use ge- 
nerally adopted in linguistic books, we likewise express it by y. 

German ch. 

The German ch in lachen is known to be ihe fricative sound, 
which arises from the throat not being closed at the guttural 
point (which would give A), but only narrowed, so that the 
strong and continuous breath produces a friction, such as is 
heard at the teeth in «, and at the lips in /. The English, 
French, and Italians, do not know the sound at all; in the 
Spanish language it is marked by j or x. In the Semitic lan- 
guages (Hebrew n, Arabic ^) it is very frequent. Of Euro- 
pean alphabets only the Spanish and the Greek have a single 
letter for this simple sound. The Latin language did not know 
the sound, and therefore did not express it. The signs hitherto 
used by linguistic scholars, ch, kh, qh^ A, ^, are in opposition 
to the inviolable principle that fricative sounds must not be 
represented by explosive bases, such as c, i, q (above No. III.)j 
or are altogether improper, like x. The nearest applicable fri- 
cative basis would be h. But it will appear from the sequel 
that this sign would be used for six different sounds, if we 
do not confine it strictly to its proper meaning. The difficulty 
of finding an appropriate sign for this sound is therefore great, 
and has long been felt We possess one, however, in a Euro- 
pean alphabet, namely, the Greek, which is almost as gene- 
rally known as the Latin. From this it has been adopted into 
the Russian alphabet; and the Spanish a owes its pronuncia- 
tion, probably, rather to the Greek ^, than to the Latin a. 
The want of a new sign, which of course could not be sup- 
plied from an Oriental alphabet, had already caused Volney 
to propose the Greek ^ in his alphabet of 1795, and, after the 



64 

mistaken experiment of substituting i, to reproduce it in his 
last alphabet of 1818. The same sign is used by Joh. Muller\ 
Rapp^^ Bunsen^^ and others. 

We therefore consider it not only as an essential advantage, 
but even as the only means of solving all difficulties, to follow 
these precedents, and to receive the Greek ;f as the represen- 
tative of this sound in the general alphabet. Of the soft sound, 
which corresponds with the strong, we shall have to speak belovr. 

English sh^ French ch, German sch. 

For the rushing sound of the English sh we should not hesi- 
tate to propose a new basis, and to borrow it, if necessary, 
from the Greek alphabet, if any such existed. But neither 
the Greeks nor the Romans had this sound; and we must 
avoid recurring to the Oriental, or even the Russian alphabet, 
as few persons could be expected to follow us so far. Our 
only resource, therefore, is to content ourselves with the near- 
est basis «, and to qualify this by a diacritical mark. This 
has been done, moreover, by all those that sought a single 
sign for this simple sound, except by Volney, who first pro- 
posed a newly invented sign ^P, and afterwards preferred /", 
viz. the inverted j. Some used s or «. More generally i has 
been adopted, from the precedent of Bopp, who has used it 
since 1833. Others have preserved the combination ah^ which 
not only ofiends against the simplicity of the sound, but has 
produced also the incorrect impression , that the rushing sound 
implied a stronger breath than the common 8. We should 
adopt Bopp's J, on account of the authority of the precedent 
and its reception by his school, if it were not open to serious 
objections. The spiritus asper is, like A, a sign of aspiration, 
and from the analogy of /f, Al, / etc. .(see below), one ought to 

* Handbuch der Physiologie, vol. n. (1837), pp.237, 238. 

' Physiologie der Sprache, p. 65. 

' Aegyptens Stelle in der Weltgeschichte, vol. i. 



65 

suppose an augmentation of the breathing of the s. This is 
not the case. It would be, therefore, introducing a new meaning 
of the spiritus asper, used only in this single case. Nor can 
we adopt «, since the accent indicates the palatal series (see 
below) , and the single precedent of s used by Schleiermacher 
has hitherto found no imitation. 

We propose to write 8^, using a sign which we find already 
in constant and general use in the Serbian and modern Bohe- 
mian alphabets. 

« 
French J. 

This letter is the soft and vocalised sound, which corresponds 
to the strong French ch (German sch)^ and stands exactly in 
the same relation to it as the French z to the strong 8. Volney 
retained the French j\ which we cannot use any more than 
zh^ which has been introduced by others. There can be no 
doubt, however, that the parallelism with our i' for French ch 
requires a soft z for French j\ Following the same analogy, 
the Serbians likewise write £ 

English 8irong th. 

The English th^ oflfers exactly the same difficulties as the 
German ch. It is a littera fricativa or continua^ and must not, 
therefore, have the explosive letter f, for its basis. The only 
Latin character of the fricative division, which might be ap- 
plied to it, is «, and, for the soft sound, z. Both, however, 
have. been already applied each to two uses, and would besides 
have the disadvantage of favouring the tendency, common to 
most European nations , to substitute the usual dental 8 for the 
peculiar lisping sound. In this case, also, it will soon (when 
use shall have overcome the first -felt apprehension) be ac- 



1 The same lispiog sound exists in tlie Arabic and many other languages, 
including several African tongues. 



66 

knowledged as an advantage^ if, instead of « with a diacritical 
sign, we adopt the universally known Greek character ^ as a 
new and original basis. Nor is it without precedent, ^ having 
been used for this purpose by many, among whom we may 
again mention Volney (1795) and Fleischer (1831). 

The soft English th, and the Modem Greek y. 

The sound of the soft English th (thine y thou) appears also 
in the Danish d and in the modern Greek d; the soft guttural 
corresponding' to the strong German ch presents itself in the 
modern Greek y. It cannot be denied that it will be a real 
advantage if we find other bases for these soft sounds than 
^ and ^, as 2? differs from s, z from i', v from /. Yielding to 
this conviction we mark the corresponding soft sounds simi- 
larly by the Greek letters y and J*, the more so as we have 
already before us the weighty precedent of Fleischer (1831). 

We do not undervalue the evident and serious difficulty, that 
by the reception of some Greek characters, the generally required 
confinement to the Roman alphabet suffers an exception; and 
we foresee that many who do not sufficiently appreciate the 
great importance of the organic laws of the alphabet , may be 
shocked at first. A further consideration will, however, soon 
make it evident, that the peculiar poverty of the Latin lan- 
guage in fricative sounds and letters, and the general tendency 
of all languages to transform the explosive into fricative sounds^, 
have rendered the disproportion between the two great divi- 
sions of sounds, with respect to their graphic representation, 
already so great that an essential and lasting remedy is abso- 

^ There can be no donbt , that neither did x and ^ originally signify the 
fricatiye sounds substituted in a later time, but the aspirates hh and th. The 
epoch of the altered pronunciation of /, «9, and (f , cannot be accurately de- 
fined, but was probably contemporaneous with the alteration of y and cf, 
whilst ^ seems to have approached latin v in still earlier times. 

' Instances of this tendency are generally known from the Romanic lan- 
guages. See also below, where the Palatals are considered. 



67 



lately required. There are , indeed , eight bases for the above 
stated nine explosive sounds, and only six for the twelve fri- 
cative sounds. An augmentation of the latter by introducing 
the Greek signs ^, y, ^ and d, is consequently almost unavoi- 
dable; and their absolute necessity will soon be still more 
evident when we come to consider the Asiatic sounds in ad- 
dition to the European. 

We are thus enabled to give the following tableau of the 
European sounds: 



Alphabet of the European Consonantal System. 



Gutturales 



Dentales 



Labiales 



explositai or dividua. 
fortU. lonis. nasalis. 

k ff n 



n 



P 



m 



fricativoB or eontinua. 

fortla. lenlfl. semiTOc. 






y 



V 

Z 



8 



^ 



f 



V 



W 



aneipiies. 



r I 



Enlargement of the Alphabet by the Addition of the Foreign Sounds 
, of Oriental Languages, 

The Asiatic languages, especially the Indian and the Arabic, 
possess, besides the sounds hitherto considered, others, which 
hardly exist at all in European languages, or at least are only 
fully developed in Asiatic languages, and, therefore, can only 
find their proper position in a more comprehensive system. In- 
stead of the three European classes, we must distinguish seoeny 
which we shall now consider separately. 

I. The Paucal Class. 
h 
We are accustomed to reckon h among the gutturals. It is 



68 

easily observed, however, that we pronounce this sound behind 
the guttural point, immediately at the larynx. When pronoun- 
ced so softly as to be vocalised, i. e. so as to imply a vowel 
sound produced in the larynx (as with z^ v, dy z) the friction 
ceases to be audible, and only the vowel element is heard. 
This vocalised consonantal breathing, is, therefore, not pecu- 
liarly marked in any language, h belongs, therefore, to the 
unvocalised strong fricatives. 

Arabic t, Hebrew t*, Sanskrit U, Greek spiritus lenis. 
By closing the throat and then opening it to pronounce a vowel, 
we produce the slight explosive sound which in the Eastern 
languages is marked separately, but not in the European, except 
in the Greek. We perceive it distinctly between two vowels 
which following each other are pronounced separately, as in 
the Italian sard 'a casa^ the English go *over^ the German See-- 
'adler^; or even after consonants when trying to distinguish, 
in German, mein ^Eid (my oath) from Meineid (perjury), or 
Fisch^^art (fish species) from Fischart (a name), &c. We indi- 
cate this sound, when necessary, by the mark ', like the Greeks. 

Arabic p^, >ain. 
The slight sound just described can be pronounced hard by a 
stronger explosion almost at the same point of the throat. Thus 
arises the sound which the Arabs write p.^ We find it expressed 
by scholars generally by placing a diacritical sign over the fol- 
lowing vowel, a, dy a, a, d; sometimes below, a. This method 
would suppose , from the analogy of all systems of writing, that 
the ^ were only an indication of a change in the vowel. It is, 
however, a full consonant, preceding the vowel. We indicate 



^ See on the accurate pronunciation of tliis and the other Arabic sounds 
my dissertation: Ueber die Autsprache und die Umtchrifi der Arabischen 
LauU^ in the Transact, of the B. Acad, of Berlin. 1^61. 



69 

it, therefore, with regard to its affinity to the soft sounds by 
doubling the spiritus lenis, /. 

AraMc 9-9 ^« 

The fricative sound corresponding to > is not the common A, 
but a stronger aspiration, which requires a greater contraction 
of the faucal point, and is distinguished by the Arabs from 
the simple h. It has, therefore, been often indicated by hh. 
We write K and have a precedent in the writings of Fleischer 
(1831), Ewald (1831), VuUers (1841). 

The absence of any nasal sound in the faucal series is ne- 
cessitated by the physiological position of the faucal point, the 
contraction of which closes at the same time the canal of the nose. 

The faucal series is confined, therefore, to the four following 
sounds, thus represented: ^ ^ K h. 

II. The Guttural Class. 

As we have already excluded the h from this class, on account 
of its being pronounced behind the proper guttural point, we 
must^ to be accurate, exclude the y also, and put it in the 
next following class, this sound being formed in the mouth 
before the guttural point. 

Again we are obliged to comprise a sound peculiar to the 
Semitic languages, viz. 

The Arabic vj$ and Hebrew p, qaf or qof^ 
which is formed at the posterior soft part of the palate, although 
this class has its place of formation a little more forward, at 
the point where the velum palati^ joins the hard palate. We 
indicate this sound by the sign which the Greeks and Romans 
substituted for it, although it cannot be proved that they pro- 
nounced it exactly in the same manner, viz. q. 

We obtain by this addition the following complete guttural 
series : k q g; n; x /> ^' 



70 



III. The Palatal Class. 

In passing from the guttural to the dental point, another 
point may be distinguished, and has been fixed by several 
languages, namely, the pcdatal point which is situated almost 
in the middle or on the highest point of the hard palate, and 
occasionally extends to the gum of the upper teeth. We dis- 
tinguish this class of letters from the Gutturals by a stroke 
put over them. A £ or ^, pronounced at this place by pressing 
the broad middle part of the tongue on the palate, will be 
easily distinguished from the deep gutturals ?, £, or ^. 

In most languages k and ^, before the vowels e^ i^ q^ ti, 
approach the palatal pronunciation, whilst before a, Oy u they 
remain more guttural, owing to the formation of these vowels. 
A palatal U is as di£ferent from the guttural k as the German 
ch in ichy which we write j[^ from the ch in cLch or Buck, or 
as the common German ch in AKlch (Milj^) from the Swiss ch 
(our guttural x) ^^ ^^^ same word. 

With regard to the Sibilants, no simple 8 can be pro- 
nounced at the palatal point The letter 8 is formed by the 
simple friction of the breath between the upper and low^er 
teeth and is in consequence always dental. The rushing soand 
of the English 8h or the German 8ch is formed in the hollow 
space left between the teeth and the palatal point, and may 
thus be regarded both as a dental and as a palatal sound. 

Several languages distinguish two rushing sounds. If the 
tongue is drawn back in itself and a considerable hollow space 
is left between the middle of the palate and the teeth, a full 
rushing sound is heard , which may still be increased by putting 
forward the lips. This is the common English, German and 
French sound, which we write /. If the tongue in the con- 
trary is stretched out as in pronouncing the other palatals, 
especially the J[ of the German tcA, and only the tip of the 
tongue is withdrawn or turned down from the teeth so as to 



71 

extend the cavity bebiDd tbem only to tbe upper limit of the 
gum, tbe rusbing sound becomes tbinner and more like tbe j[ 
or tbe 8. Englisb and Frencb often pronounce it when trying 
to utter tbe German palatal ch = j[. We write it / as a 
principally palatal variety of 8, Botb sounds, S and /, are 
distinguisbed in tbe Poli8h language, wbere tbey are written 
8z (= S) and i (= /). 

Tbe latter sound / is actually given in India to tbe Deva- 
nagari 1(, according to tbe description of tbe most careful ob- 
servers, and diflfers decidedly from tbe ^^ wbicb is a cerebral 
f and now resembles more our full common 8^ as far as tbe 
original cerebral position of tbe tongue is no longer tborougbly 
retained. ^ 

Tbe palatal sounds bave, as tbeir pbysiological formation will 
explain, tbe peculiarity of easily assuming asbadeofj/, wbicb 
appears most distinctly in tbe palatal n and Z\^ Tbis sligbt 
sbade wbicb at first accompanies tbe palatal sound so closely 
tbat a fine ear perceives it as well before as after tbe moment 



' There are learned Indian scholars who assert that the letters ^ 
and ^ have actually quite the same pronunciation and I was induced by 
them for a moment, to change my opinion when I wrote the line in the 
Introduction p. 8. But I have since convinced myself that this was only a 
mistake of the English or German ear, which does not know the marked 
difference between ^, § and S, Colebrooke, Wilkins, Caxey arid others 
were perfectly right in making the distinction. 

' If, for instance, we pronounce the n and I in ano^ f^^^t so as to press 
the broad middle of the tongue upon the high middle part of the hard palate, 
we shall no longer hear the French words anneau, and foule, but something 
very like agneau and fouille^ with this difference only, that in the modern 
French pronunciation the tongue is not raised quite up to the palate, but only 
brought near it, so that the sound is more and more dissolved in y, ayeau, 
fouye. To t and d also, in many languages, a slight sound oiy is added, without 
producing the impression of a compound letter. If in certain languages it 
should appear convenient not to designate this secondary sound as a complete 
consonant, it would be very appropriate to introduce also for the sounds ty dy 
the palatal line, and to write I' and df, %s y \& indeed of a palatal nature, 
and communicates the same to the < and d. 



72 

of closiDg the organ id uttering the explosive eotmde, iocreases 
afterwards easily, so as to become independent, and to grow 
iuto a full subsequent ^, next into a ^, finally into a f or s! 
Thus arises a series of compound sounds, which, from the 
palatal k, through k^, ty, tS, ts, frequently pass into te and 
even into a simple j*, /, or s. 

Such a transformation of former gutturals into sibilant dentals 
has occurred in many languages. The Greek xollov, i. e. koilon, 
became in the Latin language caelum, i. e. kolum, and is sounded 
in the modern Italian cielo, i. e. tSelo; the Latiu caseua, Ger- 
man Kase, baa become, in English, cheese, i. e. ^z; the Hebrew 
ffamal (the camel), and the Arabic gemel, became gyemel or 
dyemel, afterwards d-emel, at last even zemel. Such transitions 
in the history of lauguages never take place suddenly, but always 
gradually. It is a very common phenomenon that the explo- 
sive letters first produce the corresponding fricative sounds be- 
hind them, and afterwards pass entirely into them, and that 
at the same time the gutturals advance constantly towards the 
anterior part of the mouth. 

me transition of sounds has taken place in the Indian 
i, compared with the old Sanskrit, 
the first two sounds of the Palatal class are pro- 
by the natives, according to all descriptions, like the 
ih and j in choice and jotTtf or like the Italian c and ff 
tnd giro. These English and Italian sounds are, as no 
hears or pronounces them will doubt, oompound 
leginning with the explosives t and d, aud terminating 
ricatives ^ and s or / and z. But in the sacred Devana- 
ng of the Indians, none but simple sounds were repre- 
' single signs; and their language itself leaves not the 
bt that the sounds ff and ^ were really simple, not 
1 sounds. This is proved, for instance, by their not 
' the preceding syllable long, and by the possibility 



73 

of doubling them.* These sounds were consequently pronounced 
originally in another manner than now, viz. as simple sounds. 
Even though we were not now able to define these sounds 
more accurately, we ought undoubtedly to indicate them in 
old Sanskrit by a peculiar sign. For this purpose, Bopp and 
his school have introduced the mark ' over the letter, the same, 
which we have proposed in consequence of this important pre- 
cedence. Of the peculiar case, when in a foreign alphabet 
these sounds are represented as simple from their being ori- 
ginally such, whilst they are now pronounced as compound, 
we have treated in the Introduction. 

The series of palatal and palato- dental sounds will therefore 
be as follows: 

^ 9 ^> X y^ ^ ^' * ^' y> ^• 

It is to be observed only that / and the semivowel y are 
so near each other that the y will hardly appear in any lan- 
guage as a distinct sound by the side of y. It is self-evident 
that y needs not assume the palatal mark, as there is no cor- 
responding guttural sound. 

IV. The cerebral^ Class. 

This class, almost exclusively peculiar to the Indian, and 
amongst them originally to the Dravidian, languages, is for- 
med by bringing the tip of the tongue backwards and upwards 
to the neighbourhood of the palatal point, so as to produce 
there the explosion or friction. To our ear, these sounds are 



* It is eyidont that in no langaage a compound sound can be doubled. If) 
resolving the English riches into its component sounds ritSesy one intended to 
double this sound, one could not write richchesy i. e. riiStSea (for that would 
sound as in tr&ich thild), but would only repeat the first element and write 
ritehes, i. e. riiiies, 

^ Cerebral was the original English denomination, which arose indeed from 
a false translation of the Indian name murdd^anya, i. e. letters of the dome 
of the palate, but has not yet. been supplied by a more appropriate one. 

F 



74 

Dearest to the dentals. We retain for them also the diacri-^ 
tical sign introduced by Bopp and bis school, yiz. the dot 
under the letter, and write this Indian series 

t d n; i; r L 

V. The Lingual or gutturo - dental Class 

belongs as exclusively to the Arabic and cognate languages. 
In their formation, a dental and a guttural movement of the 
tongue are combined. ^ With respect to the former, the breadth 
of the tongue either touches or approaches the whole anterior 
space of the hard palate as far as the teeth, its tip being 
rather turned below. It is consequently entirely different from 
the Indian cerebrals^ although these , too, are frequently called 
lingtuds. It appears, therefore, suitable to confine this latter 
denomination to the Arabic sounds, and to retain the former 
for the Indian, if it would not be preferable to substitute the 
name o{ gutturo-dentak. 

The graphic representation hitherto adopted by Bobinson, 
Caspari, Davids, and others, is a dot under the dentals, like 
that of the cerebrals. We have chosen instead of the dot, after 
the precedent of Volney, in contradistinction to the cerebral 
formation, a small line, which is little different from the dot 
hitherto used. The Arabs have developed only four letters 
of this class, namely: d(t) d s z, 

VI. The Dental Class 

exists complete in the European languages, and has been speci- 
fied above. 

The essential distinction of the two fricative formations 8 and 
^, from the guttural and palatal j( and j[^ consists in the friction 
of the breath being formed and heard exclusively at the teeth. 



^ See above p. 57. and below the notes to the Arabic Alphabet. 



75 

When the tip of the tongue is placed at the very point of the 
friction, ^ is pronounced ; if it is laid against the lower teeth, 
whilst the upper side of the tongue is brought back behind the 
upper teeth, we have 8. When the tongue recedes still farther, 
so that behind the upper and lower teeth a greater hollow space 
remains, the interior limit of which extents as far as the pa- 
latal pointy this enlarged resounding space produces the palato- 
dental sounds / and s, of which we have already spoken 
above. We might as well reckon the 8 and /, z and z amongst 
the dentals as we hear their principal friction at the teeth. 
We will seen however in the second part several alphabets, 
where it seems more convenient to place these sounds with the 
palatals. The Indian cerebral « receives from the peculiar flexion 
of the tongue, which produces a double cavity in the mouth, 
a still diflPerent expression, indicated by the cerebral dot below. 
The dental series remains, therefore, 

t d n; 8 z; & d; r I. 

VII. The Labial Class 

is also known from European languages, and has been mentioned 
above, p b m; / v; w. 

We ought perhaps to notice here the particular pronun- 
ciation o( w in middle Germany , where this letter is no labia - 
dental^ formed between the lower lip and the upper teeth, as 
t; in England, France, Northern Germany, India, etc., nor the 
semivowel w of the English, Arabic and many other languages, 
but a pure labial sound, formed between the upper and lower 
lip without any t^- position of the lips and tongue and without 
any concurrence of the teeth. This is however a sound which I 
never heard of in any language except the provincial German 
dialects, and for this reason it needs hardly a peculiar de- 
signation in our alphabet, where, if wanted, it might be written w. 

If we now comprise the seven classes in a general tableau, 
we obtain the foUowiug synopsis: 

F2 



76 



The Consonants of the General Alphabet. 





explonvtB or ditidutt. 


frieativa or conlinua. 


• 


fortes. 


lenes. nasales. 


fortes, lenes. semiyoc. 


I. Faucalea, 


y 
> 


> 


K h 


U. Gutturales, 


k 


9 

9 ^ 


X y 


III. Palatalea. 


U 


9 n 


1 


IV. Cerebralea. 

(Indicae) 

V. Linffuales, 

(Arabicae) 

VI. Dentalea. 


t 

• 

t 


d n 
d(t) 
d n 


8, d^ Zj d 


VIL. Lahiales. 


V 


b m 


f to w 



anc«pt<e«. 



I 



I 



Examples of Pronunciation, 

We follow here the vertical and not the horizontal order, 
because we thereby keep together all the letters, which in 
the different classes have the same bases. 

engl. cuwning^ but 
ger. Konig^ fr. feu. 
fr. fumes f ger. Crute. 
fr. but^ ger. Gluch 
engl. miney ger. Kaiser, 
engl. house ^ ger. Haus, 
ger. Hduser^ heute. 
span, reina. 
engl. join, 
fr. an^ ^7». 
fr. ^^am^n, Inde, 
fr. on. 
fr. -WW. 

engl. nation^ ger, Verstand. 
g fr. beurre^ coeur. r* sanskr. ^. 



a 

w 

a 

/ 
e 



9 
g 

6 

m 

u 



u 



Vowels. 


9 


engl. /atA^, fr. dme. 


* 

« 


ger. Mann^ ital. 5a/fo. 


^ 


fr. m^«, ger. Bar, 


ai 


engl. A^a(2, ger. /?tt. 


au 


engl. cane^ vein^ fr. donni. 


au 


engl. ^^^, fr. Zt^. 


ei 


engl. siny fr.JiL 


oi 


engl. aK, ital. perd. 


a 


engl. Ao^, no^. 


e 


engl. wo, fr. /awo?. 


o 


engl. rttfe, fr. nous. 


9 


engl. /oo<, fr. ours. 


e 

e 


fr. beurre, coeur. 


o 



77 



/ sanskr. "^ 

z chin, mandar. Uz. 

e o 

Consonants. 

A. ExPLosiYB. a. Fortes. 

> arab. p Qcan), 

h engl. cooly fr. cause. 

U old sanskr. ^. [see above p. 72.] 

<r modem sanskr. ^, engl. ch, 

t sanskr. Zl 

^ engl. ^or^Ti, fr. ton, 

p engl. jmW, fr. pen. 

6. Lenes. 

* arab. I, hebr, «, gr. spir. len. *. 

q arab. o (ja/9* 

^ engl. goldf fr. gauche. 

g old sanskr. ^. 

/ modern sanskr. ^, engl. y. 

(^ sanskr. ^. 

d(y arab, J^ (see below). 

d engl. J^ar. 

i engl. by. 

e, Naeales. 

n engl. singing , ger. m^^. 
n sanskr. ^, ital. gnudo^ fr. 

n sanskr. W. 
n engl. no, 
m engl. m^. 

B. Fbicativae. a. Fortes. 

£ arab. ^ (Tfo). 



A engl. hand. 

X ger. jBt^cA, acA; pol. chata. 

S engl. 9^21;, fr. chxxb, ger. «{?Aon. 

jf ger. ichy reckt. 

S old sanskr. ^. 

/ mod. ind. H^ pol. «Wi(. 

« arab. {jo (sad). 

8 engl. ««;t«^, fr. savoir, 

^ engl. ^Am, mod. gr. S-eog, 

f engl. ^ne. 

b. Lenes. 

y arab. ^ (yam). 

z fr. jeunCy pol. bazant 

y mod. gr. yicpvQa. 

i pol. pozno. 

z fr. ^^fe, engl. 2^^a/. 

^ engl. ^Ay, mod. gr. d/?//a. 

$ arab. J? f^aj. 

arab. (jo (za) (see below). 

c. SemiTOcales. 

y engl. y^or, fr. Bayonne, 
ger. ya. 

w engl. we. 

O. Ltquidab. 

r germ, and fr. dialects. 

r sanskr. T. 

r engl. very^ ital. rabbia. 

t ital. ^K, fr. mouilU. 

1 sanskr. 35. 
I engl. fou;. 



Tbe Cotteonaui 



I. Fmeote. 
n. Gnttmnilm. 

tknAtmH 

\1, Uttttalei. 



We fiJloi 
because w 



,«,imantat Diphthongs. 
,uiijs which are proDOUDced with 
!.'li!s class has b«eD most fully 
jt'ra tbe fortes as well as the £en£s 
..^M^ in this manlier. Id tfae ancient 
.jiittcd of the a^iratioo, and these 
s- t-orrespoDding fricatives. The aspi- 
rt f j[JosioD, not accompaof it througb- 
hirion of tbe fricatives. Thus, a real 
.> If, Dotvithstandiag this, the aspirates 
u Sanskrit as single letters, this is to be 
iv'timstaoce. that tbe spiritus unites itself 
[(!)G explosive letters than anv other conso- 
.u little weight, that it does not make the pre- 
uug, beir^, pniperlT speakii^, do more than 
Ijo breath oecessarilv inberatt in every eonso- 
.-cional, therefore, either to regard tbe a^iirates 
>Kitiaiits, or as compositiotts with A. pN'e prefer 
r- ,;.,.r. See above p. U-l 

J to the do:;Mia3 of ^."»*i.'w,r'«.'?, it will reaffly be 

tliut tfaey otirbt ikm to be enij^'v^ved merely to diow 

precedii^ vowel is sboct and atvemnaied, but oaly 

lO duplicanoB ^-si tbe prvsoagadiiM of (he Aictioii or 

iiument of tc<K'hi:i^'i ts dtsiinetjy heard, or the doddle 

justified etTaak4oc:callT. a$ eH^maiKi^ m die miwilatJou 

iBaakf. or wherever Dc:hb$ b intended, but m 

a EvW*^ ortbc^n^ bv . wb>.-b laakn me ttS 









urMe ;sx W £.>«U«J : » hen > 



79 



* hi the Application of the General Alphabet to the Alphabet of 

pai'ticular Languages. 

It has been remarked above, that the general alphabet, when 
applied to particular languages, must be capable of simplifi- 
cation as well as of enlargement. All particular diacritical marks 
are unnecessary in those languages where none of the bases 
have a double value. We then write the simple base without 
a diacritical mark e, o, «. Where two sounds belong to the 
same base, one only of the signs will often be wanted, espe- 
cially in the case of long and short vowels. 

If further essential differences should be shown, which are 
not yet represented in the general alphabet, and cannot be ex- 
pressed by a modification of the bases already adopted, nothing 
prevents the selection, or, if necessary, invention of other new 
diacritical signs, without deviating from the principles above 
developed. 

Among these latter cases we may reckon, for instance, the 
clicks of the southernmost African languages, which are formed, 
not by throwing out the breath, but by drawing it inward. 
We often produce the same clicks by the same movements of 
the tongue, but do not use them as articulate elements of speech. 

In the Hottentot language there are four clicks; in the Zulu 
and some other neighbouring languages to which they were 
transferred, only three. 

The first, which had been written hitherto 9, is made by 
pressing the tip of the tongue closely upon the middle palate and 
withdrawing it suddenly, and from the place of its formation 
is to be reckoned among the cerebrals. The second (found prin- 
cipally in the Hottentot, but, according to Boyce^, also in some 
words of the Kafir language), arises, from placing the breadth 



' Grammar of the Kaffir Language, p. 4. He writes it qc. I myself have 
heard it pronounced by Zulu Kaffirs. 



80 

of the tongue in the palatal position, and withdrawing it with 
a suction. The third, generally written <?, is in the same 
manner dental, as only the tip of the tongue smacks against 
the upper teeth and the gum above. The fourth is formed at the 
side of the tongue, by drawing in the air towards the middle 
of the mouth from the right or left side. It has been called 
lateral J therefore, and generally rendered by a. 

The pronunciation of these sounds becomes difficult only 
when they are connected with other sounds. Whilst the an- 
terior part of the tongue is smacking, the throat can open it- 
self for a ^ or n, so that these latter sounds are pronounced 
almost at the same time with the click, or immediately after it.^ 

At the same time^ the choice of c, g, and ^, as signs of 
clicks, is inconvenient, since they are taken from the Euro- 
pean alphabets, in which they express well known sounds, not 
bearing any relation to the clicks. Essential to the latter is 
the peculiarity of stopping in part, and even drawing back 
the breath, which appears to be most easily expressed by a 
simple bar /. If we connect with this our common marks for 
the cerebral or the palatal , a peculiar notation is wanted only 
for the lateral, which is the strongest sound. We propose to 
express it by two bars //. As the gutturals evidently do not 
unite with the clicks ixito one sound ^, but form a compound 



* Boyce distinguishes only two accompanying gutturals, which he writes 
g and n ; Appleyard and Grout mention three , g and two nasals , n and tig 
(n). The author himself could only distinguish two gutturals, g and n, as 
connected with clicks by the Zulu Kafirs just mentioned, who in the be- 
ginning of 1854, sojourned for some time in Berlin. 

2 We cannot, therefore, assent to Grout, who, instead of the former no- 
tation proposes the following : 

9 9 9 9 

c 6 c c 

X 9' X X 

Grout, in the aboye - mentioned work p. 34. accepts oui mode of writing 
the clicks, but places the three sounds which appear in conneotion with 



81 

sound, ^e may make them simply to follow, as with the diph- 
thoDgs> Thus we get the tableau: 



Palatals 


(qc) 1 — 


Cerebrals 


(q) ! !9 1^ 


Dentals 


(c) 1 ig in 


Laterals 


(x) a ag an 



them, not afur but before the click -letters and writes m/, ga^ ngt etc. 
and the Rev. J. L. Dohne, Missionary to the American Board, C. J. M. in 
his Zala Kafir Dictionary, Cape Town, 1857, p. xxxyni, expresses himself 
distinctly against our proposal to write the clicks before their accompanying 
letters. On the other hand Wallmann and Yollmer hare put the clicks after 
these letters, in the before-mentioned works. All are agreed, we among the 
rest, that the two sounds, although perfectly different, are pronounced al- 
most simultaneously; and Dohne states, even in reference to the Nama and 
Kafir: "In the former the guttural sound begins after the tongue has 
clicked and coniinueg with a peculiar and distinct force; but this is little 
observable in the Kafir." I belieye that I have remarked the same thing, 
with regard to the ^, in the pronunciation of the Kafir. As far as I am 
aware, no one asserts that g is heard before the click. And neither does 
the etymological reason advanced by Dohne — "that it was impossible that 
from the in before the root iela ifnelo but (only) ihielo can be made'* — 
prove anything in favour of pronouncing fn or n/, for equally little should we 
be justified in inferring from the fact that in the Sanskrit %f% let'i "he 
licks" from f^^ lih and f^ (t, <* must be pronounced not as th, but 
as ht. It appears to us of little real importance whether one writes fg or 
gi, as both sounds are uttered, as nearly as possible, simultaneously. It 
is however very desirable, that a majority should declare itself in favour of 
one or the other form, amongst linguists and Missionaries interested in 
the subject, to which majority the dissentient will then join themselves. 

Dr. Bleek (The Library of Sir George Grey, vol. I, pp. 6 and 172) men- 
tions a conference held in 1856 by the Rhenish Missionaries in South Africa, 
by which 2 of our 4 click signs, viz. / and // were adopted, and the other 
two, viz. / and / were exchanged for + &nd 4=. There would be no great 
objection to the alterations, should a majority declare distinctly in favour 
of them. Meanwhile, nothing advocating the Rhenish mode of writing, ex* 
cept Vollmer's book, has as yet come under my notice, while our signs 
have already been made use of by WaUmann and Grout. Here also it ap- 
pears more essential that a choice should be made, than what the choice 
should be. The distinctive marks / and / are made according to the organic 



82 

The difficulty of transcription is greatest in those systems of 
writing which, originating in an earlier period of the language, 
and fully developed, have been retained unaltered, whilst the 
pronunciation has undergone a change, as also in those in which 
several reformations have left their traces. An instance of this 
kind has already been mentioned in speaking of the Sanskrit 
palatals. The differences of European orthography have mostly 
arisen from similar circumstances. Some such difficulties, how- 
ever, are presented by almost all existing alphabets which are 
not of modern formation. As the object of a standard tran- 
scription is to avoid , as much as possible , all such incongruity 
of sound and sign, no other course remains open in such cases 
than to fix upon a distinct period of the language in question, 
and to adapt its transcription to the different purposes of ren- 
dering, either the actual pronunciation, or the ancient one which 
had been expressed by the alphabet, and which may be deduced 
from it by linguistic researches. The difference is generally 
found to be greater in the vowels than in the consonants, the 
former being, in all languages, the more changeable element. 

The Arabs write only three vowels, but pronounce these three 
letters differently in different localities, according to distinct 
rules: in like manner, a certain number of consonants have a 
different pronunciation in different dialects, although in litera* 
ture they are expressed by means of one and the same written 
letter. Eli Smith and Robinson (in his work on Palestine) 
propose to represent the actual pronunciation in the country. 



classes of the cerebral and palatal clicks, and if #= may perhaps appear more 
convenient than /, we may yet renture to say that -f resembles too closely . 

the letter i. On the other hand, we must appear ourselyes as decidedly opposed ' 

to the use of ng instead of n; and the more so, because in these languages 
both n and g are capable of being joined to clicks, and the reader is there- 
fore led to believe , that ng before a click must be either a union of n and 
gy or of n and ^, which last frequently occur in connection in these 
languages. 



83 

• 

and their endeavours are to be highly prized^; but the linguistic 
scholar will prefer to follow the written system fixed by litera- 
ture, and to neglect the varying deviations and shades of modern 
pronunciation. Great difScuIties are met with in transcribing 
the Hebrew system of punctation, which, having only in after 
times been grafted upon the alphabet inherited from former 
ages, appears to be inconsistent with itself. 

In conclusion, we present the reader with a number of alpha- 
bets transcribed after our own system. We are aware that in 
many instances further researches must correct and complete 
our labours. We have followed the best and latest investiga- 
tions to which we had access in each individual language. The 
attempt is intended to show the easy applicability of our alpha- 
bet to the most different languages; and to induce scholars to 
follow in the same way, and eventually to correct and improve 
the details. 



' Compare also the excellent essay of Lane on the modern pronunciation 
of the Arabic vowels, inserted in the publications of the German Oriental 
Society. 



SECOND PART. 



COLLECTION OF ALPHABETS 



BXDUCftD TO 



THE STANDARD ALPHABET. 



GENEEAL DIVISION OF LANGUAGES, 



LITERARY LANGUAGES. 

A. Gender 'languages. 

I. Japhetic (Indogermanic). 
II. Semitic. 
III. Hamitic. 

JB. No ' gender languages, 

I. Asiatic. 

I. Turanic or Tataric. 
II. Monosyllabic. 
III. Isolated. 
II. Polynesian or Malayan (Oceanic). 

ILLITERATE LANGUAGES. 

III. Australian or Papuan. 

IV. African. 

I. Primitive or South African. 
II. Isolated or Middle African. 
V. American. 



89 



Our first division is in Ldterary and Illiterate languages. We 
call those languages literary , which for the most part have a 
system of writing and at least a beginning of literature. The 
illiterate languages have with few exceptions no writing. This 
makes of course a great difference with respect to the intro- 
duction of the Roman alphabet. It is far easier to introduce it 
among the latter nations than the former, where it has to over* 
come an indigenous alphabet with its characteristic features 
and historical claims, which it must respect even when not 
quite adequate to the physiological imp6rt of the respective 
letters. The illiterate languages offer only the difficulty of 
determining the true pronunciation of every sound without the 
important guide of an indigenous alphabet fixed by the speak- 
ing people themselves. The sounds once being known, the signs 
are easily applied. This is the reason why our explanatory 
remarks are more numerous in the first than in the second 
part. This division referring to the knowledge of writing is at 
the same time, generally speaking, a geographical one, since 
the European, Asiatic and in a great measure the Polynesian 
languages are literary^ the Australian, African and American 
languages illiterate. 

We combine with this first division a second, referring to the 
use of grammatical gender. It is not accidental but very 
significant, that, as far as I know without any essential ex- 
ception, only the most highly civilised races — the leading nations 
in the history of mankind — distinguish throughout the genders, 
and that the Oender-languagea are the same as those, which 
scientifically by linguistic reasons may be proved as descending 
from one original Asiatic stock. The development of peculiar 
forms for the grammatical genders proves a comparatively higher 
consciousness of the two sexes; and the distinction not only 

of the masculine and feminine, as in the Semitic and Hamitic 

G 



90 

languages, but also of the feminine and neuter gender, exclusively 
expressed in the Japhetic branch , is only a further step in the 
same direction. The formation of genders has appeared to me so 
characteristic of the three principal branches, that I thought it 
(1844) a sufficient reason, to ascribe all the African ndnsemitic 
languages, which distinguish the genders, to the Uamitic branch, 
viz. — besides the old Egyptian and the Coptic — the Beja 
language of the Bishari (whose ancestors were the Ethiopians 
of Merog), the Dankali , Somali , Galla and other neighbouring 
languages, al those of the Libyan tribes between the Egyptian 
Oases and the Canarian Islands, including the Hausa farther 
on to the south, and even the widely distant languages of 
the miserably reduced Hottentots and Bushmen, whose immi- 
gration into their actual seats is still a curious problem, con- 
sidering the absolute diversity of their language from all their 
northern neighbours and at the same time its traces of a 
certain affinity with the Egyptian language. 

If we are not yet able to prove the affinity also of all no- 
gender languages to the former and to one another, although 
their original relationship is inseparable from the propagation 
of the one human race, it would certainly be too hasty an as- 
sertion, to say that we never should be able to do so. It seems 
however unquestionable, that the three great branches of gender- 
languages were not only in the past the depositaries and the 
organs of the historical progress of human civilisation, but that 
to them, and particularly to the youngest branch of them, the 
Japhetic, belong also the future hopes of the world. All the 
other languages are in decline and seem to have henceforth but 
a local existence. The geographical division seems therefore the 
most appropriate for them, and we prefer it for our purpose 
to the other, which might be based upon the different forma- 
tions and features of language. 



LITEEAEY LANGUAGES. 

GENDER LANGUAGES. 



91 



SANSKRIT. 



^ "^ ^ ^ ^ t etc. 



zirnr 



f 




, X 

1 




IT 


^ 


^ 


T 95 


« 


W 


X 


^ 


• 
• 








The Virdma ^, indicates that no vowel is pronounced. 



Ancient pronunciation. 



a a . 
i i u u 
r f I I a i etc. 
ai at au du ar dr 



a a 

it u u 

r f 1 I a i etc. 

e e e e 

i ai 6 au ar dr 



k g n 
H g n 

t d n 

• • • 

t d n 
p b m 



Modern pronunciation. 



k g n 

y V f 

c 3 n 

t d n 

• • • 

t d n 

p b m 



h 




X 


- 


i(k) 


y 


f 


r I 

• • 


« 


I 


X 


V 


i 





t i 
t d 
p B 



h 




X 




i 


y 


s 


r I 

• 


a 


I 


X 


V 


t 





kh gh 
(TA ]h 

th dh 

• • 

th dh 
ph bh 



G2 



92 JAPHETIC LANGUAGES. 

Specimen. 

^W ^^ ^^ ^ ^irfT'irftr I a^^*i(n*ifif<: 11 

(Beginning of the Rigveda ed. Aufreeht.) 

Old pronunciation. 

Agnim flat purduhitd^ yagndsya daivdm rtvigd^ 

hdutdrd ratnaddtaTnd, 
(zgnis p&rvaiBir rsiBir tdyau nutandir utd^ 

sd daiva dihd vaksati. 
agnind rayim asnavat^ pdtisam aivd divdi'divai^ 

yasdsd virdvattamd, 
dgnai! ya yagndm advard viivdtas pariBur dsi^ 

ad id daivdim gaJtati. 
agnir hdutd kavikratus saiyd! JcitrdSravastamas 

daivdu daivdiBir d gamat 
ydd angd ddsusai tvdm^ dgnai^ Badrd kari^ydd^ 

tdvdit tdt mtydm^ angiras. 

Modern pronunciation. 

Agnim ilSpurohitd^ yajnasya devam rtvijd^ 

hotdrd ratnadhdtamd. 
agnii purvebhir rSibhir idyo nutanair uta^ 

sa dSvd Sha vaksati. 
agnind rayim atnavaty posam iva dive-divS, 

yaaasd vtravattamd. 
agnS! yd yajnam adhvard viSvatas paribhur asi, 

sa id d^vesu ga^hati. 



SANSKRIT. 93 

agtdr hOtd kavikratui satycJi ditrairavastanMS 

dSvo divibMr a gamat, 
yad anga ddiuii tvam, agniy hhad/rd kariifyasif 

tavit tcU satyam^ cmgirat. 



Remarks. 

We distinguish an ancient and a modern pronunciation of 
Sanskrit. Just as the Romanic nations pronounce the old Ro- 
man alphabet in a different way from the old Romans them- 
selves, and the modern Greeks the old Greek alphabet dif- 
ferently from the ancient Greeks, by adapting to the written 
ancient language the gradually changed pronunciation of the 
living modem language : likewise the Brahmans of to day do not 
pronounce the Sanskrit in the same way as the old Brahmans 
of that time when the Dsvandgarl writing was settled , but ac^ 
cording to the sounds of the now living Indian languages. The 
linguistic rules of Panini and his scholars are only adapted to 
the old pronunciation, which happily we are able, in following 
the instruction of the old Grammarians, to determine better 
than that of any other ancient language. A real intelligence 
of this language and its harmonic organism of sounds is not 
possible without knowing the true ancient pronunciation, and 
considering the eminent importance of the Sanskrit for the 
comparison of languages, it seems indispensable for scientific 
linguistic purposes to approach also in transcribing the Deva^ 
nagari as near as possible to the ancient pronunciation. The 
euphonic rules respecting the letters ^ W 1[ ^ etc. become 
absurd, if we suppose for them the modern pronunciation c j l^ 
ar etc. instead of £ ^ ai ar etc. The case, however, is different, 
when the transcription aims at more practical purposes and 
must therefore have regard to the actual pronunciation of the 
Indians. With this view we have added the second scheme. 

The ancient pronunciation of the Devanagari letters has been 



94 JAPHETIC LANGUAGES. 

discussed elsewhere by the author ^ , and his views seem to have 
been appreciated for the most part. Some of them have been 
mentioned above. We repeat here the results in a few words. 
^ r and ^ / are simple vowels and can therefore not be expressed 
by ri and It: their value is that of a cerebral r or I vocalized by 
the inherent sound of e. The Antisvdra^ which enters instead of a 
nasal dropped at the end of words in pausa or before other con- 
sonants is a vocalic change of nazalization, and is to be indicated 
as such by a diacritical sign over the vowel, not by adding any 
consonantal letter. !( ^ V irf are diphthongs. The Visarga 
belongs not to one but to all local classes of consonants; it would 
therefore lead to mistakes, if we were to take h for its basis in 
our transcription. It was so weak a sound, that in the Devana- 
gari it was not represented by a full consonantic letter, but by 
two dots («). Whe should retain the same indication if it 
had not already another European signification. A slight modi* 
fication (j) may suit our purpose. The sounds called Gihvdmultya 
and Upadmdntya would correspond to a very week ^ and /, but, 
as they were of so fugitive and variable a nature, that in the De- 
vanagari they were, like the Visarga , only indicated, not sub- 
stantially written by full letters, it seems advisable not to go 
farther in our transcription ; we keep the Devanagari indication 
by X. With regard to the palatals ^^'^ Ic g n^ we have spoken 
above. The palatal fricative If has conserved in some regions its 
original sound ;^, but its transition into the actual sound /seems 
to have soon taken place ; we add the sign j( only in brackets. 
The letters ( and r better keep in linguistic works the cerebral 
point, although there is no dental s and r in the Devanagari. 
The solution of ^', ^ etc. into M, ffh etc. is against the appre- 
hension of the ancient grammarians, who treat those letters 
as simple ones. 

The modern pronunciation has not abandoned the simpleness 
of the vowels r and /. The diphthongs 1( and ^ are turned 

1 Paldographie ah MUttl fur die Sprachforsehung , iunaehMt am Sanskrit 
MOcA^eirftfMfli. Berlin. 1834. 



SANSKRIT. 95 

into simple vowels e and o. The palatals ^ and ^ have been re- 
solved into the compound sounds U and dz, which, considering 
their etymology, we write c and ; (see the Introduction p. 9). If 
and "^ sorrespond actually to the Polish letters k and a^; we write 
them accordingly t and i (see p. 7 1). T has lost its cerebral nature, 
and we write it r without the dot so much the more as in other 
modern Indian languages there has been introduced a real ce- 
rebral r by the side of r, this, latter being still written with the 
Devanagari sign T. With respect to the Aspirates, we follow 
the Hindustani writing, which resolves them into M, 'phy etc. 
We have already mentioned/ that this solution into two letters 
is not against our physiological principles (see Introd. p. 11). 
We maintain the decided reprobation of the use of the letters 
cA, cM, shy f instead of our c^ chy s, «, as incompatible with 
any sound principle of transcription. It is evident that we 
have to resolve the Devanagari ligatures, including ^ H, into 
their component letters. 

With respect to the separation of the single words , we have 
to follow, against the Devanagari custom, the European principle, 
that every grammatically separated word is to be separately 
written in the latin transcription. This is effectuated without 
difficulty in the cases where consonants are to be separated 
from consonants or from vowels. With regard to the eras is 
of vowels between two words, we should resolve them simply 
into their component parts and leave it, as we do in latin poetry, 
to the reader to pronounce them according to the Sanskrit rules. 
We write therefore n^^itTlj tafdwdsid with three words taM 
aiva dsid or, after the modern pronunciation, tathd Sva dsld. 
We think it not necessary to indicate the crasis by an apostrophe, 
as it has been proposed, considering the frequency of the 
case, and the destination of the apostrophe in European writing 
to indicate the elision of a letter. We prefer to make use of 
the common sign of diseresis for the rare cases, where in 
Sanskrit the hiatus is demanded. 



96 



JAPHETIC LANGDAQE8. 



PALI. 



a a 



& Si ft &• 

99 e$ 



e S 



o 



% i 



u u 



• • 



etc. 



16 It fin 



• IM 



d a etc. 

k g n 
c J n 



t d n 

• • • 

t d n 
p b m 



8 



y 

I 



kh gh 
ch jh 

th dh 



lr\ih dh 



V 



ph bh 



Specimen. 
Name Tassuy Bhagavato, Arahato^ Sammdy Sambuddhassa! 

1. Namas sitvdna Sambuddhd, snmddhd^ suddhavd sajfd; Maha- 

vansan pavakkhdmt^ Tidnundnddhikdrikd 

2. Pordr^hi katOpeaOy ativUthdrito koadi^ utivakoafi sdkhitt6^ anska 

punaruttakd; 

3. Vajjitd tehi dosehiy sukhaggaJiaTtadhdrandy pasddaadvegakardy 

sutitoid updgatd^ 

4. Pasddajanccke thdne^ tathd sdvSgamrakey janayantd pasddanca^ 

sdvegandiif aundtha td. 
(Mahavanso ed. Tournour, ch. I, 1 — 4.) 

Remarks. 

The Pali is one of the older Prakrit langaages, which, together 
with Buddhism, has been extended beyond India, principally 
to Ceylon, Birma and Siam. In these countries the Pali is 
still used by the Buddhists for their religious books, where it 
is written in the different indigenous characters. The character 
which we have represented here is that of Siam. The palatal 
and cerebral sibilants, as well as the vowels r and I have 
disappeared; the cerebral ;* has become a dental r. If "and ^ 
have been dropped. 



PALI. OLD PRAKRIT. 



97 



OLD PRAKRIT. 



T! %T 

iJ i[ etc. 



t I 



H^V 


? 




"^^^ 


- 


^ 


z w^ 


- 




« ^ w 


55 


X m 


^ w w 




^ 






a a 
^ 6 
u u 
a I etc. 
at au 

k g n 
^ J n 

t d n 

• • • 

p b m 



h 




- 


y 


8 


r I 




V 



kh gh 
ifh jh 
tk dh 

■ • 

th dh 
ph bh 



Specimen. 



{Prabddha Candrodaya^ beginning of Act IV.) 

Maitri: Sudd me Muditde sdaaddo Jadhd mahd Bhailavi 
gd'Saf^asabbharnddC bhaavcuiie Vinhubhatrte parittddd ptasahl 
SaddhStti; td ukkantkidena hiaena piaaahi kahi pSkikhassd. 

Remarks. 

In the Indian literature the different dialects of the popular 
language are called Prakrit in contradistinction to the Sanskrit 
as the purer literary language of the higher classes. It ap- 
pears in the dramatic works by the side of the Sanskrit and 
is written likewise with Devanagari letters. It has lost the 
same sounds as the Pali, and moreover the Z. The letters n 
and n only occur in conjunction with the letters of their own class. 



96 



JAPHETIC LANOUAOES. 



HINDI. 



^ 1 1 etc. 



a a 
e 6 
i I u u 

rail etc. 

o 

ai au 



^^^ 


f 




^11^ 


^ 


^ 


z inir 


^ 


? 


?r ^ f 


9 


TW 


^ ^ ir 


- 


^ 



7 7^ 



k g n 


h 






1 


y 


t d n 


f 


r 

• 


t d n 


8 


r I 


p b m 


- 


V 



kh gh 
(TA jh 
th dh rh 

• • • • 

th dh 
ph bh 



Specimen. 

^ ^^ wr^ ^ %w % ^ftr "^^ ^(JTT 'F^ ^ "^n^*^ i 

(Matth. 2, 1. 2.) 

HSrod rdjd ke aamay mS Yiiu yahudah dst ke BetUh&m me 
jab janm hud^ dekho pandito ne purab 8i Yirusalem mS dke 
kahd. Ki yahudiyo kd rdjd jo utpann hud, so kahd haif kyoki 
hantne purab me tiske tdre ko dekhd hat av/r uaks pujd karne 
kd dyS hat. 

Remarks. 

The Hindi is the language of the Hindus in oontradistinction 
to the Moslem population of India. It is spoken in the whole 
of North India, principally in the country of the upper Ganges 
and it is understood almost in all India. It is written with 
Devanagari letters, which to this purpose are but little altered. 



HINDI. 99 

The vowels f I J, as well as the consonants n, n and visarga 
are no more in use; also the simple r is very seldom used. 
'^ and 'tf have lost their cerebral sound. Instead of ^, which 
18 only used in Hindi prints, if the writer whishes to write 
a Sanskrit word as closely as possible to the original Sanskrit, 
If is very generally substituted with the pronunciation of our 
common s, Provincially "^ takes the pronunciation of j[^ and 
the compound characters H (ks) and ^ (Jn) that of ch and 
g^y. The cerebral letters ^ d and V dh^ when medial or final, 
take very frequently another pronunciation, which by European 
scholars uses to be indicated by a dot under the letter ^9 If^ 
and transcribed by ;• and rh. This changement of sound seems 
to me to belong originally to the Dravidian languages where 
we find a similar occurrance, especially in the Tamil. ^ and V> 
are probably only slight assibilations of W and ¥, as / is an 
assibitation of g. There is indeed physiologically very little 
difference between a cerebral f and ?*. zh and rA, the friction 
on the tip of the tongue, erected at the cerebral point, causing 
almost unavoidably a slight vibration of the tongue, and re- 
minding by it of the letter r. A perfect analogy to it is the 

physiological proximity of y and r of the Arab. (cf. stj^, yazdh^ 
of which the French have made razzia)^ the slight friction of 
the y at the guttural point causing likewise very easily a 
vibration of the soft palate. It would therefore be more con- 
sistent with the genius of the language, to write those two 
letters z and zh\ but it seems nevertheless advisable to prefer 
the hitherto usual transcription of r and rA, so much the more 
as already in the Hindustani writing the arabic characters J 
and g>': have taken their basis from . r, not from 3 d. 

The traders and in general the lower class of natives, write 
and print the Hindi very frequently in a character called Kaithi^ 
which is an imperfect imitation of the Devanagari. 



100 



JAPHETIC LANGUAGES. 



t I 



L5« 



! *l 



O ^ On,^ b 



o' O^ qI etc. 
L5' j' 



HINDUSTANI. 





» 






«^^(»^^y 


- 


- 


^ ^ 


s; s 


d^ 


l5 

• • 


^¥i- 


• ■ 


- 


• • 
■ • 


41 »li 9j 


OO ^y 


u- 


j^ 


F »^ 


w r 


- 


3 


H ¥ 



In Arabic or 
Penian words. 



t 



5& 



LP JoO? 



O «3 



J 



a a 
S 6 

it u U 
d d I etc. 
ai au 



k g 

V y 

^ 3 

t d 



t d 
p b 



n 



I ^ 

i . 

I 



n 
m 



8 



y 



r I 
w 



kh gh 
(TA jh 
ih dh rh 



ih dh 
ph hh 



y 



xr 



z 



t ; 



^ 8 z 
f 






Specimen. 



Mattb. 2, 1. 2. 



e 
ec 



HINDUSTANI. 101 

Jab HirddU bddidh kS waqt ycAudiah kS BaiUlaKam mi dud 
paidd hud^ t6 dskhd kai majusiS nS pzlrab se Aurialtm mi dke. 

Kdhd hh kahd hai wvh j6 yahudiS kd bddidh paidd hud^ 
hh hamni purab mi uskd attdrah d^khd am* ues^ sijfdah karne 
ko de hat. 



Remarks. 

The Hindustani or Urdu is still more generally understood 
through all India than the Hindi. It is a mixture of Hindu 
with Arabic and Persian. The Mohammedan conquerors, pe- 
netrating into India since the 11^** century, carried with them 
their language and writing. The latter was received by the 
conquered population; but from the language only a number 
of words was inserted into the Indian language ; the grammar, 
although mutilated, remained Indian, and likewise the system 
of sounds. It was therefore necessary to introduce for the In- 
dian sounds new letters into the Arabic alphabet, principally 
for the cerebral sounds t d /*, which were expressed by the 
dental bases with the addition of four dots ^ «^ J or other 
diacritical marks. The letters n n n and f , which already in 
the Hindi were of little use , dropped entirely. 'IT turned into 
ij^ if. ^ and ^ were written ^^ or **» and ^. The anus vara 
was expressed by q n. The merely Arabic letters » q X 
Y ^ d(t) 3 i z ^ d z f were still written in the Arabic 
and Persian words, but seldom preserved their original 
value. ^ and ^ are not pronounced at all ; ^ /t is not distin- 
guished from » A; O^ 2 and ^ ^ sound like {j* 8\ ^ d(t) 
like t. The letters q X y z z f are pronounced by the Mo- 
hammedans often, but not generally, according to their arabic 
value, by the Hindus like A, kh or i, g^ jy J or «, ph or p; 
d z S are not distinguished from z by the Mohammedans, and 
pronounced/ or a by the Hindu; n before g and k is mostly 
nasalized as n. The anusvara is represented by q, the dot of 



102 JAPHETIC LANGUAGE. 

which in modern prints is commonly dropped at the end of words 
to indicate the nasalization of the vowel. 

It is evident that we have to transcribe the Arabic letters 
according to their etymological value, not to their imperfect 
Indian pronunciation. On the other hand we are not autho* 
rized to replace the dropped Hindi sounds n n s beyond the 
want of the Hindustani writing itself. The sound lA « is 
physiologically, as we haee shown above, as well palatal as 
dental, and originates more frequently from palatal than from 
dental sounds. In most alphabets therefore we may range 
more conveniently this letter to the palatal row, where there 
exists one, than to the dental, to which s belongs. We may 

justly neglect the ] ' in the beginning of words. The arabic 3 w 
is substituted to the Indian ^ which in Sanskrit was a dento- 
labial v. In Hindustani the Arabic pronunciation w prevails 
almost entirely, even in Indian words. We transcribe it there- 
fore w. Some times the Hindustani is written and printed 
in Devanagari letters, and in this case no notice is taken of 
the purely arabic letters, to which the Indian sounds and 
characters are substituted as stated above. 



smDHi. 



103 



SINDHI. 

(TbeDeyanagari and Arabic letters are given according to Dr. Trumpp's system.) 



^ irf 1 1 etc. 



n ^ ▼ 
^ ^ ^ 
z ^ nr 



^ ^ f 

XT >T ir 






f 

TT 






7 V 






^1 

• • • 



••I 



' ^1 






o , o -^ o o 



o' o' o' O^^ ^^^' 

l5' 3' 



Vs6 viT (2si 


^i*' 


8 




^ ^ 


• • 




s s # 

• • 
• • • • 

• • • • 


• 


• 


l5 

• • 

■ • 
• • 

• • 


• • • • 

• • • 


i, 


J ^y 




LT 


..^ 


4i #^ 




W ^ 


• 
• 




^ 


TjV '»• 











>> 



a a 

e 6 

i I u u 

a a I i etc. 

at au 



k g n 

y V I 

c J n 

t d n 

• • • 

• • • • 

t d n 

p b m 



9 
3 



h 



V 

8 



S 



y 

r 

r I 

V 



kh ffh 
ch jh 
th dh 



• • • 



th dh 
ph bh 



9 



K 

X r 



t 



e d z 
/ 



104 JAPHETIC LANGUAGES. 

Specimen. 
Hindu character. 

^ '^nr ^ wrft ^fir^^lt f^ft inr % jjipir ^rrar ''rti^: 

Mattb. 2, 1. 2. 

Muaalmdn character. 

»^-^*S* iy> "^j!^ o^ ^^ vii^ ^> lO^ --Mj^ o^^>^ 

oe 






y «— -«^ " , y * y . o^jX a ^ y ^ 

Jadhl l8u (jhd) yahudd (yahudah) jfi BHlahama (Bait-laKama) 
mS Seroda js p&tiSdha jS dlhani ml jdyo ta diau majfusani 
ubhirandi khd Yiruidlemi (^Aurialimd) wM ail HdS ta. 

Yahudyani j6 patiidhu j6 jdyO dhe, so kithS dhsf ihd kdni 
ta una j6 tdr6 ubhirandS mi di8i huna khS pujaiyi dyd dhyU. 

Remarks. 

The Sindhf^ the language of the province of Sindh on the 
lower Indus, differs in essential points from the Hindi and 
is an old independant Prakrit language. There is a great 
number of different Sindhl alphabets, a survey of which 



SINDHI. 105 

Capt. G. Stack giyes in his '^Grammar of tbe Sindhf language^^ 
Bombay. 1849. p. 3 — 8. They originate all from the Deva- 
nagari, are none of them widely different, and are all incomplete 
inasmuch as they do not distinguish all the sounds in writing, 
-which are distinguished in speaking. The European scholars 
have therefore preferred to make use of the most generally 
known and most complete alphabets, especially of the De- 
vanagari for the Hindus, and of the Arabic for the Muham- 
medans. Others, as the Missionaries A. Bum and A. Matchett 
have given the preference to the Panjdbf alphabet. Capt. 
Stack in his numerous writings uses the Devanagari. Dr. Trumpp 
in his Sindhi Readingbook ^ uses besides the Devanagari also 
the Arabic letters. 

The four sounds, which we have written § j d I are 
peculiar to the Sindhi, Their pronunciation is that of the 
letters g j d b uttered with a certain stress in prolonging 
and somewhat strengthening the contact of the closed organ, 
as if one tried to double the sound in the beginning of 
a word gga^ dja or gguy dda^ hba. The letter ^ or 9* is 
described as sounding like ddy\ but I conceive that we have 
it to do here with the old pure palatal ^, which by our ear 
is not easily distinguished from cT, lying between our g and d. 
It belongs certainly by etymology to the palatal, not to the 
dental row, and the same apprehension is shown also by the 
figure of the corresponding Hindustani characters, which are 
those of the palatal g with the addition of a dot, not those 
of the dental d. For this reason we incline more to the ex- 
pression by / or g\ than to that by d. The cerebral f has turned, 
as in the Hindi^ to a; and besides the now dental T r^ a new 
cerebral r has been formed. With respect to the three letters 
d d fy there is a certain confusion in the book of Capt. Stack. 



* A 8%Adk% Beading -book in the Sanskrit and Arabic character. London. 
1868. 8. 

H 



106 



JAPHETIC liANanAQES. 



There are oxAj two characters vK and ^ diBtioguished by him, and 
the explanations given by him p. 6. note and p. 9, as to bow to 
assign the two characters to the three sounds, are contradictory. 
As for ^ d, there is no reason to deviate from the Devana- 
gari ; r is distinguished as in the GuJardtX and BangaU through 
the dot below vjf. The Arabic letters ' Kq x y i(t) ^ §z^ d z f 
are generally expressed in modern prints by the Indian letters 
Iff'!^^'!^^^^^^^? with dots below. 



GUJARATL 



ai{ etc. 



% 01 (▼ 


^ 




■n c/(^) 


9X 


^ 


I i m 


CI) 


i!i 


n «. «i 


3i 


5. *£ 


H «l H 




H 



I s 



a a 
^ 6 



% I 



u u 



d d i etc. 



ai au 



k g n 


h 




<r/ A 


i 


y 


t d n 

• 


G) 


I 

• 


t d n 


8 


r I 


p b m 


- 


V 



kh gh 
^ jfh 

th dh 

• • 

th dh 
ph bh 



OUJABATI. 107 

^f^ akPi 'rt^ % f% ^If^ Mwr wi:^ wiprr uri* 

Matth. 2, 1. 2. 

N^ Herod rdjdnd ddhddd onid ihudamdnd BSikUhem md tsund 
janmd paiki Sm than ke mdglde puravthl Irusdiem md dvine kcJm ke. 

Ihudt^noje rdjfdjanmo dhe t^ kdhd ih^f KSm kS hame puravmd 
Uhend tdrdnS joo m hamS tShSnu bhajan karvd devd ^haie, 

Remarks. 

GnjardU is the name of the dialect spoken in the province 
of Gvjardt in the south of Sindh. It approaches very nearly 
ta the HfBdi, and is written in two characters, viz. in the De- 
vcmagari and in the pecatiar Gt^rciM character, which in de- 
rived from the Devanagari. In the Balbodh all Sanskrit letters 
may occasionally be employed in Sanskrit words; but the sounds 
otrfllrlsi are not found in Gujardti words, and the 
nasal letters n and n^ which occur in the language before the 
letters of dleir own classes , are represented by the anusvara. 
The Gujardti letter «, corresponding to the Sanskrit ¥ is 
distinguished by the Brahman s from /, but both are equally 
pronounced by the people as 8 and are therefore, confounded 
with one another. The cerebral "^ is changed in Gujardti 
partly in M, and partly in s. 



H3 



108 



JAPHETIC LANGUAGES. 





MARATHI. 

• 


^ ^ 


a d 


11 ift 


e d 


Tt ^^ 


it u i 


^^ 


T I 

o o 


ll t ^ etc. 


a t fi etc. 


^^ 


at an 



^^v 


f 


- 


^«IT 


^ 


^ 


7 ^^ 


^ 


as 


n ^n 


if 


TW 


^^»r 


- 


^ 



IT ^ i ^ w 


h, 


- 


"1?^/ 


i 


y 


7 » t 4'^ 


f 


I 

9 


^ V < (2 m 


« 


r I 


If )f p i m 


- 


V 



kh ffh 

ih jh 1 before €^ % 

th dAjbeforea,0,«,rJ 

th dh 

m ■ 

th dh 
ph bh 



Specimen. 



^irhr WRT ^TTTT TrffWT ^nftr wiwT ^i^wrre ^tw¥. 

Matth. 2, 1. 2. 

Ani Herod rddd (d dwasdmadhyi Yem yaJiudddesdUl Bethlehe- 
mdt janmald asatd pdhd purva pradetdpdsun koni jndni Yaruid- 
lemdt yeun bdlale Id. 

Yahudydtd do rd^d janmald , td kothl dhs f kd Id dhmi purva 
pradsidnt tydtd tdrd pdhild dni tydld bhajdvayds did. 

Remarks. 

The Marathl is spoken in a great part of Western Middle 
India. It has its own character, for which however the 



HABATEI. XOd 

Devanagari may be substituted. The former character is cal- 
led Mod and is generally used in common life. If the £>e- 
vanagari with few variatious is employed to write the MtrSthl, 
it is called Balbodk. 

The Mardpd and the Bangdli alone amongst the Prakrit 
languages uee still the vowels r and /. It is a peculiarity of 
the Mardthi, that the letters ^ V 9 Q' before the vowels 
e, i and l are pronounced aa in the other languages £ ^ ^ jh, 
but before the deeper vowels a, o, w, r and / are changed into 
^ ^ (and even z) pi ^h. This reminds of the double pronuncia- 
tion of the gutturals c and g in modem European languages 
according to the following vowel a, o, u or e and t. If excep- 
tionally the pronunciation d", / ia kept before a deep vowd, V 
is inserted by some writers to indicate it without being pro- 
nouDct^d separately, as in Italian the insertion of i in eid, gia 
indicates the pronunciation of db, Ja. Others mark the pro- 
mmciatioD of (T and j by putting a dot under the letter, ^i ^, 
a system which seems to ua preferable. It might be doubtful, if 
we ought to distinguish in the transcription those sounds or to 
follow the indigenoue writing, in which the distinction is left, as 
in the Romanic languages, to the reader. Bat, as we have to 
represent in our transcription of foreign alphabets principally 
the actual state of pronunciation, and as those sounds are per- 
fectly fixed in the consonantal system of the Mardpify it 
seems evident, that we have to write these sounds separately. 
The analogy of £ and / seem to require the signs } and ^ 
instead of t» and dz. 



110 



JAPHETIC LAMeUAOES. 



*r _ 



PANJABI or SIKH. 






a a 
8 6 



% % 



u u 



^ ^ (n) 
V5H 



nr^; 






3 (dh)(rh) 

75 



a d e etc. 

A; ^ n 

c 3 n i y 

t d n - r I 

• • • • • 

^ d n « js r I 

p b m\ V 



kh gh 
ch jh 

fh dh(rh) 
th dh 
ph bh 



Specimen. 

Yahuddke BetUKem mi Herod rdjdke Ml mi Yisu jame hoi 
vekhu pandit purabte Yirttsalem nu de ate kahiyd 96 kithe haigd 
jo yahudiyd kd rdjd janamyd kiike purab disdvic tiskd iard asi 
vekhde hdge aru tiski pujd kart^ko de hd* Matth, 2, 1. 2. 

Kemarks. 

The language of the Sikh in the Panjdb^ the country of 
the npper Indus , has received many Arabic and Persian words. 
It avails itself however only of a character derivated from the 
Devanagari and called Gurmukhi, The letters are the same 
as in the Hindi except that § is dropped, and I and z are 
added. 



PANJABI. NIPALI. m 



NIPALL 
Specimen. 

f <i4 TTTRiT wT ^T^ #r T*ng^ i^n^if ^iwwrr ^fltsfn 

ITTJPr ^inft* II Matth. 2, 1. 2. 

(N. T. Version by the Serampoxe Miss.) . 

Herdd rdjdkd uH waqt mS Yiiu yihUddh mutkkd BSiUhemmd 
janmand vild hSr pandit purab dUddSkhi Yiruicd^mmd dyd av/r 
unldi kdhyd j6 yikudiyd kd rdjd janmau u kahd &haf Kydhd 
purab deimd uskd tdrdldt dskhikan hdmi uskOpi^d garankan dyo, 

Bemarksi 

The Nipdli language , mixed with many Tibetan words « is 
spoken in a large tract on the southern slopes of the Hima* 
laya, north west of Bangal. The sounds are the same as 
in Hindi ^ and may be written with D^andgari^ although in 
the country there are several peculiar characters derived from 
it, in use. 



112 



JAPHSTIC LANGUAGES. 



BANGALI. 






^ tt v« 

F V « 
t ^ «l 

^ If 5| 

»r ^ ^ 



^ 




-r 


K 


^ 


• 


^r 


^ »i 


- 


(^) 



• 



a a 

i i u u 

r f II 

O « O o 

d a € 6 etc, 
at au 



k g n 


h 


- 


S J n 


1 


y 


t d n. 


• 


r 

• 


t d n 


8 


r I 


p b fd 


- 


V 



kh gh 
(h jh 

th dh rh 

• • • 

th dh 
ph bh 



Remarks. 

The language of Bangal^ the most Dortheastern province of 
India, approaches more than any other of the modern Indian dia- 
lects to the Sanskrit. Th6 character does not differ much from 
the Devanagari. In the letter ^ b the cross-line is dropped, 
so that there is actually no difference of sign between W b 
and ^ V. The language however continues to distinguish both 
letters, and so does our transcription. 



BAMOALI. ORITA. 



113 



URIYA. 



■9 (3 



q qi etc. 
4i tti 



g^^ 



Q ^ &• 


9 




c^ a 


CI 


a 


^ 6> ^ 


^ 




O 9 » 


€1 


9 R 


D Q SI 


- 


iB 



^ q 

o 

er (SI. 



r 

o 



a (2 

if u a 

d d etc. 
ai au 



k g n 


h 




6 3 n 


i 


y 


t d n, 


m 




t d n 


8 


r I 


p b m 


- 


V 



kh gh 
(h jh 

th dh 

• • 

th dh 
ph bh 



Remarks. 

The language of the province Uriya^ the maritime country 
south of Bangal, approaches much to the Bangdli^ but with 
a greater share of Arabic words. The sounds are almost the 
same, but the pronunciation is said to be in general somewhat 
harsher, and the cerebral r is wanting entirely. The peculiar 
character of this country is often used there even in writing 
Sanskrit 



114 



JAPHETIC LANOUAQES. 



or » 



PASTO or AFTAN. 



U^ kd (^5^ 



1 


! 


\Z 


S 




(.5« 




\i 


• 
• 


•■ 


••1 


J y 


SP 


i 


C) 


' L5» 


\ ^\ 






« 


o ^ o^ 










L5l J« 

• • 




o 


^ 


o 






V 


• 


r 



? 



a 
ai au 



a 



u u 



k 


9 


n 


X 


y 






<r 


V 

3 


- 


kx) 


ki-) 


y 




t 


i 


- 


i 


2; 






P 


d 

• 


9 






r 

• 




• 


• 

d 


• 


• 


• • 


• 

r 


• 


P 


h 


m 






V 





s^ 




dt 


ur > 


e5 

•• 




•*• A 






• • 


• • 


-b- 


cr - 


3 


• 



q ' 



m 



ijoJbijo 



O O 



A' A 



^ d z 
f 






Specimen. 



I ^ 



^ « 






o-^ > 



idfc,i, ^jjt »J *i ^3yi-» *J o'**->^ "'^^ "is <^J '^ U^j** 



o > ^ 



C/ .'^ > 



J ^ >^ > 



Matth. 2, 1. 2. 



PA8T0. 115 

Pah waqt dih ihd da yahMijfyah pah bait laSam idi pah 
zamdn da BSr^ds ifdh zOwqUd wah^ ndgdh megiMn lah masriqa 
nah pah Auriakfn wqraylah^ puitanah ^ Qfe) wakrah dih da ya- 
haddnu bddidh , Hh zdwqlai dm, da cigrtah daif lah di sahaba^ 
Sh S (yS) Mrai pah Tnairiq kii mu Udalai dai au muz rdyli 
y6, dih s^dah e (^) tmkriU 

Remarks. 

The language of the Afghans ib, in accordance with the 
geographical position of their country , a middle limb between 
the Sanskritic or Arian and the Persian or Eranian languages. 
They use the Persian characters with a few modifications. 
Besides the usual vowels this language has an obtuse vowel 
nearest approaching to a, which we write in consequence q. 
(see above p. 49). It has in common with the Sanskritic lan- 
guages the cerebral row; there is at least no difference of 
opinion with regard to the letters t and c2, whilst, according 
to some writers, the letters n and r difier in sound from the 
Indian ^ and r. Slight deviations however appear sometimes 
to an ear not accustomed to physiological apprehension greater 
than they are, or result from unessential circumstances. Con- 
sidering, therefore, that in most Indian languages the four 
cerebrals t d n r have been developed together, and that even 
in Afghan writing all the four characters have been likewise 
characterized by one and the same little circle added to the 
corresponding dental letters, we do not hesitate to follow 
those who recognise the cerebral nature of the Pait6 9 and r. 
Out of the original Palatals two new sounds have been formed 
besides & and /, viz. t and cl, as in the Mahrdthty to which 
we refer (see above p. 109). This latter did not receive new 
signs for those sounds, the PaitO on the contrary added one 
new sign ^, expressing by it both } and ^. Only in modem 
times there has been introduced by the learned P^tO scholar 



116 JAPHETIC LANGUAGES. 

Dr. Trumpp a second sign ^ for ^ besides ^ /, remedying 
thus an obvious defect of the Pait6 Arabic alphabet. 

There are two other sounds peculiar to this language which 
we must consider. They are represented by the characters 
(Ji and J,. Their pronunciation differs essentially in dif- 
ferent parts of the country. In the western Afghanistan 
it approaches very near tq the pronunciation o( {J^ S and 
•j z\ in the eastern portion, for instance in Peshawer, to that 
o{ ^ X *°^ £ y* According to Dr. Trumpp these letters 
are derived at least partly from Palatals— another part seem to 
proceed from original Cerebrals — and as th^ Afghans them- 
selves have taken the bases of their signs from (J^ i and ^ f , we 
propose to take the same bases S and S in adding the palatal 
line i and L Should it be desirable to indicate the eastern 
pronunciation specially we should take as bases x ^^^ f ^^^ 
add the palatal line ^, /. 

The Semitic letters which we have separated from the rest, 
are used only in Arabic or Persian words. We regret that 
the transcription of Capt. Raverty in his last Afghanic publi- 
cation (1860) has deviated so far both from any sound prin- 
ciple and from practical suitableness. 



OLD BAKTRIAN (ZEND). 



117 



OLD BAKTRIAN (ZEND). 



Vowels. 



Consonants. 



^i » 



^^MJ 


« f 


^^ 




5 CCftv 


(i>-A>g^ 


3 ? 




^ i^ 


iQ^ 






CO- - 


^ - - 


*»r- 


ju S 


> ^ 


\y\ 


8*« 










ly n> 


^ 


1 1 




^<^s» 


/ - 


'H) eb 


Se 


tUlTO 


wels. 




<ii\t - 


_jeV- 


e i. 





Ligaturen. 
J^ CW> ^^ 



? ^ 



^ ^ 



Original pronunciation. 



a a 


e S 


a d 




h U h 


9 ^ y 


• .r 

n n 


- 


i I 


e e 






n - - 


J- - 


n - 


i ^ 


u u 


6 


o 

a 










g f 










t t ^ 


d d d 


n - 


8 Z 


i 


f(n) w 


(fiU) 




P P - 


b 6 - 


m 7n 


- 



8k st ah 



y - 



r r 



V V 



a a 



i I 



u u 



Later (Persian) pronunciation. 



§ g 


d n 




k X h 


9 - r 


n(n) 


m a 


e g 






<r - - 


V 

J - - 


•1 
n - 


9 ' 

8 Z 


o 6 a 






■ 




V V 

8 y 


1 




t «(«) 


d d i 


n - 


8 Z 


y ^ 


to 




pf- 


h V - 

• 


m(m) 


- - 



y - 



r (f') 
V X 

V 



8k(S) 8t ah 



118 JAPHETIC LANGUAGES . 

Specimen. 
• ^MAi?(^»^>(?Iu7a^ ^^MJgaj(^^e^a> i^^^J^S \?>^^^f {2^*J^?g 

a^(0;o«^CO .g^su^^^ou MW^^*xfj saj^iL^sju^ ^eVjS^^G V/^SX^^ 

g{57eva^5->7>\^e; a^|^«ju^^u^ 

Vend id ad, first fargard. 



OLD BAKTEIAN (ZBND). 119 

MraoS Akur6 mazdd ipiiamM Z^ra^usMti: Aiem doutam^ 
spitama ZaraOmtra^ a$6 rdm6*dat£im mid kudad &5itlm; y^di 

f f a / f 

zl azem noid daidhfam^ ^piUxma ZixroBtt^a^ aid rdmO-ddit&n 
noid kudad^sdi^m , vtspo anhus astwd airyanem vaf^6 frdsna^dd. 
[AsO rdmd-dditfm TwiS aqj6 rdmistdm, pamrlm bitttn^ dad ahf 
paiiydremy mas md rawa iq^cim imtlm.^ Paoirlm asanhdnbda 
ioi^randmca vahistem frd^vereseniy azemyo Ahuro mazdd: Airya- 
nem va^o vanhuyd ddityayd. Aad ah^ paitydrem /rdkereiitad 
Anro rnainyus pouru-Tnahrkoy azimca yim raaid^tem zydmca 
daewO'ddtem. Dana awaBra m&nho zayanay dya hdmina^ [Aapta 
henti hdmino mdnha, panca zayana askare;] ta^^a henti sareta- 
dpoy aareta-zemo, sareta-urwarayd; add zimah^ maid^m^ add 
zi7nah§ zaredaem^ ojia zyds^ pairi-paiaiti^ adafrofstem voiynor 
nam, Bitfan asanh&mda soiQranamca vaJmtem frd^vtereiem azem 
yo Ahuro mazdd: Gdum yim Svfydd'&ayan^m. A<^d ahe padtyd- 
rem /rdkereiitad Anr6 Tnwmyvs pouru-mahrk6^ ^kaitim yam ga- 
wada daya&i pouru-mahrkem. 



Remarks. 

We call Old Baktrian, as others before us, the language 
of the Avesta (i^endavesta) , the sacred books of tbe ^Kraniau 
nations, especially the Baktriaas and tlie Persiaus. These books 
of the Zoroastriap religion first origini^ted in Baktria, in the 
vicinity of northern India^ and are the principal witaess of an 
old Baktrian civilisation, of which we know but Uttle beyond. 
It was probably not before the time of the empire of the Achae- 
menides that they were intrpduped from the east to the W'CSt 
of Eran, and particularly amongst the Persians^ Xh^ la^uage 
still approaches so nearly to the Indian Sanskrit, that it was 
principally by the comparison with this lapgm^g^ that Bujr- 
nouf and Bopp were fir^t ejc^hled to de^her liJt^eZeQd la,nr 
guage. Th^ Zend writing has the samie origin a^i a)l Xh^ other 
phonetic writiJigs, including even the Devaoagiyri, with the 



120 JAPHETIO LANGUAGES. 

exception of the Persian cuneiform characters. We are of the 
opinion, that the Zend alphabet existed alreadf in the original 
country of the Avesta in the same perfection and completeneSB 
as we know it actually, or even higher, but that it may have 
undergone several changes when introduced into Persia and 
brought in contact with other cognate alphabets of the western 
conntries. It approaches most nearly to the Pehleri writing. 
We take this character of the Persian inscriptions and of the 
Persian handwriting, of the time of the Sassanides, not as the 
origin, but as the reduction of the Zend character, answering 
to the poor and partly semitized system of sounds, which at 
that tJme prevailed in the Persian language. Both writings 
underwent apparently the same alterations in their common 
signs for several centuries till about A. D. 6O0 and then at- 
tained essentially that same state which we still find in our 
Zend, Parsi and Huzvaresh mannscripts. 

In the mean time also the original pronunciation of the old 
Baktrian alphabet was altered, since its migration into Persia, in 
conformance to the altered sounds of the Persian language, as 
they prevailed already in the time of the Achaemenides and still 
more in subsequent centuries, — just as the pronunciation of the 
DevanSgari letters approached more and more nearly to that of 
the modern Indian languages. The right apprehension of the old 
Baktrian sounds is traditionally preserved only in the alphabe- 
tical lists, which were faithfully, but, owing to the ignorance 
of the writers, incorrectly, copied from one manuscript into the 
other and thus handed down to us in a tolerably comprehensible 
state. The arrangement of the original sounds as above stated, 
is principally the result of the comparison of those ancient 
alphabets. It ought, according to our opinion, to be followed 
•« "very linguistic publication on the Zend language and might 
I do good services in a critical revision of our actual text, 
he vowel system is the most developed of all the ancient 
;uages we know, not excepting even the Devanagari. 



OLD BAKTMAK (ZEND). 121 

There are two characters for each of the vowels a i u e f o d^ 
one for the short and another for the long ones. The semi- 
vowels 5A and » , y and w, were, conformably with their signs, 
reckoned not as consonants , but as vowels. All the explosive 
consonants, r included, had both a simple and an aspirated 
form. Two nasal sounds are lost even in the alphabetical 
lists, where they are represented by the repeated sign of the 
simple n /• The pairs of corresponding sibilants are given as 
stated above. The letter ^O^ ' was, as a palatal consonant, 
different from the semivowel ^^^ y^ in the same way as ^ v 
from » to. The letter r had two signs, the latter of which 
was formed by adding to the simple ^ r the upper stroke ^(^)to 
indicate the aspiratfon (as in Mj f, p), (2( was an aspirated v. 
The later pronunciation 'changed .the aspirates K f p ^ 6 into 
the corresponding fricatives x ^(*) f y V' 1° consequence of 
this change the sign .!> ^ disappeared entirely from the ma- 
nuscripts, and ts^ became an almost arbitrary variation of 
S^. We retain the writing d, although the actual pronun- 
ciation seems to be not quite clear. The letter (S^ d escaped 
the assibilation; but it lost the aspiration and was pronounced 
like d\ we keep however the hook to distinguish it from ^ d 
etymologically. The aspirate ^ 6 was softened to v (perhaps to 
the German w see p. 75); we write it v in putting a dot beneath, 
only to distinguish it from the afterwards identical initial v ^. 
The aspiration of n was lost, as that of n already previously; 
m is mostly dissolved into km. The palatal sibilants 0L9, i 
and J z took almost entirely the pronunciation of s and Z] we 
write them i and z to indicate their palatal origin. On the 
contrary "M^ a assumes very often, in the mouth of the Parsis, 
the pronunciation tp ^, and still more particularly eb z that 
of z. There are linguistical reasons why we should not, 
in this case, follow them, but adhere, in our transcription, 
to the old sounding, although the usage of European scholars 
would be in favour of i' for eb , The pronunciation of "M^ « as 

I 



122 JAPHETIC LANGUAGIS. 

i caused its oonfusion with r^^ and yv^ originally £, is 
softened to y and used almost as identical with •^. This 
latter circumstance will perhaps justify our transcription of 
^*U by J, with the basis of y, according to the actual pro- 
nunciation ^ and with the addition of our diacritical sign of 
assibilation "", to denote its former sound. The letter ^3 y 
is (like ^ v) always used in the beginning of words, A* y 
(like » w) in the middle; it is nevertheless necessary, in our 
transcription, to distinguish them both, one being considered as 
a consonant, the other as a yowel- We therefore write -O y 
with the palatal line. The aspiration o( ^ r dropped, and then 
^ r became identical with ? n On the contrary the aspira- 
tion o( ^ V increased and gave rise to the later pronunciation 
j[w^ and ultimately to j alope, thus producing a confusion with 
^ jf . We write the ^ in virtue of its etymology j. There 
is no indication of its ever having been pronounced explosively 
as 9 or ^. The first of the three ligatures ^J^ , sk^ was in 
later times pronounced «f, and therefore occasionaUy confounded 
with 1^. 

A glance at these alterations shows, that the principal dif- 
ference between the old and the later pronunciation consists 
in the disappearance of the aspirations, which were peculiar 
to the Baktrian throat, and which either dropped without any 
compensation, or changed the explosive sounds into fri- 
cative. 

With respect to the vowels there is a general influence of the 
western languages to be observed in the less decided distinc- 
tion between the long and abort Towels. This is the reason 
of many confusions, and explains, how the letter ;o ^ had been 
hitherto taken for i and as almost identical with |P .<?, and 
why moreover £ and 5 , ^ and "V? or even d and 9^, > and^ 
are frequently used in the MSS. for one another. The most 
striking change however took place in the letter ^^, which 
originally and still in the alphabetical lists, represented the 



OLD BAKTRIAN (ZBND). 128 

anus vara of d, viz d, corresponding to^^, d^ but which 
afterwards was used as a separate consonantal nasal after 
the vowels and before certain consonants. The fact is, that the 
difference between a and d was obliterated ; the siga J^ be- 
came therefore disposable and was employed to express to a cer- 
tain extent what is called (though not rightly) by Sanskrit scholars 
the ^substituted^ anusvara, whilst ^^ was reserved for the ,,ne- 
cessary^ anusvara. This, now almost constant, use of ^^ obliges 
us in spite of the evident misunderstanding which gave rise 
to this use, to look in our transcription for a corresponding 
consonantal sign, and there could hardly be a more conve- 
nient one than n , the more so as it is already employed by fiur- 
nouf. Simultaneously with this corruption, the entire designation 
of the anusvara sound, which existed in the Baktrian, but not 
in the Persian language, fell into confusion, and the peculiar 
expressions, which, according to the alphabetical lists, must 
have originally existed, were either exchanged for J^ n or g m, 
or they disappeared altogether lengthening only the remaining 
simple vowel. The vowel sign &^ seems to us composed not 
of ^*^ and i , but of ^*^ and > , and to have been originally the 
diphthong du^ which was afterwards changed into a. 

We do not state at length the reasons for the assertions as 
given above; they will be found discussed in a special disser- 
tation read before the Berlin Academy. 

In the specimen, we have made use only of the later pro- 
nunciation, because our manuscripts contain it to so large an 
extent, that we cannot substitute the original sounds without 
altering the actual state of the text. 



12 



124 



JAPHETIC LANGUAOES. 



OLD PERSIAN (CUNEIFORM). 




r<> 



Iff fr — ^ 

f? ^M W I<T 

<fT ^ — - 
W<TT 

Foreign characters of doabtful meaning: >^:T V 



^TtT H^ T<^ 






YY 






^< «^ 



jt ka,i Uu J[a,ii)yu 

U &,(,(«) * Say if u 

%^ € ta,i Tu ^a, t, u 

U, 6 pa,i,u - - 

ai 
au 



ga,if sfu - 
{2a,« du di 

boyi, II - " 



TTia 



I 



mu vi 



ha,i, u 
f 
Sa,i,{u) 

fr,a 



y«>s' 


II 


r«,. 


Ta 


to • 


Wu,a 



fla,t 9ttf 



Specimen. 



OLD PERSIAN (CUNEIFORM). 125 

^T >TTr ^< A ^^T ff r<> iTf ^T ^TTm <K T<^ m \ ^ff 
fTTrW\<K«TT^^TTT«=<Tf^M<TtTffTTrTfT<>AfTm^r 

T<T <K T<> m ^TtT <K r<> A <Kfr^\^-«<?T?^f?r<>fTTT 

«TT^lTfT<>r<TfTT<>^\^<K\T<TtTf^TTTfTT<>\TTm' 

Detached inscription A. at Behistan (Rawlinaon). 

Adqm Darygwuiy X^^y9^W9 ^9^9^^^ X^^y9^y9 X^^y9^ 
yanam^ Jf^aya^yq, Parsiyq; X^aya^yq dqhyunamj Vistaspqhya 
pusq^ Ariarnqhya nqpa^ Hqj[<^mqniifiyq. ^atiyq Daryqwui X^^y9'' 
^q: Mqnapita Viitaapqy Viitaspqhya pita Ariamq; Ariamqhya 
pita Anyarqmnq, Ariyarqmnqhya pita Ciipii; Ciipiihya pita 

HqxomqnU. 0atiyq Daryqumi x^^y9^^y9' A'*^9M/9^^^y9 ^9y9'^ 
Eqx<xmqmitya ^qhyarnqhyq, hq&a pqruviyqt amata amqhyq; 
hq&i pqruviyqt hya amaxq'm t6ma X^^y9^^y^ ^"^ B&tiyq Dar- 
yqumi X^^y9^^y9* ^ niqna tdmaya tyiyq pqruwqm x^^y9^V/^ 
ahq adqm nqwqmq 9; (jhmtatqmom wqyqm X^^y9^y^ omqky9' 



126 JAPHETIC LANGUAGES. 

Remarks. 

The cuneiform rock- inscriptions of the time of the Achae- 
menides usually contain three identical texts, each of which 
is written in a different language and in a different writing. 
The last of them is the Assyrian text, in a Semitic language, 
the writing of which is, as system, the oldest of the three, 
consisting, like the hieroglyphical , partly of ideographic and 
partly of phonetic signs. The second or middle text, usually 
called Median and by Rawlinson and Norris Scythic, contains 
a language which, although it is not yet sufficiently ex- 
plored, seems to be essentially Turanian. It is written with 
a syllabarium of nearly 11*0 characters, which for the greater 
part are taken, both as to figure and to sound, from the 
Assyrian stock. Whilst therefore, we must regard this al- 
phabet as a later one with respect to the Assyrian, it is, 
on its part, older than the third writing, the first according 
to its place on the tablets, viz. the Persian alphabet, which 
we have here to consider. 

This Persian cuneiform writing is purely alphabetical and 
x^ontains vowels as well as consonants. Some of its characters 
are very similar to some of the second writing, but entirely 
different in sound. There are scholars (Oppert, Rawlinson), who 
would claim also for this writing a certain syllabical nature, 
inasmuch as they contend that part of the consonants change 
their graphic signs according to the following vowel without 
altering their pronunciation. This opinion, however, unplausible 
as it is in itself, is disproved moreover by the circumstance 
that not all the classes of consonants are liable to this law 
of changing the figure, but only such classes where a simul- 
taneous change of sound may be accounted for by linguistical 
reasons. We may therefore be certain that every different 
sign belongs to a different sound. 

The vowel u possessed the most general influence on the 



OLD PERSIAN (GUNBIFOBM). X27 

preceding consonant. This vowel was apparently in all po- 
sitions pronounced with a strong breathing, which in Greek 

was often expressed by x ^^ ^^^° ^7 ^ (^^^'^S^^y^^ Vwakiatarq 
SB XwQaofiia, Kva^aQijg), This breathing was transmitted to 
every preceding explosive letter, except the labials p and b. 
The letters k, t, g, dj m, n, r became accordingly aspirates 
and were expressed by peculiar signs. 

The Palatals c and j seem to have no aspirate, owing to 
their asaibilation which ranged them in this respect amongst 
the fricative letters. We distinguish the aspirates from the 
corresponding non-aspirates by placing the spiritus asper over 
them, and we prefer this writing so much the more, instead 
of separating the aspiration by the addition of A, because the 
formation of the aspiration m, n, r, ^ is almost peculiar to 
the old Persian language and would hardly be rightly appre- 
ciated, if we write mh, nh^ rA, wh. We follow in this case 
only the precedent of Rawlinson and others, who write however 
th, if etc. instead of indicating an aspiration. 

The second vocalic influence is that of the vovrel «, the 
softening and assibilating power of which is well known from 
other languages, especially from the Bomanio. In the old 
Persian language this influence was confined to the explosive 
sonant letters /, d, m. It consisted in loosening their explo- 
sion into the corresponding soft friction, changing therefore 
/ into z^ d into d. The labial b is neither affected by u nor 
by t, for we find ba, bu, bi with the same consonantal sign. 
But the softer labial explosive m took its place and was altered 
before u and i into m and v (which however was perhaps 
proooauced not as dentolabial v, but as pure labial w^ see 
above p. 75). The semivowel m wm no doubt regularly pKt>- 
nounced with the same strong guttural breathing as the vowel 
Uy and the same sign was used before a and befodre u; vte 
write it therefore i^; yet the vowel iy when following, was 
not consistent with this guttural nature of the w ; the aspi^a- 



X28 JAPHETIC LANGUAGES. 

tion was dropped, and the letter was changed into our com- 
mon w: waj wu, wi. 

The letter ^ corresponds always to the Sanskrit tr^ the 
zendic ^r, and was therefore hitherto transcribed in roman 
letters by tr. But it cannot be doubted , that this single letter 
expressed, as all the other letters, only one simple sound, not 
two sounds, which moreover, if they ever were intended, ought 
to be written, according to the laws of the language, ^r not tr. 
The combination ^r however exists besides (M^r^^, X^^''^) 
and must therefore have been different in pronunciation. In 
the Turanian text we find instead of the letter ^ two S or 
(as Bawlinson reads them) two «, and in other cases one i 
(or «), as in Aiiina or AUna^ ^iia^ etc. To the latter word, 
in Persian Usa corresponds the first part of the name of Tiaaa^ 
g>eQVT]g^ and in the Pehlevi (Htizvdreif) and Parsi the same 
original tr reappears as the simple sibilant O) ^ 0)^ as in 
f^f dJj, £09, three. It seems therefore advisable to follow 
this obvious hint in transcribing the letter ^ by e. We write 
the letters ^^Jl and ]^ x *^^ ^ 5 instead of lih and ih of Raw- 
linson, or f and t of Bopp, having found the aspirates Af, i 
already before u. They are not seldom produced by a fol- 
lowing r, analogous to the frequent combination of/r; and in 
Greek they are expressed by ;|f and ^, as in ^Axcmiihrigy M/- 
^^aq. To / and d before the vowel a correspond evidently 
the sounds z and ^ before %. 

With regard to the vowels, there is no distinction made 
between the short and the long, and the shortest and most 
obtuse vowel, which was not identical with^ but only approaching 
to our a, was not written at all, although it formed syllables. 
We are thus very often at a loss to know where this indistinct 
vowel was pronounced and where not. It seems therefore 
important, to mark clearly in our transcription this interposed 
vowel, wherever it may seem expedient to write it. It will 
be more consistent with the genius of the language and in the 



OLD PERSIAN (CUNBIFORM). 129 

same time more approaching the true pronanciation, if we 
write the vowel yyy in all positions a, and the supplementary 
vowel a. There is still another pointy where the original 
writing is defective regarding the vowels. It has been proved 
that the characters i and u express not only these simple 
vowels, but also their respective guna-vowels. The preceding 
consonants indicate sometimes this guna-pronunciation ; in other 
cases grammatical reasons alone can decide upon our writing. 
But at all events we prefer to render the guna-vowels by i 
and 6 instead of ai and au as others do. Here is not the 
right place to discuss this and other points, which are de- 
veloped by the author in a special treatise. It remains only 
to state that there are still two unknown signs to account 
for, the first of which is only found in two foreign proper 
names, the second in a peculiar term for the word „king^, 
which does not occur in the earlier inscriptions, but only in 
later ones, where it seems to be introduced from a foreign 
language. Thus we take the Persian alphabet stated above 
as complete, and regard the letters ^f and f^ as undeciphered 
foreign characters. 



130 



JAPHETIC LANGUAGES. 



MODERN PERSIAN. 

Puaian Bounds. 



\' 



C5~ -L 5-L 



a a 
e o 



% I 



u u 



ai au at ui 







» 






\^ VjS* 


— 


• 


• 




5 S 


■■" 


c> 


A 


t5 


o o 


o 


cr 


J 


J^ 


V . 


^ 


• 

V-5 


— 


^ 



Arabic letters. 





Persian sounds. 



^ * 


- 


h 




k g 


- 


X r 




i 3 


- 


i z 


y 


t d 


n 


8 Z 


r 


p h 


m 


f 


w 



Arabic letters 

with their Persian 

pronunciation. 

d(t) «(«) z(,z) 9(z) 



Specimen. 

^Lj ^♦^U »_J^ cyX>-i "^yj 



y * > * > <» " 



cr*!; o!;^: u**^ ' ') '^Z J^ 
u^^j^ o>^ iOu*,r,t cX^ q!Xo3 



MODERN PEB8IAM. 131 



^LJ ^ b jL^ o^jt oj 



3 



Firdusi , Book of the kings (ed. J. Hohl, 1. 11^ p. 4.). 

Zi-mCbed bed-in gUne ddrxm ydd, 
hem ez goft i an pir % diJiqdnrnizad; 
k-ez dn-pes cundn kerd Kd'us rdi^ 
ki der pddiSdhi bi-jumbed zi-jdi^ 
ez irdn bi-^sud td be-Turdn u-Cin. 
guder kerd ez dn-^ea be-Mekran-zemtn^ 
zir-Mehrdn sttd drdate dun >arus: 
ber^dmed dem I ndi u-buq u-kua, 
hirpedireft her mikterx bdz u-adw, 
nekerd dzmUn gdw bd iftr i tdw. 
cundn hem gurdzdn be-Berber mdend^ 
Jihdnjui bd tdj u-e/ser avdend. 

Remarks. 
It is well known that the modem Persian language has 
admitted a great many Arabic words as well as the Arabic 
character. It uses consequently' all the Arabic letters in the 
Semitic part of the language, but only in writing. In the 
language spoken the purely Semitic letters g, (3 r ^ ^ ^^ ^-^ 

are prononnced like the Persian sounds i «> » ^ j u* j , and 
even the letters ^ and ^ , which once had their peculiar pro- 
nonciation as ^ and <^, are actually pronounced like lt $ and 
J z. We keep nevertheless the old value in our transcription, 
as Persian writing does, for the sake of etymology. 

The vowels e and o are not distinguished in writing from a 
and u^ and the i or l „of junction^ is not written at all. These 
and some minor deviations from the regular pronunciation are 
qqt received io onr transcriptipn. 



132 



JAPHETIC LANGDAGB8. 



ARMENIAN. 



J,t 



Vowels. 






<0) 






E 


4 ¥ * 


— 


lu t 






Ul 


^ lL 


— 


L ^ 


J 




Ir t " o 


h i a 


— 


— ■— 






L^ ItL. 


m q. P^ 


% 


u 2. 


P "^ 


L 




net 


•r 


(*)'^ 


•L 





Modern pronunciation in Armenia. 

a ^ 9 ^ ' X r(y) 

e S 6 <r / <f 

t u t d i 

t d f n 8 z 
p b p m (/) V 



V l^ 

8 Z 



y 

r f I 
w 



Specimen. 

lubaiJb ^ y nn p-iup^jlmbp piujum l^miT i^u»a^ t O^^uiqutp auiPjui^n 
uipuap q^ p-Ara&Lju npvJi i% l^tst *^^"'y npntJ* lubniJb f l/v^T^y "p 
qhpLKbu II QpP^hp b- quiittrbiyb np ^h %nuui^ tunjbji^ir* L. jbm 
^luqtup luJJt juijui utniibinj uLuiul. luS-bi qdmtut-^ uiuf^» oi^num p^^ 
hat J'"?^" 9"P wni'bJ^ L. l^hgP p*^ "Ptt iiP'^Vk'^ t^lyt J^ 

U. IV*^*^ J1^8*"^ W'PV^tb '^P h'-p^"^g* 

Eznik, Refatatio haeres. (Petennann, Gramm. Armen. p. 44.) 



ARMENIAN. 18S 

MmJ Jyev pnau ir injy asyen^ woj yerUnH yev iixfj yerkir yev 
w<y ail injf ararafU toar Kyerkins kam Hyerkri^ Zruan womn 
anun ir^ wor fargrnani ba^t kam pafU, Ezhazar am Kait arar 
zi fyeryeva wordi mi linifi nema^ worum anun Ormizd, wor zyer^ 
kin8 yev zyerkir yev zamyenain wot % noea afn'^S. Yev hyet 
hazar ami KaXt afnyeloH eaksau atyel ezmtau^ asS: Ogut inj 
its Haites zor afnyem, yev linifi ind wordi Ormizd, ye& i zur 
inj ^anaSyemf Yev minj dyef na zais ^orhSr^ Ormizd yev 
Arhmen Hyyefan farga/ndi m6r iureanf. 



Remarks. 

We are told that the actual Armenian alphabet was made 
up in the 5^ century by the learned grammarian Mesrob. The 
figures of the letters are taken from the Greek figures of that 
time, as their uncial forms show; the alphabetical order fixed 
by the numerical value of the letters, is likewise that of the 
Greek, but occasionally interrupted by those purely Arme- 
nian letters which were unknown to the Greek. The ac- 
cordance of the letters common to both alphabets, as well as 
the orthography of the ancient proper names, and to a certain 
extent even the etymological comparison of the cognate In- 
dian and Eranian languages, with which the Armenian is 
closely connected, prove that the actual pronunciation of a 
large part of this people differs in some points widely from 
the ancient pronunciation. We speak of the Turkish Arme- 
nians, better known than others in Europe by their country- 
men in the Mechitarist convents of Venice and Vienna. The 
principal alteration of the old pronunciation consists in their 
pronouncing the ancient tenues as mediae and vice versa. In 
Armenia proper, however, and the surrounding provinces this 
change has not taken place. This has been carefully verified by 
the author examining personally the pronunciation of a learned 



134 JAPHETIC LANGUAGES. 

Armenian from Tiflis. ' We can not^ in consequence, hesitale to 
abandon the usual system taught, according to the Turkish 
pronunciation, by European Grammarians, and to follow that of 
the indigenous Armenians. There we find the letters k '" H^^^^P 
distinctly pronounced without any aspiration as real dry tenues^ 
like those of the Hungarian, of several German dialects, of 
the Sanskrit and other languages; ^ 't Pt ff d b, are our 
common mediae and »^P' i^ H f p\ the true aspirates, pro- 
nounced as the so called tenues of northern Germany, France, 
England and others, with a sensible breathing from the lungs. 
The pronunciation of the two palatal classes is more difficult. 
There is no aspiration heard in 2. and ^, although they cor- 
respond evidently to the aspirates of the other classes. Only 
the stronger closing of the organ is the same as in the aspi- 
rates, whilst, in opening the organ, the aspiration turns into a 
slight breathing z or z^ as if one would pronounce Uz a.nd ttz. 
We write therefore c and f to indicate the double value of 
the first element. The cT and / are pronounced nearly as in 
church and in join] but ^ d and ^ f are hardly discernible, 
the one being pronounced as dz^ the other as tz. The tongue 
takes in both palatal classes its full palatal position, in the 
first more behind, near the soft palate, in the second more 
foreward above the teeth. The letter ^ is now pronounced 
every where as the arabic ^ y^ although it is proved, that it 
was in many cases formerly, and still in the 5^*^ Ct., a kind 
of soft and more • palatal Z, distinguished from the stronger 
and more guttural Z, the value of which is now that of our 
common L The q__ originated from I was therefore in former 

^ Gf. the Armenian Grammar poblished in Armenian by Bogratnni (Venice 
1S52), and Petermann, who states the same in the Memoirs of the Berlin 
Academy 1860. p. 82. 

' See my exposition abont the tme character of the ienues, mediae and 
a»pirat<ie in my treatise on the Arabic sounds and their transcription in 
the Memoirs of the Berlin Academy 1861. p. 106 sqq. 



ARMENIAN. 135 

times written ^ or l j and took its name fib^ yiun , not 
from the ^luin yat^ but from the ^^b liun. Hence the mistake, 
that in several Armenian grammars the letter ty^ i^ reckoned 
amongst the liquids. It would piarhaps be recommendable to 
linguists to distinguish the ^ even in the transcription from 
the original 7_ by adding the original hook (q_ = ;', 'i_ = y). 
The letter j was originally y or a short i. It is still pronounced 
as % in the diphthongs at and oi. In the beginning and at the 
end of words it changes commonly into A, which we write for 
the sake of etymology K. The sound of p is that of our com- 
mon r, whilst '^ is pronounced as a strong double r, which 
we write f. The figure and value of ^ / is of later origin 
and is found almost entirely in foreign words. 4- is the dento- 
labial t?, not the english w^ to which the consonantal <- between 
vowels nearer approaches, although it resembles more the w 
of middle Germany. The vowel u is represented by its simple 
form *- only as the second part of a diphthong , otherwise 
it 16 written hl . The letter Ir (called hr^ yq) is almost re- 
gularly pronounced ye\ this is always the case in the beginning 
of words, and n o in the same position is pronounced wo. 
The vague vowel ^ e is seldom expressed in writing, but 
always pronounced in certain combinations of consonants. We 
follow in our specimen the actual pronunciation without en- 
tering farther into the interesting etymological questions. 



136 



JAPHETIC LANGUAGES. 



KURD {Zazd dialect). 



o 

a d 

S § 
eS sod 



% t tc 


u u 






au eu ai ei 






a a 


e 


e 





i % 


e 


s 


u 


u u 





6 


m 

i 



- > 


- 


[K]k 


? 






* 9 


• 

n 


X Y 


« ^ 


A 




^ i 


- 


i i 


t d 


n 


8 Z 


(T 






p b 


m 


f " 



y 



r I 



w 



au m eu ei 

Specimen. 

Jdiki hi {ft* nibi^ you Aldh bfy yau drewdndi bf, ArU teKndini, 
R^ yike bdri dri qdfelnd ii k^ye, M»ue kSiye rd kauty sebdh weriU^ 
dmi drey e J aundike drdi mesdhidi ifni; ay a Xdwe niwete paniU^ 
aundike mydne id>ue yau Iwe dmei zire. He mesdhSy drdi wMu 
ArewdnH toeriit, yau dua gerdute^ dai lu>ertk; erzia lu'e tepiste^ 
We bermdi. Lu>e vd ke dreuodnHra: te me verd de, ez tueri 
kHnai pelade ifyri toazin'o. ArewdnM vd ke: ez yau merdtmu 
drewdhfia^ ti mSri ^tdu kUnai paidde Mjsri wazinnf Lu^e vd 
ke: ti me mikie^ ez tueri wazhi^a^ ike me niwaiSte kHnai paidde 
Mjsriy ti me verd de, ArewdnM vd ke: ti m4ri mdnd budne. 
Lu^e drewdndtri sudnd wendy drewdndi lu>e verd dai. 

P. Lerch, Forschangen aber die Kurden. I, p. 88. 



Remarks. 

The language of the Kurds in the mountanous countries of 
Kurdistan and Laristan seems to be divided into 5 chief dia- 
lects, these of Zazd^ Kurmdt^i^ Kelkuri^ Ourdni and Luri, 



KUKD. 137 

The alphabet given above is that of the Zazd dialect, as fixed 
by P. Lerch in his Researches on the Kurds. The Kur- 
mdnji has no n nor cT. The Kurds have no peculiar writing 
nor any literature. There exist only some modern specimens 
of their language written in Persian letters. Mr. Lerch 
therefore employed in his work the Standard alphabet (see 
above, p. 6). The vowel i is not our j, but our vague vowel 
e approaching to i. Instead of Mr. Lerch's t and d we have now 
proposed to write c'and/. There are in the Kurd language many 
Arabic words, which, if written in Arabic or Persian writing, 
keep all their Arabic letters. But, as the people have no 
written literature, we think, that Mr. Lerch was right in 
transcribing only the sounds that they really pronounce, 
amongst which we see also the Semitic letters q and K. 



K. 



188 



JAPHETIC LANGUAGES. 






CO 



(a) (8) - 



o 



3 



OSSETIAN. 


Georgian characters. 


8 - - 


^ 


6 6^ 


- 


^ 6 6 


- 


? P fi 


- 


^30 


- 


6 <• « 


e 


3 i w 


3 






V 



% 



A. 



<!5 



«?> 



J 1 




9' 


- 


- 


a d 




h 


9 


k 


e e 6 




h 


^ 


U 


f ? 9 9 - 




(' 


V 

J 


s 


it u 


a 


{' 


4 


{ 






t> 


d 


t 






P' 


b 


p 



- 


k - 


n 


X y 


- 


i z 


n 


s z 


m 


/ - 



y 



r I 
w 



Specimen. 

Dialect of Jalgusidse. 
Maj( fid keti de arwiti mideg; siydeg went de nom; erfewent 
de meligad; went bar dew^ kwid ai^witi mideg ^ afteder bastnl; 
Jul ne bonti radP maj(en abon; erne niwaj ma^en ne J(e8tey kwid 
maj( niwajisPem ne ^[esgmten ; erne ne ma ba/taw maj[ fileiozereniy 
fele ferwezinken max fi^HH^^Vy emeneme dew u meligad ^ ti^ 
erne isdirad mikk^agnie. Amin. 

Digorian dialect. 
Maxfid^ keci de arwitiy miedeg; qe^z uodf de n6n; artauode 
de paf'axjinddpi uod§ de bar^^ arwiy mi^dpg kud, zanxoy bgl 



OSSETIAN. 189 

uot^pr; ma^ ifol faruniy tuj[^ rddPf maxan dboniy; ama 
j(aldrkan^ nifj^aete maj(an^ maj(P^r kud ^aldrkandn ni^ ^(aslctnten; 
ama ne nm fardduyunkan^; falfayprwdzunkanp maj^ fudbuluz^y ; 
oy tuxpy dawon fy paPajQindd^^ tu^^ a»ia BPurjindd^ muJck'dgey 
mukk'dffma; fauod. 

Tagaurian dialect. 

il/of fid keti de ai'witiy mideg; siydeg uod de nom; ertauod 

de papaxdindd; nod de bar, arwiy mideg kitd, za^il auteder; 

maj[ dul oninen rddP ma^en dbon; erne ^aldrken ne ^aate maj[en, 

maj^Per hud j^aldrkenem ne j^astmten; erne ne ma ferdduinken; 

fele ferwezinken maj[ fjdbiliz^; ay tjj^py key is dewon papa^di- 

^^^j ^iX ^^^ sPir^indd mikk^dg^y mikhdgme; fauod. 

The Lords prayer. Sjogren, Osset. Sprachl. p. 32. 

Remarks. 
The Ossetes have uo alphabet of their own ; but their system 
of sounds approaches so much to the Georgian or Grusinian, 
that the Ossete Jalgusidse^ as well as afterwards Dr. Rosen, 
both found it convenient to employ the Georgian alphabet to 
represent the Ossetian language, for which it was necessary to 
add but a few consonantal signs. It was by far more difficult 
for Sjdgren to adapt to the same language the Russian alpha- 
bet. This eminent scholar distinguishes three dialects, two 
northern, the Digorian and the Tagaurian, and one southern, 
which he met with in the writings of Jalgusidse. We use 
above the Georgian alphabet , to connect our transcription with 
former labours. The letters ^ i 3 {k^ g k) have been added 
by Jalgusidse, to denote the softened sounds rising from the 
gutturals k> g k before ^ i i. Sjogren doubts without reason 
about the letter h^ which is even demanded to complete the 
system and which may exist too in the two other dialects 
without having been remarked. He explains erroneously the 

letter si; as ^ or gh^ since it correspoi^ds , as Rosen rightly 

K3 



140 JAPHETIC LANGUAGES. 

states , to the sound of our y. The special designation of n 
by Sjogren seems to be less essential , since neither Jalgusidse 
nor Rosen have made this distinction. We keep however the 
letter y, though not distinguished by Rosen from i. The Di- 
gorian dialect, according to Sj5gren has t' d! instead of I g. 
As they are all apparently real palatals, the dialectical dif- 
ference can only be very slight, so as to make it advisable 
to write also in the Digorian dialect H g. The Ossetian 
tenues of our first column of consonants approach perceptibly 
to the peculiar pronunciation of the Georgians and other Cau- 
casian nations. The true tenuis (cf. above p. 134) is pronounced 
with its full explosion^ but with closing the glottis and in con- 
sequence without any pectoral aspiration (A), after which fol- 
lows the new opening of the glottis (0 i^ order to utter the 
appertaining vowel. Hence our transcription i*, t>, p' etc. The 
aspirates of the third column have but a slight aspiration, and 
we write them so much the more without the spiritus asper 
{M f etc.), as their opposition to the first column is already 
indicated there. As to the vowels Sjogren makes very nice 
distinctions, especially of the different e sounds, of which he 
states three gradations, observing, that the most open e 
(his w) approaches very nearly to the English a in hat^ fat 
It will certainly be found convenient to reckon his second gra- 
dation, the short ^, and his third gradation, the long ^, both 
being nearer to i than op, as one class in our transcription. We 
get therefore two classes, e # and e .<?, the former being pro- 
nounced very open ; and as this class is more frequent in the lan- 
guage than e <?, we leave the line underneath and write e i and 
f p. Likewise we write o 6 for the open o, and g for the closed 
o, which Sj5gren writes w. The indistinct i sound, the u of 
Sjogren, approaches nearest to z, but it has nothing to do with 
the hard e, as is shown clearly by the fact^ that it softens a 
preceding k ov g into H and g. In the Tagaurian dialect the 
letters e, g; K^ g^ K'^ ^T, /, (T^, ^, z are wapting. ^ 



LITUANIAN. 



141 



a a 



e 


e 


6 


i I 




t 


ax au 


ei 


ut 


St • V 

ea %a 


od 




V • w 

ai au 


a 





u a 



LITUANIAN. 

k g 

e g 

t d 
p b 



(n) 




- 


S z 


n 


8 Z 


m 


- - 



y 



r I t 



pomnrtsz s 



•/ e 



Specimeu. 

Menu SaulUzf vide, pirmq pavaaareli. 
Sauluze' anhtl kele'sy Meniizis atsiskyre. 
Menu vens vathztinejo^ Auszrinf pamylijo. 
Perkuns didei sup^kea j\ kdrdu pirdcdyjo. 
Ko Sauluzes atmkyreiy Atcszrinf pamylejeiy 
Vens nakty vaihztinejeif szirdke jrilna emutnybee, 

(Dainos. Schleicher, Litan. Lesebnch p. 3 ) 



Transcription. 

Minod Sauluze v/cfe, pirma pava^arili, 
Sauluze anketi kiles^ MSnuzia atsiskfrS. 
Minod vidns vdikStiniyOj AuSrine pamiUyo. 
Pgrkdne didH supfkes yi kdrdu pirdaliyo 
Kd SduluzSe ateiskiriiy Auirine pamiUy^ij 
Vidna nakti vdikStiniy^if sir die pUnd smutntbis. 



Remarks. 

The standard work on the Lituanian language is the Gram- 
mar of A. Schleicher (Litauische Grammatik. Prag 1856.). 
He there treats extensively the phonic part of the language. 



142 JAPHETIC LANGUAGES, 

We refer, therefore, to his work in the following remarks. 
The Lituaniaus have no peculiar writing; they use generally 
the German or Latin letters with several diacritical marks. 
Schleicher follows in general their common orthography, adding 
only some nicer distinctions and moreover the accentuation of 
the single words, and the quantity of the vowels. The vowels 
not accentuated are represented as long by adding the stroke 
above (d u etc.), and as short by adding occasionally the 
sign " or by leaving them without any mark; but the quantity 
of the accentuated vowels is expressed by the accent itself, 
which is the acute (a) for the long, and the grave (a) for the 
short vowels. The dropping of an original n behind a vowel 
is indicated by a little hook under the vowel. As this mark 
is of no phonetic value, but only an etymological hint, it 
may be entirely omitted as in most other languages. If, in 
linguistic boo^a, it seems convenient to express the nasali- 
sation, with which these vowels once were pronounced, our 
sign " is to be added over them. There are two classes 
of ^, one open e, and the other closed e. The former, bears 
no diacritical mark^ the latter is marked by Schleicher by 
a dot over it (e). But as the latter is by far the most fre- 
quent, as even our short specimen may show, we prefer to 
mark the open e, aud to leave without dot the closed*^ (<?). 
As this closed e (/) is found to be only long, as well as o, 
which neither occurs short, it might seem convenient not to 
indicate at all the length of S and 6 by the stroke. But we 
think that it would in the contrary ofifend the reader, and still 
more the linguist, to find that amongst the other vowels a e 
i u^ e 0^ a § I u the two unmarked e and o belong exclusively 
to the long and not to the short vowels. We write therefore 
e and 6^ as in modern Sanskrit. There are three other vowels, 
written by Schleicher .«, e and m, which designe three diph- 
thongs formed by e i (or §) and o preceding a very short a, 
Schleicher describes them as sounding like a"* i* (or ^) and 



LITUANIAN. 143 

o^, and remarkes, that p in old prints was expressed by 
etty and S by tV. The diphthongic nature is certainly to l^e expres- 
sed in our transcription. We indicate therefore the fugitive a 
by writing those three diphthongs ea^ id and od. There are 
besides two other kinds of diphthongs, of which the one, written 
di an ei ui by Schleicher, has the accent on the first vowel, 
the other, written by the same ai au ei or with the accent 
of the word ai au <?/, on the second vowel. It is of course 
necessary to distinguish both, but, as the accent ' on vowels 
is destined, in the Standard alphabet, to indicate only the 
accent of the word , we prefer to mark rather the accentless 
part of the diphthong by the sign of brevity '^, in writing 
ai au ei ui similar to ed id od and in contradistinction to di 
du ei, by which we distinguish the second kind of diphthongs. 
According to Schleicher the a in his diphthongs di du ei is 
pronounced long. This distinction, however, which might be 
expressed by writing at du ei seems to us not essential enough 
as to be marked in the common writing. W^ should even 
prefer to write only ai au eij as the combiqation of these 
vowels seems always to be diphthongic/ not dissylable, if it 
was not for the analogous writing of the diphthongs ed id od. 
We refer moreover to the similar formation of diphthongs in 
the Rumanian language. 

The guttural consonants are often changed into the pala- 
tals H g and the dentals t d into c j. This change origi- 
nates in a peculiar propensity of the language , prevailing still 
more in the Slavonic languages, to insert between the conso- 
nant and the following vowel a shade of i or y especially be- 
fore one of the palatal vowels i or e» In the Lituaqian ortho- 
graphy this half y is commonly expressed by i or j, and on 
the end of words by an apostrophe or (as in the work of 
Schleicher) by our palatal line. We prefer, according to our 
principles, to put the stroke also in the middle of the words: 
loHoy kurniuj as in verp\ vSm. The guttural ^, written already 



144 



JAPHETIC LANGUAGES. 



in ^emaitic books like the Polish 2, is to be distinguished from 
the common I; but the guttural n^ as being used only and 
always before k and g^ may remain without mark. The letter 
c occurs only in foreign words and is to be written ts (or f) 
according to its pronunciation. 

We add for the convenience of the reader the alphabet of 
Schleicher: 



Vowels. 
(Stand. A.) (SchleicherO (Stand. A.) (Schleicher.) 



a = a 


a 


a 

c 






ed = 


^ 




e 


^ — a 


d 


4 


4 


%a = 


•• 

e 


e 




e = e 


i 


f 


K^) 


od = 


u 


u 




§ = i 


• 

e 


i 


f 


ai = 


di 






e = e 


e 






au = 


du 






t = « 


I 




• 


a = 


a 






t =y 




• 

€ 




Ul = 


hi 






6 =: 


6 






di = 


ai 


ai 




U = U 


U 


H 




du = 


au 


au 




ft = tt 


t( 


? 


H 


a = 


ei 


ei 










Consonants. 














(Schleicher.) 




■ 




k 


9 




(n) 


- 








k%^K 


9*yff 


- 


- 


• 






cz 


dz 




- 


8Z Z 








t 


d 




n 


s z 


r 


I 


i 


P 


b 




m 


mm .■ 


V 







e 



OLD SLOVENIAN. 



145 



OLD SLOVENIAN. 

(Church Slayonic, old Slavonic.) 



t 


Glagoli 


tic. 






t 


A & 


- 


^ 


- 


a a(0) 


tt HP 


- 


UJ 


dfa 


a,(5p) «BT ffl 


V £ 


- 


- 


- 


€ ae 


DD Db 


^ 


^ 


Od 


4 i« 


ID E 


7b 


(*) 


00 


- 


- - - z'- - - 


) 




A (3)(t) jp 3e fte 


V,- - - 






(*) . - 








Cyrillian. 






a 


K r 

• 


- 


)f 


- 


t (w) 


H 


- 


III 


MC 


V Kl 0^,8 


H s 


- 




- 


A ;i^ 












T A 


H 


c 


3 




n B 


iU 


(♦) 


B 


121 K H 10 lA 1^ 


H p A (K 


r n 




AU EH Hlf OH Zlil 








a 


^ 5^ 


- 


;r 


- 


e o(6) 


^^ / 


- 


^ 


z 


t t u 


t 4 


- 


- 


- 


i 


t d 


n 


8 


;s; 


iO) ^ 


p b 


m 


a) 


t> 


K^O 


n r t (R ff ^ 


V 




jaje i(ji) jujijo 


k 






• > • • • • • 


(0 ks p 


s) 







i [fb 



P A 



r / 



Hard vowels: a u i o o ii Soft vowels: e t i p i i 



146 JAPHETIC LANGUAGES. 

Specimen. 
Kij clovikii otii vam im( suto ovitt % pogublt jedind otu nij(u ne 
ostavitt deveti deaStu i deveti vu pustini, i idett vu sledu pog(- 
busejS'^ donXdeze obresteti jdf I obretu vuzlagajeti na ranija svoi 
radvje se^ i priSfdu vii domu syzrvajeti drvgi i sosedi glagoli 
imu: radujte ae m munojo, jako obretoj[u ovttd svojo pog^bH' 
sojo. GlagoTo vamii^ jako tako radostt bddeti na nebesi o jedi 
7iom( grfsmite kajoitijimi si neze o devSti desetu % deveti pravidt 
nikii, ize ne trebujoti pokajanija, Li kaja zena imosti deaelt dra^ 
giimii, aste pogubiti dragumo Jedind, ne vuzizajett avetilmika^ i 
pometeti j^ramti , i istett prileBno , dofadeze obresteti f I obrptuH 
mzivajeti drugi i sosedj glagoloati: 7'adujte se sH mtinojo, jako 
obretoj[u dragiimdy joze pagubij(ii. Tako^ glagolo vamU, radosti 
bivajeti predti aniigeli boziji o jedinomt grfitnit^ kajoitijimi se, 

Ev. Luc. 16, 4—10. 

Remarks. 
The Old Slovenian, the language spoken in the 9^** century 
by the Slovenians in Pannonia, if no longer a spoken lan- 
guage. It is now only used for liturgical purposes by the Sla- 
vonic nations belonging to the Greek church , as the Russiant, 
Bulgarians, Servians. It is the noost ancient of all the Sla- 
vonic languages known and therefore of high linguistic interest. 
This is also the reason , why we must adapt our transcription 
as closely as possible to the old signs, rendering every one 
by a distinct and exclusive character, even in those cases, 
where the actual pronunciation does not distinguish them. The 
monuments of the old Slavonian literature are preserved in two 
kinds of writing, the Glagolitic and the Cyrillian. It is now 
proved by Miklosich beyond any doubt, that the more ancient 
of the two , the Glagolitic , is based on an old national alpha- 
bet, which originally was taken from the Greek, but was re- 
modelled in the 9^^ century and adapted to Christian literatnre 
by the two Slavonic apostles, Cyrillus and Methodias, brothers. 



OLD SLOVENIAN. 147 

The so called Cyrillian alphabet was introduced by St. Cle- 
mens soon after, about 900, simultaneously with the intro- 
duction of Christianity amongst the Slovenians in the countries 
of the Haemus. It was soon preferred to the former both on 
account of its greater facility of design and its similarity with 
the Greek uncial alphabet from which it only differs by a few 
signs expressing letters unknown to the Greek. 
• The Glagolitic alphabet, as we read it now in the manuscripts, 
is not indeed the original , but has evidently undergone several 
modifications, owing partly, as we may suppose, to the ar- 
ranging hands of Cyrillus, partly to the contact of the later Cle- 
mentine (Cyrillian) alphabet and the eastern dialect, to which the 
latter was specially adapted. We have in our mode of transcribing 
it only consulted this modified form, being almost identical, 
as regards the single letters, with the Clementine or Cyrillian. 

The vowels a e oin both alphabets offer no difficulty. There 
18 a secondary form of o, which in the original Glagolitic al- 
phabet may have referred to a distinct mode of pronunciation, 
(o?), but which is now only used for the interjection t5, and 
may, therefore, be transcribed by 6. 

The Glagolitic ^ may have been destined originally for the 
guttural t in Hi, instead of which we find also w, the guttu- 
ralisation of i being indicated by the prefixion of w. Afterwards 
the same sign was also employed for i, though not in all 
manuscripts, e and Je^ i and ji were first distinguished in the 
Cyrillian alphabet, not yet in the Glagolitic, where we find 
only^a and ju. The Cyrillian H, although it takes in the alpha- 
betical order the place of the Greek H, expressed originally, we 
believe, the diphthong ji (H = H), as i or { the simple t. But H 
was afterwards also employed for V, and identified with Glago- 
litic gp. We therefore are now only able to make a convential 
distinction in our transcription between 'i (= Gl. 8, Cyr. V), i or ji 
(= Gl. «P, Cyr. H), and ( (= Gl. ««*P, Cyr. 21). The character ft 
which occurs in the later Cyrillian manuscripts after vowels indi- 



148 JAPHETIC LANGUAGES. 

cates the abridgement of ^i or * into jy by which letter we tran- 
scribe it. 

The compound character in the Glagolitic alphabet for u 
and the corresponding double character iii the Cyrillian is de- 
rivated from the Greek ov. The Glagolitic letters, which we 
transcribe by e o ji jo^ perhaps also ja and ju^ may have had 
originally— as we are led to believe from their paleographic 
forms — a pronunciation somewhat different from the Cyrillian, 
to which our transcription is adapted. 

A peculiarity of the Slavonic languages , which probably pro- 
ceeds from the presence of certain Tataric elements, consists in 
the systematic distinction of guttural and palatal vowels, gene- 
rally called hard and soft vowels. The guttural or hard vowels 
are a u i o o u\ the palatal or soft are e % i § e u The 
palatal tendency, however, is so predominant, that not only 
the soft vowels, but also the hard are very often pronounced 
with a slight preceding i or j. The merely phonetic origin 
of this j is testified by etymology as well as by the compound 
form of the letters which represent it as adherent to the re- 
spective vowels. This is the origin of the diphthongs ja^ je^ 
JH y^> j^ ^^d j^- It might be desirable and would certainly 
be more consistent with the genius of Slavonic language to 
write these compound vowels by single caracters as it is done 
in the native writing. The division into two signs, however, is 
preferable by more than one reason, and is not against the rules 
of our standard alphabet We have thought it convenient to 
write this slight i-sound not by a full consonantic y^ but by^, re- 
presenting as if it was half a ^, although this sign j does not 
occur in our general alphabet. This designation offers besides 
the advantage of being in concordance with the almost ge- 
neral mode of writing adopted by most Slavonic nations writing 
with Roman letters, as well as by most of the respective lin- 
guists. We have therefore preferred it to any other designation, 
which we might have invented. In a similar way also the sbor- 



. OLD SLOVENIAN. 149 

iened and indefinite vowel e of other languages, behind or be- 
tween consonants, has taken in Slovenian either the palatal or 
guttural form and has become a surd yet perceptible i or u (i, u 
mutescena). These two sounds h i and Z u are in most cases 
remains of corresponding fuller vowels and were no doubt for- 
merly more distinctly pronounced than they are actually. There 
can be no doubt that we must follow the original writing lu 
transcribing them by separate characters. We have chosen for 
that purpose the two signs i and «, adopted already in the 
Rumanian alphabet, as well as by several linguists. The 
sign of brevity ^ is the less objectionable, as the distinction of 
long and short simple vowels is little known to the Slavonic 
languages. The later pronunciation of the Old Slovenian drop- 
ped the w more completely than the %\ yet, for etymological 
reasons , u most also be written even in cases , when it seems 
it was not any more pronounced. 

The distinction between guttural and palatal pronunciation 
applies also to many of the Slovenian consonants, accord- 
ing to their combinations with either a hard or soft vowel. 
The palatal modification^ however, as in the case of the 
vowels, is also in this case the predominant, and the only 
expressed in writing. The dental consonants, by this modifi- 
cation, are generally assibilated; the liquids n I r and in 
foreign words also the gutturals k g j( become palatalised or 
softened, in which case they are marked by some diacritic 
sign. The character b however is not by itself a sign of this 
palatal modification, but represents still a real vowel, which 
only bestowes on those of the preceding consonants, which are 
capable of it, the palatalised form. It would be, therefore, in- 
exact to replace in our transcription the % by the palatal line 
added to the preceding consonant. 

The vowel 't is unknown to the Glagolitic alphabet. It is 
evidently formed by a combination of the Glagolitic \ a with 
the Cyrillian K % and represents therefore the diphthong ta or 



150 JAPHETIC LANGUAGES. 

ai. But since tbe diphthong ta or ja had been expressed from 
the beginning by the sign ta (analogous to the combinations 
je ji ju je jo) and since Miklosich has proved that the character 
'^ could not in many cases \vhere it is employed represent a 
combination beginning with y, we do not doubt, even without 
referring to other reasons, that the value of % was originally 
at, afterwards .<?, which on account of its diphthongic origin we 
transcribe by .<?. The frequent interchanged which take place 
in the manuscripts between the two signs b and ta, are, in this 
respect, of no import. 

The diphthongs rii lii n li are considered by Miklosich 
(p. 84 sqq.) as the vowels t Z, an opinion which is supported 
by the New Slovenian. But historically founded as this ex* 
planation seems to be, it could not justify our adopting it 
against the Cyrillian mode of writing, by which these sounds 
are written as double characters, and even in this combined 
form do not figure in the alphabet. Only in those rare cases 
where r and I without the addition of u and i represent a 
syllable, we might be justified in transcribing them respectively 
by r and /. 

With regard to the consonants we have still to mention 
that we have preferred the single transcription ^ and ^ to the 
combined U and ds, as being, especially together with c'Cand/), 
more adequate to the Slavonic phonetic system , which opinion 
is also supported by the general adoption in the latin Slavonic 
alphabets of the corresponding single signs c and z. The con- 
tracted form for 1^ we transcribe by it as it is done already 
in the Glagolitic codex Clozianus. A real softening of the 
consonants takes place in the Old Slovenian language only with 
regard to the liquids n r ly which in this softened state we 
transcribe by n r t. The consonants ^ f h ps are only used 
in Greek words. 8 and ip are only compendia for oy and «t. 



SERBIAN. 



151 



SERBIAN (lUirian). 
Cyrillian writing. 



a 


R 


r 




X - 


e 


1 


V 


- 


in Hc 


H y 


^ 


• 


■■ 


- 


P 


m 


A 


H 


C 3 


ja je jn jo ]y 


K 


1) 


» 


- 


a) ej iij oj y) 


II 


6 


31 


(*) B 



p A 



lb 







Latin writing. 




, 


a 




* 


9 


• 


h 




e 


1 


tT 


dz 


- 


i 




i w 




c 


- 


- 


- 


- 


r 




t 


d 


n 


8 


z 


ya y^ y» jo ju 




1 

c 


dj 


- 


- 


- 


aj ej ij oj uj 




p 


b 
nj 


m 


CO 


V 




Si 


tandard alpl 


labet 


* 




a 




k 


9 


- 


h 


- 


e 


• 


<r 


V 

3 


- 


V 

8 




i u 




t 

i 


* 


- 


- 


- 


r 

ja je ji jo ju 




t 

c 


d 
3 


n 


8 


z 


aj €j ij oj uj 




p 

t 


b 

1 

n 


m 


CD 


V 


Hard vowels: a 





u r 

o 










Soft voweb: e. 


• 













3 
r I 



3 
r I 



152 JAPHEtlC LANGUAGES. 

Specimen. 

Mujm 6o^e! ^y^a sejiHRora! 
Han rpMH, uji^ ce semjiha mpece, 
Hji' y^apa jnope j Speroee? 
HHinn rpMH, Hum^ ce seMjiba mpece, 
Hhth^ y^ftpa Mope y 6peroBe, 
Bets flu]ejie 6abto CBemumejibH: 
CseniH nemap n csemn HnKO^a, 
Ceemn losaH h ceemH Hanja 
H ea HBHMa csemn HaHmeanja; 
HbHM^ ^0Jia3n fivia^eea Mapnja, 
PoHH cyae hh3 5njejio Jlmi^e. 

National songs of the Serbians ed. by Vuk Siefanovid Karafii. 

Aim boze! iada velikoga! 
IK gpni^ iV ae zemta trese 
It vdara more u bregovef 
Niti grmi^ ni€ ae zemla treae, 
Nit' udara more u bregove^ 
Vec dijele hlago svetiteR: 
Sveti Petar i aveti Nikola^ 
Sveti Jovan i aveti Hija^ 
I aa nima aveti Pantelija ; 
NinC dolazi blazena Marija^ 
Rani auze niz bijelo litae. 

Remarks. 

The Serbians, as far as they belong to the Greek church, 
write their language in the Cyrillian character^ the Roman 
Catholics in Roman letters. This language, to which tbe 
Khorvatian (Croatian) is nearly allied , has neither the vowel f, 



SERBIAN. 153 

nor the two Old Slavonian surd vowels b t and 'B u^ of which the 
former appears only in combination with the characters n and I, 
indicating their soft pronunciation , which we render by the pa- 
latal line, n f, as in all the other Slavonic languages. About the 
palatal modification of the vowels we refer to the Old Slovenian.' 
In Serbian the letter p is often used as vowel and forms syl- 
lables, although it is not distinguished in writing from the 
consonant p. We think it the more necessary to mark the 
vowel r by the little circle underneath, as it even occurs be- 
fore other vowels, for instance grote umro in three syllables. 
In writing d' ^ z for H UI THH we have the advantage to 
be in concordance with the latin alphabet used already in 
the country* The letters tS and t^ express very nearly 
the same sounds as c and dz in the Polish alphabet, where 
we refer to for our transcription by c and j. The signs 
\l (= ^7H y j) and h (j) have been added by Vuk Stefanovio. 
The pronunciation of X comes nearest to A, as it is written 
in the latin alphabet; but in many words of Serbian dialects 
it 18 either omitted or replaced by other consonants. 



154 



JAPHETIC LANOUAGES. 



RUSSIAN. 



a 


K r 


- 


* rO) 


a 

o 


^ 


- 


lU 'M 


-h 


^ 


- 


- 


• 

i M y 


T(ni) ly 


H 


C 3 


x e H e lo 


n 6 M 


(♦) B 


an en ou yu jih I&h 


m (o) 


« 


Tfc H,h Hb Cfc 3b Jib 


(E *) 


(nb 6h Mb pb Bb) 


a 


* 9 


- 


X y 





«r - 


- 


i s 


• 


t - 


- 


- - 


% i u 


t d 


n 


8 Z 


Palatalised vowels: 


P b 


m 


(f) « 


ja je ji jo ju 


ifiT (^) 


aj ^ oj uj jaj jej 


Palatalised consonants : 


(i, V) 


t' d n 8 z X 


( ) 


(p b' m V r) 


Hard vowels: a o u i 


* X ^ 


Soft vowels: e e i 









p A 



r I 



Specimen. 
Bo /^HH T'fe Bumjio OT'b Kecapji ABrjCTa noBe^liHie, c^t-iaTb 
nepenecb no Bceii zevmii. Ciji nepenucb dujia nepBaa bt* npaBJieiiie 
KBHpHHia CBpioio. H nomjiH Bcb BBHCbiBaTbca, Kaac^^^B B'b cboh 
ropo^i. Domejfb TaKase h IocH«'b HS'b FajiBJieH, hsi Fopo^a Ha- 
3apeTa^ B'b Ij^eio, B'b ropo^'b ^aBH/^OB'b, Ha3biBaeMbiH Beojieeiirb, 
noToaiy hto owb 6hijn> na^h /i^oMa h po^a ^aBn^OBa, BDHcaTBCJi 
cb Mapieio, odpy^CHHOio emj hcchoio, KOTopan dbijia 6epeveHHa. 
B'b 6biTH0CTb BXi Taiirb, HacTyimjio Bpcma po^Tb ea. H po- 
^jia CBiHa CBoero nepBem^a, h cnejicHajia ero, b nojio»»jia ero 
B'b ac^H; noTony hto He (^buo BJirb M'fecTa bt^ rocTBHHBi^'b. 

Ev. Lnc. 2, 1 — 7. 



RUSSIAN. 155 

Vo dni (/« viSio ot Keaarja Avgusta poveXenije^ sdeiat' pei^e^ 
pis po vaej zemie, Sya perepis' b(ia pervaja v pravlenije 
Kvitinija Sirij^u. 1 posli vsje vpiaivaif^a^ kazdy v svoj gorod, 
Posoi takze i J(mf iz GaMeji^ iz gm'oda Nazareta^ v Judjeju^ 
V gorod Davidovy naz(vajemjj Viflejem^ potomu Ho on b(i iz doma 
i roda Damdova^ vpisadsja a Marije/u^ ohru^nnqju jemu zenoju^ 
katorq/a bvta heremenna. V bitnost' jij[ tam^ nastupilo vremja 
rodit' j^. 1 rodiia sina svqjeye pervenfa^ i apeTenala jeyo^ i 
poioz'Sa jeyo v jasli; potomu cio nje b(io Jim mesta v goatinnite. 

Remarks.^ 

The pronunciation of the Russian has gradually deviated 
very much from the Russian orthography. It would therefore 
be useless to transcribe Russian words literally. The Russian 
vowels especially are subject to varying pronunciation, f. i. 
a = a, .^; 3 = e^ e\ t or c = ^, .g, o, je^ ^>, jo\ i = i, ji\ 
o s= 0, a; iu or mii := y, g^ oj^ and thus the Russian 
alphabet as we have given it above, only refers to the re- 
gular and original value of the letters, not to their many 
later modifications. We agree with the best Slavonic scho- 
lars in transcribing the Russian letters according to their 
pronunciation and not to their character. The two characters 
« = J and * were no doubt originally the same as the Old Slove- 
nian e (a) and 'fe, i. e. ^ or ^ and §. But since the pronunciation 
of % had in certain combinations passed into e^ both signs 
were frequently interchanged. In order to economise our dia- 
critical signs we write e instead of e^ keeping the diacritical 
point merely for <?, which is of much less frequent occur- 
rence. It might even be doubted, if the distinction of e 
and ^ would be at all indispensable and practically conve- 
nient. The original value of n = ji is mostly preserved 

^ Miklosich, Vergleichende Laatlehre d. Slav. Spr. 1852, Bohtlingk, Bull. 
>ist. pbilol, de TAcad. de St. Petersboarg. torn. IX, p. 37 ff. 

L2 



156 JAPHETIC LANGUAGES. 

in the beginning of words and after vowels; i = t occurs only 
before vowels. As in the Old Slovenian we transcribe the pa- 
latalised vowels by preiSxing the letter y, and employ the same 
sign for the affixed if. We follow in this respect only the ge- 
neral use of those Slavonic nations which employ Latin cha- 
racters. It has appeared convenient not to transcribe at all 
the two signs b and %, which in Russian do not form any 
more a distinct articulation, but only indicate the preceding 
consonant to be either palatalised or not. As we transcribe the 
palatalised consonants by adding the palatal line, we do not 
require any other sign for i. After gutturals the sign b does 
not occur and their pronunciation before the soft vowels is 
hardly more different from that before hard vowels than in 
any other language; we, therefore, do not express any pala- 
talisation of gutturals. The consonants of the palatal row are 
not capable at all of a second palatalisation, or it is here at 
least so week, that its existence is denied by several scholars. 
We may, therefore, conveniently omit it in our transcription. 
It has also been doubted, whether the labials and r are ever pa- 
latalised, and this palatalisation, if it ever exists, is at all events, 
as far as I can perceive, much weeker than after the dentals. 
It may, however, be indicated where according to the Russian 
orthography the sign b is still written behind them. The guttural 
or hard ji I oi several Slavonic languages, which is pronounced 
with an energetic depression of the middle tongue and a simul- 
taneous raising of the behind part of the tongue at the guttural 
point, differs so perceptibly from our common Z, as to claim a 
special sign, and as the character t for this letter is already 
generally used in the Polish and Serbian writing , we can not 
hesitate to adopt it also in our transcription. The palatal line off 
may be dropped. The letter r between vowels ceases to be explo- 
sive and becomes the soft fricative which we write/. The letters 
Y • o only occur in Greek words, v with the double pronunciation 
either of % or v, which we render by these two respective signs. 



CHESKIAN (BOHEMIAN). 



157 



C H E S K I A N (BOHEMIAN). 



a a 


^ {9. 


e 6 u(6) 


e - 


i i y y u ou(u) 


c - 


I r 


t d 


ja jd je ji ji 


p b 



• / • 



aj dj €Q ij ij oj uj uj yj yj 



- 


ch h 


- 


S z 


n 


8 Z 


m 


CO" 



n r t a 



I r 



a a 


k(9) 


- 


X A 




e S u 


(T - 


- 


S z 


« 

J 


it I i u u 


t - 


- 


- - 




I r 

o o 


t d 


n 


8 Z 


I r 


ja jd je ji ji 


p b 


m 


CO" 




aj dj ij ij ij oj 6j uj ij y 


t V 

n r 


/ d 


p 





Hard vowels: a o u y 
Soft vowels: e % 



Tesme se blaJiou nadiji^ 
Ze 86 vrdti zlati casy^ 
Ze 86 nam zas vyjasneji 
Ceski hory, ^eshi hlasy. 
AC jen ce8ky iat se nese^ 
Muzni hdji mravy ddvne^ 
Node vsecko ono 8lavni^ 
Pravoieski: 



Specimen. 

TranscriptioD. 

Te^me se blahou nadejf^ 
Ze 8e vrdti zlatS ScL8i^ 
Ze se ndm zas vijasnejl 
Ceski hori, ceskS hlasl. 
At' jen ceski sat se nese^ 
Muzne hdji mrav( ddvnS, 
Nade vsetko ono slavnS^ 
PravoieskS: 



158 



JAPHETIC LANGUAGES. 



Milujme se^ nedejme se^ 
Vyhime *e, napinVs se, 
Milujme^ naphne se, 
A pak vybime se. — 
Amen , rac to Boze ddti! 
Oroduj za nds^ svaty Vdclave, 
Vejvodo Ceske zeme! 
Milujme se etc. — vybime se. 



Milujme se^ nedejme se, 
Vibifne ae^ napfme se, 
Milujme^ naplme se^ 
A pak vybime se. — 
Amen^ raS to Boze ddti! 
Oroduj za nds: svatt Vdtlave^ 
Vejoodo Ceske zeme! 
Milujme ae etc. — viblme se. 



Dokud! V nds krev otcu plyne^ 
Hrud^ zahrifod^ ruce sili: 
Sldva ceskd nezahyne^ 
Hlavu ztyct lev nds bily, 
Tak Jako medvedum v lese^ 
Nepfdtelum budem hrdtiy 
Oni budou tancovatiy 
Az zapejem: 
Milujme ae etc. — vybime se. 



Dokud' V nds h*ev ottu pline^ 
I/tnid' zahrivd^ rute sfli: 
Sldva ceskd nezahine. 
Hlavu zt\ct lev naif bill, 
Tak Jako medvedum v lese, 
Nepfdtelum budem hrdtt, 
Oni budou tanfovatiy 
Az zapejem: 

Milujme etc. — vibtme se. 

Hoflsite song. 



Bemarks. 

Although the vowels y and y are in modern pronunciation 
scarcely distinguished from i and f , yet we have not conceived 
ourselves authorised to give up in our transcription this dis- 
tinction, which, besides being historical, is moreover still pre- 
served in several phonic combinations as well as in the general 
pronunciation of certain dialects. The single i is frequently, 
especially in the beginning of words, pronounced like Ji, by 
which signs we transcribe it in this case. The long 6 has 
changed into u and is now written u^ which writing we have 
preserved as both concordant with pronunciation and etymo- 
logy. The vowels r and I are in the Cheskian alphabet not 



.CHB0KIAN (BOHBMIAN). 159 

distinguished from the corresponding consonants. We dis- 
tinguish them, however, by our usual diacritic sign. 

The letter g has been regularly (except iq foreign words) 
replaced by h both in pronunciation and writing, which change 
we must adopt in our transcription. Also the letter / is of 
foreign origin but has been introduced in a few native words. 
The palatalised consonants n i £ we mark by the palatal 
line n t' d!. The palatalisation of r has in Cheskian as well 
as in several other Slavonic languages, passed into a slight 
assibilation , coming up to a combination of r and z^ for which 
we have preserved the national transcription by f. The pa- 
latalisation of consonants is in Bohemian sometimes marked 
above the following vowel (tefme^ nadeji^ muzne^ instead of 
t'esme, nad^eji^ muzne) or even sometimes not marked at all 
(vrdtiy oni instead of vrdt'i^ oni). We do not follow this irre- 
gularity. 



160 



JAPHETIC LANQUAGBS. 



1 


POLISH. 








a 
e 


h g 

cz dz 


- 


ch(h) 

8Z Z 


• 

J 


i 6 


c dz 


- 


- - 




» . y 

e a 


u t d 

6 dz 


n 


8 Z 

t r 
8 Z 


r t 


jayia je^ie ji,i jo,io ju^iu jqyie^ joytq P ^ 
jaj^iaj je;\iej n rz I 
oj ej ij oj 6j uj yj szcz ic 


m, (f) w 
p H w m f 


a 
e 


k g 
c 3 


- 


if z 


J 


f Q 


} 4 


- 


- 






u t d 


n 


8 « 


r t 


e 




- 


s z 




ja je ji jo jo 

joj jej 

aj ej ij oj oj 


ju je jo P ^ 

n r i 

• • • V K ^ ^ 

w; j; 8c 8c 


^ i 


(f) V 
If ' ' ^* 

V m J 

) 



Specimen. 

/ 8taio «tf , w onez dni vyy8zedl dekret od Cesar za Augusta^ 
ahy popisano W8zystek swiat. Ten popi8 pierw8zy^ byi od 
8taro8iy Syryjskiego Cyryna. 1 szli W8zy8cy^ ahy sie popUali^ 
kazdy do mia8ta swego, Szedi tez i Jdzef od Galilei z miasta 
Nazarethu^ do Judskiej ziemie^ 'do miasta DavyidowegOy ktore 
zomq Bethlehem: p*zeto iz byi z domu i pokolenia Damdowego^ 
aby byi popisan z Maryq poslubionq 8obie matzonkq^ Mora byia 
brzemiennq. Ev. Luc. 2, 1—5. 



/ stalo 8i^ V onez dni vjiedi dekret od Tesara Augu8ta, ahi 
popisano vsjstek stjat. Ten popis pjervsij b^ od starosti Siry- 



POLISH. 151 

slyego T(r(na. I Hi vsfstf^ ab( si popisati, kazdi do mjaata 
avego, Sedl tez % Josef od GaMeji z mjasta NazaretUy do 
Judskje/ zjemje^ do mjasta Davidovego^ More zovjo Betlekem: 
preto iz b^ z domu % pokofenja Damdovego^ abi b^ popisan 
z Maryo poslubjono sobje maUonkOy Mora bjla bremjenno. 



Remarks; 

About y = ( see above p. 64. The distinction in the Polish 
orthography between ja^ je etc. in the beginning and m, ie etc, 
in the middle of words has neither an etymological nor pho- 
netic reason, and we write therefore indistinctly as in all the 
other Slavonic languages ja , je etc. In the middle of words the 
Poles use to write i instead of ji) we write ji according to the 
pronunciation. As for the palatal affixe j see above. The h 
only occurs in words taken from the y^Smcdl-Russian^. The / 
likewise is of foreign origin. The consonants c dz s z are 
palatalised dentals, the palatal affix of which has been assi- 
bilated and the principal consonant assimilated to this assibi- 
lation. We are of opinion that the Polish s resembles the 
palatal s (s) of several ancient languages; but as identity of 
both cannot be proved, and as moreover the Polish sibilants 
are of a dental and not, like the other, of a guttural origin, 
we have preferred to adhere in our transcription to the native 
orthography as closely as possible: and as the palatal line in 
our alphabet has another meaning , we have written c s z and 
accordingly also j for the Polish c s z and dz. In doing so we 
are the more justified as the diacritic sign ' has been employed 
in Serbian already by native scholars for the same purpose. 

On the other hand it would be a great simplification of 
Polish orthography and at least a great orthographic improve- 
ment for scientific purposes, if the irrational, complicated and 
erroneous compound signs cz sz szcz^ as well as the more ra- 
tional writings, but which are against other rules of our 



162 



JAPHETIC LANGUAGES. 



transcription, dz c dz^ might be given up and replaced by the 
simple and rational signs ^ S s^ j t d. The transcription of 
r and the other palatalised consonants has • been discussed 
above, as well as that of the guttural h The palatal line of I 
may also here be dropped (see above p. 156), I bring always 
palatalised where it is not guttural {I). The vowel 6 has a 
very closed pronunciation approaching almost w; we write it 
p, which in our general alphabet comes nearest to it. Agaiu 
the vowel e sometimes approaches very closely t, and is written 
in these cases by careful writers e\ we have to render this 
pronunciation by our e. 



S R B I A N (High-LuBatian , Wendic) 
according to different Sorbian writers. 



a . 
e o 
iyd 6 

% y^S u 



% ^ • t • 



ja je je ji jo jo ju 
aj ej Sj ij Gj 6} uj 



k 


(3) .^ 




ch h 


C,tZ,CZy 

Uek 


dzydz 


- 


^^ch z^ 


e^cz^ 


dzpda 


m 


- 


t 


d 


n 


9 Z 


Cyt/iz^cz 


dSytZytS 


*m 


w ^ 


V 


b 


m 


(J) »>«> 



h r IjJ^lll p S V m f 



r I,f0 



t 



a 

€ 






o 



u 



• • • 



m je J? j% JO 39 ju 
aj ej e; ij oj of uj 



* (ff) 
t d 

(i) 

b 



c 



p 



n 



m 



8 



9 



00 



V 



r I 



80RBIAM. 163 

Remarks. 

The pronunciation of the vowels written by the native Sor- 
bians e and 6 approaches very near that of % and u , although 
it seems not to be identical with it. We distinguish them, 
therefore, also in our transcription in writing them e and o , the 
acute ' being against the principles of the Standard alphabet (see 
above p. 47). For the same reason , we must replace the signs 
ch and y by our ^ ^^^ i\ ^^^^ ^^ ^^^P the character ^, although 
it is mostly pronounced as w and has preserved its original 
value only dialectically. About c see above our remarks on 
the Polish alphabet. The letters which we have renderd by 
d and j are distinguished as peculiar sounds by Tecelin, Seiler, 
Jordan and others. Miklosich, however, does not mention them 
at all. The letters g and / appear only in foreign words. 



164 



JAPHETIC LANGUAGES. 



RUMANIAN (Walachian). 

Cyrillian letters. 





a 




K 


r 


- 


X 


- 


e 


'b 


o 


H 


¥ 


- 


Ul 


;k 


I 


^ 


y*** 


T,lll 


A 


n 


c 


Z,3 


C^) 






M 


- 


- 


- 


- 


1 a 






n 


B 


m 


^ 


B 


ai ei 


n 


oi ^1 ;f%i 11 


"Dt 


(^) 






\j vy 


• %j 


V* __ V w 










an en 


in 


Oa ilfkiS Jtn 










ia ie 


io 


in ea oa 










\j 


\jyj 


«JU 










ean Qin 


oii; 













p Jl 



t o 



1 1 

(0 

1 n 

ai ei etc. 



Mixed letters. 



K 


r,g 


- 


X 


- 


H 


V.S 


- 


iif 


U 


t 


d 


n 


s 


z 


^ 


- 


- 


- 


- 


n 


£,b 


m 


^ 


B 



I^ 



p A 



Etymological alphabet. 









a 








^ 









• 








Ih 


— 


A 

a 


Si 


A / 

n 


'B 


= 




u 


U 1 

Q t 






at 




etc. 



u 



c,ch 


9^9^ 


- 


h^ch - 


CyCi 


9i9i 


- 


?9« y 


t 


d 


n 


8 Z. 

4 


t,ti 


- 


- 


- 


P 


b 


m 


/ « 



5^,«(? 



Zydydi 



r 











RUMANIAN. 












Stan 


dard 


alp 


babe 


t. . 






a 




• 




k 


9 


- 


Kx) - 


, e 


e 








(T 


J 




i s 


m 

% 


i u 








t 


d 


- 


- 


(0 










t 
$ 


- 


n 


8 Z 


% U 










p 


b 


m 


f ^ 


at ei 
ail eii 


tl 01 ut 
vu ou ( 


tt 

lU) 


ei 

L 

eii 




it 


Hf 






ta le 


io tu ea 


da 


I • 












eau eiu oiu 

















165 



r I 



Specimen. 
Cyrillian letters. 

ini a *0CT *n aijicie a^ie.iea, eniix-a nop^nKa 
^ejia Kecap ASri^cx, c'h cc cKpie xoarfc jii^Mea. 
AqeacT'b CKpicoape A^nx^i c'a ^laKUT^ ^OMnin^^ ikn 
Cipica Kipine^. Illi Mep^ea xoi^i cb ce cKpie, 
^ie-Kape An nexaxea ca. Ev. Luc. 2, 1 - 3. 



Mixed letters. 

Illi a ^ost in zi^e^e a^eaea, eniit'a nop^^nka de Jia 
Kesap A^g^st, s^h se skpie toat'B Ji^^mea. A^east'B 
skpisoape intii^ s'a ^ik^t domnind in Sipiea kipine^. 
nii mepgea to^i s'B se skpie, *ie-kape in Hetatea sa. 



Etymological writing. 

St a fo«t in diUle acelea , efiia porunca de la Cesar August^ 
sd se scrie toU lumea. Acistd scrisdre dntizii a* a fdcut, dom^ 
nind in Siriea CirineH. Si mergi toti sd se scrie ^ fie-care in 
cetatea sa. 



166 JAPHETIC LANGUAGES. 

Transcription. 

I' 
Si a fo4t in zilele a(eUa , eUX'a porunka de la Kemr August, 

86 86 8krie ioate lum^a. A^^aste skrisoare intlm 8^a fdcut^ 

domnind in Sinea Kirineii, Si merjea toti se 8e 8krie^ fie- 

kare (n (etat^a sa. 

With accents. 

Si a fast in zilele ai^^Ua, eUVa porunka de la Kisar Auffustj 
86 8e 8krie tddt6 lum^a. AcidsU 8kri8odre intim 8'a ffkut^ 
domnind in Siriea Kiriniii. Si merj^d tdtt 86 8e 8hrie^ fie- 
kdre in ietdtea 8a. 



Remarks. 

Tlie Rumanian language which is principally spoken in tbe 
Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia and also in Tran- 
sylvania and some isolated neighbouring districts, originated in 
the Roman colonies of ancient Dacia, and has preserved^ not- 
withstanding many foreign admixtures, an essential Romanic 
character. It was written formerly with Cyrillian letters, 
which, however, in modem times h^ve been replaced by tbe 
Roman, being less heavy and more convenient for Euro- 
pean literary commerce. The introduction of the Roman 
letters is owing to the endeavours of a number of native 
scholars and extends already even to the newspapers. We 
may predict that it soon will be generally adopted. It is tbe 
more to be regretted, that it is just the most learned of these 
reformers of the Rumanian alphabet, who have encumbered this 
reform with unnecessary difficnlties by following, instead of 
the phonetic principle — which prevailed in the Russian •Ro- 
manic alphabet — an etymological. Whilst most other nations 
justly endeavour to render their orthography as much as pos- 
sible accordant with the successive changes of pronunoiation 



I 



RUMANIAN. 167 

and to avoid thereby such iDConveniences as are mo8t con- 
spicuous in the English orthography, the Rumanian scholars 
have generally attempted to bring back the modem language 
to the old Roman orthography given up long since so far as re- 
gards pronunciation. They write e. g. the vowel t (in their 
Russian alphabet A^) by five different signs, viz. a S t 6 4 
and the vowel f (i.) hj a e z 6 u according to the supposed, 
yet often problematic, origin of these respective vowels from 
a latin a e i o u. 

Trying to introduce a doctrinal orthography of this kind 
into common writing, would soon cause general confusion. 
Wherever a rich and widely diffused literature does not protect 
an orthography differing from the pronunciation, a nation has 
no other corrective for its orthography than its innate feeling 
and its living pronunciation; you cannot force upon the people 
the result of learned researches, which they can neither ap- 
preciate nor understand. Others indeed go not so far; they 
follow the simpler principle of preserving for those sounds, 
for which the Latin alphabet has no particular letter, the Rus- 
sian signs; but thereby they surrender the homogeneity of 
writing and its evident advantages. We have above registered 
the Russian Alphabet , a mixed and an etymological Alphabet, 
and have selected the specimens accordingly. For linguistic 
works the notation of the accents of words would be valuable ; 
we have noted them in a second specimen to show how easily 
they combine with our transcription. 

A remarkable peculiarity of the Rumanian language, espe- 
cially of the northern Daco -Rumanian dialect, is the for- 
mation (mentioned above p. 55) of an e vowel by the side of 
the (y which we find in the Slavonic languages. We know 
of no native Latin notation of these sounds, which could come 
under consideration; our transcription we have tried to justify 
at another place. ^ 

' Transactions of the Berlin Akademy. 1861. p. 151. 



168 JAPHETIC LANGUAGES. 

The Rumanian language is distinguished by a multiplicity 
of vocalic combinations; it is therefore necessary to mark, 
systematically and for the eye , the difference of the numerous 
monosyllabic diphthongs from the dissyllabic combinations, con- 
taining the same elements as the former. The vowels t and 
u^ when following upon consonants at the. end of words, almost 
lose the very body of sound, without disappearing entirely in 
pronunciation, being as it were only whispered. We consider 
these sounds as identical with the Old-Slovenian h and 'B, to 
which we refer, holding the transcription there proposed i 
and t^, which moreover is already in general use in the country 
itself. We retain also the analogous Rumanian notation of 
the short unaccented i and u in the second place of diphthongs 
at, ei^ tY, 01 y tti", j^y au^ eu etc. (as in hmde, votnik, sut^ d<m), 
in order to distinguish these diphthongs from the dissyllabic 
combination of vowels ai, oi^ ui (as in tain, voire^ suit, audu). 
From the same reason we note the semivocalic short and 
unaccented i, e and o in the first place of the diphthongs la 
le to lu, ea da with the same mark of brevity (as in lai^a, 
kme^ ktorit, lum^a^ tdate)y to distinguish them from the dis- 
syllabic ia, ie, ea, oa (as in aerie, Galilea, ploa). 

The notation &J8 and z results from our general alphabet as 
well as t which latter h^s the advantage of being is use already 
in the country; the softened d is rendered d by some authors, 
and is said to exist in dialects with the pronunciation dz; but 
the common pronunciation no longer distinguishing d from z, 
we prefer to omit in transcription the difference. 



OLD ICELANDIC. 



169 



OLD ICELANDIC. 



a a 
e e 

y ii 






u n 



au ei ey 
ja jo jo 
ja ju 

a a 
e e 6 
it u u u u 
e (or at) g (or oi) 
au .ei eu 
id id io 
ia iu 



k g 




h 


0) 


t d 


n 


8 Z 

P d 


r I 


p b 


m 


f « 




X 









k g 

t d 

p h 
ks 



— 


h 1 


n 


8 Z 




e 3 


m 


f ^ 



(9 

r I 



Specimen. 



Hljods hid ek allar 
helgar kindir, 
meiri ok minni 
mogu Heimdallar: 
vildu at ek Valfodra 
v4l framteljay 
formpjoll fir a 
pau er ek fremst um man. 



(Transcription.) 
Hliods bid ek allar 
helgar kindir^ 
meiri ok minni 
m^gu Heimdallar: 
vildu at ek ValfpSrs 
vel framtelia, 
fornspigll fir a 
^au er ek fremst um man. 



Beginning of the Volu9pa {Edda ed. Munch). 



Remarks. 

The old manuscripts differ from each other in their ortho- 
graphy, which has been reduced to fixed rules only by modern 



M 



170 JAPHETIC LANGUAGES. 

scholars. We have given above the alphabet, almost as it is 
written by Ilask» Scandinavian editors usually write ja^ jo, 
jo^ instead of the ia, Vo, to, of the manuscripts, even where 
these diphthongs have grown out of the vowel i by the in- 
fluence of a following a or u (nom. pi. shildir the shields, ace. 
pi. skioldu^ nom. sg. akioldr for skidldur, gen. sg. skiuldar). Pre- 
mising that in all such cases the vowel % remained the pre- 
dominant, we propose to write these diphthongs respectively 
idy 10, idy in order to distinguish them from ia = ja, as in 
telia (to tell), telium (we tell), which might be written also 
telja^ teljum. It seems to us not improbable, that the letters 
ce and o?, which proceed from a and 6 before an i of the 
next syllable, ought to be considered as real diphthongs, 
di and o^ (like the Latin ae for ai), although their actual 
pronunciation is that of e and o. With regard to the double 
^ (/ and <f), pointed out by J. Grimm as having existed in 
the old language, we prefer to follow the manuscripts^ which 
give only one e. The characters P and d represent the hard 
and the soft pronunciation of the English th. 



WELSH. 



171 



WELSH (KIMRI). 



y 


c 


9 


a 


t 


d 


e 






i u w 


P 


b 


ai ae aw au oi oe ei ew eu 






ia ie io iw 






• 

% 

o 


k 


9 


a 


t 


d 


e 






i U ' ^ 


P 


b 


ai oj^ cm auoi oe ei eu etf 






*/ W V V 

la te to tu 







n nil 



m mh 



n n 



m m 



ch h ' 




s (z) 


r rh 


th dd^d,dh 


I 11 


ffypJ^ /.« 


w 



X * - 



r 



w 



r 



I I 



Specimen. 

1. Bu he/yd yn y dyddiau hynny^ fyned gorchymyn allan 
oddi wrth Atigustus Cesar ^ i drethu yr hoU /yd. 2. Y trethiad 
yma a wnaethpmyd gyntaf pan oedd Cyrenius yn rliaglaw ar 
Syria. 3. A phawb a aethant i*w treihu , bob un i'w ddinas ei 
hun. 4. A Joseph hefyd a aeth i fynu o Galileay o ddinas Na- 
zareth j i ludea^ i ddinas Dafydd^ yr hon a elwir Bethlehem am 
ei fod dy a thylvyyth Dafydd. 5. I'w drethu gyd a Mair^ yr 
hon a ddyweddtasid yn wraig iddo , yr hon oedd yn feickiog, 

Ev. Luc. 2, 1 — 5. 



Transcription. 

1. Bu het>id in i diSiau hinnij vined gor^imin alan odi ur^ 
^Ugu^tus Kesar, i dr^u ir hoi vid. 2. / treBiad ima a 
una^pwid gintav pan o^d Kirenius in raglau ar Sirta, 3. A 



M2 



172 JAPHETIC LANGUAGES. 

fauh a a^ant t*u treBu^ bob un i'u dinas ei hun, 4. A lose/ 
hevid a a^ i vinu o Galilea^ o dinaS NazareBy i ludea, % dinas 
Davidy jr hon a ehmr BeBlehem am ei vod o df a Bjlu)j& Davjd. 
5. I*u dreBti g%d a Mair^ ir hon a dfivediasid jn uraig ido^ ir 
hon oed jn ver^toff. 



Remarks. 

The vowel y is not the Slovenian hard or guttural vowel (; 
it is the obtuse and indistinct vowel which we have found in 
other languages as e^ and which we write here i, because it 
comes nearest to z, and takes its rise in most cases, though 
not always, in i. In modern writing every short i is usually 
written y. We write the diphthongs fa, te^ ib, tu, with the mark 
of brevity ^^ in order to distinguish them from the dissyllabic 
combinations of the same vowels. The diphthongs ae and oe^ 
though often confounded with at and ot^ yet in pronunciation 
differ from them slightly; we therefore write them a^ and oe. 
The aspirated liquids /i, m, r^ are peculiar to the Welsh, and 
we prefer to put the sign of aspiration over the letter instead 
of placing the full h after it, the aspiration being more closely 
connected with the liquid letter than the composition with h 
would indicate. The fourth liquid letter, viz. Z, has likewise, 
besides its simple pronunciation, an aspirated one, expressed by 
doubling it, IL As in this case the I becomes at the same time 
a palatal pronunciation, the middle of the tongue touching the 
palatal point on the palate, and the aspiration passing on both 
sides of the tongue over the eye-teeth, it might be still more 
exact to render this letter by T; we omit, however, the pa- 
latal line, to spare a diacritical sign which is not absolutely 
necessary ; there being only one aspirated t The letter w is 
the vowel u before consonants, and the consonant to before 
vowels. The letter z occurs only in foreign words. 



HEBREW. 



173 









UMU 



HEBREW. 

Former pronunciation. 



V 


t< 


- 


n - 


" 


P 


- 


! n - 


D 


3 


- 


v - 


U 


- 




X -' 


n 


1 


3 


D T 





D 


D 





> 


> 


" 


- 


? 


- 


Jb 


5^ 


- 


^ 


- 


- 


t 


d 


n 


P 


b 


m 



Later pronunciation. 



A - 

- X • 

8 - 



5 - 

8 Z 



r 



I 



e 
% % % 6 e 



S 



a 



a 



n 

a 



\ \ 



TJ 



u u u 



V 


K 


— 


' ^ 


- 


- 


P 




n 


3 


3 


3 


- 


3 


- 


ID 


- 


- 


-£ 


- 


- 


- 


- 


Mi 


ir? - 


n 


•n 


3 


D 


7 


- 


- 


- 


n 


n 


5 


a 


D 


D 


• 3 



n '^ 






- ^ 

k g 

t - 

t d 

p b 



n 



m 



X 


r 


i 


- 


8 


- 


a i 


- 


8 


Z 


e 


d 


/ 


V 



y 



r I 



w 



Specimen. 

t: T ' V T T: ' V T T ••: • - ▼ - •• • v: T T • •■ : 

: D'^ffln "^oB'Sv nome D\nS« rriTi oinn -^ass-Sy iiuJm 'inb') vih 

TV ••••::--" • • ; I- ' • : • v; v - 



174 SEMITIC LANGUAGES. 

D^'TSN tuiPT 7. :d'»oS D'^o ]>3 S'^tno \-t^^ D>®n -n-ina y^pi ^n> 
Svo "^tL*N D^^n Ml i^^pnS nnno n^'?* d"*©."! :'«3 S'*i3'«'» vp-irrnx 

' .. . : - - I . y ^ 

Genes. 1, 1 — 7. 

Former pronunciation. 
1. Bi ra'asit bara'a Hldhim nt ha samaim ua ni ha ^ars, 

ooo eoooo o oo(/ oo oo" 

2. Ua ha ^ars haiatah tvhu ua h/hu^ ua ruik ial panai tahum 
wa ruj[ nldhim mq.ra^apt >al panai ha maim. 3. Ua ia'amqr 
nldhim: iahi ^aur^ ua iahi >aur, 4. Ua iar>a Hldhim nt ha 
mur ki taub; ua iabdil ^ildhim bain ha mur ua bain ha ruik. 

o —o 'ooooo o oo oo o yi, o 

5. Ua iaqra'a nldhim la >^ur iaum^ ua Iq, j[U8k qara^a lailah; 
ua iahi iqrb uq iqhi buqr iqum ^qj(qd. 6. Ua iq>qmqr nldhim: 
iahi raai' bi tank ha maim^ uihi mabdil bain maim la maim. 

oo3oo OO' o o e eo 

7. Ua iaiai nldhim nt ha raqiy^ ua iabdil bain ha mmm ^asar 

ooo oo o ooJi'ooo e o o •<> 

mi-tqj[t la rqqii uq bain ha maim ^qifqr mi->ql la rqqi^; uq 
iahi kin. 

Later pronunciation. 
1. Bere^stO bard* 'dohtm ^e^ hassdmayifii we^e^ hdwe^. 
2. Weh'ddres hdye^dh ^Ohu wdvohu^ '^§X^^^X '^^ PS^^ ^§h6m 
weruj[ ^^lohtm meraxdfeB >al pene hammdyim. 3, WayyQmter 
>el6htm: yeht >6r wayeht ^or, 4. Wayyar> >el6htm ^eOhd'or kt 
too; wayyavdsl >Aohtm ben hd>dr uven haj(6SeJ[. 5. Wayyiqrd' 
^elohtm ld*&i* yom^ welaj[68ej[ qdrd^ Idildh; wayeht ierev wayeht 
voqer yom ^ej[dd. 6. Wayyonner ^^lohtm: yeht rdqt^ be06j[ 
hammdyim^ unht mavdtl ben mayim Idmdyim. 7. Wayya'os 
^dohtm ^eOhdrdqt'^ wayyavdel ben hammayim ^dser mittaj[a0 
IdrdqU uven hammayim >dser mS>al ldrdqt>; wayeht J^en. 

Remarks. 
The Hebrew writing of our books and manuscripts is re- 
markable as being composed out of two apparently hetero- 



HEBREW. 175 

geneoua elements of a very different date ^nd origin. The 
one element Gontains real cbai*acters, which, although their form 
was slightly altered after the exile, yet^ as to their figure 
and alphabetic composition, belong np doubt to the oldest 
epochs of Hebrew, or perhaps even Sexoitio ciyilisatioQ, The 
other element^ the pointings was added only about seveu 
hundred years after Christ. By this addition no cbairaeter of 
the old saered text was altered ; it only served to fix the tra- 
ditional'* propunciation. According to the opinion now ge- 
nerally received , the old pronunciation did not differ froin. the 
modern one. The ancients, it is supposed, wrote only the con- 
soMnts, and left all the vowels to be supplied by the readier. 
Our opinion is, that a mere consonantal alphabet would presup- 
pose by far too a,bstract a phonic doctrine on the part of its. 
inventors , and ^ even if such a systematic separation of the 
consonanta had been possible, there would have been no reason 
for not inventing corresponding sign^ for the other separated 
element, viz. the vowels. Moi'eovei: the first and most neces* 
sary requisite of every writing is its intelligibility, wlMtQh could 
not be attained without written signs for the pirincipal and 
most expressive vowels. We therefore consider the Hebrew 
alphabet to have been, like all the other old Asiatic alphabets, 
essentially syllabic, i. e. representing by each character a full 
vocal syllable. With this syllabic character of the Hebrew 
letters it is not incompatible, that the inherent vowel is occa- 
sionally replaced by another pure vowel following , or eclipsed 
by the influence of the accent of another vowel in the same 
word. The two characters -« and ^i represented in the old 
Hebrew, as in the other Semitic alphabets, the two vowels i 
and Uy being the two most remote from the vowel a , and tbe^e-^ 
fore the most important in writing. They wei'e primitive 
vowels in many words, in which they are still pronounced as 
such, as in the roots ]'^'n din^ '^^v) hir^ or in the proper names 
}h'^"»2« Sidun (§id6n) Sidwvy p'lK Siun (Siyyon) 2i.m, 



176 SEMITIC LANGUAGES. 

Placed, however, before other vowels in the beginning of 
a syllable they represented also the semivowels y and w, into 
which, according to their nature, they usually pass in the 
Greek and Latin, and almost all languages. Tet, this se- 
mivocalic power is only a derivative and secondary one, the 
primary being always and even in the pointed writing its 
vocalic power. One might be inclined to attribute also to the 
letter « a mere vocalic power in the primitive writing, con- 
sidering the frequent use of the j* quiescens in the ^pointed 
writing, and comparing the letter ^ a in the analogous old 
Persian writing. But a further consideration disproves this 
opinion. It is as easy to prove that the letter ^ in the name 
of yy yyy JeT ^i^ >\^ ^yy ^ Z)anat<^« (tt^^^i-n , Darius) has no oon- 
sonantic element, as to prove that the letter « in Sifc<tt> iSa'ul 
2aov^ (part, of bt^tr) sa^al) has no vocalic element. The Se- 
mitic ^^ never takes a semivocalic power, nor is it an aspi- 
ration, but a slightly explosive consonant. The condition of 
the M quiescens is therefore totaly different from that of the 
■» or 1 quiescens. 

If the assertion is selfevident, that each system of phonetic 
writing must represent the most essential and prominent ele- 
ments of that language, for which it was originally intended, 
we must presume, that in the language which was first written 
with this Semitic alphabet, only three vowels were necessary 
to make it intelligible, a, i and u^ as in the old Egyptian, old 
Persian, Assyrian, and likewise, though with a separation of 
long and short vowels, in the Sanskrit, the Arabic and other 
languages. We may be almost sure, that also the Hebrew 
language of the time of Moses and David did not yet distin- 
guish all the vocal shades , represented in the pointed system of 
the 7^ century after Christ , but only the three principal vowels 
fr, i and u. But the language of our oldest Hebrew texts suppo- 
ses already the separation of long and short vowels, which was 
indispensable for certain grammatical distinctions. Yet the old 



HEBREW. 177 

writing knows only one i and one u and no separate a. We 
must therefore suppose either that this writing was invented 
for a condition of the Hebrew language before the time, to 
which our historical knowledge of it reaches, or that it was 
taken from another people and therefore, from the beginning, 
was defective in expressing the Hebrew vowels. This dis- 
crepancy between pronunciation and writing necessarily in- 
creased in the space of perhaps 2000 years, the former always 
advancing, the latter being stationary, till the invention of the 
vowel-points brought them both again together. The question 
now is, whether and how far oar way of transcribing may be 
applied even to the oldest Hebrew text and its primitive pro- 
nunciation. We still have a certain number of unpointed 
texts of several other Semitic languages, the writing of which 
we may likewise suppose to be defective. The usefulness of 
a general and regular way of transcribing these texts as well 
as the oldest Hebrew, in a linguistical point of view, can 
scarcely be contested ; for a transcription oJBPering to the reader 
only unreadable consonants is certainly as inconvenient as a 
transcription with more or less arbitrary vowels, of which the 
genuine are not discernible from the hypothetical. We may 
therefore be justified in proposing a transcription according to 
our views especially in application to the oldest Hebrew, for 
the interpretation of which we possess more ample means. 

The principal thing to be done in this respect is, to separate 
in the language the ancient phonic elements from the later. 

A later origin and introduction we attribute to all the fri- 
cative modifications of consonants (indicated by the non inser- 
tion of the dagesh lene)^ which are of mere phonic import 
without any grammatical signification. The age of the pro- 
nunciation indicated by the dagesh forte ^ which also serves 
to distinguish grammatical modifications, is more doubtful. 
Whilst in reference to the pointed writing we propose 
transcribing the dagesh forte (as the Arabic teMid) by 



178 SEMITIC LANGUAGES. 

duplicaiioQ of the consonaDt, we shoold^ as regards tbe old 
writing, prefer the traoBcription with tbe usual line of dnpli* 
eation above tbe consonant. 

As to the vowels, the diiBcuUy of a regular transcription 
is greater, owing to tbe defectiveness of the old writii^. The 
gradual increase of vowels may be considered a general rule 
in most languages. Tbe later origin and secondary value 
of the pointed vowels in Hebrew cannot be contested; this 
results also from the fact, that they no-^wbere, like the old 
vowels *> and i , distingnish different roots. The e and o vowels 
of tbe pointed system may still be traced back to their respec^ 
live priinary vowels, and replaced by them without altering 
or obscuring the language itself. But it has already been ob<- 
served, that the Hebrew language in all parts of the Old Testa* 
ment supposes the distinction of a short « and u as well as 
of a long ^, although they are not separately expressed. We 
roust in consequence supply these vowels^ where they are wanted. 
It is another imperfection of the old writing, that it does aot 
indicate, whether the inherent vowel a or no vowel at all is 
to be^protiounced. We find the same defect in the Old Bgyp* 
tian and Habessynian writing, as well as in several modern 
Indian writing systems in which no (Sanskritio) virdma is used, 
and the nearest analogy occurs in the old Persian. We are 
thus at a loss to know, except by inference from the pointed 
writing, or from grammatical laws, or from foreign transcrip- 
tion, whether we have to read -^ as ^, or as at, or as the semi* 
vowel t (jr), and i as «, or as at<, or as the semivowel u (w). 
In fact •» was pronounced as i in n^hSt*. 'AKsah QElUah) *Ektaa^ 
f,'«2f Stun (Siyyon) 2iciv\ as qi in jD-'jp Qainqn (Qenan) Kaivar^ 
D'jnxo Mqsrqim (Mi^rayim) MedQatfi; as i (y) in \^;^i Iqrdqn 
(Yarden) ^lo^davog^ yn'O Mqdtqn (Midydn) Madidfi; and i as 
u in i^^u^x *A8U7* QAsmr) lAaaovg; n^S Lud (Lud) Aovi] as 
qu in ynv iAiqu OEsdu) ^Haav^ ^v^ Rq>q^ (^S*'^) ^P(xyoiv\ as 
u (w) in n^^-^a Nmquih (Ninewih) Nivevi, ]v Iquqn (Y&mn) 
^Iiovav^ "^^S Lfiui (LSwtJ AevL 



HEBEEW. 1 79 

It is evidenrt, therefore, that to make from any unpointed Se- 
fiaitic wtiting a proper and readable transcription, a previous 
knowledge of the language is indispensable. Modem researches 
have taught, that, among the pointed vowels, long — (a) 
isikes its rise mostly in a, short ^ (p) itt w, long -^ (d) 
always in a, short — (e) mostly in i', -:;- (S) in i or 
m, -^ (o) in u ot aUy or in a degenerated d; •»-;- and i 
answer to the old heavy vowels i and w, •»— and *i to old 
fli and au] — (i) and — (w), as well as -7- ^^M?a mobile 
take their rise often in old a. These general facts afibrd a 
general rule for transcription, without however superseding the 
special consideration of each particular Case. Our specimen 
will best show , what is here meant. But it is important, that 
the reader should always be able to distinguish immediately 
the vowels added by the learned transcriber from those written 
in the original text. The former are to be indicated for this 
purpose by the little circle placed underneath. 

In transcribing the pointed writing, it is not l^ss de- 
sirable to facilitate to the reader as much as possible the dis^ 
finctian between the old and the later writing. Apparently 
this might be attained by treating, in harmony with the re- 
ceived view, all old characters, including ■» and 1, as pure 
consonants, and the new points as the only vowels, e. g. >3 
fey, v^p'j roqiT/'j Tt<n haowr^ n'^n touro^ ^33 uwvSyn. The 
reader, then, would in the transcription have simply to re- 
gard atll consonants as representing the old writing, all vowels 
as representing the points. This mode of transcription, however, 
would not only offer to the eye a form of writing incapable of 
being read (nobody being able to pronounce combinations soch 
as -'ly/, -^owv) and therefore offensive in itself, but it would 
not even correspond to the intentions of the authors of the 
pointed system, who, according to our view, did not mean*^ 
as little indeed as the old writers themselves— to consider the 
•» and 1 asi consonants , which they never could have been. 



180 SEMITIC LANGUAGES. 

The notation •»-;-, ">[, •«— and ^ , differed from long — , — , 
-^ and —, no longer in sound but only in origin. In tran- 
scription, however, the distinction is necessary; we, therefore, 
represent the combination of the ancient character and the 
points by ty u, e^ 6^ the simple vowels if long by 7, u^ e, 6, 
if short by i^ u^ e, o. The distinction between long and short 
vowels , although the authors of the pointed system neglected 
it, is the more necessary, as the diffierence of quantity, at 
least in -^i- and -7-, coincides usually with a difference of 
origin. The long — , being pronounced by those who used the 
points, and still by the Spanish and other Jews, as a very 
broad g, was indicated by the same sign as the short 0, although 
the former originated in <?, the latter in u; and the long -^ (^) 
taking its rise in a was not distinguished from the short -:;- (e) 
which took its rise in i. We prefer^ following other authorities^ 
the transcription of long — and — by a and d instead of g 
and e; and for the sake of etymology we represent i and -^ 
by 6 and e instead of 6 and e , the diacritical point not being 
indispensable. The shortest pronunciation of the vowels -^, -::- 
and — , by which they lose — not indeed in reality, but in the 
laws of the Hebrew rhythmic system — their syllabic value, 
is indicated by the addition of a iewd. We have already in 
other cases expressed this extreme shortness, which amounts 
almost to a total absence of vocalic sound, by putting the 
sign of brevity above the letter; we therefore write a, ^, <?, for 
~9 TT 9 — • ^^^ same mark might be placed above the ifewd 
mobile I, if this were not already sufficiently marked by the 
little circle. 

The vocalic organism of the Hebrew language at the time of 
the introduction of the points will in its remarkable regularity 
best appear in the schema given above. There we see, starting 
from the central vowels a, i, u^ in a vertical direction the weake- 
ned, in an horizontal direction the gradually strengthened vowels 
on each side in their regular position ; and those signs, which 



HEBREW. 181 

have a double pronunciation (-::-, — , —, — -), are found by 
the side of each other, as are also on the other hand those 
different signs, which have the same pronunciation (— and 
•» — , — and •• — , — and i, — and i). 

There is no distinction in the Hebrew writing between the 
iewa mobile, which we write e, and the iewd quieacenSy which 
we omit altogether^ because it was not pronounced at all. 

In our specimen we have, for the sake of comparison with 
the old writing; retained the sign of (< ' in the beginning of 
words; being, however, there necessarily understood, it may 
be omitted as in the Arabic writing. The pa^aj( furtivum, 
as indicating only the natural phonic transition from the vowels 
%, S, u, 6 to one of the deep gutturals n, y, n, does not want 
any transcription. The letter d, when it becomes fricative, we 
transcribe j[, since it was doubtless spoken nearer to the pa- 
latal point than n x- '^^^ guttural (emphatic) pronunciation 
of ID (arabic J^) and x (arabic lk>) is undoubted; we there- 
fore write t and $; to regard the former as a medial— on ac- 
count of the Arabic J^ = d (see below)— there is no reason. 
The ancient sound t£7 s was later split up into a deeper 
sound Ti) and a clearer one ti*, which latter approached very 
near to d «, and therefore must have been spoken much like 
the Polish s (see above p. 161). The signs ^, y, ^, J, require 
no farther explanation. The accents of words ^ where it ap- 
pears useful to mark them, may easily be added. 



182 



SEMITIC LANOOAGES. 



SYKIAN. 



- O. 



C-) 



e 





a e ^ ' u 
" S 1 6 a 



% 1 


- 


01 _ 




/ 


- <^ 


- 


^ - 




9 


* ^ 






- 


hi y>r 


^ - 


- 


i - 




t 


^ ? 


V 


^JO ] 


i \ 


t,^ ci,d 


«S teS 


>o 







f,f b,v 



- 


h 


j 


- 


X 


1 


- 


V 

8 


- 


- 


s 


- 


n 


8 


Z 


m 


- 


- . 



y 



w 



^v 



jr 



Specimen. 

'|91i^9 01^090 .1^001^ ^ii^f ^^J^ I^Q-ib^O •'OIOSO 010^ ^0«l 

0010 .)90iQj ]o(nJ .lock ii>o|o 3. .U^ wi^l \^ in^po 



foCk ^▲i^o . {TqA? UmoJ^ ]oi2k f^o 4. •f90iaJ 
tan i m\o .iiViVii] )90iaxb^ louk fi^^o 5. . jgniirilS |90iaJ 

• liiMk fJ^OA fjid. loOlO ML2tf9 looio .|i >N If^ 

Gen. 1, 1 —5. 

1. BertHO ber6> ^aldhd' yo^ iemayo' weyd^ mr>d\ 2. Warlo' 
hewd^ tuh webnh wej(e8u^d^ >al >apa% tehumo^^ weru^eh ddlohd' 
meraj(ef6^ ^al mpai may6\ 3. Wemar >al6hd': nehwe> niihrd* 
wahfwo' nuhrd\ 4. Waj(ez6' >aldh6' lenuhro' deiaplr wa/eras 
>al6h6' be^ nvhrd* lexeifuj(d\ 5. Waqero' >al6h6' lenvhrd> Hmomo' 
W(de^e8uj(6' qer6> lilyo' wahew6> ramSo^ wahewo' ^afr6> yaumo' j(a8. 



SYRIAN. 183 

Kemarks. 

Besides the old points of the Syrian writings we find 
in the manuscripts, since the 7'** century, also the Greek 
vowels added to the Syrian letters in small figures, as we 
have exhibited them above. They represent the five vowels 
a, e^ i, (?, «, of which a is always short, o (= cf, replacing 
an older long a) and i are always long, e is long, when united 
with >^ (as vowel-sign) or 1 quiescens, short, when placed 
without either, and w, always united with o (as vowel-sign), 
is sometimes long and sometimes short. The short _!L c re- 
presents in the language at the same time the short i\ we follow, 
however, in this respect the indigenous writing, transcribing it 
by e. The want of an indication wliere an audible sewd is to be 
pronounced and where the consonant alone without any vowel 
is spoken, exists also in the Syrian writing. Tradition alone 
supplies this imperfection. In the modern pronunciation the 
feeble consonantal sound of 1 'is often dropped entirely, 
although the letter is still written, and the appertaining vowel is 
then immediately connected with the consonant preceding the ] : 
e. g. daloho', is pronounced instead o£ de^aloho^ In such cases 
we propose to keep, for the sake of etymology, the sign ', 
but to place it over the vowel connected with it, writing e. g. 
ddloho\ The same letters represent in Syrian writing the ex- 
plosive and their corresponding fricative letters. Sometimes 
the former are indicated by a dot over them , the latter by a 
dot beneath ; but usually those dots are omitted. In every case 
the transcription has to follow the pronunciation. 



184 



SEMITIC LANODAOES. 









ARABIC. 








^ 


«-, ' 


.. 


t ' 


.. 


c » - 


^mm 


.. 




^ 


k3' 

• • 


«^ 


OJ 


— 


c & 


— 


— 




o 

• • 


o 


o 




o 


ufc _ 


C> 


« 


1^ 






— 


• 


>« 


• 


— 


— 


i 


a 


a 


_ 




. 


/?/* - 


« 


« 




• 

% 

u 

ax 


% 
u 
au 


;[; 






i ? 


- 


$ 


y 






« 


d 


n 


8 Z 


^ 


s 


r I 






- 


b 


m 


f - 


- 


- 


w 



Specimen. 



•Jf vjU^aJI .iUo 1. 



m lO |0S«0 MOO O 



>^. 0#0 3^ > 



0-^^3 V^W o-^^ o^' ^- o^^^*^ C5^^ ^^^ V^J 



^ i:.> 






.^ ^s^^^^ i. 






^ o xi'O J y 



C-w- f- 



^ji3 ^ *JJt ^»;c^ 6. o-^*^ "^ -^'^' -^ r' r^^^'* 



ARABIC. Ig5 

J J o ^ 



Suratu *l baqarati. Bismi *lldhi *l-raKmdni ^l-raKimi. 
1. ^dlika 'Z kitdbu^ Id raiba fxhi liuddn lil muttaqina^ 2. a?Za- 
5fna yu*minuna bi 'I yaibi^ wa yuqlmuna 'l-ialdta^ wa mimmd 
razaqndhum yunfiquna^ 3. wa 'lladina yu^minuna bimd unzila 
ilaika wamd unzila min qablika, wa bi ^l dj[irati hum yuqinuna. 

4. Uldnka >ala hudan min rabbihim, wa uldnka humu 'I mufliKuna, 

5. Inna ^Uadlna kafaru sawdmn >alaihim a^andartakum am lam 
tunSirhum; Id yunninuna, 6. Jfatoma *lldhu >ald qulubihim^ wa 
>ald samHhim^ wa >ald abadrihim yisdwatun^ wa lahum >addbun 
^adimun. 7. Wa mina 'l-ndsi man yaqulu : dm^nnd bi ^lldhi wa 
bi 'Z yaumi 'Z dj(iri^ wa md hum bimwminina, 8. yuj(ddi>una 
^lldha wa *Uadina dmanu, wa md yaxdayiina Hid anfusahum^ 
wa md yaiyuruna. 



Remarks. 

Our only object here is the written language and its pro- 
nunciation, as it has been fixed very accurately for the Koran 
and faithfully handed down. This pronunciation is still fol- 
lowed by the Readers of the Koran, and is in use in a num- 
ber of Bedouin tribes. The manifold deviations of the mo- 
dern dialects have never been admitted in writing; and the 
pronunciation of the Koran is still everywhere understood 
and regarded as the best. When, however, in particular 
cases it is desirable to render a different dialectic pronuncia- 

N 



186 SEMITIC LANGUAGES. 

tion by Roman characters, then it is necessary to determine 
first the individual pronunciation — as is done by Eli Smith in 
his appendix to Robinson's Palestine — and to transcribe it 
accordingly. 

Arabic writing, like that pronunciation which the Or- 
thoepists teach, distinguishes only three vowels, a, t, u, — which 
may be long or short— and two diphthongs, ai and au. The 
latter have sometimes lost their second element in pronunciation, 

though in writing it is retained; f. i. ^J^, '^j^ ^cdaiy salauta^ 
are pronounced /a^, ^aldta. It is the same as with the 
L subscriptum in the Greek, which is still written but not 
pronounced. This analogy will justify our writing in such cases 
even in Arabic — for etymological reasons— an i or u sub- 
scriptum: iala, saldta. In the Article aZ, the vowel, when fol- 
lowing upon a vowel, is passed over, which, like other eli- 
sions, we note in the European manner by an apostrophe. The 
sign Madda - is either a mark of the length of the vowel, 
and then to be rendered accordingly; or it represents at the 
same time ^ Hamza^ in which case this will have to be added: 

^Lu^ Sana^dnu. The perpendicular FatKa^ also, is mostly only 
the sign of a long vowel. 

Hamza (see above p. 68) must necessarily be transcribed 
only in the middle of words; in the beginning its omission 
produces no ambiguity; we write therefore ywminuna^ but 
allaStna instead of mUadlna. Our sign of > for ^ shows its 
phonetic relation to the weaker ' ', and has moreover the 
practical advantage of being convenient before a capital letter 
in the beginning of names: MZf, ^Akka. Ot ^= K and \Ji =q 
we have spoken above (p. 69), as also of the linguals or gut- 
tuTO-dentals -b, -t?, lK^, O^, d, d, s, z, With respect to the accu- 
rate pronunciation of the latter sounds, especially the medial 
J? d, which hitherto by European scholars has been taken 
for a tenuis and therefore connected with the basis t (th^ t^ % t). 



ARABIC. 187 

we refer our readers to a special treatise by the author, in 
which these questions are discussed at length.^ It may be 
doubted whether ^ is to be rendered by g or / , the former 
representing the older and purer, the latter the more general 
modern pronunciation ; we prefer the latter , for which we find 
an additional reason in the fact, that the foreign languages 
which have adopted this letter with the whole Arabic alphabet 
or in Arabic words, almost universally pronounce it/. The 
TeSdid «' is a sign of reduplication of the consonant over which 
it is placed; in transcribing, the consonant itself is to be re- 
peated instead. The Jas'm ^ is of importance only in syllabic 
writing, showing the absence of a vowel; in transcription it 
requires no distinctive mark. In all cases of assimilation of 
consonants, the etymological point of view must prevail in 
transcription as it does in the native writing, the assimilation 
being generally self evident even for us. We write* therefore 
radadtuy ajradti^ not radattu^ a^atti. The article al ought to be 
always kept separate, according to the custom in all European 
languages; only, before the solar letters its assimilation, pro- 
ducing a closer connexion in sound with the following noun, 
may be marked by a line of connection. We therefore write 
al kitdbu^ but al-raKim^ al-ndsu^ [to show the pronunciation 
arraKim^ janndsu. The almost general extinction of the sound 
of » A at the end of words is no reason why it should not 
be noted there , as in the midst of words, by h. In the same 
manner, s at the end is to be transcribed hy when pronoun- 
ced so; but when spoken as f, is to be written t There 
is no difficulty in making this distinction, as the different 
pronunciation of » is determined by a definite rule. 

^ On the sounds of tiie Arabic language and their transcription. Publi- 
cations of the Berlin Academy 1861. 



N2 



188 



SEMITIC LANQUAOES. 



Gl^ll^Z (ETHIOPIC). 



O h 


- 


- 


dk U 




W> 7* 


^ 


- 


^ 




•a 7 


4> 


- 


•\ 




e H 


A 


m 


UJ 


e 


1- J? 


m 


1 


A 


4 A 


T ft 


A 


0) 


A. 


(D 



Classes 
12 3 4 5 6 7. 
"a Vb Vi. *a ^ Vi v^ 

ka ku kl kd ke ke ko 
etc. 



>a *a 






Ka Jul 


ka ga 


ha 


- 


i« 


ka ga 


ta 


- 


.r« 


ta da 


fa 


- 


ia 


ta da 


Va 


na 


8a 


pa ba 


p^a 


ma 


/« 



a 


a 


§ 


e 




6 


i 




u 


at 




an 



ya 
ra la 



wa 



Specimen. 

^A.AA : cPA^Ai- : «^^ :: ®^a : ^•IH.^'f1rfbC : t^Ht-'i : -UCH'i : ®V^l : 
-nCilf :: ©C^P- : MH.^'flifbC : A-flCVTF : Imai : UJf"^ : (DJLiiOi : ^-W.^'A 
ifbC : <»^^"riA : -ACilf : ©^^^^'HA : Pr6i(^ :: ©ftC^P- : MH,^-flifbC : A-AC 
'ilf : 6A1- : ® AK"A<P^ : A»A.1- : (DV^i : A,A,+ : OA'flfii : ®V>1 : a>^Ai- : Q = 

Gen. 1, 1 — 6. 



1. Bak'addmi gabera >eqzvabeKer samdya wa medra. 2, Wa 
medraa ntdstarn wankonat deluta wat^elmat mal'elta k'aldi vsa 
manfasa ^eqzvabeKer yeVelel maUelta mdu B. Wa yebe ^eazvabeKer 
layekun berhdn wa kdna berhdn, 4. W^a re*em ^eqzl>abeKer laberhdn 

«7o o ot7 oc7 o o 

kama sandt wa falaVa ^eqzvabeKer md*kala berKdn wa md'kala 
Vdmat. 5. Wa samaijo >eqzvabeKer lab&i^Kdn 'data wa laVelmat 

s it U Q%f o o o so 

lelxta wa kona lelUa wa VabKa wa kona ma>dlta ^afiada. 



ob;bz. 189 



o o 



Remarks. 

The Abyssinians have transformed the old Himiaritic writing 
into a complete syllabarium , divided into ^even rows according 
to the different inherent vowels. Five of them are pronounced 
with the long vowels a, e^ f, J, u; the first row, which alone 
we have exhibited above, witli a short a approaching in pro- 
nunciation to e. and the sixth either with the obtuse vowel e 
or without any vowel. This latter uncertainty has been ob- 
served already in several other languages (see above p. 178). 
To show the true character of the language, it is important 
to mark all the long vowels with the sign of length over them, 
although the first of them alone (a) has a short one (a) cor- 
responding to it. The sixth form of y and w (fi ye and cr we) 
is also employed to express the short diphthongic i and u 
after vowels. The consonantal value of ^ and w^ in fact, dis- 
appears in this position, and it seems therefore justifiable to 
deviate in such cases from the indigenous custom, which is 
only a consequence of the syllabic writing, and to write in 
our transcription ai and aii according to the pronunciation in- 
stead of ay and aw. 

Amongst the consonants, the Semitic letters §, ^, are wanting. 
The sound of Ul and of A is at present the same. But the Am- 
haric palatal row, the forms of which are all taken from 
those of the dental row, shows plainly that A belonged to 
the dentals and was formerly pronounced «, and that lU in 
consequence corresponded to i. The same conclusion is ar- 
rived at from the palaeographical form of lU, as well as from 
etymological reasons. Two classes of sounds are not found in any 
other Semitic alphabet. One of them is the same as the Ossetiau 
class ottenues (see above p. 140). Our transcription by A', ^', 
etc. renders exactly the pronunciation. The other is a new 
local class, which may be regarded as a peculiar developement 
of the Semitic q. It is of a deep guttural nature, and palaeo* 



190 SEMITIC LANGUAGES. 

graphically derived from the next guttural class ^9 ^) jt) ^S 
which latter is pronounced somewhat nearer to the palatal point. 
Some scholars call the letters of the former class diphthongs, 
regarding the characteristic phonic element of the class as a 
vocalic u belonging to the following vowel. If we had here 
to deal with an augmentation of the inherent vowel, we should 
find the same augmentation as well after other consonants as 
after the gutturals. But it is only a peculiar deep gutturalisa- 
tion of the consonantal element, approaching in some respect 
to the sound of kw^ gw^ etc. —in a similar way as the palatals 
£, g etc. in other languages approach to the combination of 
ky^ gy^ etc. — without being identical, however, with the com- 
bination of the two letters k and w, or g and w^ etc., which 
would have been written "nCD, 70, etc. The transcription 
by ky g etc. would give a right hint to the reader, but ap- 
pears too artificial and unusual. We prefer therefore to 
write ky g, j(j k\ adding the guttural point over them. With 
regard to the letters 6 , H , A, it results from the whole system 
of sounds in this language, that they form a peculiar class of 
explosive letters, corresponding to the other classes. Their 
original pronunciation was probably t\ d*, t'\ and afterwards 
ty 4^* Vt *^® medial of which (d) passed finally into the pure 
fricative ^r, as we find it pronounced in Amharic. 



AMHARIC. 



191 



AMHARIC. 



^ 

7 



o 

In 

e 
i- 

T 
a e 

o 

^ 



at at^ az du 



n 



- 


- 


4l> 


- 


4> 


- 


nt 


T 


A 


- 


m 


1 


A 


^ 



ch 7h U 
•5» 



Pi 
U) 



•K* 



H 



t 

s 

1> 



V 

3 

d 
b 



- 


- 


«' 


- 


/fe' 


- 


<r' 


/ 
n 


r 


- 


<• 


n 


p' 


m 



K R h 

J - 



V 

8 



8 

/ 



Z 



? 

4 A 

(D 






Specimen. 

U-ATHD- : A^J?- : 7»P : Kh^ : i4:h^ : MlVl,irV : ^Vt\ :: Viqh1:>'^+^ 
U-A- : UViCh-f-h : 'Tli' : A^i-AP^ :: U-AfOT : PAJ?^ : AjT?" : ^If^? 
104, : npjp : \>Af dr(<» : AZ.Af OT : JPA : VlCh-f-fl : Pmjt : -JO^AIl 

Isenberg, Amharic Gramm. p. 14. 



BaKawdrydt zaman babsta Krestlydn endeh ydlac andenat na- 
baradebdt hulddau ande segd andit nafs&m ^eskthonu deras 
KresUydndtem hulu ba Kre8t68 kat6 altalayum huld^au ya *Adam 
l^oc enda nabaru basegdy huld^aum lardsdcau ydla Krestos 
yaVafu j[dt^e'dn enda nabaru ^endshum bahdimdnot huld^au 
bdnde Kre8t08 ddnu, 



192 SEMITIC LANGUAGES. 



Remarks. 

The Amharic alphabet differs from the Ge^ez only by the 
accession of several new sounds ^ which by the inhabitants are 
called ^Islamitic^9 being indeed for the most part Arabic sounds. 
To these belong especially the palatal letters c, /, w, JT, f , d^, 
all derived as to form, from the corresponding dentals. The 
sibilant ID, which originally, as we have observed in reference to 
the Ge'eZy seems to have been sounded as ^, has been divided, 
as in Uebrew, into two sounds; the letter id being confined 
to the sharper sound i, which must have approached the Po- 
lish 8j and Pi being added to represent the deeper sound «. 
The letter ili, corresponding in Gefez with the Arabic ^ Ky 
had lost in Amharic its strong breath, being almost weakened 
to the sound of the simple U, h. In a subsequent time, there- 
fore, when Arabic words, containing the letter^, /f, were ia- 
troduced into Amharic, a new Amharic letter was wanted to 
express this strong spirans, and 7h was added for this pur- 
pose. We distinguish in consequence this new letter from the 
older one only by a diacritical point, placed under it, K, The 
vocalisation is the same as in the Ge'ez. 



o o 



OLD EGYPTIAN. 



193 






Q»LJ 



OLD EGYPTIAN. 

ra 
1*= 



,1 







;* 



AMA/W 



,v 



o 



.(> 



r 



T 



III 

IS- 

LM 



on 







a 






W i 






u 

u (m, df). 



k 

a) 



t 

(0 



p b 

(r>)(b) 



- 


h 


' 


X 
(X) 


n 


8 


(n) 


(?) 




(0 


m 
(rn) 


f 



r (I) 



194 HAMITIC LANGUAGES. 



Specimen. 



^MiTi(gs],(STH.(rJH 1. 



1S^,:k"fe).PJ-J^^.wI.:>0. 



/^"-^a 






A/S/VWA * 11 ■* 



i\m, Mt ■ '^ 1^ ^'s% -i^M 



H-^"^wii. ^^^.-^^A 



tofl _ 

A/SA/S/VA • 

iSiSank (p^^^ y 2iaa)yxig). Takrut(p'}^n^ TaxiXw&ig). Kanbut^ 
Kambatt (Ka/Lipvorjc), ^^iarsa (cuneif. X^ayarSuy uJ^n^TiJnjf, 
SsQ^Tjg), Klaupatra, Pianj( {^ivaxri^). ahu (GgOOT). aJiet 
(ege^T). seba (CeSj). bani (Sonj). af {^^^^ AA<J). ma 
(IIHJ5 iUe). Bar Q^VJi). nehgsi (negros and) nehesitu (negres- 
ses). iuma (eiOUj JOW). kahu (K«5g). kent ((^OHT), 
AaA6 (Kd.Ke). anyk (^.^0K). %A (^^CJOpg). % (CK6,S). 
matai. (U^.TOJ). "aj^w (aiSOTJ, gAftjOVJ). % (B^*^). 
*a^(Z^.TqJ). ^/^«J (*pOTf). ;rsA (Sy^.qT). aw^^^ (COVTH). 

Remarks. 

The hieroglyphic writing was at all times essentially an ideo- 
graphic writing, in which every sign expresses a whole idea 
and its corresponding words. It is true that we find from 



OLD EGYPTIAN. 195 

the oldest times a certain number of pure phonetic signs inter- 
mingled with them, but of secondary nature. Those are not 
intended to supplant the ideographic signs, but to suggest the 
proper words for them, to supply them with grammatical forms, 
and to write foreign names. Besides those two classes of- 
signs , there are others of an intermediate nature. It is evi- 
dent that our transcription could not reproduce in any way 
this complicated system of writing ; we have only to deal with 
its phonetic part and to determine the different sounds of the 
ancient language. This task has been accomplished once al- 
ready by the Egyptians themselves, viz. by the Christian Egyp- 
tians, when they changed their indigenous writing for the 
Greek alphabet , adding to it six new characters for the same 
number of sounds peculiar to the Egyptian and unknown to 
the Greek language. The comparison of the old Egyptian 
with the Demotic and Coptic writing , and the examination 
of proper names transcribed anciently from hieroglyphics into 
foreign languages and vice versa, are the principal means 
to determine the old Egyptian pronunciation. They are per- 
haps not quite sufficient to remove all the doubts which are 
still entertained amongst Egyptian scholars, yet I may refer 
to what I have said on this point in another place. ^ 

The pronunciation of the Egyptian sounds, as given above 
in our transcription, is what the later Egyptians themselves 
gave to the hieroglyphic signs. They may have erred in some 
points, but those points are doubtful also for us, and it would 
therefore be advisable not to decide any thing in advance of 
this later pronunciation, before those doubts have been tho- 
roughly removed. We add here only a few remarks on spe- 
cial points. 

The short vowels rarely were written, but were regarded 
as conveyed in the respective consonants. The three vowel 

^ Konigsbach p. 169 sqq. 



196 HAMITIC LANGUAGES. 

signs ^ , j^, ..*..^, wbioh are imperfectly distinguished in the 
corresponding Demotic, are not distinguished at all in the 
Coptic words, and in the transcription of Greek and Roman 
names. All three are rendered in the Coptic and in these 
transcriptions by the vowel a, with which e and o are regarded 
as identical. In the hieroglyphic writing , however, they very 
rarely interchange with one another. There l\ is mostly 
found in the beginnig of words, ^^ mostly in the middle or 

on the end of words. The sign ^ o seems to have expressed 

originally long dy which not seldom passed into o, as from 
the Demotic sign 2?r = o? representing the hieroglyphic ^^ ? 
as well as from the Coptic, might be inferred. To the same 
sign we find in Hebrew v often corresponding , and this letter 
might then also indicate rather the lengthening of the pre- 
ceding vowel, not the consonantal sound >% which seems to 
have been always unknown , as well as the sound of n % in 
the Egyptian language. The sign \\ appears first in the end 
of the Old reign, and in the perpendicular form ir. This may 
have been an abbreviation of Ijl], but seems to be used rather 
for the short e, in contradistinction to ql], which represents 
long t or e. Between \ and the later introduced sign @, both 
standing for u, there is no difference to be observed. More 
seldom is ^, which perhaps was meant for long u or 6. 

Almost all the consonants seem to contain originally a cer- 
tain implied vowel, or at least to unite more easily with cer- 
tain vowels then with others. We observe principally two 
classes of consonants in this respect, the one of which prefers 
to be followed by the vowel a, the other by u or i. In this, 
too, we find the reason, why in later times the consonantal 
value of certain signs has changed through the influence of 
the following' vowel. Especially the closed vowels u and i 
caused not seldom, as we know also from other languages, 
an assibilation or softening of the preceding consonant. 
Accordingly, we find ^ mostly united with a, ^^^zz^^ more 



OLD EGYPTIAN. 197 

often with u or i. To both corresponds k in Coptic and in 
Greek names, and 3 in Hebrew names. It is true that we 
find hot seldom Hebrew p q for hieroglyphic ^d; but this is 
as little able to prove, that the Egyptians had the merely 

Semitic sound of p, as the regular Arabic writing ^jiaf^ 
Qleobatrah is to decide anything about the pronunciation of 
the Greek x or x. In the Demotic writing, the signs cor- 
responding to the hieroglyphic A and ^:3^ express indi£ferently 
the sound k^ and the union of either of them, with the demotic 
substitute for the hieroglyphic FDj expresses the Greek ;f, which 
was pronounced kh The demotic sign for ^13^, however, 
had in other cases also the sound of the Coptic letter (J, which 
itself took its form from that sign and was pronounced k ov ^. 
This proves clearly enough, that the hieroglyphic language 
did not know the sound of the Coptic (?. Instead of A we 
find sometimes the sign "^5 , and instead of ^3^ we find also 
S, which letter, however, by the present hieroglyphic scho- 
lars is generally confounded with ffl (= ®). There is no 
single character in the Hieroglyphic nor in the Demotic writing 
for the sound of the medial ^, which in demotic is sometimes 
written >^ i. e. '^^ = vk (cf. also the hieroglyphic "^^ 
for Hebrew p in the originally Semitic name of the Bubastide 
king ^iSaq = Sisank). The characters o, J, s=3 for t re- 
place one another often, though not in all cases. The fol- 
lowing characters <zs>i , "*^ , ^ , which occasionally change 
with one another and sometimes also with the preceding cha- 
racters, show a tendency to duplication, tt Afterwards, they 
are inclined to pass into the sound of the Coptic Z = c, which 
Coptic sign indeed seems to come from the demotic form of hiero- 
glyphic J^. The original hieroglyphic pronunciation t was howe- 
ver known even as late as in Roman times. The same character 
is fouud sometimes as substitute for the Hebrew 2ff, as in 
|^]^*y"(Xi Targ^ which has been compared with the Hebrew 
m5£ or "»>i Sar^ Tyrus; but in these cases we must remember 



198 HAMITIO LANGUAGES. 

that by the side of the Hebrew yi there is commonly founds as 
an older sound, the Aramaic u, as in K'^Vt?, Turd'^ from which 
also the Greek form TvQiog is taken. The choise of the 
hieroglyphic ^ was due perhaps rather to the decided emphatic 
pronunciation oft} in such cases then to the assibilitated pro- 
nunciation of ^, The medial sound of d in foreign names was 
sometimes indicated in hieroglyphics by ^^5 q^ and in De- 
motic by 21. i. e. nt; this proves sufficiently that the Egyp- 
tian language did not use the simple sound of d. ^ p con- 
nects itself readily with a, D with u or i. The identity of 
the consonantal value in both results from the fact, that ori- 
ginally D was added to the less frequent ^ in order to in- 
dicate its phonetic value. There is no doubt about the sound 
of 6, which before u and i is mostly written J, before a, 
often ^. The sounds of m and n have never changed by the 
influence of the following vowel; O = nu dropps its inherent 
u only in later times. The characters ru and | , although they 
rarely interchange, seem to be distinguished chiefly by the 
subjoined or inherent vowel, the former preferring a, the latter 
u or i. The closed pronunciation of u and i caused naturally 
a strengthening of the breath in \. The same case happens 
with ^ and ®, the former of which was originally explained 
by the latter (as }^ by D, ^ and ^ by — «♦— or p, S* 
by ^ or J), but differed afterwards from it by inclining rather 
to a, wilst ® inclined to u or i. It is for this reason that 
in later times ® passed more frequently from the pronuncia- 
tion of j( into that of «. Amongst the characters representing «, 
\ unites constantly with u. Msl a^d czsed represent both «, 
but the former prefers a, the latter u or i. There was no 
distinction between the two sounds r and I in the old sacred 
language ; it belongs rather to the later popular dialects. The 
lion j^^ as r, and more frequently as I occurs principally in 
foreign names since the time of the later dynasties. 
If, now, any one wishes to denote in the transcription this 



OLD EGYPTIAN. 199 

system of vocalisation, which might be compared with similar 
facts in the Old Persian and Old Slovenian languages and 
which was more in use at certain times then at others, he 
ought to chose one and the same diacritical sign, as, for in- 
stance, a point underneath^ so as to distinguish from the others 
those consonantal characters which unite preferably with u or 
z, and at the same time to signalize their frequent change in 
later pronunciation through the influence of these vowels. 
The sound of /] might also be provisionally denoted by a with 
a point above. But, if we consider, that this distinction of 
the two classes of signs did not indicate originally a phonetic 
difference of consonantal value, that there was never a syste- 
matic uniformity in regard to their use, and that in any 
case several points of this question remain still unexplained, 
we cannot attach a great value to the introduction of this 
diacritical point in our transcription. Scientific exactness, 
however, demands, that all the vowels, added by the tran- 
scriber conjecturally, are to be signalized as such to the reader. 
We write therefore, as in other languages, for supposed vo- 
wels a, I, ti and if the vowel is quite uncertain, e. 



200 



HAMITIC LANGUAGES. 



COPTIC. 



en o ct5 
f (t) ot 

/.I ei Ol AT €T OOT 



K(U) 

(5 - 

Z - 

n a 



n 



M 



8 
c 



(E) (t) k) 
(f) 



P ^ 



(X) 



o 

a 



e e 



6 



u 



at ei (n au eu ou 



k g 

t d 
c 

p b 

h ps ^ 
ti 





h 




- 


X 




- 


i 




n 


8 


r I 


m 


f 





kh 



th 



ph 



Specimen. 

^en fli egooT nTe hp«52lHC noTpo gnnne fc g^n 
ll^.I!OC ^.TJ e&o^ CA neieST e i?ja<i evzw imoc. 
2. ze ^.q ooon <^h eT /.TUc^-cq novpo nTe m IOT5^^.l 
AnnAT i!Ap e neqciOT c^^ neieST OTOg a.ni ze 
iiTenoTCtogjT mioq. 



COPTIC. 201 

lemss de €t wumoBf j(en Bsthieem enU ti ludea j[en m ehou 
ffUe Erddes pu/ro hSppe is han magos aui ebol peiebt e lerusalem 
euSd emmos. 2. Ce af than phe et awnuiaf puro ente ni ludai 
annau g<xt e pefsiu sa peiebt uoh ant de entenuoit emmof. 



Remarks. 

The vowel H corresponds, like the hieroglyphic q(j, to our 
long I or #9 and Cjt? to «2 or $. The compound OT for the 
simple vowel u is taken from the Greek ; and when this vowel 
forms the second part of a diphthong , it is, as in the Greek, 
rendered only by T; we. have therefore to pronounce <^T and 
eT as an and eu\ but the diphthong ou, which in the common 
Greek is not in use, was therefore written GOT, in order to 
distinguish it from the simple OT = u. There are on the 
other hand three diphthongic combinations with J, viz. ^j^ 
ei 5 OJ = ai, ei^ oi. It is probable that we have also to re- 
gard the combinations HI , «5f and HT (hOT) , «5T («50T) 
as diphthongs: ei^ 6i^ Su^ 6u; and that even cA and du^ as well 
as the single a, existed in the language, without being dis- 
tinguished in writing, as d and d were not distinguished in 
the Greek alphabet. The single T occurs in a few Egyptian 
words, changing with f,'€ or H; it may then be expressed by u. 
The marks JL., .zi_, J^ over tJonsonants indicate usually the 
indistinct vowel, which we write e. The peculiar Egyptian 
sounds (J and Z show even by their form that the former 
springs from ife, the latter frdm t (see above). It seems therefore 
that their pronunciation approached to the Polish sounds, written 
in our transcription by ^ and 6. They were most frequently 
confounded with one ano<iher and passed afterwards into the 
softer jsounds / and j , as K , T , II were pronounced in later 
times g^ d, b. The letters e and %. occur only exceptionally 
io Bgyptjftn words vfor K and T ; but they were usually pre- 
served where they occur in Greek words. The Greek letters 





202 



HAMITIC LANGUAGES. 



y^j ^^ ^ bad by no means in the Coptic alphabet the 
pronunciation of onr ^, ^9/9 but represented the aspirated 
sounds lAy th, ph; they were almost peculiar to the Mem- 
phitic dialect and are often resolved into Kg^ T^, Ilg; while 
the Theban dialect usually keeps the tenues K , T , JI instead. 
The letter ^ , our j( , belongs only to the Memphitic dialect 
and is replaced in the Theban dialect by g h. The letters 
^ and ^ occur regularly only in Greek words ; the two for- 
mer are sometimes met with in Egyptian words instead of the 
ordinary combinations KC and IlC ; and ^ seems to have been 
pronounced like C. The sign T represents the syllable Tf, 
which latter is often written instead. 



BEJA (BISARI, ETHIOPIAN). 



a 



e 



%% 



u ii 



* ^ - 

k ff n 

V 

- 3 - 

d - 

t d n 

" b m 



h 



8 
f 



y 

r I 
w 



Specimen. 

Bdbu iydne holy ant oqauib gibhe. Am oBogimek 7u>ky baruk 
inkertmia heb, BaMc 6tu dditui; nauatrit kitkat; nauatrit tike" 
tUk^ ariyi hdki. Anikdkan^ banih dine. Ura otak tu idgal U" 
haPdit tdkat eM^ shule jtlldida. 



BEJA. 208 

Remarks. 

The name of the Beja is well known to the Arabic writers 
of the middle age, and designates still the different tribes of 
the Bishari, Hadenduwa and other descendents of the Blem- 
myes of Roman times and of those Ethiopians, whoso chief 
town Herodotus calls Meroe. They dwell in the country 
between Egypt and Habesh, east of the Nile. The dis* 
tinction between long and short vowels in_ their language is 
not well developed; they are all rather long; which is more 
perceptible, when the accent of the word falls upon them. 
It is even doubtful, if the combinations ai, ei, oi, au, are to 
be taken as diphthongs or as two syllables. We prefer there- 
fore to leave all the vowels without indication of length ex- 
cept where sometimes a decidedly short i or u appears, written 
by us t and H, and to use more frequently the accent, which 
falls for the most part on the last or on the penultimate syl- 
lable. It is remarkable, that we meet also in the Bga the 
peculiar class of deep gutturals, which we found in the Abyssi- 
nian language approaching to the compound sounds of kw, gw, 
and which we write also here k and g. On the other hand, we 
observe the cerebrals t and d, specially found in India, and 
resembling in the Bqa sometimes a combination of tr and dr. 
There is no j?, as in the Arabic, and the letter/ is very rare, 
and seems to foe taken from the Arabic, as it mostly appears 
in words taken originally from that language. 



03 



80ft 



HAMITIG LANGUAGES. 



GALLA. 



Tatseheky Grammar 1845. 



^ a a^a^a 


« 


- 


- 


h - 




• e 


k g 


c,q 


- 


eh - 




e 


tckCtz/z) djCdz.cFz) 


tsh 




z - 




•• i 


f dy 


- 


T 


- - 


y 


« 


cT 


- 


** 


- 


- I 


u ^ 


t d 


t 


w,n 


9 ^ 


r I 


- 


(P) * 


P 


m 


/(b) 


w 


Standard Alphabet. 








dad I . 


- 




h - 




i § 


k g 


k^ 


. 


X ' 




e 


^ ) 


^^ 


- 


a - 






t' d 


- 


n 


- 


y 





d 

• 


- 


- 


- z 


- I 


u u 


t d 


V 


n 


8 Z 


r I 




b 


P' 


m 


f - 


to 



Specimen. 

Wak'ayo la/tana^ goftako: ati na guba teza^ ani zi dhUan 
taa. Ho haman nati du/e^ oka mukni adu narra k^abuj ati 
hama nati k'abi, goftako^ gadiza na tai, Zi wamadetam ola^ 
zi wamadetam bula; batinana batte^ nan dabin^ bae zin dabu^ 
zababi na olc'i. (Tutschek, Gramm. p. 84.) 



Remarks. 

The difference of long and short vowels is not clearly de- 
veloped, except in a and a; the latter of which Tutschek 
writes also a or a according a^ it is contracted from awa or 



TAMA^BQ. 



205 



aya. The tone of all the vowels at the end of words is some- 
times almoBt entirely lost, in which case he writes them in a 
smaller form. We prefer the same indication which we have 
already employed in other languages for the same purpose, 
viz. the sign of brevity. The consonants in the third column 
are exactly the same as the corresponding consonants of the 
Abyssinian language, according to the pronunciation of a Galla 
man, whom I met in the Suddn^ and it is, therefore, ques- 
tionable, whether this particular kind of teoues belongs ori- 
ginally to the one or to the other of these languages. The 
lettor f of Tutschek seems to be onr letter t'y inclining to the 
Polish c. We prefer the transcription by t\ corresponding to 
the soft sound d\ Tutscbek^s dy. The sound of bis n comes 
nearest to our ik I should not wonder, if also the sound t'* 
existed in the Qalla^ although it has not yet been noticed. 
The letter, which Tutschek writes d* is almost the same as 
the d of the jB^^a, except that it is perhaps still softer and 
seems to contain more of n than of r in its pronunciation. If 
there exists any corresponding ^, it is at least very rare; but 
the second 2, which approaches very near to the Polish #, be^ 
longs to the same class; we write it therefore /• 



t 







TAMA^EQ. 










. • 




: - I a 

• 


- - 


-\h - 1 


• ••• 


- 


: « 


- 9 


- - y 




•* 1 Y 


1 


:: - ' i 


* g 


« X - 




- X] 


1 g I { 


- 9 


A S z 


y 


a 3 


-□ t, 


i <l 


- CO I 




4- n,u,A 


1 □,© #. D,0 H 


t d 


n 


8 Z 


r I 


- ID) 


D 


NJC-i: 


- b 


m 


/ - 


w 



206 HAMITIC LANGUAGES. 

Specimen. 
As kelad sawalen a^j(uten^ ahulay iyen dey emir en tafsit 
kelad iabelbel; itkar akal s takat. Isela s azibard; yusa d yur 
es^ inna s: ^od^ km ahulay y ma full teged takat tareyf Inna 
8 ahulay: elkamey idli^ tarUnet 8 takat. 

(Hanotean, Gramm. Tain. p. 135.) 

Remarks. 
The Libyc branch of the Hamitic nations is still spread 
over a large part of northern Africa. We know best at pre- 
sent the languages of the Kabyles and of the Imusay or Tuareg 
by the two respective grammars of Hanoteau. The latter 
language, called Tamaseq or Tamaieyt (with the addition of 
the feminine t to the gentile name) is more free from Arabic 
influence than the former. A peculiar alphabet of old Libyc 
origin is very generally in use, though without any literary 
application in books. These letters, which are first printed 
in the grammar of Hanoteau, are called Tifinay (plur. of Ta- 
fineq or Tajineyt), The three vowel signs, the first of which 
might rather correspond to the Arabic ( than to the Latin a, 
and the two latter of which are used also for the semivowels 
w and y, are of so rare and indefinite use — owing probably to 
the influence of the Arabic writing system — that our tran- 
scription can only render the living pronunciation, not the 
Tifinay writing. We write instead of Hanoteau's JE, khy ch^ j\ «, 
oUf according to our system j, ^, ^, i', w, ««?. The letter n, 
being used only before gutturals, may. give up its diacritical 
point. The letters and, according to Hanoteau, perhaps also 
the letter ^, occur only in Arabic^word&. The letter t is often 
replaced by or confounded with d. The description of the 
letter, which we write z, is not sufficient to remove all doubts 
about its pronunciation. The sound of the letter : being that 
of the Arabic ^ should be rendered by y^ and we must protest 
expressly against the transcription r of Hanoteau, rA of 



HAUSA. 



207 



Dr. H. Barth, and any other which takers r as its basis. It would 
cause a great confusion, if the very common blunder of Euro- 
pean travellers, to whom the sound and etymological value 
of the Semitic ^ is imknown, and who invented the new French 

word razzia i. e. h^^ja, yazzwah (impetus, incursio), found its 
way into linguistic science. In Tamaieg (contracted from 
Tamaieyt)^ where y and q constantly interchange, it is even 
easier than in other languages, to see that y has nothing 
whatever to do with r. 



e ^ 



t t 





HAUSA. 




t 




e 

o 

a 
Q 


k g 
tsXO dz0) 
t d 


n 
n 


h - 

i z 

8 Z 


y 

r I 


6 


t8 dz 


- 






u u 


p b 


m 


f ' 


to 



Specimen. 
Ydo muka tafji farauta^ mu uku. Yaro da obansa mna da 
bindiga^ ni ina da dusi tHkin alMfu, Da muka ixifji tsikin ddsi 
babu karre tare da mu; ammoTobaa yaro ya sanni enda ndma 
si ke, (Sch6n, Hausa Gramm. p. 165.) 

Remarks. 
We give the alphabet as it has been reduced to our prin- 
ciples already by Schon in his ^Grammar of the Hausa 
language. 1862.^ It seems that in the Hausa no monosyllabic 
diphthongs are used, all vowels being pronounced separately. 
The combination ts originates partly in the contraction of t 
and i (cf. itaSi or itsi^ tree). In such cases at least the tran- 
scription of ti, dz, seems preferable to that of c and /. In the 
specimen, not all the existing distinctions of letters are exhibited. 



208 



HAMITIC LAHGUAGES. 



NAMA (NAMAQUA). 



a a 
e e 6 (o) 
it u U 

d i % etc. 
au ou ai ei oi ui 



2 - 

k g 

t d 

. b 



n 
n 
m 



X - 

% z 



r 
w 



Clicks: pal. /, cer. /, dent. /, lat u 

Specimen. 
iGruro mi8. Tiia ge /quia sa Zui-agoata; fkara Zui-ugoaz ge ti 
ei-id u-hd tite, Tareef Ama Zui-ogoabada ge m hoa j[un iamei 
jau^ mam zi nt igom, iGam-aei mis, jQub sa Zui-ngoab lomaz 
ge uavse igd ihuru tite. Tareef Zui-ffgoabada ge ni jau zi m 
inam eda ueib ions dawa td fo^are^ nuy jgai-dl^ ihomi zi ga^a- 
ma; eda ueisa hoa ihdgu ma igeiy igore^ gave z% gan^gan. 

(Wallmann, Nama Grammar p. 83.) 

Remarks. 
Wallmann in his „Formenlehre der Namaquasprache. 1857,^ 
has already introduced the Standard alphabet. He attributes to 
the five vowels a pure and an imperfect pronunciation, which 
latter he writes consequently ^^ f^ i^ 9^ u. The existence of 
one aspirate K ^ Idi would be very strange. Tindall in his 
^Grammar and Vooabulary of the Namaqua-Hottentot language^ 
p. 15. compares this sound expressly with the q of our Standard 
Alphabejt. We prefer therefore this writing, whilst we take his 
gh for our ^. The characters /, l, y are introduced by him for 
foreign names. On the click-sounds see above p. 81. We find in 
the Koran a dialect of the Hottentot language, according to 
Appleyard (The Kafir language p. 17, sqq.), the same cHokd 
as in the Nama dialect, and besides the letters c^ t^ and y. 
With regard to the gutturals, Appleyard gives three fricatives, 
without a sufficient description however. He says : y^ch resembles 
the Dutch g\ kh is a deeper sound; and x still deeper, and very 
har&h." We shall, therefore, not venture at present to render 
those sounds. 



MANJU. 



209 



M A N J U. 



Vowels. 
Guttural (hard) i ^ ^ 

Palatal (soft) i^ ^ X 
(Chinese vowel k ) 



^ f. 


?• 


i 


^ o 




c>- 


u -^ 


- 


^ 


f i 


- 


- 


* f. 


.V 


t ^ 


^ «> 


t 


4* 



*^ 






Chinese consonants: ^^j^oii^^ -^ x ^ 



a o u 
e i 



ta,o dafO 

p b 



a 


Xa^OyU 


- 


py^^' 


- 


S 


n 


S(ii) 


m 


/ 



r 

V 



I 



ih ^h j(h ih jhi p 4 S 

Specimen. 
Ju$e ama eme^i aaiin 'ej(e babe Jcemuni sonkolome yahumbi. 
8aj(aku bitj^e^be j[ulaS saiin gucu^be baj[a geae^ X^^^X^ bitjj^e* 
be $abu^ fe gufa-be <icaxa ^ese. jfowwS^n^^ft^ yf'ffVS^bu Kunte^ 
Xenduj(enge. Simtgan-de] daHilara angala goaijf^olo. Manju 
bitxe^be nrtmaku urebu akufi Nikan bitj^e-be X^f^^Jf^^'^'^ 9^ 
duBekme Twutembio. 



Kemarks. 

The Manju is the only Tnngusian language well known to 

us. It nseS) as almost all the Tataric languages, the so called 

vowel-harmony, according to which the guttural vowels a, o^ u 

are wont to combine with one another in the same word, and 



210 TATARIC LANGUAGES. 

likewise the palatal vowels e^ u, i. European scholars are 
accustomed to transcribe A^ by 6 and ^ by ou or u. It is 
important to avoid henceforth this transcription, which ne- 
cessarily gives a false idea of the Manju vocalism. The quan- 
tity of vowels is in this, as in most of 'the cognate languages, 
of no consequence, and the vowel 6 is not longer then any 
other; its pronunciation is that of u, and in Chinese it is 
always, rendered by a close o in contradistinction to ^ , which 
is pronounced o. We write them consequently respectively o 
and u. Both belong, as in all languages, to the guttural or 
hard vowels. The vowel ^ , on the contrary, is decidedly a 
palatal or soft vowel, and can, therefore, not be pronounced 
as our common u. It approaches indeed rather to the very 
close Swedish u^ with which Castren compares the same pa- 
latal vowel in the Buryetic and Samoyedic languages, and 
which sounds to our ears almost as u. Castren and Schiefner 
have already chosen for this sound the most convenient tran- 
scription u^ wherein we follow them also for the ManJu. The 
vowel e is pronounced in most of the Tataric languages broad 
as e. There is still a seventh vowel K , which, however, is used 
only for the indistinct u vowel of the Chinese words 8u and tu 
when they are written in Manju. We write it, as in Chinese, u. 
The Manjfu consonants were transcribed by Amyot, Langles 
and others according to the Chinese pronunciation. Remusat 
and his followers have rightly substituted the genuine pronun- 
ciation. The general opinion is, that the letters J^ and *p , ^^ 
and ^ , -^ and '^, as well as the letters ^ and J^ ., ^^ and 
-t^ , differed only in form not in sound, and were consequently 
also in transcription not distinguished from one another. But 
the circumstance that the first letters k, g^ ^, f, A^ occur exclu- 
sively before Jhe guttural vowels a^o^u^ and the second letters 
J?, ^, ^, ^, d, exclusively before the palatal vowels e^ w, % {t and i 
only before ^, tf), shows clearly, that the first were likewise 
pronounced as guttural and gutturo- dental, the second as pa- 



MANJU. 211 

latal and dental consonants. It is therefore as essential for 
our transcription, as for the genuine writing, to distinguish 
both classes by their respective diacritical signs. The only 
doubt which could be raised against this view, would spring 
from the combinations ti and dt^ which occur in the indi- 
genous syllabarium and in a ; few words in the dictionary, 
whilst there is no mention of the combinations ti or di. But 
the same dictionary proves, that the combinations ti^ di are 
as little used in any original Manju word as ti^ di\ only in 
a few Chinese words received into the Manju the syllables ti 
and dfi are found. The Manju at present pronounce the letters 
<r, / , a, before i very like the Polish c, ;, *, which latter 
transcription might be used in consequence; it seems, however, 
scarcely necessary to go farther in our distinction of sounds 
than the Manju themselves. The nasal n , whose form is a 
composition of n and H^ only occurs at the end of words, or, 
if in the body of a word, before k ot g^ k or g. The letter r 
also is never found at the beginning of a word. The pro- 
nunciation of the letter ^ , which occurs only before a and e^ 
is not w?, as European scholars write it, but v. The letters 
^^ J^ ^7 Vy ^9 t^ d are^ like the palatal or dento- palatal 
letters, not combined with u, nor 5, ^, t, d^ like the gut- 
turals, with «. The letters fch^ gh, j^h^ J'A, /A, t^ d^ z are 
employed only in Chinese words. 

The forms of the Manju letters show, that only five vowels and 
thirteen consonants were originally distinguished, the others, 
which have only a secondary form , having as we may presume, 
arisen as sounds only later. The letters w, ^andjf, ^and^, d, d arc 
distinguished by diacritical signs from 0, k, Icjt^t; and /, y, i, f 
are xnodifications of y, i, 9, t?, and 9% is a composition of n 
and K. The original alphabet was therefore very simple, viz. a, 
Oy Uy By i,' A, ^, 6^, t^ t, b^ov /?) ,' «, w ,' ^ ,' t/^ T^ I, V (oT /). 
The letters are written in vertical columns, which run from 

# 

left to right. 



312 



TATABIC LAMGUAQES. 



SHARRA-MONGOLIAN. 



1 i 






5 


"^ 


»H 




•h 


1 






a o(u) 





n 


" 




t d 
[p] b 


n 
m 







I 



Remarks. 

The Mtrnffdian alphabet is essentially the same as thj8 Manju; 
it wants only several letters, whose developemeut has not taken 
place, as ^, ^, /. The fricative ji[ is not distinguished from i!:, 
one dialect using k, the other ;^, in tbe same words. The 
letters & and } are pronounced in other dialeets t and ^ (or z); 
J and y have the same form in writing except in the middle 
of words. The peculiar sign for p occurs only in foreigo 
words; but b sounds almost as j? at the end of words. 

The Western Mongoh (Qlot, Kabmks) distingiBab seven 
vowels, three guttural a, o, u, and four ptdatal d, p, ffi, i; 
and, besides, the foUowing consonants: k, ff, Xf^^ t (pronounced 
c before *), /, y; ty d, n^ «, z, r, I; p, 6, m, i^. 



BIJKTBTIC. 



218 



BURYETIC. 



Gastrin. 

a u 

a o u e t 



GastriSn. 



k. g 

c 3 

» 

€ Z ' . i z j 
t d n 8 z r I 
p b 

Palatalised consonants: k a t d n f I 





h 




9 


X 


- 


. 


• 


_ 


- : 


< 


Z 


n 


9 


z 


m , 


- 


- 



Standard Alphabet. 
Guttural (hard) vowels : aou 
Palatal (soft) vowels -. *§ o u e i MJk) g 







h 


mg 


n 


X - 


*( 1 


0^ 


^ ■■ 


t 4 


- 


i z 


Ht) d 


n 


X«) « 


p b 


m 


- 



y 



I 



jPalaltalisecl consonants: *K *x *^' *^' *^' ^' ^ 

SpeoimpeiL^ 

Urdo zaj[in tenm dene i^pci ulan J[t&ibef 
^e tg$ie barici^ kggQ dne mordorhai; 
baron tedan ^obdone ^er ^be belele; 
abe tone gargaije , kggg cine mordon^i. 

G^i^rto» PugwtUf^ *^praclilehre, p. 241. 



R6m!ark«« 

The palatal vowels e and i combine aflso with guttumi v<)wels 
in theBanne word. The vowel 'm sounds, accordkig to Castr^n, 
like tb^ Swedish n^ somewhat different from \i^ with which 



214 



TATABIO LANGUAGES. 



it corresponds however in other Tataric languages. The con- 
sonants k^ tj 8, are said to sound emphatically before guttural 
vowels, that means, t and.« are pronounced as gutturo-den- 
tals, and k as a. deep guttural in contradistinction to its pa- 
latal pronunciation before the palatal vowels. The letters ^, 
l^ r^ n, ty d before i pass in several dialects into y, t, r', n\ 
s, dt. The fricative )[ passes in most dialects before the 
guttural vowels into k^ which before palatal vowels sounds 
like M, as t like fh. Those letters, to which we have added 
an asterisk, are not found in all the dialects. 



YAKUTIC. 



Guttural (hard) vowels : a o u i 
Palatal (soft) vowels: e o u i 



k g 

^ J 

t d 

p b 



• 


h 


n 


X y 


n 


- 


n 


8 


m 


- 



y y 

r I i 



Specimen. 

Saj[a unuoyun urdugunen ortOy 6l da ginnar tomuruon Janu- 

nan dttania^ tti8tdj(. Straidarin bfjsfta )[aptayaidini ^ munntdara 

seb ida^an^ ^araxtara 8a8arj[ai bieter ;fara, a8tara J(^ra kono 

j(oyuy b'ft{k x<^an da pnmet. 

Bohtlingk, Ueber die Spraehe der Jakuten, p. 61. 



Bemarks. 

Bohtlingk in his Yakutic Grammar writes this language 
with the following Russian letters: a, 0,7^ h\^ &, 5, y, i; 

h, K, F, H, X, 5, 1, ^, rf, j, j, T, A, H, C, P, il, 1, n, B, M. 



tUBKISH. 



215 



The letter which we write y wiih bur diacritical sign of na- 
salisation is, according to Bdbtlingk, a nasal ^, and resembled 
in this respect perhaps to the old Baktrian X^ , which we 
have rendered, however^ by n as an explosive letter. 



TURKISH. 






a u t 



out 



(e) 



! 


— 


vJ 


— 


i£ 


^ 


Z, 


— 


(^) 


— 


J 


o 


• 


f 



(0 


- 


1 


- 


n 


^ 


<r 


J 


t 


(^ 


t 


d 



- (z) 



p 



n 



n 



m 



• 

z 


£ 


l> 


0) 


o> 


Co-) 


u- 


• 


(^) (^) 


• 

V-5 


i- 


W 


h 


/T 


9 


/ 


(^ 


< 


(?) 


« 


2? 


(«) 


(^) 


/ 


V 



C5 



^ . 



y 



I r 



316 T AT ARIO LANGUAGES. 

Specimen. 



o 
00 



^•<» w Om^^O^t 









^ o « o 



o 
00 



Kai^embeg^ TurUsh Gia«un., transl. by Zenker p. 17. 

Ei Offul Boile bilmii ol Hi Kaq sobSdnaku ve ta>dla dSikdr ve 
nihdnde ve yerde ve HgMe ve bu jehdnda ve ol jfehdnda ^aqlile 
idrdJc olunur; amma Hendinin ddti serlfi tasavvuri iaqlldan mu- 
nezzehdir, Amma e^er dUersin-la allah taydlani biUsin^ ewel 
Hendi Sendi^uiHy me He^di Kalfndan j[aberdar ol; zird her Kim 
Hendini bUdsi Haq sobKcmahu ve Wdlani bildi: bu sgzden maqsud 
ki sen bilimniisin ve cH hU^i-diry ya>ni sen naqissin, ol naq- 
qdi'dir. 

Remarks. 
The notation of the ^owek is so variable and inopevfect, 
that the transcription ca^n ooly be regulated by the living 
pronunQiatioD. Lopg and short vowels are generally not dis- 
tinguished in genuine Turkish words. The connective z, however, 
called hesri iddfe, is Shorter then the common i; we write it 
therefore t. In foreign words the long vowels are usually 
pronounced as such and may be so written. The accent of 
the words is not very distinct, but floating as in the French 
language, and depending upon the whole sentence; we iodi- 



TURKISH. 217 

cate it therefore only in exe^]^tioilaI cuses. The t is but a 
fulcrum for various vowels and must not be rendered by our 
consonantal sign % the sound of the Arabic hamza ^ not being 
used in the Turkish language. The letter » A at the end of 
a syllable is pronounced only after a long vowel (I, ^9 L5); 
after a consonantal letter it indicates only the presence of one 
of the sho^ vowels « or a, which we write then in oor tran- 
scription instead of A. According to the vowel ^hariftony the 
four 'guttural- vowels a, 0, w, i combine together, and the four 
palatal vowels e^ .9, u^ i likewise. As in other cognate lan- 
guages, the guttural consonants /, j, A', ;f, /, f, d^ £, z^ com- 
bine with the guttural vowels, although the latter four (j?, ^, §, z) 
have almost lost their emphatic or guttural pronunciation. 
The consonants A, £, ^, t^ Sy z are on the other hand only 
used with palatal vowels; the other consonants are anceps. 
The letter / has lost its peenliar Semitic pronunciation, and 
<J$ is pronounced ad a i^ommon guttural ^, whilst R and ^^ both 
wrritten ^6 , are uttered nearly at the palatal point and ge- 
nerally followed by a slight y; we write them consequently 
Ic and g. The saytr nun^ which springs always from nk or ng 
is dialectically still pronounced n or nk^ in Constantinople as n. 
The letters Jo d and 6 d are pronounced as 0, and k^ ^ as s; 
3 has not the Arabic sound of w^ but that pf v. The letters 

£ ^% Z,^'> J^ ^'> ^ ^t U^ ^'i ^ ^t ^ ^ are not found in ori- 
ginal Turkish words, but only in words received from the Arabs 
or Persians. The specimen is taken from the Turkish-Tataric 
Grammar of Mirza A. Kasem-beg, translated by Zenker (1848), 
p. 17, and shows at the same time several essential deviations 
in our representation of the Turkish sounds from that of the 
author. We had the great advantage to consult personally one of 
the most competent scholars in this matter, the consul Dr. Rosen, 
who is both practically and scientifically perfectly acquainted 
with the pronunciation of the Turkish language, as well in 
Constantinople as in the chief provinces of the Turkish empire. 

P 



218 



TATAKIC LAMGUAGBS. 



TURKMENIAN. 



a 
€ e 



o 
o 



u 
u 



t 

L. 



9 
k 

<r 
t 

p 



9 

J 
d 

b 



n 
m 



h 

xO)r 



V 

8 



8 
/ 



y 

r 
w 



Cf. Ilminsky, in tlie BnUetin de TAoid. Imper. des scienees de St 
P^ftenboQig, 1 1, iseo. p. 563 sqq. 



K A Z A K (WESTERN KIRGHIZ, small horde). 



Guttural (hard) vowels: a a o u i 
Palatal (soft) vowels: § e ^ % o u 



* 9 
d 



t 
V 



• 

n 
n 


(x)r 

y ^ 
8 Z 

8 Z 


m 


- - 



y 

r 



I I 



Specimen. 

A8in asfn dsina — btrdeet ber8in bd8fna^ 

bgdenedei zdryale^ — kfryd'uldai huryaJLip 

Kidir kebin hasfnd -^ no8^ turydn boz uigi 

Kid{r atd ddresin — bei biiesd bul uidun 

uniki kur8dk hoterib — u./a kgz^ Saresm^ etc. 

(Speech of thanks after a feast.) 

Remarks. 
The Kiryiz {Kirghiz) are divided into the eastern tribes 
(the black or mountain Kirghiz or Burnt) ^ who alone call 
themselves Kiryiz^ and the western tribes {Kirghiz ^Kaissah) 
who call themselves Kazakh and are subdivided into four hordes, 
the great, the middle or Sibirian, the small, and the inner 
or Bukeyew horde. The alphabet, as well as the specimen, 
belong to the small horde and have been communicated to 
the author by Dr. Lerch. He has observed that some Kazak 
individuals pronounce the letter i' as /, and others sometimes ^ 
instead of the common pronunciation k. Ilminsky writes q 
instead of h before the palatal vowels. 



SAMOYETIC DIALECTS. 



219 



SAMOYEDIC DIALECTS. 



Gastren. 
a u y 
d o u i e u 



Gastrin. 



k g 

6 3 

c 3 

t d 

p b 



r h I 
w 

Palatalfsed consonants itdcnSzrl 



- 


h . 


V 


X - 


- 


t r 

8 Z 


n 


8 Z 


m 


f - 



Standard Alphabet. 
Guttural (hard) vowels: a o u i 
Palatal (soft) vowels : e g u i e u 



k 
t 

a 

t 
P 



> 


- 


h - 


9 


n 


X - 


V 

J 


- 


i z 


4 


- 


- - 


d 


n 


8 Z 


b 


m 


f - 



y 

r r I 
w 



Palatalised consonants: / cT t n 8 z r t 

Remarks. 
The sounds represented above belong to five different dia- 
lects, of which none possesses all of them. The Yurak wants 
the letters: e, Xi T-i «? ^"9 ^^h 4^fy ^^^ Taugi: j, e, o, w, j, 
K T'i ^9 ^9 h ^^ h ^5 ^y fy t\ 4y Py '^l ^^^ Yenissei: «, e, 0, w, 
^, r\ «, z, c, /, Zj z, /, /', d, p, w; the Ostyak: ', r, r, z, *, z, f; 
the Kamassin: (, r, r, dj /, «, ;?, ^^', €?, /. About the vowel u 
see above p. 210, and about ( p. 54. The letter ' is principally 
heard at the end of words, when another consonant is drop- 
ped. The peculiar letter, which Gastrin writes b^ but in which, 
as he observes, the sound of r predominates, seems to be a 
cerebral r. (Castren, Gramm. der Samojed. Sprache, herausg. 
V. Schiefner. 1854.) 



P2 



220 



TATARIO LANGUAGES. 



a a 



MAD'ARIC (HUNGARIAN). 







u u 



e e o{p) ti ti{u) I I 



ad u u 

e S o u u I J 



■■ •• 



k g 

C8{chyt8) ds 

ty gyidhdy) 

cz{Cytz) {dz) 
t d 

p b 

Standard. 



- 


h - 


- 


8 ZS(Z) 


7iy 


" 


n 


8Z Z 


m 


f « 



jiy) ly 



r 



k g 


- 


h - 


^ 3 


- 


s z 


t(Uj) d^idy) 


n{ny) 


- 


i 0/) 


- 


- 


t d 


n 


8 Z 


p b 


m 


f " 



y m) 



r I 



Specimen. 

1 . E8 Ion az napokban^ Angu8ztu8 c8d8zdriM parancsolat adatek 
kiy kogy mind az ege8z fold beirattatyiik, 2. (E beiratd8 lett 
eo8zdr^ mikor Szindban Czirenitts tiszUartd volna,), 3. Mennek 
vala azert mindenek^ ^^ogy beirattatndnak , kiki az 6 vdro8db(u 
4. Felmene pedig J6z8of is GaliUdbol^ Ndzdret7iek vdrosdbol Judea 
tartomdnydba y a David vdrosdba^ mely Betldehemnek nevezietik, 
mivelhogy Ddvidnak hdzdbol es hdzndpe kozill valo vala; 5. Hogy 
beirattatnek Mdridvaly ki neki jegyeztetett vala felesegiil , es vala 
vdrandos. Bv. Luc. 2, 1 — 5. 

1 . Es Ion az napokban, Augustus cdsdrtol parancolat adatek ki, 
hod' mind az eges fold beirattatnek, 2. (E beiratds lett elosor, 
mikor Siridban Tirenius tisttarto volna.). 3. Mennek vala azert 
mindenek, hod' beirattatndnak ^ kiki az varosdba. 4. Felmene 
pedig Yozef is Galiledbol^ Ndzdretnek vdrosdboly Yudea tartomd- 



MORDVINIAN. 



221 



ndha^ a David vdroidba^ met Bethlehemnek neveztetiky mivelhod! 
Ddmdnak hdzdbdl (^s hdznepe hozul valo vala; 5. Hod beirattatnSk 
Mdridvaly ki nekt yed'eztetett vala felesegul^ es vala vdrandoS, 

Remarks. 
Besides the fully assibilated palatals c and /, there exists 
in the Madaric language another class of slightly assibilated 
palatals, corresponding to the Polish and Serbian c^ j, and 
still more to the Cbeskian t\ d^ w. They are now incon- 
sistently written ty^ gy^ ny^ ly ^ the two former being uttered 
at exactly the same point of the palate. Undoubtedly they ought 
to be written either k(ky) and g(gy\ or t'{ty^ and d(dy). As, 
in fact, they approach more to the dentals than to the gut- 
turals, and are pronounced even nearer to the teeth, than c 
and /, and as moreover ty and gy (dy) not seldom are derived 
from the dentals t and d {Dorotya = Dorothea, gyemant = dia- 
mant) and instead of ^^ in former times di or dj\ and sometimes 
even dy, were also written, we naturally prefer to write t' 
and d', as well as n and t. The explosives of the first column 
are the real dry tenues (see p. 134), 



MORDVINIAN (MoMa difdect). 



Hard: a o u ( 
Soft: e e i 



_ ^ 

k g 


n 


h 


f 




^* 3 


- 


S 


V 

Z 


y 


t t d 


n 


8 


z 


r I 


p b 


m 


f 


V 


- 



Palatalised consonants: t^ n\ 8\ d!y etc. 

Specimen. 

At a i traks, 
Alat asil alamis, tak son traksinU lanks kambras sots, Sonts 
8§n asize arsa^ sto kambras'^s traksti af lad'ai^ ozas trakst 



222 TATARIG LANGUAGES. 

larJcs^ senksa sto idkezi yalga molema ez yorsa. Son ozas'j kar- 
mas trakst ai^am(nza; traka^B antsaky ozadit ala aakitai. 
Atas traht pantsist; traka^' kolai savp' mold, Alat ketsa 
mand(ly ti^akst kosarizg, sondiinza araiy son mant-ezda ardiz 
tut. Trakaia kolai eavir moli^ livshidi i lekai; a ardimata as 
80n\ ku£ i iavik. Traksia mele atat alu praa; of madrena: 
traksia aafz 8 as saia amemd. A savjk erevi sodams: kona savjr 

yakamd sais^ sendi af lindemd. 
(The peasant and the cow, a Moidyinian fable. Gramm. of Ahlquist, p. 120.) 

Remarks. 

The Mordvinians live with few exceptions on the upper and 
middle banks of the Sura, a tributary of the Wolga. Their 
language is divided into two dialects, the Mokia and the Erse, 
the former of which is treated in the lately published Moksha- 
Mordvinian Grammar of Dr. Ahlquist^), whose personal 
experience of the spoken language we had the advantage to 
consult. His Grammar is printed in the Standard alphabet 
with a few unimportant deviations. We should prefer to write 
e instead of a, although the sound is the deep English sound 
(a\ of which we have spoken above p. 50 sqq. His hard } 
( bl ) is our (. As to the peculiar t^ which is pronounced with 
a more lengthened pressure of the tongue against the upper teeth, 
the description seems to indicate the same emphasis, which 
we have met with already in several other Tataric languages. 
For this reason we prefer to write t. The Mordvinian lan- 
guage participates in the vowel -harmony which is found in 
the cognate languages, and its consonants are subjected to the 
influence of the following palatal vowels by assuming a shade 
of y, expressed by the palatal line: r' t etc. 



^ Forschungenaof demGebietederUral-AltaischenSprachen. LTheil 1861. 



L 



LIVONIAN. 



223 



LIVONIAN. 



a 


k g 


n 


(h) 




§ Q 
^ 


• 

t d 


n 


9 S 
8 Z 


y 

r 


t* u 


p b 


m 


(J) ^ 


- 


f 










• 

! 








• 



Specimen of the Kolken dialect. 

Un se puoga Intis temmjn: o iza, ma um paU( tiend vast^ 
tovast un vasti sfnda, un eb uo emin vgrt^ ku sa minda enti 
puogaks nutdd. Bet iza kUis enti pudiidin: tuogid nent ama 
yuvdd omd un idiffid tenda , un dndagid t§mmin 8uorm(k8 keddi 
un kengad yalgi. Un tuogid §d liebiz vdikiz un tapdgid sie, las 
nieg siomi un lusttgU velmi. Siest ku min puoga vet yera kuolin, 
un ni ta um taggiS yeU sond^ ta vet kaddin^ un um lievtid, 
Un ne §rgist lusttgil velda. 

£y, Luc. 15, 21—24. (Sjogren-Wiedemann, Liv. Qramm. Tol. I, p. 354) 



Bemarks. 

The Livonian language is at present spoken in Livonia by 
only eight persons in the village of Sails, in Courland by 
several thousands. Of the two Courland dialects of Kolken 
and Pisen, the former has one vowel more than the latter, 
viz. e. Since it has besides the two palatal vowels o and t^, 
abo the two guttural vowels ^ and (, the vowel-system is very 
complete. The vowel -harmony however has left only a few 
traces. The sound of h is almost entirely dropped, and / occurs 
only in foreign words. The standard work upon the Livo- 
nian language is that of Sjogren, edited by Wiedemann, 
St. Petersbourg. 1861, in 2 vols. 4°, and the alphabet used 



224 



TATARIO LANOUAGES. 



in this work is our Standard alphabet. Only, j is employed 
instead of our y, and a in$t^ad of e. There is a difference 
made between the a of the Pisen dialect, and o of the Kolken 
dialect; the first is an o sti)l more open than p. We should 
prefer to write both p, as they do not occur in the same 
dialect. The vowels q and g are essentially the same as our 
g and {, Our proposition, however, to write them so was at 
the time of publication not yet known to the learned editor 
of Sjogren's work. 



TAMIL (TAMULIAN). 



6T 6J 



£ g)6rT 



<5b (Eb 


rh-. 


- 


& & 


© 


LU 


L. L_ 


6001 


CTT 


nr) m 


(5OT 


iP 


?-? 


:5 


FT 60 


u u 


LO 


6LJ 



Sanskrit 
sonnds 

A 

V 



V 



B 



a d 

e i 6 

it I u u 



k 

t 

m 

t 
r 

t 
P 



r,ff 


• 

n 


- 


^d 


n 


y 


d 

• 


n 


I 

• 


d 

r 


n 

9 


r 

• 


S,d 


n 


r I 


b 


m 


V 



k 

V 

3 

V 

8 

8 



TAMIL (TAMUWAN), 225 

Specimen. 

YemiaUindlyeml Pardbaran tammud(ya ore peddna kumdrani 
mzwodzikkadavan yavano avan kaddupoydmal nittiya ztvani a^j- 
yitmpadikku aver(yS koduttu iwalavdi ulayattdridaUil anbdi 
irunddr. Sy. Joh. 3, 16. 

Kumdran avani noki^ tayappane tSvantJcum umakum virotam&i 
pavam z(ten itumutal umvdiycL himddan yandu arikapaduvatei'ku 
nan pdtirah allcevendu eondn, £▼. Luc. 15, 21. 



Remarks. 

We follow principally Caldwell in his "Comparative Gram- 
mar of the Dravidian languages.'' London 1856. The vowel 
t is mostly weakened from final a and a, but "every trace 
of the sound of a has disappeared", says Caldwell. It is mostly 
long, but sometimes also short. It is evident, therefore, that 
we have to do with a simple vowel, not with a diphthong, 
as it is represented by Caldwell and others (ei or at), and 
that the Tamils were right in giving to it a simple sign. It 
"accords in sound very nearly with the sound oi e or ey in 
Turkeif^^ according to Caldwell. "We have no doubt, that it 
is the same as that Tulu vowel, which has been compared by 
a good observer to "a short and indistinct u^ These different 
descriptions lead us to believe, that it is the vowel peculiar 
to most of the Tataric and several Slavonic languages, which 
we write \ (see above). The diphthong au occurs only in 
Sanskrit words. The slight change of sound which all the 
vowels, except u^ undergo after the cerebral consonants, in- 
cluding partly also the common r and ^, is, in connection 
with certain traces of the vowel-harmony (Caldwell p. 101. 136.), 
most interesting for the linguist, but cannot be represented 
in transcription. With regard to the consonants^ the letter t, d 
is erroneously taken for a semivowel by Caldwell (p. 108) 
who writes it B. The Taipil Grammarians themselves divide 



226 TATARIC LANGUAGES. 

their consonants (C. p. 102) into six surds or explosives (vaU 
linam): k^ fy t^ t, p^ t(R) ^ six nasals (melUnam): n, n, n, n, 
m, n, and six semivowels: y^rjlyVyfyL The prouoncia- 
tion of the letter ^(r) is generally described as a peculiar com- 
bination of t and r, or, if sonant, of d and r, which again 
shows its explosive nature, and prevents any transcription 
with the basis of r or R, instead of t (or d). The Tamulians 
would certainly have arranged their varga'Sy as we have done 
it, according to the Sanskrit principle, if they had not followed 
too closely the Sanskrit alphabet, in rejecting at the end the 
four letters r, Z, ^, n, which the Tamulians have added 
to the Sanskrit alpBabet For the old Vedic 9? I had disap- 
peared in Sanskrit, and T r corresponds in the Tamil, as in 
the Hindi, Hindustani, Sindhi etc. to the dental r. The Dra- 
vidian and Hindi r was derived from d and was probably 
slightly different from the Sanskrit r; we should even prefer 
to write the Dravidian sound f , if two diacritical signs were 
not too heavy, and if the transcription r were not already 
too generally received. It is indeed our opinion (see above 
p. 99. upon the Hindi letters ^ r and ^ rh) that the Tamu- 
Jian letters ty d have a similar relation to the cerebrals t^ d, 
as the palatals ^^ /, have to the gutturals Jcy g\ and we take 
^, d^ r(f) as peculiar slight assibilations or vibrations of the 
cerebrals t^ dy /*, approaching to the combinations tf, dz^ rz; 
for there is physiologically a very slight difference between 
/ and ^, r and f . At all events we must choose single cha- 
racters for the single Dravidian letters. This assibilation of 
Z, (Z, r pushes the tip of the tongue a little forward and 
nearer to the dental point. Hence the letter CCFT, our i^, which 
occurs only before d and at the end of words, and which 
originally belongs certainly more to the cerebrals than to the 
dentals, as even its figure shows. By a Tamulian euphonic 
law, the surd letters k, c, fj t^ tjp, are pronounced as so- 
nants, wherever they occur singly in the middle of a word, 



TAMIL (TAMULIAN). 227 

and three of them, ky c, f, lose in this position even their 
explosive nature and become sonant fricatives. No sonant 
letter, on the contrary^ begins a word. This law explains 
the fact, that in Tamil and partly in Malay alam the same 
characters serve to express the surds and the sonants. Our 
transcription must of course follow in this respect the pro- 
nunciation. If in the middle of a word the surd letter is to 
be pronounced, its charaeter is repeated. The sonant & (k) 
is pronounced y; the sound of g is sometimes retained in 
Sanskrit words. The sonant & (i) is pronounced z^ ^as a 
very soft 8K'*\ the sound of / is sometimes heard ^in vulgar 
Tamil'', and ^in the use of those Sanskrit derivatives in which 
the letter ^ / is found in Sanskrit.'' The sonant letter 
^ 09 ^^ pronounced ^with the sound of the soft English ^A"; 
the sound of d occurs only, ^when it is combined with a 
nasal; as in andam.'*^ The Tamil 6LI has not the English sound 
w; it is generally rendered by v^ and we keep this transcription, 
although the description of this sound might raise the doubt, 
whether it were not rather pronounced like the w of middle 
Germany (see above p. 75). The Tamil is destitute of sibi- 
lants and aspirates, as well as of the simple spirans h. The 
letters /, «, 8^ h^ if occurring in Sanskrit words, are repre- 
sented by the corresponding Grantham characters ; / in Sanskrit 
derivatives of earlier date is replaced by the Tamil (f or i, the 
Sanskrit S by the Tamil t or d^ sometimes by r, or even by t 
or d; the Sanskrit 8 sometimes by ^, cTor i', and sometimes it is 
omitted altogether. The Sanskrit h is omitted in the Tamil. 
The connection of consonants and vowels is analogous to that 
in the Sanskrit ^ the above given vowel characters being used 
only in the beginning of words. 



228 



TATARIC LANGUAGES. 



MALA YALAM. 



c®^ cs^ 



oe) ^ 



6i 6iO 



6)<^ 6i<!) 



a a 



e e 







I I 



u u 



r f I I 

o o u o 

ai au 



<B> CO 



nj Sg 



0^ eiD oo o 



0S\ 3 



oj eoj 



63 


ar> § 


- 


(JYm 


C/d 


CQJ 


err) 


<^ 


^ 


- 


- 


(P 


OO 


cro 


ro aj 


^ 


- 


OJ 



* g 

t d 

• • 

< d 

r r 

t d 

p b 



6U f^-fii 



(\a9 



n 


h s 


- 




8 


2/ 


n 

• 


V 

8 


• 


- 


- 


• 


n 


« 


r I 


7W 


- 


w 



LD 


CjO 


aj3 


rs 


M 


^A 


(TA 


iA 


• 


dh 

• 


«A 


dh 


ph 


bh 



Specimen. 

EntaJcondenndl Deiwam tande egajdtandiya putanCy awenil 
vnSwasikkunawen orutenum naUccapOkdtey nittyajlwan untaken- 
tunnatiiia^ taruwdn takkawannam eteyum lokatte sneMccu. 

Ev. Job. 3, 16. 

Appdl makan awandUiy appane^ nan swei^ggattina nereyum, 
ninde munhdkeyum pdpam ceytirikannu inimel ninde makan eniia 
collappetuwdn yogyanalla enna paranu, Ev. Luc. 15, 21. 



Kemarks. 

In Malay dlam e and e^ o and 6 are represented only by 
one character; in our transcription, however, they ought to 
be marked according to their quantity. We have excluded 



TOLD. 



229 



the compound letter ks^ which is generally exhibited in Gram- 
mars. There is a peculiar nasal ia Malaydlam^ Telugu and 
Kanaresey which is pronounced m at the end of a word; but 
it may also enphonically be substituted for any other nasal 
and will then be pronounced accordingly. In our system it 
need not be marked. The letter Qj is pronounced w?, not v, 
as in the other dialects. Cf. the Grammar of the Malayalim 
language by the Rev. Joseph Peet (Ch. Miss. Soc). 2^ ed. 
Cottayam. 1860. 





TULU. 

• 


a d 


k g 


n 


e e o 6 


'^ 3 


n 


i I i u u 


t d ■ 

• • 


n 

• 


r f 


t d 


n 


m au 


P ^ 


m 



h 8 



8 



V 

« 



8 



y 

r I 

• • 

r I 

V 



kh gh 

th dh 

• • 

th dh 

ph bh 



Specimen. 

Yesu^ Yehudada Bethlelienmdu arasui Jferoda dtnoledi putpi 
bokka indd joHseri mudayididi Yerusaleniagu battidi Yehudye-- 
Tegi arasu ddi puUindye volu ulle ddyeg andunda yenkulu dya 
bollini mudayidi tudu dyagz drddhane mcdpere battd andidi 
panderL Ev. Matth. 2, 1. 2. 



Remarks. 

The Tulu is ordinarily written in the Malaydlam character. 
The vowel, which we write ^, has been compared to a short 
and indistinct u (see above p. 225). 



230 



TATARIC LANGUAGES. 



KARNATAKA (KANARESE). 



e es B 


X 


>) S 2o&> aJ^ 


at 


a -€» t/u tA/s W 


^ 


^ £jXX/3 g 


e$ 


o iij" SC) 


eD 



(e») 



a a 



^ ^ 



o 



% I 



u n 



r r 

• e 

at au 



k g 

^ 3 
t d 

• • 

t d 
p b 

(0 



s 


So g 


- 


C9» 


a 


oJSb 


£9 


:^ 


^ 


.6 


A5 


S^ V 


io 


- 


:6 



• 

n 


A s 


- 


n 


i 


y 


w 


i 


■ 


n 


8 


r I 


m 


- 


V 



SO 


^ 


^ 


6» 


s 


$ 


<9 


$ 


^ 


^ 


M 


i/* 


<r* 


i* 


^ 


(2A 

• 


th 


dh 


ph 


hh 



Specimen. 

Ydtakkendere dtanaUi vihdsa rtduvavarellaru naifavdgade nitya 
jivavannu honduva nimitta Devaru tanna vobbane maganannu 
kotta hdge jagatanna ctitu priti padisidanu. Ey. Joh. 3, 16. 

Adare maganu avanige tandeyi paralokakke virodhavdgiyu 
ninna mundeyu papa madiddhene ndnu innu ninna magarendu 
kareyalpada yogyanalla annalu. £y. Xuc. 15, 21. 



Remarks. 
In Kanarese the letter t is confined to the poets. 



TELDGU (TBLINQO). 



231 



TELUGU (TELINGU). 



a -S» d (3* 

aa» aa>T» etc. 



r X 


22 


6^ g 


- 


t5 aj 


:?» 


^ 


C3& 


a ^ 


» 


Xa . 


^ 


& 6 


,n5 


;6 


^ O 


S3 eo 


^ 


- 


:6 



a a 



e e 







t I u u 

r f I I a d etc. 



h g 
t d 



e o 

at aw 



t 
P 

(0 



6 



n 


h s 


- 




' i 


y 


n 

• 


i 


I 

• 


n 


8 


r I 


m 


8 


V 



JP 


^ 


■^ 


^ 


^ 


9 


$ 


$ 


^ 


o 


kh 

ih 

th 

• 


gh 
dh 

• 


th 


dh 


ph 


bh 



Specimen. 

Yendu vaUanante ayanayandu vtivdsamuniSvddevvado vadu 
nasamu pondaka nitya jivamunu ponde nimittamu DSvudu tana 
yoka kumdrunidctnattugd dagattunu pritipalladenu, Ey. Job. 3, 16. 

Appudu kumdrudti dyana to tandrl paralokamunakunnu ni- 
kunnu virodhamugd pdpamu ^esi yunndnu yikamtdata m ku- 
md^nidani piluvabada nenu yogyudanu gdnanenu, Ey. Luc. 15, 21. 



Remarks. 

The two first letters of the second class have two sounds ; they 
are pronounced c and/ in all Sanskrit derivatives, and mTelv^u 
words before ^, t, By e^ ai; before the other vowels they are 
pronounced t and c?, as in Mardthi (see above p. 109). "The 
letter t is found in Telugu (as in Kanarese) poetry, but in 
^he modern dialect of the Telugu it has fallen into disuse.^' 



232 



MONOSYLLABIC LANGUAGES. 



KWAN-HWA (MANDAEINIC) 



dialect of Nan-kin. 



Vowels. 
a 
e 

i i u(u) 

r 
au(ao) at ei eu 

Vowels 
with end-consODants. 

ah eh ih uh 
an en in 



Consonants 
preceding a vowel. 



tStv tihtv 

tStfyWylfW tShy^WyyW 

ti/yW tilyyW 

Pn P^y 



n 



nijyw 
my 



ow 
8y,w,yw 

f 



to 







Z 



Tones. 
pkihfy the floating; sah'^ the ascending; 
khyu\ the descending; ii\, the returning. 

High phih paj 
Low phih pa^ 

San pa' 

Khyu pa^ 

Zi pa^ 




ft 




ft 




Specimen. 



j^ 




A 




A 








ft 
± 




fi 



IP 





^ 

M 



£y. Matth. 2, 1. 3. 



KWAN-WHA (MANDARINIO). 238 

2. Ywey^: sehf r^ weij^ Yeu^-thai^ zin^^ wan^ tse^, nan, taa'M 
No' t8a£^ tuhf farij^ kyari" khij^ sin,^ ku> laij^ pai^ tsif. 



Remarks. 

The Kwan-hwa or Mandarin dialect is spoken by the people 
of the middle provinces of China and likewise by the higher 
officers and cultivated classes throughout the whole country. 
In this dialect^ which is better known in Europe than any 
other, the monosyllabism is developed to the highest degree, 
every syllable being a whole word ending with a vowel or 
one of the two nasals n and n. In former times the Kwan^ 
hwa distinguished surd , sonant and aspirate consonants , as we 
have shown elsewhere * ; at present the sonants have disap- 
peared. The letters / and w are always followed by a vowel; 
all the others may have inserted between them and the fol- 
lowing vowel one of the semivowels y or Wj or both of them, 
as our alphabet shows. European scholars use mostly instead 
of these semivowels the full vowels i and u (or dialectically 
e and o). We do not repeat here the reasons, why this custom 
is scientifically and practically inconvenient. We have spoken 
in the same place upon the letter f , as to which we are not 
sure, whether its actual pronunciation is not rather f , as its 
place in the sound-system as well as the description of the 
sound by some scholars, seem to suggest. The vowel u is 
often dialectically pronounced- u , which may be written wher- 
ever it seems suitable. The sound of r occurs only in one 
word, formed by this single letter, but with different tones. 
It is commonly written by the grammarians eul^ or ulh^ or 



^ Ueber Chines, und Tibet. Lautverhaltaisse. Scbriftea der Berlin. Akad. 
1861. 

Q 






234 MONOSYLLABIC LANGUAGES. 

nrh etc., but it is nothing else than a vocalised ^ probably ce- 
rebral, r (or V) which we write consequently r. The vowel, 
which we had formerly proposed to write z^ according to the 
pronunciation of Mr. Guzlaff, whom we consulted about it, 
seems to be derived in the Chinese system of sounds from the 
vowel u\ but it is pronounced entirely like the Tatarian and 
Slavonic "hard" L The Russian missionaries represent it 
therefore by their h\ , and we have to render it consequently 
by /. It occurs only in the words 8i and tau The tones 
which, in Chinese, are an essential element of speech for the 
distinction of words, were hitherto represented by European 
accents of quite a different meaning, or not expressed at all, 
and some scholars used the same accent for one tone and 
others for another; for ex. Morrison and Remusat represent 
the san-ioxke by pa, the Mt/w-tone by /?«, the high as well as 
the low p^m-tone by pd\ Marshman and Medhurst, the San- 
tone by pd^ the khyu-ioxxQ by pdy the two j?A*«-tones by pa] 
Medhurst in the Fu^kyen dialect, the high ^a^*tonc by pdj 
the low ^a«-tone by pd^ the two pAin- tones by pa and p«, 
others the san- tone by 'pa^ the khyu- iauQ by pa. A new 
system was under these circumstances indispensable. The 
system, which we formerly proposed and have repeated above, 
follows as closely as possible the indigenous writing, com- 
pleted by the missionaries of the southern provinces. The Man- 
darin dialect has only five tones , the phin - tone alone being 
divided into a higher and a lower; we omit therefore the 
little horizontal line which distinguishes the lower i. e. deeper 
pronunciation of the other tones. 



HOK-LO. HAKKA. 



235 







HOK- 


LO. 








a 


k 


g kh 


n 


h 


- 


Tones. 


« 





a 


df tSh 


— 




y 


high phin 


pa, 


e 



• 


t8 


dz tsh 




_ 


low „ 


P«i 


% I u 


t 


d th 


n 


8 


/ 


high son 


•pal 


d e t a I 


P 


b ph 


m 


- 


IV 


low „ 
high khi 


•pa! 


ai au oi eu 










low „ 
high nyip 


pa>- 
pa^ 














low „ 


pa^ 



Remarks. 

The Hok'lo dialect is spoken in the north-eastern part of 
the province of Canton , in the department of Tsau-tsyu. The 
alphabet, as stated above, has been furnished to the author 
by the Rev. Lechler who lived several years in this country. 
The nasalisation of the vowels is less open and more squeezed 
than in the french vowels. The Fu-kyen, to which the Ilok-lo 
dialect belongs, distinguishes all eight tones, but the low 
ion -tone is pronounced with a peculiar modification, which 
might be expressed by pa^. 









HAKKA. 










Vowels. 




Consonants. 


Tones. 






a 


k 


kh n 


h . 


high phin : 


pa, 




e 


U 


tsh 


<r 


y 


low phin : 


P<^i 


m 


I u 


t8 


Uh 


- 


- 


- 


son : 


pa' 


m 




t 


th 


n 


s 


/ 


khi : 


pa^ 


au 


ai oi vi eu 


P 


ph 


m 


f 


%0 


high nyip : 
low nyip : 


K«v 








) 




P«\ 
















Q2 





236 MONOSYLLABIC LANGUAGES. 

SpecimeD. 

1. Hif^luty^ woHj^ kai" 8%^^ Ya^-st, kC" yeuj^ tshut^ ie^^ tahat^ 
Yuj^'thai^ kok^ pa^^li'-hen, yip^^ yUf ki' tiak^ yUf tshoi^ len^ 
kai" nyirif tshoif tun, phen' theu^ lot, tan) Yaj^'lu)^8a^^lanf kitif 
san^, 2. Katij^ yon^ wa^: yu, tsak^ nyirij^ tskut^ ie^ loi^ tao^ Yuj;- 

m 

thai^ nyiuj^ kai" won^^; kij^ Uhoi, lai" tiak^ than^ It,? Naij^ tshoif 
tun, pen, khon^ tau' kya, sin, syuk^; so' yi, iMi\ s^ loij^ pcc^ 
fo" ki^. Ev. Matth. 2, 1. 2. 

Remarks. 
The Hakka dialect, as spoken in Hon-koh^ has been already 
reduced by the Basle-missionary Rev. Lechler to the Standard 
Alphabet, in his translation of the Gospel of St. Matthew 
(Berlin, 1860) from which we have taken the above specimen. 
It has one tone more than the Kwan-hwa^ viz. a high and a 
low nyip-(zi-)iouQ. It has moreover a vocalised m^ which 
is to be written m\ but it has, on the other hand, not the 
vowel r, nor the consonant f, instead of which it uses ny. 
The Hakka dialect, as well as most of the southern Chinese 
dialects^ admits besides n and m other consonants at the 
end of words. In fact, all the words having the nyip or 
^ returning^' tone, end in one of the three consonants ky f, 
or p. In compound words , however, and in other cases, these 
final consonants, when preceding another consonant, are not 
pronounced. If, therefore, we find in the translation of 
Mr. Lechler the names of Bethlehem ^ Jerusalem^ Abraham 
rendered by Pak-lirheny Ya-lu-sat-lan ^ A-^ak^la-hon^ we have 
to read: Palihen^ Yalu^salan, Apalahon. In such cases, we 
prefer not only to put little lines between the single syllables, 
but to put the apostrophe instead of the elided consonants : 
Pa\-?i^-A^n^, Ya^'lu}'Sa\'lan,j A,^pa\'la,-hon'j or to onait 
even the apostrophe, the elision being sufficiently indicated 
by the tone. 



THAI. 



237 



THAI (Siamese dialect). 



* n 



1— U— 



— i- 

1 1 1-1 — -) 



1- 



tJ 







§ 






a d 




e 


« (o) (if) 


■ 


' e 


- ? 


i I 




i I « 


i-0 


f 

o 


11] 

V J 


at 


d 


au am 



ifi 


2*11 s*!l 

9t] 


4ft 5ft 

10 Tf ii*lf 


69J 
12 OJ 


74 

1 

latlj 


8l 


L»a "S 


"J 


17 *n 


18^1 


»w] 


20 fl 21 fl 


22 n 


23 V) 


24 fi 


26 H 


26 U 27 l) 


28{| 29fJ 


80 W 81 Vl 


32 fl 


38 JJ 



41 fl 42 W 4sfl 44 Ef 



34 tJ 
37 Q 



88 rt 

39 y 

40 rt 



k 

[d t 
d t 
b p 



kh X 


« X 


gh 


a 


«r s 


iA 


th 


• 


dh 

• 


th 


t 


dh 


Ph f 


p / 


hh 



Tones. 
The floating or period tone (rectus) . . 
The higher ascending (alttis) . . • . 
The lower ascending or short (gravii) . 
The higher descending (circumfleama) 
The lower descending or expectant (demisms) 



. • • 



• 

n 


K 


I 

• 


' A 


1 
n 


y 


'i' 




9] 


r 


i 




n 


I 


8 




m 


w 







a 

a' 
a' 



/. 



238 MONOSYLLABIC LANGUAGES. 

Remarks. 
The letters of the Siamese are derived from the Devana- 
gari. Their present pronunciation differs greatly from that of 
the time when the alphabet was fixed. As in the Mandarin 
Chinese, the variety of sounds was in former times much 
greater than now, as the alphabet itself proves sufficiently. 
It contains on the other hand a certain number of letters which 
have been subsequently distinguished from one another, as we 
may conclude from the slight variations of their shape. The 
Grammarians generally exhibit 44 consonants, to which J. L o w 
adds two other obsolete signs for ili and a. These 44 letters 
are transcribed by Low (A Grammar of the Thai or Siamese 
language, Calcutta. Bapt. Miss. Press. 1828) and Pallegoix 
(Grammatica lingua Thai, Bangkok. 1850): i. A, 2. M, 3. A;A, 
4. khy 5. M, 6. M, 7. ng, 8. ch^ 9. ch (Palleg. a'), lo. ch {x)^ ii. *, 

12. ch (x)^ 13. y (j)'i u. d^ 15. if, 16. th^ 17. thy 18. th^ 19. Uy 20. d, 
21. if, 22. thy 23. th^ 24. thy 25. W, 26. by 27. p, 28. ^A, 29./, 30. ph, 
31. /, 32. pA, 33. m, 34. y 0), 35. Ty 36. Z, 37. W (ij) , 38. «, 39. 8y 

40. 5, 41. A, 42. ly 43. a (o), 44. A. — They state expressly, that 
there is no distinction in the present pronunciation between 
the different letters transcribed alike, except that certain 
letters vii. our letters kh^ jy chy th, thy ph^ jT, «, fy 5, A', are 
always followed by a vowel with the high ascending tone. 
This great number of identical sounds, amongst which we 
find 5 AA, 4 cA, 6 fA, 3 ph would be quite unintelligible and 
embarrassing for the linguist, if we did not distinguish them 
in transcription as well as they are distinguished in Siamese 
writing, and this is only possible, if we are able to distinguish 
them at least etyraologically; for it would be absurd to sup- 
pose that this identical pronunciation existed from the be- 
ginning. Now, the alphabet will be understood at once, if 
we i*eestablish the ancient order as we have done it above. 
Taking those letters, which differ only by a slight break in 
one part of the character, as later variations derived from 



THAI. 239 

one and the same Bound, we find but live original divisions 
of every one of the five explosive classes, in perfect harmony 
with the system of the five Devanagari - classes and with the 
Siamese Pali -alphabet as communicated by Low. The same 
Indian arrangement is evidently followed in the subsequent 
letters corresponding with the Sanskrit y, r, /, v^ s, «, s^ A, /, 
to which are still added two other letters ft, the fulcrum of 
initial vowels ('), and i a second A. The fifth column con- 
tains the nasal letters and we learn from it, that the palatal 
letter HI, which now sounds only like y, was originally the 
palatal nasal n. The fourth column corresponds with the 
aspirated medials of the Sanskrit. It seems that oven at present 
this original value has not quite disappeared and that the 
guttural ^]4 at least is still heard as ffh. The strong aspiration 
may have misled many a foreigner respective the real pronuncia- 
tion of the first part of these compounds. The third column 
ought to represent the simple medials ^, ;, d, d, b and we 
do not doubt, that this was originally the case. But, as 
in the Mandarin- Chinese, where the medials were still pro- 
nounced in the 6*^ century after Chr., they lost their sonant 
nature, and are now even pronounced as hard aspirates, without 
any great distinction from those of the second column, whioh 
properly correspond to the hard Sanskrit aspirates. The ori- 
ginal great force of aspiration inherent to the letters of the 
second column has only left a trace in the elevation of tone 
imparted to the following vowel. The proper value of the 
letters of the first column was that of surd explosives (tenues), 
and this is still the case with fl k and 1 i. Regarding the 
three other classes, the cerebrals , dentals and labials, we see 
sonants and surds distinguished. After the original sonants 
of the third column had changed into surds, the original 
surds of the first column entered partly into their place, and 
were finally distinguished by a slight variation of shape in 
those cases, when they kept their primitive surd value. On 



240 MONOSYLLABIC LANGUAQB8. 

the other hand, the old aspirates of the second and the new 
aspirates of the third column passed partly, as in many other 
languages, into their corresponding fricatives, ph and p into 
f and /, <r into s , kh and Ic into j( and j; for we do not 
doubt, that ^ j and flj have the value of fricatives, although 
they are commonly transcribed by English and French writers, 
who have not this sound in their own language, by kh. If 
this should not be the case in the present time , we must at 
least suppose, that this fricative sound existed at a certain 
former time , when its character was expressly altered for this 
purpose. 

It is indispensable to distinguish also in our transcription 
the second and the third column. To this effect, we have 
dissolved , as in modern Sanskrit , the original aspirates of the 
second and fourth class into the respective explosives and the 
following A, except in j( and/", j( and/, in which the aspi- 
ration does not follow, but is inherent. We presume, that 
j( and f are only stronger aspirated than ^ and /, and like- 
wise fi stronger than A, as indeed the whole second column, 
as well as the sharp fricatives y\ K, ^ 8, it s, ti 8, manifest 
their stronger aspiration by their effect on the intonation of 
the following vowel. The cerebral letters d^ t^ tk^ f, dh^ tf, 
and the two sibilants i and 8 do not belong to the Thai 
proper , but are found only in Pali words. Hence their actually 
identic pronunciation with corresponding d, ty th^ f, dh, n 
and 8. Capt. Low has published an old Thai alphabet, in 
which these foreign letters are not comprised. 

With respect to the vowels, they seem to have undergone 
likewise several changes. We follow in the above exhibited 
table the statement of the Rev. S. J. Smith, American Mis- 
sionary, compared with the remarks of the Rev. D. D. Bradley 
in the Bangkok Calendar of 1860. p. 51. 82. as given orally 
at Bangkok 1862 to Mr. Th. von Bunsen, of the Prussian 
expedition to those countries. We can only fix the different 



KAMBOJA. 



241 



vowel sounds existing in the Thai and their regular represen- 
tation in the Siamese writing. But we must leave their ap- 
plication in the running text, which will occasionally vary, to 
the Siamese scholars. The vowels o and o are often pro- 
nounced but not written , except that o is sometimes irregularly 
written by the consonantic sign fl '; o is mostly pronounced 
between two consonants. The description of the pronunciation 
of the vowels — and — leaves no doubt, that they corres- 
pond with the Chinese and Tataric { and ^. The sign J_i 
which is read am, or as others say amn^ is an imitation of 
the Sanskrit aniLSvdra^ and the vowels r f I I occur only 
ia Indian words. 

There are five tones in the Thai language, mostly repre- 
sented by the two signs — , — and the diacritical letter 
V\ (7Q, the various application of which belongs to the gram- 
mar. These five intonations may be compared ^itb the above 
indicated Chinese tones, and represented alike. 



KAMBOJA. 






n 
c 

o 






V 









gr9 ^ 






r g? 







or 31 



242 



MONOSYLLABIC LANGUAGES. 



a a 
i t u u 



ai au 



k g 

" .1 

t d 

m • 

t d 

p h 



n 
n 



n 
n 
m 



o 

o 



y 

I r 

I 8 
W 



kh gh 

ch jh 

t/h dh 

• • 

th dh 

ph bh 



Remarks. 
The characters are almost the same as the old Pali cha- 
racters of that kind which is exhibited iu the Siamese Gram- 
mar of Capt. J. Low. 



MEAN MA (BURMESE). 



Vowels. 




Consonants. 


33 330 


oo o 


c 


00 8 


c @ 


O G| 


eo 


GO - 


^^ A 8§ 


9 9 


OD 


8 H 


a u 


oo 3 


? 


CO 00 

1 


33 6@S 


O O 


o 


1 

O - 1 



3 m 

30 <Sd 

s ^ 

oo o 

O 00 



Tones. 
The floating or natural tone, not written. 
The acute (an' mylt) J^ 



The grave (sye^ pauk) — 



a 


a 




e 




6 


i I 


• 

I 


u i 


a u 






ei au 






Tones : 


a 


a' Q> 



o 
o 




h 


9 


<r 


V 

3 


t 


4 


t 


d 


p 


b 



n 


h 


§ 


n 


y 


- 


n 


I 

• 


?• 


n 


I 


i 


m 


w 


- 



kh gh 

ch jh 

th dh 

9 • 

th dh 

ph bh 



HRANMA (RURHBSE). 243 

Remarks. 

The Burmese writing is syllabical as the Sanskrit; the in- 
herent a is not written ; the mark _£_ placed over a consonant 
indicates the want of any inherent vowel. The vowel -signs, 
as given above, are all initial. The vowel called triphthong 
by Latter, which is composed by the signs of u and i, and 
pronounced sometimes "intermediate between o and w", 
and sometimes as "a short oi or long «", seems to be our 
«, f of the Tatarian and Slavonic languages, which we 
have found also in the Chinese language. The nasalisation 
(^anusvdra'^) aff*ects only the vowels a and u. The pronun- 
ciation of the first diphthong is, according to Th. Latter, ei^ 
not ai. The only Burmese sibilans corresponds with the Sanskrit 
'IT / and seems to be pronounced very near like the Polish 
L We may therefore write it «, if with any diacritical sign 
at all. 

The present pronunciation of the Burmese letters deviates 
in many cases from the received orthography. It seems there- 
fore advisable for missionary purposes to follow the actual 
pronunciation, whilst in linguistic researches it will be ne- 
cessary either to transcribe exclusively the old orthography, 
or to mention it at least in every single case of deviation. 
Cf. the Grammar of the Burman langua>ge^ by F. Carey, Se- 
rampore, 1814. and the Grammar of the Language of Burmahy 
by Thomas Latter, 1845. All pure Burmese words are 
monosyllabic. Of the peculiar Chinese tones, only three are 
in use among the Burmans, of which the floating or natural 
needs not to be indicated. 



244 



ISOLATED LANGUAGES. 



a 



% 



I 



u 



YUKAGIRIO. 

k g 

<^ J 

t d 
p b 



" 


X 




f 

n 


V 

8 


z 


n 


- 




m 


- 





y 

r 
w 



Specimen. 

Omoca ddjl terikadeni lengi, Ke lomddk yotyurinma? Pan- 
bure oUle. Kaweik adakun (rilicaon kecim, Ke lomddk yonju- 
ririmaf Yonjdde oille, Kaweik kecim adakun mon6goj[. Ke 
lomddk yonjuririmaf Serezen wofa, oille serezdn pugahce, Ka-- 
weik adakun iomogina kecim. 

Remarks. 

The alphabet and the specimen are taken from A. Scbiefner, 
Uehei^ die Sprache der Jukagiren, in the Melanges Asiatiques 
t. III. 1859. p. 595 sqq., who there uses already the Standard 
Alphabet. 



e e e 



CHUKCHIC (OAUCAU). 



a 



I 



u 



k g 


n 


X h 




^ J 


r 

n 


8 Z 


y 


t d 


n 


8 Z 


r 


p b 


m 




w 


Palatalised c( 


jnsonants : 




^ . 




r r 





I 



JAPANESE. 



245 



Specimen. 

JfM?aj'o , ^a;{'a?n«^«^?a , jf i^d?. Minkri ^itirkinf Tarekaite geal- 
Km, Tawaj[ warkin f Ketai, mintawaj[om. Inan yarsnok hiwut 
torekaite minrestim. Menj(08tinf Doteti j(ac. Nenko ^itirkin'^ 
Inege J(ilkit, X^^X^ inki! minj(ametwaniik kinemaL 

Remarks. 

The alphabet and the specimen are taken from the treatise 
of L. Radloff: ^Ueber die Sprache der T9chvkt8cherC\ in the 
M^moires de TAcad. Imper. des Sciences de St. Petersbourg, 
VII* serie, tome HI, n« ]0. 1861. The author of this treatise 
has already employed the Standard Alphabet with a few ex- 
ceptions. With regard to his a as corresponding to the Rus- 
sian fl we are not sure , whether this vowel is really different 
from our .$, 



JAPANESE. 



a 




k g 


(n) 


- 


- 


y 


e c 


} 


tyU^tS d^dZydz 


n 


8^if 




r 




u 


(p) * 


m 


M A 


- 


w 



\ indicates the lengthening of the preceding vowel. 
2P (t) indicates often the shortening of the preceding vowel, 

or the doubling of the following consonant. 
'Xyny final nasal. 



246 


ISOLATED LANGUAGES. 


- 


fj ha 


>r he 


t 


K 


:3 ko 


^ hi 


jf ga 


y 9^ 


^^ 


9i 


^^ ^0 


!f 9^ 


1 ' 


^ e.ye 


^ 


• 


>o 


>p u 


p. ta 


J ^ 


f 




> ^ 


i? uu 


;t^da 


f' de 


f 


dzi^dzi 


r rfo 


^ dzu 


J\ pa 


< V^ 


li." 


pi 


its po 


V V^ 


J<" ba . 


^ he 


U." 


bi 


^ bo 


7" Ul 


^\ fa^va^ha 


-^ A-- 


u. 


A" 


^ /o, . . 


7 M" 


4- na 


^ ne 


— 


ni 


7 t«o 


^ nu 


-^ ma 


^ ine 


^ 

L 


mi 


I mo 


l\ mu 


4- sa 


iZ. se 


iX 


81^81 


^ so 


Z ^ 


.4-^^ za 


-^ ze 


S> 


Zt^Z% 


T ^^ 


^ -tt 


^ ya 


- 


- 


- 


3 yo 


3. yu 


y ra 


1^ 7'^ 


'j 


ri 


o ro 


/l- TU 


yj wa 


Z w;^ 


/ 

f 


loi 


^ wo 


- 



Specimen. 






Japanese proverb. 

Kagami fa sugata no yosi^asi fo miru mOy kokoro no Myoku 
t^yokii wo tadasi aratamenii ga tame nari. Japanese proverb. 

Koh-niUi wa, Nani-wo o me^ni kake-maSiy6 kaf Mo iii^ 

hm oki^nO'WO o mise. Kirvo wa nozomi-masenu, Hei, eui-bun 

deki-masu. Sore wa Nippon-no Ji-dori^de ari'-m^asi^af Si gii- 

watsti ztyu yokka-de ari-masii. Fito fako fiyak kin iri-ni naeave. 

San futo-de itsi ydto-ni naii^mam (three feet make one 

yard), B-^yaku-no to-wo itsi Byd to l-masii, 

J. Hoffmann, Shopping-dialogues. 



JAPANESE. 247 

Remarks. 

Of the two Japanese formes of writing, the cursive Firo^kana 
and the more square and distinct Kata-kana, we have exhi- 
bited above the latter, which has been reduced already to 
our Standard Alphabet by J. Hoffmann (the learned editor 
of Donker Cnrtins's Japanese Grammar, Leyden, 1857.) in his 
yfShoppinff-dialoffues in Dutch, English and Japanese^ Leyden. 
1861.^^ The Japanese used first for their language the Chinese 
writing. In the G*** century they derived from it a Japanese 
alphabet of their own and limited it to 47 syllabic signs. 
These syllables were put in such order as to form a little 
poem, the beginning of which hro-fa became the name of the 
alphabet. We learn from it, that the Japanese language of 
this time distinguished only ten consonants, which were com- 
posed with the five vowels a e i o u; three combinations were 
left out as not existing in the language, vis;, yi^ wu and ye 
(or we). The old consonantic system was therefore this very 
small one: 

* > - y 

t n 8 r 

p m - w 
Afterwards the sonants g^ d, b, z were distinguished by a 
diacritical sign added to the corresponding surd letters ; p was 
changed into the fricative letter / in all Japanese words; it 
preserved its original sound only in foreign words and was 
then marked by a little circle. The five letters, which are 
pronounced at present as pure vowels, seem to have been 
regarded originally as beginning with a slight guttural nasal 
na^ ne, niy no^ nu^ which afterwards was weakened (as the 
Tibetan ^) into ' (hamza)^ or disappeared entirely. The as- 
sibilatioB of i and d before i and u into tsi^ tsuy dzi, dzu^ as 
well as the softening of / into v and even into h is of still 
later origin, and is therefore not indicated at all in writing. 



249 ISOLATED LANGUAGES. 

The vowel w, inberent in the syllables of our 5*** column, is 
very often pronounced so short as to disappear almost enti- 
rely, and the same happens also not unfrequently with the 
inherent vowel i. We propose to represent these vowels iu 
this case (as in the similar one of the Rumanian, old Slove- 
nian and other languages) by ii and t , the more so as we 
have only to follow in this respect the authority of Hoff- 
mann. The syllable nu (ii), nuy mu were formerly employed 
to express the nasal terminations ^n^ -n, -w, especially in the 
Chinese words ending with -w or -n. Afterwards a peculiar 
sign was chosen for every final nasal, which at present is 
pronounced sometimes n and sometimes n^ still differing from 
nu. We represent it by n (cf. the Tamuliau). The signs 1 
and 2P indicate, in foreign words, respectively the lengthening 
and the shortening of the preceding vowel. The latter sign 
is that of the letter t (tu) and is apparently chosen in imita- 
tion of the southern Chinese dialects, which exhibit, instead 
of the Mandarin words with the short or ^returning^' tone, 
syllables ending with ^, k or p. We follow Hoffmann and 
other European scholars in indicating the shortness of the 
vowel by doubling the next consonant and transcribe for ex. 
the Japanese Nitpon by Nippon. When the syllables w', zi, 
to^, dzi are followed by the syllables ya, yo, or yw, their 
respective combinations are contracted into ^a, «yo, Syu; zya^ 
syo^ zyu; tsya^ tSyo, t»yu; dzya, dzyo^ dzyu (or ^a, ^o, hu\ 
za^ etc.). We should prefer to keep, for the sake of etymo- 
logy, the original V, adding however the sign ^ (?) to indi- 
cate its disappearance. The change of / or t? into h seems 
to be very arbitrary and, according to certain observations, 
which the author had the opportimity to make personally 
during the presence of the Japanese embassy in Berlin (1862), 
rather a matter of politeness towards the person addressed. 



TIBETAN. 



249 



(fl) 



VO 



TIBETAN. 



IIP 


^ Os 


^ 


^ ^ <£ 


? 


1 1 


4 i 3i 


- 


- 


^ s ^ 


1 


^ ^ 


^ q ^ 


H 


- 



"I 



5. 01 



a 



u 



k g kh 


n ' 


h 


ts dz tSh 


1 
n 


^ z 


t8 dz tsh 




- 


t d th 


n 


5 Z 


p b ph 


m 


- 



y 

r I 
w 



t 

a 

9 
r 



y = 



- e 
'-d 
= d 

- n 
ts 



Specimen. 

q^ • /na^ • ^ • ^ • ^c; • I ^ • q • ^*l • M^' db^' ^y M'"^' ^^^ ' 

^ ^' ^ I Foucaux, Gramm. sur la laiigue Tibet, p. 195. , 



Den take den dm na yul Bdranase ^-dir dran sron l-na br-gya 
zig g-nd'8 te; dran sron de dag gia a-ton pa Udpdla zes b-yaba 
dampd-i tshoa s-lob tim bs-gom pa la d-ga-^ bd-s kvn tu rl/yu 
zin ; 8u* la dampd-i tihoa yod pa de b-dag la s-mrana. 

R 



250 ISOLATED. LANGUAGES. 

Remarks. 

The Tibetan writing is syllabic like the Sanskrit, from which 
its characters are derived. The orthography of the Tibetan 
literature was fixed at a time, when the language was still 
in a very difierent state. Many letters which then were pro- 
nounced, are at present silent. We have the choice, either 
to give up entirely the old historical orthography, following 
only the actual pronunciation, or to seek for a compromise 
between both. We have made a proposition to that effect in 
the above (p. 233) mentioned treatise, and our specimen will 
best show what we mean. As almost all the silent letters pre- 
cede or follow the root, which alone is pronounced, they might 
all be transcribed, but separated from the letters pronounced 
in a conventional way, and the altered pronunciation of a 
few other letters might be placed above those of the old or- 
thography. The brackets as in b(i)gom = gom; d)ga(^ = ga; 
na(8 = ne^ which we formerly proposed, seem to be less 
convenient, than a separating line, although also this line has 
in our European writing an other meaning. The change of 
pronunciation occurs principally in the letters a, g^ r, w, y, 
which become sometimes e, rf, c?, w, tsy and might then be 
written a, ^, /', m, y. Other minor changes, as the softer 
pronunciation of b before vowels, or the sharper of d before 
Vy might be omitted. The letter ^ w^as originally a weak 
nasal, but is now, if heard at all, weakened into the sound 
of our \ The vowels, except a (which is not written), are 
expressed in the middle of words by the signs known from 
the Sanskrit, and in the beginning of words they are added to 
<5? as their fulcrum; the same letter without any vowel -sign 
designates, as in Sanskrit, a. The quantity of the vowels is 
not distinguished in Tibetan, except in Sanskrit words, where 
the long vowels are commonly expressed by adding underneath 
the letter ^. 



GEOBOIAN 



251 



GEORGIAN. 



b 


a - - 


■• 


3 


i 




a m 


iJ 6 il 


- 


Ts 


a? 




3 


^ ^ « 


- 


U 


d 




* t (-5) 


y ^ t3 


- 


- 


- 






6 ^ ^ 


G 


I 


% 


TO 8 




3 i oj 


9 


- 


- 


3 


a 


9 - - 


- 




h 




e 


k> g k 


- 


J 


r 




i u 


(y J i 


- 


^ 


z 




i ^ (t<) 


V 4 t 


- 


- 


- 






t> d t 


n 


« 


z 


»• i 




p> b p 


m 


- 


- 


vo 



^ 



Specimen. 

ff>^S^<r>S2Sb bO) Ob oncnoljStnS , libobO'idcwbx^bb fc(SoQr>-v|'fta>oljb . biiob-jiiSobo 
og^Dju |8wcnooa> , ^ob bbo^'jlb^Do •jwcnobb-ri(^ooowrbo, 7)"8?*t1 ^2?*"^ <P^ 
BsooO'jTObo o(oooiij2^blfb 9 d^n^j^^bo OTi^boi^obo ^s Abbcrj^o^ij^^bo ^JUO^" 
ibVb diSi-j^OT'^lfb :• 

Brosset, Elem. de la 1. Georg. 1837. p. 268. 



Tmiidata da udleweUa inot^anieta Davrit da K'oat^antnnen. 
JSse udlewelni moPameni iqumes natesamt Kartwelni^ aazywar* 
tagan Apj^azetisatay sana^ebta-gan Aryu^tisa; aznaurni iqumes 
Pomit* da natesavmi ertman-ei^tisant ^ udlewelni da dliemi brdo^ 
hiaay mj^edami su^niemi da ganikmulni tqobasa mPertasa, 

B2 



252 , ISOLATED LANGUAGES. 

Remarks. 

The vowel ^ is described as a very short e and occurs 
especially after «^; u^. In the same way ^ mostly forms the 
second part of a diphthong at, oi, but sometimes it occurs 
also alone at the end of words, as in saidumM; it is rendered 
in Russian by h or b. As all the characters and their order 
are derived, like the Armenian, from the Greek, the sign of 
the vowel u is originally a composition of o and v (Greek ov). 
The Greek vowel v alone does not belong to the original 
Georgian alphabet, but is added afterwards after u (without 
any numerical value). It is found, however, in a few words, 
8;d (= smdi) , seven , and may then be rendered by u : sud. 
About the dry tenues, which we write h^ P etc., and which 
are common to the Georgian , Lasian, Mingrelian^ Sicantan, 
Abj[a8iany and other Caucasian languages, see above in the 
Oasetian alphabet, p. 139. We are not quite sure of the pro- 
nunciation of that letter which we have rendered by j(, Euro- 
pean Grammarians usually write Mi instead of our j[ and Wi 
instead of our j[. It seems that the latter is the corresponding 
fricative to 9, and that it has the same pronunciation as that 
Kurd letter, which Mr. Lerch (see above p. 137; has rendered 
by K and which in this case would also be written more con- 
veniently ^, the Semitic K being of quite a peculiar nature. 
The pronunciation of the letter called hoe I is that of a 
feable h. The last letter with a numerical value (10,COO) is the 
letter called hoe !K, the sound of which is not quite clear. 
The letter 4> /, and 2 i seem to have been invented only for 
the Ossetiau alphabet, not for the Georgian, where it is, 
however, employed by some writers to render several difficult 
combinations of consonants more pronouncable. 



TD8. 



253 



TUS. 

The alphabet of this Caucasian language has been discussed 
by Schiefner, Bulletio de la classe histor. philol. de TAcad. 
de St. Petersbourg, tome XII. 1855. p. 103 sqq. It seems, 
that his letters: 



a 



e 



u 



q - a 


- 


h 

• 


h 






k g kh 


- 


x 


gh 






c 3 € 


- 


i 


r 

z 


• 

J 




c Z c 


- 


- 


- 


- 




t d th 


n 


8 


z 


r I 


I 


p b ph 


m 


- 


- 


w 





would correspond with the following letters of the Standard 
Alphabet : 



a 



e 



% 



u 



q - q> 


- 


X 


h 


k g k> 


- 


X 


y 


C J c> 


- 


V 

8 




t 4 f 


- 


- 


- 


t d t> 


n 


8 


z 


p b py 


m 


- 


- 



y 



r I I 



w 



Remarks. 

The letters, which we write with ^ are apparently the same 
dry tenues, on which we have just spoken p. 247 (cf. p. 134). 
On the aspirated I see above p. 172. 



254 



ISOLATED LANGUAGES. 



ALBANIAN (Toskan dialect.). 





e 


• m. 


" 


X 


•■ 








a 


X y 


- 


X 


/ 








E • 


V n 


V 


a 


* 


• 


V 


I 


V ov 


T d 


V 


a 


d 


Q 


I 






71 b 


f^ 


<P 


/? 


- 








1 














e 

o 


- 


. 


h 


m. 


- 






a 


k g 


- 


X 


y 


- 






e 


H 9 


n 


8 


z 


y 


r 


• 


u u 


t d 


n 


8 


z 

d 


r 


I 






p b 


m 


f 


V 


- 





Specimen. 

Kj€ yjg (.ibqet rde vje fi§vd € ^ibqeiiQov^ e i xje ^i%>e x/f do 
T€ ^Qiieiy vya vje vin i xiy x/f xje axofia na ^jeqe. Heq xeii 
Tcnvve aix djefi beivs te dv^ctite x ttiy , xje xi'o^ i any vde dec 
€ I ftbuT. I TQEvi djaXJE xj€ OTiov vds dev^ vovx ovfibvv^ no 
xakd^c € J(6di vet dvE Tf diciZj e axji e jjivg xaa xonbere € e 
fiovaQe vdg axav xe tlqe^ € € ddvs vdg yqct x§ xvqe n^Q xs 

QIXOVQE. 

Popular tale. J. G. von Hahn, Albanes. Stud. II, p. 167. 



Ke ne rnbret nde ne vend e mbreteron^ e i Ice ^ene Ice do U 
vnteiy nga ne nip i tiy He He akoma pa Ure, Per kete pune sa 
dyem beine te duvdize V etiy y He kis^ i itiy nde det e i mbyt, 
I triti dyate ke Mu nde det^ nuk* umbut^ po taldzi e hddi nd' 
dne te d^tit. e atyd e q4ne tsa Uobene e e muare nde stan te 
ture^ e e ddne nde gra te tare pgr te riture. 



POLYNESIAN or MALAYAN LANGUAGES. MALAYAN. 255 

Remarks. 
The Al(>an'iun language is divided into two dialects, the 
Toskan and the Gegan. The Toskaii write with Greek letters, 
the Gegan with lioman. We follow the Toskan grammar of 
J. G. von Habn in his learned Alban^ische Studien, Wien, 
1853, 2^ P. — In the Gecran dialect occurs the freuch nasn- 
liaatioD of vowels, expressed by the addition of v, which we 
render by the sign — over the respective vowels. 



MALAYAN. 



i 3 



- 


B 


- :| 


i 


: " ■! 







<^ 1 


o 


U" 


,i\ 


r 


- 


s ! 



In foreign words. 

z t 

t t 



? 






k 




k 


y 


n 


- 




c 


J 


n 


- 


1/ 


< 


(' 


- 


- 


- 


t 


i 


n 


. 


.■ ; 


r 


b 


m 




JO 






256 POLYNESIAN or MALAYAN LANGUAGES. 

Specimen. 

Makka manmluwarkan diya darripadda karajdanna padda 
bar an siyapa yan dtkahandaktna^ dan dimultydkanna dkan bdran 
siydpa yan dikaliandakma dqnan tdnan qodqratna. Bdran si- 
yapa mqmmunuh aran dqnan tiydda aqbqnar Haqna niscdya di- 
siksa allah dqnan dpi ndraka yan dmat hdnat 

Schleiermacher, de Tinfluence de l.^crit. sur le langn. p. 602. 604. 

Remarks. 

The Malays, like the Arabs, distinguish in writing only 
three vowels, short and long, a d^ i i^ u u^ using the same 
signs for i and e^ I and ^, u and o, u and d; tji. is always 
a , but ^- is sometimes a, and sometimes the indistinct vowel, 
which might be transcribed ^, or as we prefer it in this case a. 
The pronunciation of ^ and ^ is described as between our 
c j and t d! \ it seems therefore that our nearest expression 
for them is c and j. We write the merely Arabic sounds as 
we write them in Arabic. We have followed principally the 
exposition of the Malayan grammar by Schlciermacher in 
his book : de Vinfiuence de Vecriture sur la langue^ 1835. p. 409 sqq. 
There, however, the two cerebral letters t and d are not 
mentioned. They are at present, as it seems, fallen into disuse ; 
but the new invented sign 3 of the Malayan alphabet proves, 
that this letter d was used, at least in former times. The 
corresponding t was expressed by the Arabic -b, which after- 
wards was commonly confined to the words of Arabic origin, 
and replaced in genuine Malayan words by ^ t. 



BATAK. 



257 



■^==". o 



BATAK. 






e 

o 

a 



u 



Oa) 






ka ga 


na^-n 


ha^s 


ca ja 


na 


" 


ta da 


na 


sa 


pa ba 


via 


- 



ya 

ra la 
wa 



Remarks. 

There are three dialects of the Batak^ which is spoken in the 
north of Sumatra^ viz. the Toba^ the Mandailin or Ankola^ and 
the Dairi. The characters given above belong to the Toba 
dialect, except ^^ (fe, which occurs only in the southern 
branch of the Mandailin dialect. In the same dialect ^"^^ is 
written instead of 
or ka^ cX for 
'"^^ for "^^^ ya, 
(south) for •==- u, 
use '^^ instead of 



>a. 



• • 



ma, 



or 
for "o 



na 



ha 
sa, 



instead of 
<!^ for 
"s^ for "^ i and ^"^^ (north) or ^^^ 
The western Toba and the Dairi dialect 
5^ t^ and G^ instead of ^^ w. The 
TOwel system in pronunciation and in writing is almost the 
same as in Javanese. The initial vowels a^ iy u have their 
peculiar signs, the middle or final vowels (except a) are ex- 
pressed by little symbols added to the principal characters. 
The vowel a is not expressed at all, but is inherent in every 
consonantal character , if it stands alone and is not followed 



258 POLYNESIAN or MALAYAN LANGUAGES. 

by the sign — ^, lifrhich indicates the absence of every vowel. 
As in Javanese, there is a peculiar sign for the final n as 
well as for the feeble final aspiration, both as it seems ^ in 
imitation of the Sanskritic anv^dra and viaarga. The letters 
w, v)^ y occur in iht.Mandailm^ not in the Toba dialect. 
The DaiH has no n\ it uses the characters of w and y^ but 
only instead of '^'^ , which letter is pronounced h. As in other 
languages the present pronunciation deviates in several cases 
from the old orthography, g^ J y h are pronounced at the end 
of words k^ ^j p. In the eastern Toba dialect and in some 
other parts of the island the r is pronounced in a guttural 
manner, and ought then to be written r, if compared with 
other dialects, h in Toba, if initial^ is sounded k\ in Dairi this 
is always the case, and in Mandailin also, if final or following 
immediately a consonant. Before k^ t^ p, a the nasals n, n^ m 
are pronounced respectively k^ tj p; n before p becomes p, 
not t In the Mandailin alone the nasals are not changed. 
Before g, j^ d, b the nasals n, w, m pass into the respective 
class of the preceding consonant. At the end of words the 
nasals n, n, m before h are pronounced respectively kk^ Uy pp, 
as likewise k, t, p before A, with the exception that ^-A orp-A 
are sometimes pronounced kk. n before Z, r, m, as well as r 
before / are changed into the following letter.-- All these change- 
ments of pronunciation are sometimes neglected in writings in 
order to be understood by all the Bataks , and sometimes, they 
are expressed according to the di£ferent dialects. The tran- 
scription will follow in most cases, especially for linguistical 
purposes, the etymological orthography. We owe our remarks 
on the Battak^ to Dr. Land, Secretary of the Netherlandish 
Bible-Society at Amsterdam, the exposition on the subject by 
H. Neubronner van der Tuuk not being in our hands. 



JAVANESE. 



259 



o 



6jk.— 



JAVANESE. 



5 — 



-2 



23 



(Km (inn 


«^,ji 


(un p 


— 


001 0^ 


pin 


OilJI 


Q^ 00) 


onnn 


OflW 


Tni-^,0 


dsn 10 


(K1 


OvJI 


OOJI 


o dzin 


e 


— 


o 



(Km qrvi 



(U 






t£ 



•^ y 

< d 



n 


h s 


- 


1 
w 


- 


y 


n 


§ 


r 


n 


8 


I 


m 


- 


V 



X r 



z 

f 



Specimen. 

Negari Bali vonten tigan; hudinnipun lankun dennin rosa. 
Padamellannipun sabin. Namannipun laha Pirannon. Miren 
yabai\ yen neqari Messir havis teda, J aha Pirannon laien kesas 
daten neqaH Measir; bekta daqannan pantun hutavi huvos. Saren 
dumugi negari Messir y kapangis tiyan dtisun hin Karaa. 
JayaansclieSpraakkaDst door Cornets de Groot aitg. door T. Roorda. 1843. p. 68 



Bemarks. 

The system of vocalisation is essentially the same as in the 
Devandgari. The vowel e does not occur in the beginning of 
words. The voWel a which after any consonant is not written 
at all, has two different sounds, according to certain rules; 
the one is our pure a , the other a somewhat closer and there- 
fore more indistinct a approaching to our o, as o^ approaches 
to an indistinct e. We write therefore those two sounds u 



260 



POLYNESIAN or MALAYAN LANGUAGES. 



and e. The sign — is described as a final n; it seems to 
imitate in its figure the Sanskrit anusvdra^ but without its 
peculiar nature; we prefer therefore, not to distinguish it in 
our transcription from the full consonantal n. The final letter 
2 corresponds with the Sanskritic viaarga s. About the two 
cerebral letters n and s (i)^ we think that T. Roorda is 
right in what he observes in his edition of Cornets de Groot's 
Javaansche Spraakkunst, Amsterdam 1843. p. 8. As the no- 
tation of the final n, the different notations of r also seem to 
be imitated from the Dsvandgari^ and the two signs ^ and ^ 
called Pa-cjp'e and l^q-lglet seem to represent the Sanskritic 
r and Z. The full vowel characters are sometimes used as 

o o 

initials in original Sanskrit words. Instead of them the letter 
h is generally used with its respective vowel sign. It seems 
preferable to transcribe this h^ although it is at present scar- 
cely audible. 



D A Y A K (B6rneo)- 



9 



a 



u 



k g 

t d 
p b 



n 

n 
m 



k 



8 



y 

r 
w 



I 



Specimen. 
Aton olo idq tempon anake hatuq duq biti» Dan idtqbtisu intu 
qwen tq hamau dengan bapa: Apan^ tena akanlcu bagin rarno 
idq baris ayunku, Dan iq membagi akan qwen tq penataue. 
Maka daton arq andau limba tq, anak ictq btMu menampunan 
karq ramo^ dan hagoet akan lewu awan ked^au, hetq iq menanan 
ramoe am kapapan gavM, Luc. 16, 11 — 13. 

H. G. Yon der Gabelentz: Grammatik der Dajak - Sprache. Leipzig. 
1852. p. 45. 



MAKASSAR. 



261 



MAKASSAR. 



N 



a 



u 



/s^ 










•• 


^ 


^,^ 


CO 


-:i 


^ 


<a>,^ 


- 


•\ 


w 


^,^ 


f> 


^ 


^ 


^,^ 


- 


ka 


ffa 


na 


ha 


t'a 


da 


na 


- 


ta 


da 


na 


sa 


pa 


ba 


fna 




- 



«v 



*5s ^^ 



^s^ 



2/a 

ra la 
wa 



Specimen. 

lya-minne ankdna-kdnad pau-pauwanna Dayalankdra, Ala 

siydpa- 8iydpad!a karden lompo^ a^makiya makota^ amvindwan 

irawdnan parentdna Dayalankdra. Na andto D'ayalankdray tau 

Idwhusu* pamdi'^ na ddele> bit'aranna ri sikamma bone-huttdna^ 

dyagdan ri-patarintina^ riyanron-kemokanna^ ri-pasaribattananna. 

Pd88ala\ Nani'Surokdna- mo pau-pauwanna. Niya> ae^^e ka- 

rden ri parasdhanay niydrena Tma-Sumpe. Naiya arenna ka^ 

rdena^ nikdna Rdd'a-Adan; ma'lompo kakaraenanna y ma*ld'ban 

irateyandnin y siyagdh ri bawa anin; na kaleUyan-mo birvtdna 

ta'8e>re'ta'84>7'e parasdnariy lambusuma siyagdan labona ri-sikamma 

pdkerekay siyagdan ri-tau-kaaiasiya. 

Matthes, Makassaarsche Spraakkanst. 1858. p. 14. 



Remarks. 

The Makassar language is spoken in the southern part of 
the island Celebes and partly in the small neighbouring island 



262 POLYNESIAN or MALAYAN LANGUAGES. 

Saleyer. The vowel a is inherent in every simple character; 
the other vowels are expressed by points added to their re- 
spective consonantal characters. There arc no peculiar initial 
vowel signs , but the character ^^ serves as a fulcrum for 
every initial vowel. We need not transcribe it. Final nasals 
are regarded rather as modifications of the preceding vowel 
and are for this reason usually not written at all, or repre- 
sented sometimes by a common sign ^ placed above the syl- 
labic sign, and pronounced at the end of a word always n, 
and before other consonants n, n^ n or m^ according to the 
class of the following letter, imitating in this respect the use 
of the Sanskritic anusvdra'pomt. Decidedly long vowels occur 
very seldom in Makassar and almost alone in foreign words. 
But every vowel, short or long, may be pronounced with a 
sudden closure of the throat after it, which corresponds very 
nearly with the Chinese ii\ tone (see above p. 232), and which 
we represent best, as Mr. Laud proposes, by adding our 
hamza > after the vowel , as we have done it in those Semitic 
languages , where 2« or ^ (hamza) closes a syllable. It seems, 
that in Makassar this final ', which is not written, replaces 
always, as in Chinese, the Samoyetic (p. 219), the eastern Po- 
lynesian (p. 259) and other languages, a dropped consonant, 
especially A, which reappears, when a vowel is added, for ex. 
holla* and a becomes ballaka^ whilst balan and a remains balana. 
The letter h is not found in the older Makassar writing; it 
has been introduced only in later times, and principally used in 
Malayan or Arabic words, hardly in pure Makassar words. 
The word-accents may be added on a much larger scale, as 
it is done in the standard works on the Makassar language 
by Dr. B. F. Matthes. 



DUGIS. 



263 



^-~ 



*s 



B U G I S. 



^^ 













« 


>. 


<30 




/^ 




«^ 


K^ 


f> 


^ ^ 


v/ 




^s^ 



A> 






a 

o 



a 



t 



u 



k g 

t d 

t d 

p b 



n 


h 


. 


1 
n 


- 


y 


n 


8 


r I 


m 


- 


w 



nk 
nt' 
nr 
mp 



Remarks. 

The same sign, called anta^ which in the Makassar indicates 
a final nasal, is in the Bugis a vowel sign designating an in- 
distinct sound approaching to a , and therefore transcribed by 
us a. Four signs are added to the Makassar alphabet to ex- 
press the combinations of nka^ ntay nruj mpa. There is no 
nta, which seems to be replaced by wra. These combinations 
occur also in the beginning of words and remind us of the 
same fact in many African languages, ng^ nd[ ^ nd^ mb have 
no peculiar signs and when they occur in the middle of words, 
the nasal, as in the Makassar, is not indicated at all. We owe 
these remarks to the personal information of Dr. Matthes , who 
is scientifically and practically fully acquainted with the dif- 
ferent languages of Celebes^ where he has lived many years, as 
an agent of the Netherlandish Bible Society at Celebes. 



264 



POLYNESIAN or HAL A YAN LANQUAOES. 



EASTERN POLYNESIAN LANGUAGES. 

These languages belong to the poorest with respect to the 
number of sounds they use. None of those which are hitherto 
known, have the letter s, nor y, nor j[^ nor any aspirate, nor 
even any media, with some rare exceptions. They have the 
three tenues k^ i^ p^ pronounced rather softly and even of 
these the Tahiti wants the £, the Sandwich the t But we 
think that we have to regard not only the hamza > as a 
softening of k^ but also v as the soft correspondent of je?, and 
r ov I o{ t\ for we find in the language of New Zealand r 
and d changing with one another; the Sandwich has I, but 
no r, the Raro- Tonga has 6, but no v, and other languages 
have w (perhaps «^?) instead of v. Most of them have the three 
nasals n^ n, m, and besides h. Some distinguish / and A, 
which, however, change most frequently with one another; 
the Raro-Tonga and the Gaminer have neither. We possess an 
instructive comparison of several of these languages by B. 
Gaussin {Du dialecte de Tahiti, de celui des ties Marquises et 
en giniral de la langue Polynesienne ^ Paris. 1853). According 
to this work, we give the following alphabets in our transcription. 
The vowels are in all the same: a, e, i, o, w. They are very 
rarely decidedly long, a, ^, f, o, u. Besides the short and 
long, Mr. Gaussin distinguishes also two accents, which 
he calls ^^grave" and "aigue" without describing them nearer 
nor designating them by peculiar signs. The consonants of 
the different languages treated by him are as follows. The 
feeble guttural, which he calls '^explosive pharyngienne" or 
"postero-gutturale" seems to be our "hamza" \ 



New -Zealand. 



h 



Raro Tonga, 



k 


- 


n 


t 


r^d 


n 


p 


w 


m 



k 
t 

P 



% 


n 


r 


n 


b 


m 



KISTEBN POLTNESIAN LAKGtJAGES. 



265 



k 
t 

P 



Gam bier. 



> 


• 
n 


r 


n 


V 


m 





Ta. 


& t ^ i. 


•> 


> 


- 


t 


r 


n 


P 


t> 


m 



/ 



Marquesas^ 
north-western part. south-eastern part. 

h k 

t 
p 



k 


» 


n 


t 


r 


n 


p 


V 


m 



9 


- 


r 


n 


V 


m 



Sandwich. 



» 


- 


I 


n 


w 


m 



p 



The general system of consonants of these different languages 
would therefore be the following: 

h 



/ 



k 


> 


n 


t 


rjL^d 


n 


p 


v^wjb 


m 



Specimen of the Tahiti language. 

Ua hoe e toopiti tau ta'ota i tai e hi i te va; *o Roo te voa 
te tahi^ >o Teahoroa te voa o te hoe. Ua turn i ta ratia 
matau n raro n te moana; jifi atura te matau i te rouru o 
taua atua ra o Ruahatu; parau ihora raua: e va; ma huti 
ihora e fa^atata aera n te pae va^a^ hio ikora ratui e ta^ata, 
te mavera te rouru. Gaassin, p. 265. 



S 



266 



AUSTRALIAN or PAPUAN LANQUAQBS. 



ILLITEEATE LANGUAGES. 



AUSTRALIAN or PAPUAN LANGUAGES. 

SOUTH AUSTRALIAN. 

(Adelaide.) 

y 



a 


a 


k 


e 





t 


• 


u 


V 


at au 


oi ui 





n 
n 



r I 
w 



Remarks. 

We follow the work of Teiclielmann and Sch&rmann 
of the Lutheran Miss. Soc, Outlines of a G^rammar^ Voca- 
btdary and Phraseology of the abotnginal language of South 
Australia^ spoken in and around Adelaide. 1846. The authors 
conform to the Standard Alphabet with the exception of our 
w, for which they write ng. 



i> *« ■■ 



A N N A T M (New Hebrides). 



a kg 


n 


h 


y 


e t d 


n 


8 


r I 


i u p b 


m 


/ ^ 


w 


ts dz ny 


Vide: H. C. von der Gabelentz, Dit 


Melatu 


*sischen Spt 


raeken. 1860. p. 65 



KABE. VITL. 



267 



Specimen. 

Is etetcff natimi is etki, is ero inhalav atamain o un. Is ika 
a inharei ehele etman: At ekmak^ cUupai nyak nahmdzi inpaSiain 
unyum imtak. Is atiakoai ira rau inpadiain o un aien. Is wai 
ti pan itaff nodiat is eti alupat^ is astiapig nain nidzi iiai asena 
un a inharei^ wm atha o un^ um apan antaka pegs itag agen^ 
is um eduaraprap inpadiain o un aim an nedo auati ahnan. 



MARE (Loyalty Islands), 



a kg 


n 


X * 


y 


kh 


e t d 


n 


8 Z 


T I 


th 


u p h 


m 


X> 


W 


ph 


ts dz ny 


a 


' 


See: yon der Gabelentz, Die 


Melan. 


Spr, p. 170, 







Specimen. 
Kei Makaze dzie onome^ kei nuponi ko, Inu Yehova ono re 
MaJcaze nupo, inu toedzakore nupo wanei Aiphiti, na yara me- 
nene, Nupo ake iro ne makaze menuy ekewe ne inu, 

Exod. 30, 1. 



V I T I (Fiji Islands). 

ad k ng n 

e e t nd n 

it u u - mb m 



s 



V 



y 

r I 
w 



Py /, ill foreign words. 

S2 



268 



AFRICAN LANGUAGES. 



Specimen. 
E ndua na tamata sa lewe rua na luvenatanane. A^ sa kaya 
vet tamana ho koya sa iione vei rau: Tmnangu^ aoUa mai vei 
au nai votavota ni yau sa vota me nongu. A aa votu vei rau 
na nona yau. A sa tatva vunga na boni sa mari sa songona- 
vata na nana yau kedena ho koya na none ongo^ ka lako iani 
kina vanua vakayawa^ ka sa bmta waleha kina na nona yau e 
nai valavala Sidroi. Ev. Luc. 15, 11—13. 

Remarks. 
The Rev. D. Hazlewood in his Compendious Grammar of 
the Feefeean language j Vewa. 1850, writes 5, g, d, c, b^ j 
instead our ng^ n, nd^ d^ nib^ j. The vowels are short or 
long ; but they are not distinguished in the Grammar of Haz*- 
lewood, nor by H. C. von der Gabelentz, in his work on 
the Melanesian languages, from which (p. 63) we have taken 
the specimen. Hazlewood remarks that his k and q represent 
two sounds each, the former k and in certain cases g^ the 
latter ng and sometimes nk. The combinations ng^ nd, mb seem 
to be only modifications of the respective explosives. We must 
prefer however to transcribe these combinations of two sounds, 
according to the pronunciation, by two letters, as we tran- 
scribe the same combinations in the African languages. 



AFRICAN LANGUAGES. 

SUAHELI (KI-SUAHELI). 



a 


k 


9 


e § 






i u 


t 


d 


short and long. 




Y 


ai (eij au oi 


P 


h 


Two clicks. 


U 


d 



n 


X A 

S £ 


n 


8 Z 




« i 


m 


f V 



dy ta dz 



y 

r I 

V}(w) 



SUAHELI. MAKUA. 



269 



Specimen. 

Mudnso laUkua neno, na neno laUkua kua Mungu^ na Mungu 
alik&a neno. Hilo ndih lalikua mudnso hia Mungu. Kulla 
kitu dzctlifonioa kuakwe; na isipokudi^ hakikiu kitu kimoza ki- 
lidzo fdnioa. Ev. Job. 1, 1—3. 



Remarks. 

Krapf, in his Outline of the elements of the Kisudheli Ian' 
guage. Tobingen 1850. writes n^ c^ s^ jy $^ t^ d^ V\Ji ^ in- 
stead of our n, x^ ^j ^^ ^t ^j ^y ^t ^^^ ^^' Two clicks 
which have been observed by Dr. Krapf in the Sudheli are 
not written nor described in his publications. We prefer^ as 
we have stated already above (p. 10), to write ti and dz in 
the illiterate^ especially in the African languages, instead of 
c and /, as in the Asiatic languages , because the origin of 
these compound sounds from simple gutturals is not traceable 
in all cases, and because there are no simple signs of an in- 
digenous alphabet to be rendered, and finally, because we are 
now able to quote Grout, Appleyard, Kolle, Schon, 
Schlegel, Zimmermann, Barth and others as authorities 
in our favour for the same transcription. 



MAKUA (Mosambique). 



a 
e e 



% u 

Short and long. 



t d 
p b 

ti dz 



n 


h - 


- 


i £ 


n 


» z 


m 


/ « 



t8 da 



y t 

r I 
to 



270 



AFRICAN LANGUAGES. 



Remarks. 

We give this alphabet from oral communications made by 
Prof. W. Peters. Cf. The languages of Moaambique draimi 
up from the Mas. of Dr. W. Peters by Dr. W. Bleek. 
London 1856. In this book our letters e^ e, n^ s^ s^ I are 
rendered hy e^ e, n^ Sj $, hi. The letter t is not identical 
with the composition A/, but resembles the Welsh ff, which 
we have also rendered by t The middle tongue touches the 
hard palate and at the same time the breath is thrust out on 
both sides of it, producing a similar friction as the letter j(. 



TSUANA (SE-TSUANA, BE-TSUANA), 



a 

e 

i u 

ai au ei eu oi ou 







h 




k - 


n 


X y 


y ? 


t d 


n 


8 - 


r I 


p b 


m 


/ V 


w 


ti t9. 


Id fc 


^reign woi 


rds: dzQ) 



Bemarks. 

Cf. Appleyard, Kafir Grammar 1850. p. 50, He writes ng, 
khj gy c or chy j, tl instead of our n, ;f , y^ts^ dzy Z.We have the 
pleasure to state, that on a later occasion, viz; in the Corree-- 
pondence between the Committee of the South African AuaiHary 
Bible Society and various Missionaries and others y relative to 
the translation y printing and circulation of the scriptures in the 
native languages of South Afincay Cape town, 1857. p. 107. 
Appleyard himself recommends the writing of ts^ dz^ t 



TIJUANA. KAFIR. 



271 



KAFIR, Zulu (Ama-Zuhi) dialect. 



a 



H 



short and long. 



at au no eu 



k 

ti 

t 

P 



Clicks: Pal. 
/ 

In 






dz 

d 

b 

Cer. 
.'9 





h 


n 


X y 


ny 


i S 


n 


8 Z 


m 


f « 



Dent. 
/ 

in 



Later. 
a 

»9 
m 



y 
I I 



w 



T 



Specimen. 
Utetswayo no Mbulazi ukuzalwa kwabo intanga inye. Baluke 
nffonina. U/etiwayo wa zalwa hwa Ntumbazi, Umhulazi wa 
zcdwa hwa Monasi. Kodwa ha langene ngoyise; uyise waho munye. 
Uyise ka beka rikosi pakati kwabo; ngokuba ba be isiutiku, be 
baningi. U te e ae yi beka inkosi pakati kwabo ^ ba se be nako 
ukuvukelana; ngokuba ba se be kulile bonke. 

Grout , Zala-Grammar. 1859. p. 387. 

Remarks. 
With reference to the clicks, which the Kafirs have taken 
from the Hottentots, we hare ^ven our opinion abore p. 80. 81. 
We hare been sorrj to remark that one more has been added 
to the numerous proposals for the rendering of the clicks. 
The Rev. H. Hahn, of the Rhenish Mission, having received 
the commission to send a set of types of his own choice from 
Europe for the Missionary Press of Cape •« town, has added to 
them his niew invented signs for the clicks. As we are unable 
to discover any particular advantages in these signs, and do 
not therefore expect their being extensively adopted, we do 
not feal inclined to recede from our own proposal. We leave 
it, however, to others to^decide whether our strokes should be 



272 ALBICAN LANGUAGES. 

lengthened a little either above or below, in order to distinguish 
them still more from the other characters. Beyond the lateral 
fricative ?, which we have already found in the Makua and 
Tsudna languages^ we have to notice in the Kafir at least 
one lateral more, which we write T. This latter one is pro- 
nounced in the same way as Z, only more forward in the 
mouth. We may compare the diflPerence of I and t with that 
of ^ and J[y or with that of s and the Polish 8 (our h). In 
earlier publications we find our letter I represented by rf, A/, 
'i^ j[l^ and our letter ? by tly thl^ dhl^ hl^ V, ^l; and in the 
Ama-aOsa dialect some writers distinguish even a third lateral 
fricative, which they render by M?, kj[l^ j[L The author has 
only been able to distinguish two sounds in the pronunciation 
of native Zulu Kafirs (see above p. 80), and agrees in this 
respect essentially with the observations made by the Rev. 
L. Grout, Missionary of the American Board, in his valuable 
Grammar of the Zulu language^ Natal and London 1851, p. 17, in 
which he has already introduced the signs 2 and T. Mr. Ap- 
ple yard, in the above mentioned Correspondence etc. p, 108 
recommends the sign Z, but retains besides tbe combinations 
kl and dt. It seems to us, that the sound rendered by kl, 
kfd, J^l, which, according to Boyce, Appleyard and others, 
is only heard, when the letter t is preceded by n orn, ought 
not to be distinguished from the latter. It is a natural phonic 
effect to hear and even to pronounce nki and ntt, in conversa- 
tion, instead of nl and ntj and it is the same mistake which 
has induced others to write tl also behind vowels instead of 
2 or r. The lateral aspiration might even be uttered without 
any decided Z- movement of the tongue; it is then nearly the 
same sound as the Arabic (Jo (only without emphasis), a rather 
■difficult letter which the old Arabic orthoepists describe as an 
^'emphatic aspirated V^ It might therefore be desirable to fix a 
peculiar sign for this lateral aspiration, if this did not go be- 
yond oar practical wants. . . 



KAFIR. HBREaO. 



273 



KAFIR, 0Oia (Ama nOsa) dialect. 
The alphabet is the same as the Zulu-alphahet. 

Specimen. 

Lite ilizwi Uka-TvfOy ukujala kwalo uhungena ema-'i/Odeni, 

langena kwa-jnika; lalipetwe ngv^Nxfengana^ umfo wapeieya kwoU 

wante. Wayete yena esekwelinye ilizwe^ weva kuaitfway Kuko 

mzwe esinffama-ifOsa. Waza wati kekaloku^ wanokunga anasu" 

mayela ilizwi lika-Tito kweso-sizwe. Wasel e/ela intela ke kwa- 

bantu abakulu; wasuka wawela ulwante^ wapumela nganeno apa 

Watty akujika^ waniedwa kakulu ngama-Bulu, 

Appleyard, The Kafir language, p. 369. 



HERERO (0-TYI-HERERO). 



a 
e 
i u 

short and long. 



k g 

t d 

P b 

ty dy ny ts dz 



n 


h 




n 


8 


Z 


m 


-- 


V 



y 

r 



G) 



Specimen. 

Yehova onvurise oandye^ hina tyi mee hepa, E men dyi rarisa 
mout^ta umdyoura. E men dyi tsike komeva uokumva. Omuinyo 
oandye E ma tarareka; E men dyi tsikire Ena re mondambo 
yotisemba. Ps. 23, 1—3. (Hahn p. 339.) 

Etuako ndza ri notyizire ty omnza omhuze, mbia 8 okuya^ ka 
ra H notyinza otyinu Ozombura azehe va pungtehire ozombungu-' 
hdro otyingaaOj nu ka za 8orere okukohora imba, mbe ze pungu- 
hirire. Hebr. 10, 1. (Hahn p. 116.) 



274 AFRICAN LANGUAGES. 

Remarks. 
The Rev. H. Haha has published two valuable larger works 
on this language, a Grammar (1857) and Biblical Stories (1861). 
We regret sincerely, that the orthography of the latter is not only 
essentially differing from that of the former, but even less accep- 
table. The question is only about the sounds , which were first 
written: n, tj^ dj^ Tt;, y, f, rf, nd, b^z by the Rhenish Missionaries, 
for which Mr. Hahn gives in his Grammar the letters w, ^, g^ «, y, 
f, d or dz^ n or ndz, s^ z, and in his last publicaticm: n, ti/y dy^ n, y^ 
h i-i 9? ^1 h With regard to s and z he remarks in the Grammar 
p. 4^ that their pronunciation approaches to the English hard 
th and soft th^ owing to the custom of the people to cut out 
the two upper front -teeth in form of an angle A. This very 
plausible explication accounts for the fact, that our common 
% and z does not exist at all in the Hererdy and justifies us 
at the same time to retain the common signs of a and z not- 
withstanding , instead of ^ and <^, which would else be re- 
quired according to the Standard alphabet. On a separate 
leaf printed 1861 Mr. Hahn raises doubts respecting his own 
former explication, because he had since remarked the same 
lisping sounds behind ^, dy and n, and he uses now a peculiar 
diacritical sign for s and z and the compounds ^, dz^ nz. 
We cannot find the reason he gives for this new invention 
sufficient, and would decidedly prefer the old fashion. On 
the other hand we adopt his proposal to write ty and dy in- 
stead of £ and ^, the more so because we prefer in general, 
according to our principles, and especially with regard to illit^ 
terate languages, to resolve all consonantal diphthongs into 
their component parts. The natural consequence is that we 
write also ny intead of n. But we keep the distinction of n and 
fly as it is done in the Grammar, were it only in oixkr to avoid 
•the very common mistake to pronounce the two letters n^ as a 
•simple n, which latter in many other languages precedes vowels 
immediately without an intermediate g. 



FERMAMDO PO. IBO. 



375 



FERNANDO PO. 



a 


* ff 


• 
n 


h . 


y 


e 


t d 


n 


8 - 


r I 


i u 


p b 


m 


/ ^ 


w 


Bbort and long. 


tS dz 


ho 







au 



Specimen. 

Lue lula bohaho boba pwa^ bwaei na a bohah ribi o bunutm 

bwabe^ ketn o bonutiu bwabe la pulaif atSi na batsi a tdceidi 

oliy nkwcd inaba vipio^atn naba o ei^io a bakoto ata ba bote. 

Matth. 5, 13. 

Remarks. 
The alphabet and specimen are taken from the y^IntroducHon 
to the Femandian tongue^ by John Clarke (Wesl. Miss.) 
2^ ed. 1848. Mr. Clarke writes n, tsh^ j instead of our «, 
tS^ dz. 



^•^■^^■p^ 



IBO. 



a 


a 


k g 


n 


h - 


e e 


Q Q 
6 


t d 


n 


S z 

8 Z 


i I 


u u 


p b 


m 


f V 


d e etc. 
ai ei oi 




t8 dz 


kp 


gb ny 



Tones. 
High tone a' el etc. 
Middle tone a e etc. 
Low tone c^ e^ etc. 



r I 



w 



276 



AFRICAN LANGUAGES. 



Specimen. 

MM ya welite anya ya na nde soga ya, ya 8^ iigcfzi unu 
tide na digi thirty e idzi hd ma unu nwe! dla^eze Tm'kuy ngo'zi 
unu nde ne sM uhu'a ma unu ga dtiio^tii, Ngifzi unu^ nde 
dgu* na dgu' ubu'a^ ma afg^ gedzu unu. Ngg'zi unu^ mbef m^'du 
ga dkpo' unu a8i'j mbef dgahan dtM unUy na ehi'rihd ma mebo' 
unu na ihu'n eren dkpo' unu aha'n doka ndzo' na ihi Qpa'ra w6'ke, 

Luke 6, 20 — 22- 

Remarks. 

We give the alphabet and specimen according to the Gram-- 
matical Element8 of the Ibo language by the Rev. J. P. Schdh 
and the native Missionary S. Crowther's iBuania-Ibo Prtmei\ 
revised by the Rev. J. Chr. Taylor, having changed only 
their di into dz. In the compounds hp and gb of this and 
other African languages, the component parts are so intimately 
connected, that, they are regarded almost as guttural modifi- 
cations of p and i, in a similar way as we speak of guttural 
(emphatic) dentals in the Semitic languages. We prefer however 
to write both letters in the same way as it has been done 
before us. About the peculiar intonations represented by the 
accents ' and ^, see our remarks on the Yoruba. 



K 


YORUBA. 






e 


k g 


n 


h - 


- 


a a 
e S odd 


t d 


n 


i s 

8 - 


y 

r I 


it u u 


p b 


m 


/ - 


w 


a ^ t d u 
a i etc. 


ti dz kp gb 




au ai 9% 6i ei H 






Tones: a' a a^ 




' 







YORDBA. 277 

Specimen. 

O'kori kof li om^lcQri inedzi. Eyi aburo m ing' wo wi fu 
baba' re^ kp^^ Babal^ fu mi ni two ogxJ ti o im^ mi. O ^ 
kpZ ohu inH r^ fu toQ, Ki^ isi^ to' idzo* milokd li ehi Syi^ eyi 
gmo'k^ri aburo kof ohU gbogbo ti of ni dzg' y (J *i* mu pW re^ 
kpg lo'h st ilu c^kSrS; ni ibe^ ni o' gbi' nc^ gbogbo imi r^ ni 
inakuna. Luke 16, 11 — 13. 

Eemarks. 
We owe our acquaintance with the Yoruba language prin- 
eipally to the vakiable works of the native Missionary Kev, 
S. Crpwther (Adza^ye) (Grammar and Vocabulary 1852) and 
lastly of the Rev. T. J. Bo wen (Grammar and Dictionary. 
1858, published by the Smithsonian Institution). Their alphabet 

exhibits the letters a, .^, e^ p, ct'QC^'^)^ V(^i ^9)7 ^ (O'i ^7 9 
or fe, dz (j) instead of our e, e^ e, p, a, n; S^ r, ^, dz. The 
vowel e is not noticed by Crowther; it seems to be very rare 
and is described by Bowen as the ^^obscure sound of u in buty 
in moiherr The r)(n^ ng) on the end of syllables "is equi- 
valent to the French n in bon^"* This is the same nasalisation 
of a vowel, which Mr. Schdn in Ibo has already rendered 
according to the Standard alphabet by a, e^ etc. "Before a 
consonant, that is, at the beginning of a word or syllable, it 
has a stronger sound, nearly equivalent to the English ng in 
songy That is our n. The compound ts is not mentioned 
by Bowen and seems to be almost unknown in native words. 
As to the peculiar intonation of vowels, which is identical with 
that in Ibo^ Ewe and other languages, "there are three primary 
tones; the middle tone is the ordinary tone of the voice without 
inflexion ; the acute and grave tones are simply the rising and 
falling inflexions of elocutionists; in the Yoruba and other, 
cognate languages however, they are employed to distinguish 
words which are spelled alike, but have diflerent meanings." 



278 AFRICAN LANGOAGES. 

We 'find here in a smaller extent the same principle of into- 
nation as in the Chinese. The middle tone requires no ex- 
pression in writing; the two other tones have been indicated 
by Crowther, Schon and Bowen, as the rising and falling 
Chinese tone used to be, by the acute and grave accents ' 
and \ over the vowel. We have already suggested (p. 234), 
and more amply discussed in the above quoted treatise, our 
scruples against this use of the European accents, which have 
quite a difierent meaning, and the former of which is indispen- 
sable in every language to indicate the common word-accent. 
Mr. Bowen has met with this very difficulty also in the Yor^ba 
language 7 where the word -accent is entirely different from 
the intonation. He distinguishes therefore the former from the 
latter by placing it on the right side of the vowel, ex. a'daha^ 
^da\ alufol^ d'lasa'Tay oni'balta. In the running text and in the 
Dictionary Mr. Bowen generally omits the word-accent and it 
seems that it would not be difficult to fix those cases where it 
ought to be put and where not. But we should decidedly pro- 
pose, that the word-accent be placed, also in the African lan- 
guages, over the vowel, according to the usual custom, and the 
tones on the right side of the vowel, without altering the shape 
given to them by Mr. Bowen. We gain by this mode of writing 
the full harmony with the only languages, which exhibit the 
same tones, viz. the Chinese and cognate languages, where the 
^rJ or ascending tone is represented by the acute, and the 
Khyu"^ or descending tone by the grave accent, placed on the 
right side of the vowel (see above p. 232). We should con- 
sequently write the above quoted words; ddaha, edS"^ alufd^ 
dflaMray onibdta^ or if we omit the word -accent, where it is 
not necessary: ddaba, eda^y alufd, a'laMra, ontbdta. Mr. 
Bowen has introduced a new diacritical sign '^ over those 
vowels, which are pronounced so short as to be scarcely per- 
ceptible. We have used in those cases, as in the Slavonic 
and other languages, the particular sign of shortness ^. 



EWE. 



279 



EWE, Anlo (Aongla) - dialect. 



o 

a d 

§ Q 

e S 6 

i I u u 

a e t o u 

d e % etc. 

Tones. 

High: a! e' i' etc. 

Middle: a e i etc. 

Low: a^ e^ %" etc. 



- 


h 


n 


X r 


n 


if s 

8 Z 


m 


f t. 



h g 

t d 

p b 

is dz hp gh ny 



y 

r I 
w w 



Specimen. 

Se gbli alakl§ le, kowe deka. Se ewa'dzi vio ante wui eve^ na 
alakle to deka, Alakle ghlo na se, bena mgvi enye. JEyia devio 
no alakle gbo faniy oioa'tu awo na alakle. Eyia gbo efa gblo 
na se bena: nuka wogbli ameke le kgwe deka mdhdf megblie 
TfCanyi le kowea me^ eli' vinyeo kpatd. 

J. B. Schlegel, Schlussel zur Ewe-Spraclie, p. 148. 



Remarks. 

We have applied the same system of orthography, which 
the Rev. J. B. Schlegel — in accordance with the Standard 
Alphabet — made use of in his able Grammar and Dictionary 
of the Ewe language (Stuttgart. 1857). The obscure vowel - 
sound, of which he speaks p. 6 seems to be the same as the 
vowel a of Mr. Bowea in the Yoruba. We represent it, 
as in the Yoruba^ by g in the rare cases where it occurs. 
The letters x ^^ Y ^^® remarkable, and still more so the 
letter to, which seema to be met with only in the Ewe^ 



280 



AFRICAN LANGUAGES. 



Akray and a few cognate languages. The pure breath, says 
Mr. Schlegel; passes silently through the lips as if you slightly 
blow off something from the paper before you ; the teeth have 
nothing to do with it, nor is it a sonant, but a mute letter; 
the mouth takes the position of the German w. We cannot 
but approve the rendering of this labial breathing by w. 
Others have tried to substitute / as basis; but the entire 
absence of a dental friction leads us more naturally to w. 
Instead of di of Mr. Schlegel we have to write dz. 



AKRA (GA). 



a 


a 


k 


9 


n 


h 


e # 
e S 


Q 9 
6 


t 


d 


n 


if S 

8 - 


i I 


u a 


P 


b 


m 


/ - 


V y V t^ \f 

a e t u 
del etc. 




t8 


dz 


kp gl km 


Tones. 








High: 


a' ef etc. 








Middle: 


a e etc. 








(Low: 


a> e^ etc.) 











y 

r I 
w w 



Specimen. 

08U ni^ ameyOj ni ameyanu le, ak§ lumo eba; H eke^ ayatfa 

tu ahdle. Ni amebabua oblcthc bii le ana. Kek§ ni" amebayin 

ameyatfa tu le. Bent fe se le^ ake ayafta Uimo le, ni amete 

ameyqfiale. DSetXereno le^ akg ayatie onuk^i ye nwy ni ame- 

bayih amete. Aeo noni akeo noni akeeo^ am§nuu mli eko; it fe 

se man fidd nf" amenu oBemsro^ ake owia obatiu* 

ZimmermRnn, Akra Grammar, p. 187. 



AKRA. TYL 



281 



Remarks. 

The Standard Alphabet has been already employed by the 
£ev. J. Zimmerman n in his Orammatical Sketch of the 
Akra- or Gd- language^ Stuttgart. 1858. We write only dz 
instead of his di^ and w instead of his f , which would remind 
rather a dental 8 than a labial w (see above). With regard 
to the tones, he distinguishes only two of them, indicating 
the elevation of the voice by the grave accent (a) instead of 
the acute (a) employed in the cognate languages, and leaving 
the other without sign (p. 6). He uses the acute (a) in its 
original meaning as word*accent; as we do. 



TYI (0-TYI, OJI), j;t«?aptm dialect. 



k g 

^ d 
e ^ 

% u u P ^ 


n 
n 
m 


X * 

% z 


y 

r 
w 


Mostly short, sometimes long. 









ai ei (yiCffi) 

Specimen. 
Abe baakonna set ema. Wo to adur-a^ ebi ka w^dno. Abojra 
ente n*enna ni fCagya asem-a^ odi aduan enkyinne nim. Tdpo 
ni abawm. Wonim tu-a^ tu wo dyon. Ohia na ma odej^e ye 
akoa. Wohu kgtQ sni-a^ wose: eye dttd, JEsonno afon-dy wongwa 
no berQu eo. Atyg abisn borro vji. Riis, Grammat. Outline p. 111. 



Remarks. 
Rev. H. N. Riis, in his Orammatical Outline and Vocabu^ 
lary of the QjManguage , tioiih eepeeud reference to the Akwapim^ 

T 



282 



AFRICAN LANGUAGES. 



dicdeet^ Basel. 1854. writes ffOyUyUyC instead of our e, o^ 
2^9 ^9 JT* If he says. p. 9: ^^The combination my is to be con- 
sidered rather as a simple sound, intermediate between w and y^\ 
this peculiar sound is perhaps the same', which we have 
written w in the preceding languages. He distinguishes (p. 7) 
^'a third class of vowels, which cannot be said to be long, 
and yet are different from the short vowels. They are sounded 
more fully and sharply than the latter, but without the sound 
being prolonged, as in the case with the long vowels." He 
marks those vowels by the circumflex a, ^, etc. If by this 
description he wishes to designate the ascending tone of the 
cognate languages, we should write it a', e'^ etc. as in those 
languages. 





T E M N E. 




■ 


e 

a 

e Q 

e 

i u 


k g 
t d 
p b 


n 
n 

\ m 


h 
i 

8 

/ 


y 

r I 

V) 


at au oi ui 


tS 




gh 





Specimen. 
Want rehe katron ka nu, o too ba tre^lonime kemme kin, bi o 
Kin ka nan o sokkar^ o mo trei f§ a tre-gba tr^anle trofat tramat 
TO fCanle ro-kant^ip o mo konne treka ten o wo sokkar, M o sotto 
ko if Ko bi o pon sotto kg, o botr kg ka e kenkla e yon, o ba 
morbonne. Luke 15, 4r 5. 

Remarks. 
We give the alphabet and the specimen aceoriiing to Bev. 
C. F. Schleuker in bis Tenmeh Primer^ Stuttgart, 1854^ 



TEVNE. YEI. 



283 



although his transcription seems to be in an imperfect state. 
He writes a, /?, g, n or ng or ngh^ 9 instead of our e^ e, 0, 
n, i. The description of hie a (e) ^4ike the English u in but 
or in rW is doubtful; ^ (e) has according to bim the double 
pronunciation of the German a in Voter — our $ — , and that 
of the English ai in bcdt — our .<?; he gives to his only the 
long sound as in home or old — oiu: p , and to his q only the 
long sound as in lavo or water — our q\ he writes very fre- 
quently h at the end of words, as kaJiy woh, nganghy oh^ 
mohy thy kghy eh^ yongh in our specimen, only ^4o distinguish 
words which, though sounded alike, have a different sense", 
a principle which we could not recommend. The quantity of 
the vowels in the specimen is not indicated^ nor is it clear, 
what is meant by his writing hd. 



VEL 







a 


k g 


e Q 


t d 


e 
% u 


p h 


short and long. 


t 


au ai ei ft 




QU ou 





• 
n 


h r 


n 


8 Z 


m 


f V 



ts dz gb 



r I 
w 



Specimen. 
Fatoma Siri a ba Tdru Gura a ra wwru ddfimu/ro he mu Ida 
sdma gbia mu tere gben dzh^ema kia amu m6a Duru-karg ke» 
rima dze. Difi bin a ^oere ka nkundo gba. Ke dondo. Mfa 
sdu a^& kenrgba^tf^b6r6rO'kdrgeiva nie Gbcmbai, Jom Obombai 
mdnue Doaru Sisi so Dzhondu. Kere Doaru bere Ttigba Fa 
mUd a dzommu a fdke^ amu a toa mfa Sdu bgro, A td 
fdkume dfoa Dzondu, Kam biri banda mfa Wonyawere be bgro nu. 

T2 



284 



AFRICAN LANGUAGES. 



Remarks. 

We refer to the Outlines of a Grammar of the Vet language 
by Rev. S. W. Koelle, Church Missionary. London. 1858. 
He iivrites in this Grammar <?, o, d, n'y r, d§^ ds instead of 
our e^ 0^ g, n^ y, ts^ dz. He describes the sound of his b as 
between the o of note (our p) and the u of booh Being un- 
certain , whether this description would characterise this vowel 
sufficiently, we shall meanwhile write it g. Mr. Koelle adds 
to his valuable work a most interesting account respecting the 
mode of syllabical writing invented in modern times by the 
Vei people themselves , and we find the vowel g(d) distin- 
guished from and o(o) also in this Vei writing. 



a 
e 



% 



u 



susu. 

* ff 

t d 

p b 

d£ 



n 


X * 




i 


n 






8 


m 


/ 



r 

y 

r I 
w 



Remarks. 

Rev. J. L. Wilson, Missionary of the American Board on 
the Gabun, gives the ^*a- alphabet in the Journal of the 
Amer. Or. Soc. vol. I, No. IV, p. 365 after the Grammar of 
the Rev. Mr. Brunton (Edinburgh. 1802). We have no doubt 
that his ng^ ah^ kh^ dzh correspond with our n, i^ Xy ^^> ^^^ 
we are not sure, whether his rh is a guttural r(r) or our 
letter y. 



SU8U. MANDINGA. WOLOF. 



285 



a 
e $ 
i u 

ai au at 



MANDINGA. 

* g 
t d 

p b 

tS dz ny 



n 


h 


n 


8 


m 


/ 



y 

r I 

10 



Specimen. 

Katuho ^aryenormamaro molunta ko buntio mem beta somanda 

dffuna, fo asi dolalu sotto ala wainekunkoto. Afaita dolalu fe 

koppere sai, a wolu hi ala wainekunkoto. Abota bungoto wonyama 

wate sabbandzahgoto J a dolu dye belorin keneinke marseoto. 

£t. Hatth. 20, 1—3. 

Remarks. 
Tbe alphabet and specimen are taken from the Gramma^' 
of the Mandingo language y with Vocabularies^ hj the Rev. R. 
Maxwell M a cbr air. London 1837. p. 70. 





WOLOF. 








? 


* g 


n 


X 


h 


y 


a 


t d 


n 


8 


z 
z 


T I 





p b 


m 


f 


V 


w 


u u 




dz m 


/ 


• 





a i' d a 

Specimen. 
Ben bes goloh-ge n^: Monona gyfki tkie liiek bel ngyent-souj 
tfi du-ma-okitn. Lgg-bif n§ ko: Man it mgn-'na gy^ki tkie Ulek 



286 



AFRICAN LANGUAGES. 



bel ngymt-sou te du-ma-x^Hcu, Nyu di gyfUd this Uhk bel dig 
u bekyek. Goloh bog^d oh^tu, t^ an^ul ben mpexe-mu mu-def. 
Mune log: B^^iu-demon tide j^ar^-be ^ nyu-dyam ma balle fi. 

Remarks. 

In the Recherches aur la langue Ouolofe^ par M. Ifi baron 
Roger, Paris, 1829, our letters e^ ^, e, ^, .<?, o, w, w, w, j(, «, 
Zj dzj ny are rendered hj e, ey i^ i^ e, eu^ u^ ou^ n, kh or hr 
or rh^ chyj, dj, gn. 



FUL (FULAH). 



a 






§ Q 


k 


9 


e 
% u. 


t 


d 


short and long. 


V 


b 


a 

ai au et oi ou ui 


tS 


d 







4 




n 


h 






n 


V 

8 
8 


z 
z 


y 

r I 


m 


f 


- 


w 



Arabic soundB 



X 
t d 



s 



Specimen. 

Lddi e din nyaldi be ydldini fi dzaka e Atigu8tti8 Kaiaara no 
be vnnda dendangal nibube. Ko nduh word tdlkuru drwandu o 
dzoni dun to Kirenus lamdo Sdnii. Wali denddngalmabe kayo 
winde kala goto erndbe hato sdremako. Yahi Yusufu kade iude 
Dzalila hato sdremako Ndzarata to ledi Yahitdiankobe hato 
8dre Ddwuda nden notirtende Baiituldhami ko don woni 8dre Da- 
tvuda e gabtlamwu; kayo be windane wdndtide § Marydma gen^ 
dirdomako ko don or^i, £y. Liux 2, t— '$• 



FUL. KANDRI. 



287 



Remarks. 

The Rev. C. L. Reichardt, Church Miss., in his Primer 
in the Fulah language , and in his Three original Fulah Pieces, 
Berlin , 1859 , has already used the Standard alphabet. There 
are many Arabic words in the Fulj which ought to be ren-. 
dered according to our Arabic transcription. We should also 
adopt the letter / instead of dz^ if this sound occurred only 
in Arabic words. The specimen is taken from Reichardt^s 
Primer p. 23. 



KANURI (BORNU). 



f 9 


k g 


n 


h - 


y 


a 

e Q 


t d 


n 


i - 

8 Z 


r I 


e 


P h 


m 


f - 


w 


i u 
short and long. 


ts dz 1 


ts (dz) 




a 








m au ei oi Qu ui 











Specimen. 

Tdtoa sandi kdm ^di gandnUdn sobdgdta. Sobdgatdnyd^ tiloy 
abdntse gdlifu^ tilo^ abdntse tdlaga. Sandi ndi nemsobdnUa tsadin, 
dugOj sandi wurdgeda. Wurdgeddnyd, nd kdmubS tsdtt. Ke- 
tenyd^ lata gdlifube letse^ piro kuydngd ydsge nigd tsede^ g6tsi; 
kuru wSlte^ kdmu kura tilO nigd tsede, piroa kdm ydsgurd 
fSktsegu Koelle, Afr. native literatare, p. 7. 

Remarks. 

We refer respecting the alphabet and specimen to the most 
valuable works of the Rev. S. W. Koelle, Church Missionary: 



288 



AFRICAN LANGUA0E8. KONOARA. NUfiA. 



Grammar af the B6mu or KAnurt language and AJriean native 
Literature^ both publ. London, 185i, in which the Standard 
Alphabet is already used. 



♦ / / 



KONGARA (DAR-FUR). 



ad 


k g 


• 
n 


(h) 




e S 06 


• 9 


n 


s 


y 


it u u 


t d 


n 


8 


r I 


ai au 


p b 

NUBA 


m 

• 


f 


w 


ad 


* g 


n 


h 




e i 06 


n g 


n 


i 


y 


tf uu 


t d 


n 


8 


r I 


ai au 


p h 


m 


f 


to 



Specimen. 

Int urrag Yeau Mesih^ n&rin tOdin^ in^llnilin. Nebi IsaJdan 
fdyiain nagittd: Adi^ ai f-id^r melaik angd urrag innd^ dawiff 
indOro haddereyd, HUH wS tdlcin faUld: Hadderan nOrin da- 
wigdy sallahan sikke tannigd. Yuhannd faUld gatUdga menon^ 
dd-derson getdHlt^n tubogana ya, sembi ga/ritakkana yd. 

Ev. Marc. 1, 1 — 5. 



Remarks. 

The alphabets * of the Kongara and Nuba languages are 
picked up by the Author himself from the natives, the Nuba 
specimen from his Gospel according to St, Mark translated into 
the Nubian language. Berlin. 1860. 



AMBRICAM LANOUAGIS. GRBKNLAHDIC. 



289 



AMERICAN LANGUAGES. 

INDIAN LANGUAGES OF NORTH AMERICA. 



e 

a 

e 

t u 

<«> A> «/ iV <V " 

a e I o u e 
at au 



k 

ti 
t 



9 

dz 

d 



1 

i 


* 




• X 


y 


ny i 




n 


8 


z 


^ 


d 


m 


/ 


V 



y hi 

r I 
w 



Remarks. 
Few of the American languages have been carefully ana- 
lysed with respect to their sound-system, and we are not able 
to trace rightly the alphabets of the Kri^ Odzibway Mkmak, and 
others^ after the imperfect descriptions and transcriptions which 
lie before us. We think it therefore advisable to refer to the 
valuable and well known E88ai/ an a uniform orthography for 
the Indian languages of North America by John Pickering, 
who describes with acuteness the above given sounds. His 
transcription differs from ours in the following letters : 6, d^ e^ 
h 0^ Uj e; n, ^, /, if, z, ^, J, which he writes: o, a, f, t, ?, «> /; 
n, kh, gh^ sh^ zh^ th^ dh. 



GREENLANDIO. 



a a 
e 



% t 



u u 



k g 
t - 
P - 





h 


n 


X r 


n 


X ' 


1 


i z 


n 


8 Z 


m 


/ « 



I 



290 AMERICAN LANGUAGES. 

Specimen. 

NdlagaJc viianej^allugo, taza ilizimanej^mut autlaj^niuttffsalc . 
Pjs. Ill, 10. — Tamazza atikuiatitdgM^ kmijui-d! KtitzmneJ^uto- 
zdjj[tup pej[}cuzzutd tazza^ piumdjf^tugaalc ndlagkawnut hunimut, 
Inunit ayafftoj(umdJ(pdttt, Dan. 4, 21. 22. — IzumaKaj(polc ^ Ua- 
tannutaiza malugizzaffdne y •annautigiumajfitik ^ Gutip annaukku- 
manmatik. Acts. 7, 25. 

Remarks. 

S. Kleinschmidt in his Grammatik der Grotddndiachen 
Sprachey Berlin, 1851. supplies us with a very learned and 
accurate description of the Greenlandic sounds, although we 
must deviate in many points from his transcription of the con- 
jsonants. Our letters: f^ y n, j, y^ A, ^y X^ ^y ^> ^ ^^^ ^^ 
same as his: a;, rng^ r^ r, k^ ng^ g^ 88^ 88, s. He calls the first 
class gutturals, the second palatals, but be describes both classes 
as uttered deeper in the throat than the same classes in other 
languages. The second class comes very near to the common 
gutturals, whilst the first might be compared, as in the G^ez 
and Amliaric, to a peculiar developement of the Semitic j^- class. 
We distinguish those deep gutturals by adding over them, as 
in the just mentioned languages, the guttural pointy and by 
doubling it over n. It is the same misconception which we have 
met already several times, that he takes the rough friction of 
;f , ^, and even ii as a regular vibration, representing it by 
the basis r. The original explosive imdia is, according to this 
author, only preserved in the second class as ^, whilst in 
the other classes it is either softened, between vowels, into 
the respective soft fricative (y ^ i, z^ v) or, after consonants, 
changed even into the hard fricative f;f, «, 8, f). In the latter 
case be distinguishes the soft and the hard fricative only in 
the first class (r and r) and in the last (v and f)y but he does 
not distinguish «« = « from 88 = J, nor 8 = 8 from 8 = z. It 



MA88AT^8T. 



291 



is, however, only coiwisteDt, to ili#w fully in our transcription 
the regular developement of this interesting system of conso- 
nants. It seems, on the other hand, that we might easier dis- 
pense with the compound letter {//, which this author uses for 
I if it follows an other consotfant. As to the different accents, 
which Mr. Kleinschmidt employs, they seem to us not ne- 
cessary, if we double, after every sharp accented vowel, the 



MASSATSUSET. 



a 


k g 


t 

n 


X A 


- 


e 


ti dz 


- 


i - 


y 


i u 


t d 


n 


8 Z 


(r)(l) 


short and long. 


p b 


m, 


f « 


w 


a 











Specimen. 
Noosun kesukwut gicuttianatamunatH kooteesuonk, peyaumoouti 
kukketassootamoonk ktittenantamoonk ne ennatS ohkeit neane ke- 
sukicut. Numeetsuongai csekesukokii as8amainn$an yeuyeu kesukok. 
Kah cAkwontamatinnean nummatieseongai neane matienekikwegeeg 
nutahktcontamauounahog. Matth. 6, 9— li. 

Remarks. 
The alphabet is taken from John Eliot: A Grammar of 
the Massachusetts Indian language, ed. by P. S. du Ponceau. 
Boston, 1822, and the Spaeuncn from Josiah Cotton: Vo- 
cabulary of the Mass. InJL langu^ Cambridge, 1829. p. 104. 
There r^aiaio still several doubts aboai the vowels. The 
letters r and / ate used in cognate dialects iastead of Massa- 
tsusett n. We add x aceordiBg to a remark of Joho Piekermg, 
see Cotton p. 6. 



^92 



AHEBIGAN liANaDAQES. 



I R O K W O I S. 



a 


k 


- 


- 


h 


y 


e 


t 


. 


n 


8 


r 


% u 

d S 


- 


- 


- 


- 


w 



Remarks. 

Du Ponceau, in his Mimoire mr le systime grammaticed 
dee langues de guelques nations Indiennes de FAmMque du nord, 
Paris, 1838. p. 103. pretends expressly, that the Irokwois use 
only the poor alphabet exhibited above. According to Zeis- 
berger (du Ponceau ^ p. 259) they have also the letters (^), 

^; ^^;;r> ^> ^9 9' 



M U S K K L 





f 






k 


n 


h 




a 






ts 


- 


S 




e 


Q 











• 








t 


n 


8 


% 






u 








ai 


au 


iu 


ui 


P 


m 


/ 



y hi 
I 



w 



Specimen. 

THho/e isti yeme ikene ohfulot imilklusit iputsin atotetis; mutse 
istaimet ohokesomi narngt istimilhlaiki ko8; hisakUe imi yukse sikot 
in hiUkekehlis. John 8, 16. 



e e 



Remarks. 

See A short Sermon: also Hymnsy in the Muskokee or Creek 
language by Rev. John Fleming, Miss, of the Amer. B. of 
Comm. f. F. Miss. Boston, 1835. Cf. Winslett, Muekokee 
Hymns, Park Hill, 1851. (Presbyter. Miss.) 



IROKWOIS. MITSEOKI. TiSABTA. TSALAOI. 



S9S 



TSAHTA (CHOKTAW). 





a 



u 



a I u e 



ti - 



t - 
p b 



ii 


h 


- 


i 


n 


8 


m 


f 



y 
I 

w 



at au 



Specimen. 

I^ki eha if binili ma. Tit tiohtlKfo het holitopaike. Is ape- 
fUitSika yet flaike. Nana Of atahni ka yakni pakna yd a yohmi 
ket eba yakni a yohmi mak o tifiyuhmaSke. JSimak nitak ilhpak 
pirn ai elhpeaa hoka ii pi ipetaike. Matth. 6, 9 — li. 

Eemarks. 

See The Choctaw Spelling book, 5^^ ed. Boston, 1849. p. 36. 
and cf. The Choctaw Instructor. Utica, 1831. 



TSALAGI (CHIROKI). 



e 



a 



u 



- 9^ 

k g 

t d 

. ds 

tl dl 



\ 


h 


n 


8 


m 


- 



hn nah 



y 
I 



to 



294 AIRKCAN LANQUAQES. 

jy a R« Tt *o 0^ u X e 

X gwa vi gwe SP gm tV^ gwo 0& ^fww 6 ^rice 

(S^ ha if he A hi . \ ho T hu ^ he 

^ ka -- -- -- -- -- 

^ ga 1y ge Y gi \ go i gu ^ gs 

{id ya ^ ye :^ yi h. yo GT yu B ye 

W to % te a ti 

l> da S de ' JL di \ do S du (T® de 

Q na tA ne h ni Z no ^ nu {? ne 

15 8a 4f se h si ^ so V^ 8u R «« 

o 

W la € le 1* U & lo HI lu "^ fe 
G dea 1^ dse h^ dsi K dso i dsu W d9i 

Si tia - "--•. 

A> dla L die Q dli V d/o ^ cfiu P die 

c/t ma {A me H mi Qc^ mo -y mu 

C^ wa ^ we ® m QD wo ^ wu Q" we 

9 

tr hna G nah 6i) 8 

Specimen. 

Ogidoda galeladi hehij galegwodiyu gesesdi dedsadoei. Dsa- 
gewiyuhi gese wiganamigoi. Ani elohi widsigalisda hadanetesgei^ 
nasgiya galeladi deinigalisdiha. Nidadodagwise ogalisdayedi sgiesi 
gohi iga. Digesgiesigwono desgidttgeiy naegiya dsidigayodsineko 
dsodsidugi. AU dlesdi tsdagqiiyediyi widisgiyatinestanegi sgiyu- 
dalesgesdigwosgini uyo gesgi. Dsadseligayeno dsagemyuhigesei^ 
dsalinigidi ale gesei^ edsalegwodiyu ale gese nigohUei, Amen. 

The Lord's prayer. 

Remarks. 

The Ghiroki' ovy as thejT profiounce themselves, Tsalagi are 
known by the remarkable fact, that they alone of the Indian 



TSALAQI (GHIBOIO). 295 

tribaa use in writing and printing vernacular characters, in* 
vented about 1823 by a Chiroki man called Segimya or witb 
his English name George Guest The history of this extra* 
ordinary invention, will be found, after an authentic relation 
in a Chiroki newspaper, in the Notes to the treatise of John 
Pickering on the Indian languages of America, translated into 
German by the learned Mrs. Th. Robinson (Talvj). It is in-* 
teresting to observe, that the inventor, who could not read 
nor speak any otiier language except his own, did not proceed 
to the separation of vowels and consonants^ but set up a syU' 
labarium of 85 characters, uniting 15 consonantal sounds with 
six different vowels and giving besides a peculiar sign to every 
pure voweL He omitted those combinations, which he did not 
actually meet in his language, and be added a character for 
the syllable nuk (=» «d?), probably because this syllable coif; 
stitutes the only monosyllable Chiroki word (except some in- 
te^eclioDsX ^ secoad one for the syllable hna, perhaps because 
the asf^irated n seems to be the only aspirated consonant which 
occurs ip the beginning of words , and a third for the simple 
voweUess By which precedes several other conscmants, for ex. 
sty sd, sky sg<i sgw* The sixth vowel (e) has been described as 
a nasalized Ei^lish u of but It seems not impossible that il 
may resenlble the hard { of the Chinese and the Tatariau lan- 
guages, which would easily be decided by a Russian linguist. 
We should [Hropose in this case to render it likewise by i 
instead of e. As to the consonants, we are of the opinion, 
that the Tsalagi language has no true sonant Mediae^ but that 
our second row contains the real dry Tpiuea^ which we ought 
to write hw^ k, tj ts^ Uy and the first row the aspirates £, f, fL 
We conform however to the already received orthogri^phy^ 
whose deviation from the true pronunciation is all the less im- 
portant, because no third row has been developped in the Tsa- 
lagi system. J. D. W of ford in Wb American Sunday Sc/uwl 
Spelling booky translated into the Cherokee languagey New York, 



296 AMBSIGAN LANGUAGES. 

1824. r^resents aD the rows of vowel combiDations, ako those 
with kj ty U^ m, as complete, and adds even several conso- 
nantal sounds which by Segwoya were not distinguished ; for he 
gives besides 2, tl and dl a second l^ rendered by 7, which he 
compares with the Welsh lly our 7, and which occurs also in 
the combinations df and d?. Moreover ^ he uses an aspiration 
expressed by ^ before vowels and almost all the consonants 
0?> 'g^t % ^fff ^.> 'dsj 'i5, U^ >«, ^*, CI)) — except only the 
labials m and to — and distinguishes 'y from hy. In a single 
sheet in 4^, containing the Cherokee Alphabet^ we find the 
remark, that ^4n some words ffy l^ n, dy w and y are aspirated, 
as if preceded by A.'' We render in our specimen this aspiration 
provisionally by '. With regard to the vowels, he writes v 
for the English u of thus, and v for the same vowel nasa- 
lized. He employs also occasionally two accents placed over 
the vowels, a, i, /, (6), u and dy ^, (I), o, &, without, however, 
any explication. He also gives ^ besides the consonantal com- 
binations with 8y several others in his texts, as iS, %, wh, 
7Uj nd, ntl, nn, and we are at a loss to know, how such 
vowelless consonants might be expressed in the Chiroki writing. 
It seems, that Segwoya did not provide at all for those cases, 
but that at present the diacritical sign . — is prefixed before 
such consonants which have lost their vowel-sound. This is 
at least the case in the Cherokee Hymns, compiled from several 
autiiors, 8^ ed. Park Hill, Mission Press, 184S, as we see 
from a note added to p. 2 of those Hymns, as well as in The 
Gospel ace. to Matthew, translated into ti^ Cherokee kmguaffe. 
5^b ed. Park Hill ISj^O, from which we have taken the Spe- 
cimen. Chiroki scholars will in these respects complete our 
transcription. 



DAKOTA. 



397 



DAKOTA. 



a 
e o 
i u 

a e l o u 



k g 


k 


U - 


ti 


t d 


t 


p b 


P 



- 


h 


- 


- 


X 


r 


- 


s 


z 


n 


8 


z 


m 


- 


- 



y 
(I) 

W 



Specimen. 

WitiaSta wd tsihitku nopa: ukd hakakta ki he aikuku ki 
hetUya: AtS^ wdyuha mitdiva kte tsi he mitauwo, eya, TJkd wo- 
yuha kl ytidkipam ivitidku, Ukd iydhaJcam dp^tu tonana^ tsthitku 
hakakta ko he owdsl witaya ipahi^ ka itehdyd makotse wd ekta 
itsimam ya; ka hen iy[d oj(dydpi kl o, tdku yuM tsi owds-Z 
hdutdkuniini. Ev. Luc. 15, 11 — 13. 

Remarks. 

The distinction of long and short vowels is not clearly fixed. 
The sound of ^ in «»«, p*a^ bot'd, kapn^ kas't^ etc. is that of 
the Arabic hamza. Of the sounds, which we write k , tS^ ty p, 
the Rev. S. R. Riggs, Missionary of the American Board, 
says in his Grammar and Dictionary of the Dakota Ian- 
guage^ Washington, 1862, that they are pronounced "with a 
strong pressure of the organs, followed by a sudden ex- 
pulsion of the breath." Others call this pressure a sort of 
aspiration. We believe that the pronunciation of these sounds 
is the same as that of the corresponding Khetsua sounds, and 
write them accordingly (see below). The assibilated palatals 
t8 and ts seem to be mostly derived from gutturals. The 
letter I occurs regularly only in the Titowd dialect, replacing 
d or w of the other dialects. Mr. Riggs uses ay^ erj^ etc., 
c, ky G, f, JO, A, ^, «, z instead of our a, «, etc., ts , A, ta^ 

t, p, x^ r^ ^5 ^• 



u 



298 



AMERICAN LANGUAGES. 



e 

o 

a a 



e e 
I I u 
a e I o u 



T M I. 



k g 

U - 

t d 

p h 





h 


n 


X 


ny 


- 


n 


8 Z 


m 


f - 



y 

r 



Remarks. 

See Grammatica della lingua Otomi dal conte V. Piccolo 
mini. Roma. 1841. 



K H E T S U A (QQUICHUA , PERUVIAN). 



t 



a 


k 


kh k 


- 


h h 


- 


e 


tif 


Uh - 


ny 


/ - 


b 


i u 


t 


th t 


n 


8 i 


(0 r 




P 


ph p 


m 


- 


- 



Specimen. 

TSaypatiapi Jesus yatiatHskankunamanmi nyirkan: unantSa- 
kuna intipi, khilyapipas kotlyurkunapipas kankam; runakunari 
kaipatiapi mamakotsap tiaunyiinyinpa pokktSikenkunap kum- 
nyiinyinpas mantsajnyinkuan lyakhirayankam. Runakuna ttiku( 
tekkimuiup hdhuaman bamukunap mantiainyinhuan suiainyin- 
huanpas tsakhikuptinku. Tsekapunim hanak phatiakunap tekkin- 
kuna kuiukunka. Tsafpatiapiri hatum atipainytnhuan ^ apu- 
kafnyinkuanpas phuhupipi hamukhta virgenpa huahuanta ri- 
kunkam. Ev. Luc. 21, 25—27. 



OTOin. KHKTSUA. KIBIRI. 



299 



Remarks. 

The following letters: (; k, kh^ k^ h; ti, tihy ny, i, ly; thj 
tf Sy Sf pA, p^ of our transcription are rendered by Gon9ale2 
Holguin in his Vocabulario de la lengua Qquichtia^ Reyes, 
1608, and by Torres Rubio in his Arte y Vocabulario de la 
lengtia Quichua^ Lima, 1754, y; c (before a, o, i^, () or qu 
(before e^ «), k (a, o, w, () or qqu («, /), cc or kc, h; chj chh^ 
n, «, H; ih or tt, tt, (j (a, o, u) or c {e^ i) or z (before con- 
sonants), /«; p or pp^ pp; by J. von Tschudi, Die Kechua- 
Sprache^ Wien, 1853: y, c or k^ k or A', c or A?, A*; cA, 6?X, 
w, /, f^; <' ?, «5 ^; p, p. The letters k, t, p^ h, s are pro- 
nounced with a peculiar contraction of the throat, which we 
can only compare with the guttural emphasis of the Semitic 
linguals, and which we render accordingly by the same line 
underneath. The letter, which we write i seems to be more 
a sharp aspirated «, than a full i, which latter, however, is 
substituted in some districts. We are not sure as to the 
exact pronunciation of the letter written y by former gram- 
marians and rendered by us (; it seems to be always com- 
bined with other vowels. 



K I R I R L 



a 



e e 







u 



d i etc. 



k 

u 
t 

p 



9 
dz 

d 

b 



- 


h 


ny 


i z 


n 


8 Z 


m 


- 







y kf 

r 
w 



U3 



300 AMERICAN LANGUAGES. OTOK. 

Remarks. 

P. Mamiani in his KinH^ Grammar ^ translated from the 
Portugese into German by H. C. von der Gabelentz (Leipzig, 
1852), writes Wy e^ a, o, y^ ^, hn^ ch, jy hly instead of onr 
§y ^, o, Oj i, t8^ ny, «, z. ly. The vowel y = (, is called by 
the Brasilian Grammarians the ^ thick t^' and is said to be 
pronounced with a guttural sound. We have rendered it by 
the Tataric and Chinese t, to which it seems to approach, 
as in the preceding languages. 



The General Table of Languages, which we exhibit hereafter, is added 
for the conyenience of the reader. It rests entirely upon the responsibility 
of the author of the pamphlet and claims no other anthority; the af&liation 
and interdependence of the dialects of mankind being too wide a question, 
to be allowed to interfere with the practical object, which, especially in its 
Missionary bearing, the Standard Alphabet has in Tiew. It will hardly be 
necessary to state expressly, that the names, Japhetic, Semitic, and Hamitic, 
do not imply the independent origin of those languages, which are not 
classified under them, but which cannot yet be identified with these three 
branches. We use them merely as conyentional and convenient terms, fol- 
lowing in this respect, and carrying out, the general linguistic use, which 
has long existed with regard to the Semitic languages. As to the details 
of our survey, we pretend by no means to completeness or perfection in 
all parts; we have used, however, the best authorities and examined the 
latest researches on the diffdrent groups of languages, as far as we had 
access to t)iem. 



301 



GENERAL TABLE OF LANGUAGES. 



The Ungnagei reduced to the Standard Alphabet An mArked by an asterisk. 



LITEEAET LANGUAGES. 



1^. - 



A. GENDER LANGUAGES. 

L Japhetic (IndogemaBic) 
langiiages. 



A. Sanscritic (Arian). 

I. Old Indian languages. 

1 . Vedic. 

2. *Sanekrit. 

3. *Pdll. 

4. *Old Prakrit. 

II. New Indian lan- 
guages. 

a. General dialects. 

1. * Hindu 

2. *Bindii»tdf^. 
b« Local dialects. 

1. *Sindhi, 

2. *GfJfaflrm. 

3. Marathl, 

4. Kaimffi. 

5. *Pa^ahi or SUch. 

6. *Nipdlu 

7. *Bangdlu 

8. Assam. 

9. *Unya. 



B. *Past6 or Af^an. 

C. Eranian. 

I. ''Old Baktrian (Zend). 

II. Persian. 

1. *Old Persian {Cu- 

neiform). 

2. Pehlevf. 

€u Huzvdrei{Pehlevt), 
b. Pdrri (Pazend). 

3. *New Persian. 

III. ^Armenian. 

IV. *Knrdo-Lurio orLeki. 

1. Kurd. 

a. Kurmdryi. 

b. Zazd. 

2. Beludi. 
V. *0s8etian. 

D. Lituanian (Lettic). 

1. Old Prussian. 

2. *Lituanian, 

a. High Lituanian. 

b. Low LUuanian or 

Zemaitis. 

3. LettiCw 



302 



GENERAL TABLE OP LANGUAGES. 



E. Slavonic. 

I. Soath- eastern branch 

(Kyriflian letters). 

1. SlovenO'Bulgarian. 

a. *Old Slovenian 
(Church Slavonic) . 

b. New Slovenian 
(Windic). 

c. Bulgarian, 

2. "" Serbian Olliric), 
Kroatic (Khorvatic). 

3. ^Russian, 

a, Great-Russian, 

b, Small-Russian. 

II. Western branch (Ro- 

man letters). 

1 *Cheskian(Bohemian)j 
Slovakian. 

2. *Polish^ Polabic. 

3. ^Serbian (Wendic^ 

Lusatian), 
a* High-Lusatian, 
b, Low-Lusatian, 

F. Greek. 

1. Old Greek. 

2. New Grreek. 

6. Italic. 

1. Umbrian, 

2. Oskan, 

3. Latin. 

a. Old Roman. 



b. Romance languages. 

a. Italian. 

b. Spanish. 

c. Portugese. 

d. ProvenciaL 

e. French. 

f. Grison{RJieto-Ro- 

mance). 
g* Rumanian (Wal- 
lachian). 
Of. Northern or Dako- 

Rumanian, 
fi. Southern or Ma" 
cedo-Rumanian. 
4. Etruscan. 

H. Germanic. 

1. Gothic. 

2. High- German: Old^ 

Middlcy New. 

3. Low- German: Old- 

Saxon^ Middle-LotV", 
New-Low- German. 

4. Netherlandic : Middle- 

Netherlandicy Dutch. 

5. Frisic. 

6. Anglo-Saxon. 

7. English. 

8. Scandinavian. 

a. Icelandic, 

a. *Old Icelandic. 

b. New Icelandic. 

b. Swedish. 

c. Danish y Norwegian. 



GENERAL TABLE OF LANQUAQES. 



803 



J. Celtic. 

1. Wehh (Breton). 

a. *Kimri (Cymric), 
ft. Cornish, 
c. Armorican (Bus 
Breton). 

2. Oaelic. 

a. Scotch (Gaelic). 

b. Irish (Era). 

c. Marks. 

II. Semitic langaages. 

A. Northern Semitic 
languages. 

1. * Hebrew. 

2. KanaanitiCy Phoeni- 

cian^ Punic. 

3. Aramean. 
a. *Syrian. 
ft. Chaldee. 

c. Samaritan , Pal- 

myric. 

d. Mandean or Sa- 

bean, 

4. Assyrian. 

B. Southern Semitic 
languages. 

1. * Arabic. 

2. Sinaitic. 



3. Himyaritic^ Ehkili, 

4. Abyssinian (Ethio- 

pian). 
a. * Old Abyssinian 

(Qeiez), 
ft. Tigre. 
c. *AmJiaric, 

III. Hamitic languages. 

A. Egyptian. 

\.*Old Egyptian (Hie- 
roglyphic), 
2. ^Coptic. 

B. Ethiopian. 

1. *Bga (Biidri). 

2. Dankdli. 

3. Harrar. 

4. Somali. 

5. *0r7na (GaUa). 

C. Libyan. 

1. *Ta-Mdifeq (MaMy^ 

TfMric). 

2. *Ha4sa. 

D. Hottentot. 

1. Hottentot. 

a. *Nama (Namaqud). 
ft. Kora, 

2. Bushman. 



B. NO -GENDER LANGUAGES. 



I. Asiatic languages. 

A. Tataric (Ural-Altaic, 
Tataro - Finnic , Scy- 
thian, Turanian). 



I. Tungusian. 

1. *Manju. 

2. Lamutic. 

3. Capogtrie, 



304 



GENERAL TABLE OF LANGUAGBSi 



4 Orotongian, 
etc. 

II. MoDgoIian. 

1. *Sharra" Mongolian 

(eastern Mong.), 

2. Kdlmuk {western 
Mongolian). 

3. *Buryetic (northern 

Mongolian), 

III. Turkish. 

1. .^Yakutic, 

2. * Osnianlian ( Tur- 

kish). 

3. Nogairic^ Kumuk. 

4. Jakataic. 
a. Uiguric, 
b,' Usbek, 

c. ^Turkmenian. 

5. Kirgisian. 

a. Eastern Kirgisian 

(K{rg(z). 
h. Western Kirgisian 
{Kazak). 

6. (Juwaiie. 

7. Barabinzic^ Teleutic^ 

Sayanic, 

IV. *Samoyedic. 

1. Yurak'Samoyedic. 

2. Tawgi-Samoyedic, 

3. Ostyak-Samoyedic. 

4. Yenissei-Samoyedic. 

5. Kamassic. 

V. Finnic (Chudic, Uralic). 



1. Ugric, 

a. Osfbyak. 

b. Wogulic, 

€, *MadyaHc {Magya- 
ric^ Hungarian), 

2. Permian. 

a. Siryenian (Pet*- 
mian), 

b. Wotyak. 

3. Wolgaic (Chudic). 

V 

«. Ceremissian. 
b, ^Mordvinian. 

a. Erse. 

/?. Moksa, 

4. Ty^tj^erw Finnic. 

a. Lapponese^ 

b. Finlandic, 
a, Yemian. 

1. Western Fin- 
landic, 

2. Wepsic. 

3. PPb^ec. 

4. Esthonian. 

5. ^Livonian. 
fi, Karelian. 

VI. Dravidian languages. 

1. * Tamil (Tamulian). 

2. *Malaydlam. 

3. *rttZw. 

« 

4. *Kamataka (Kana- 

rese). 
6. *r^%«^ (Telinga). 

6. Gond. 

7. Tuda. 



GENERAL TABLE OF LANGUAGES. 



305 



8. K6ta. 

9. Ku (Kund). 

B. Monosyllabic Ian- « 

guages. 

I. Chinese. 

1. *Kwanrhwa or Man- 

darinic, 

a. Dial, of Peking. 

b. Dial, of Nanking. 

2. Fu-kyan. 

a. Dial, of Can-^eu. 

b. *JIok'lo. 

3. Kwan-tun (Canton). 

a. Pun-ti (^Peti). 

b. ^Hak'ka. 
€. Sin-hwai. 

II. Annam. 

III. *Thai (Siamese). 

IV. *Kamboja. 

V. ^Mranma (Burmese). 

C. Isolated languages. 

1. *Yukagiric. 

2. *Cauiau (Chukchik)^ 

Koryak. 

3. Kamchatka^ 

4. * Japanese. 

5. Korean. 

6. *Tibetan. 

7. Caucaaian languages. 
a. Georgian ( Grusi- 

nian\ Lazian and 
Mingrelian , Gw- 
rian, Suanian. 



b. Lesgian, Aware. 
€. *Tu8, Kisttan^Mizje- 

gian). 
d. Cerkessianj Abha- 

s%an. 

8. Lycian. 
In Europe: 

9. * Albanian. 
10. Basque, 

11. Polynesian or Malayan 
(Oceanie) languages. 

A, Western Branch. 

1. Suf)iatra and Malakka, 

a, *Malay. 

b, *Batak. 

c, AHiuy Rqan^ Lam- 

pun , Mantawei , 
{Poggi) ^ Nian, 
Maruwin. 

2. * Javanese. 

a. Kawi or Old Ja- 

vanese. 

b. New Javanese : 
Bhasa-krama, Nyo- 
ko^ Madliya. 

3. Borneo, 

a. *Dayak^ etc. 

4. Sumbavay Timor. . 

5. CeUbes. 

a. *Makas8ar {Mang- 

kassara). 

b. *Bugi8 (Wugi). 

6. Moluccas Islands, 



306 



GENERAL TABLE OF LANGUAGES. 



7. Philippine Islands : 

Tagala, 

8. Fcyrmosa {Taiwan). 

9. Marianne Islands, 
10. Caroline Islands. 

B. Eastern Branch. 

1. *New Zealand. 

2. Friendly Islands. 

3. Navigator^s {Samoa) 

Islands. 

4. Union Islands: Fa-- 
kactfo. 



5. *Hervey Islands: Ra- 

ro-Tonga. 

6. *Gambier'*8 Islands. 

7. ^Society Islands: Ta- 

hiti. 

8. Paumotu Islands. 

9. * Marquesas Islands: 

Nukahiwa. 
10. * Sandwich Islands : 
Hawaiyi. 

C. Madagaskar: Mala- 
gasse. 



ILLITERATE LANGUAGES. 



III. Anstralian or Papuan 
languages ( Negrito^ 
Nelanesian). 

A. Australian. 

1. Southwest, langtmges. 

2. Parnkalla. 

3. ^Adelaide. 

4. Murray river. 

5. Encounter hay. 

6. Victoria. 

7. Tasmania Island. 

8. Eastern languages. 

9. Northern langtcages. 

B. Melanesian (Papuan). 

1. New Guinea. 

2. New Ireland. 

3. New Britannia. 

4. Louisiade. 



5. Solomon Islands: 
BaurOy Guadalka- 
nar, 

6. iVi?M? Hebrides: 
*Annatom, Tana. 

7. iV^ Caledonia. 

8. Loyalty Islands: 
*Mare, Nengore, Do^ 

ka^ Lifu. 

9. *FzW (Fiji) Islands. 

IV. African languages. 

A. Original or South 
African languages. 
1. Zanzibar. 

a. *Sudheli {Ki'Sua- 

heli). 

b. Nika. 

c. Kamba. 



GENERAL TABLE OF LANGUAGES. 



307 



d, PokCmo. 

e. HinztMn, 

2. Mosambique. 

a. *Makua, 

b. Tette, 

c. Sena. 

3. Tegeza, 

4. *TBudna (^Se-chuana). 

a. Suto {Ba-Suto), 

b. Rolon, 

c. Hlapi. 

5. Kafir, 

a, *Zulu. 

b, uOsa (Ma-ffOea). 

6. Bunda, 

a, *£[erer6, 

b. Ngola {Angdla). 

c. Benguela. 

d, Londa. 

7. Kongo, 

a, Kongo, 

b, Kokongo, 

c, Mpongwe, 

8. Biafra gulf. 

a. Kele {Dv-keU). 

b. Benga. 

c. Dualla* 

d. Isubu, 

e. *Femando Po, 

9. Niger-Delta, 

a. Effik. 

b. *lbo, 

c, *Y6ruba, 

d, Nupe. 



10. Slave coast, 

a, Etee (Jfe). 

b, Maxi» 

c, Ddhume. 

d, Weta. 

e, An/tie. 

f, Anlo (Aongla), 

11. Gold coast 
a* Fanti. 

b, Aianti. 

c, *Akra or Gd, 

d, * Tyi ( Otji) or 

Akwapim, 

12. Windward coast. 

a, Grebo, 

b, Kruh, 

c, Basa, 

13. Sierra Leone, 

a, Bullom. 

b, Serbro, 

c, *Timne. 

B. Isolated languages 
in Middle Africa. 

1. G^fr. 

a, *Wolof. 

b. *Fula, 

2. Monde, 

a. *Vei, 

b. *Susu. 

c. *Mandinga, 

3. Tebu (Teda). 

4. *Bomu: Kdnuri, 

5. *Dar Fur: Kongdra. 



308 



GENERAL TABLE OF LANGUAGES. 



6. *Nuba. 

7. Umdle (Tumale). 

IV. American languages. 

A. North - American 
languages. 

1. Karalian, 

a, ^Greenlandic. 

b, Eddmo {Labrador), 

c, Eskimo - Chukchic. 

2. KoM. 

3. Athapa^kan* 

4. Delaware (Lenape^ 

Algonkin), 

a. Kri. 

b. Ottawa, 

c. Chippeway ( Ojib- 

way), 

d. Pottawatomi, 

e. Mikmak. 
/. Abenakm. 
g. *Ma88atsu8eU 
h. Mohegan, 

%. Delaware, 
k, Sawani. 

5. *Irohjooi8. 

6. Florida. 

• a.*Mti8kogi or Krik 

b. *T8ahta(Chocktaw), 

c. *Tsiroki(fihirokese). 
1, &iouoB (Nadowessi). 

a, *Dak6ta, 

b, Kansam 
0. Iowa* 



8. Paut, 

9. Arrapaku. 

10. Komantife (Paduka). 

11. Kalifomian. 

B. Middle - American 

languages. 

1. Astek or Mexican, 

2. Tolteka. 

3. Miksteka. 

4. Zapoteka, 

5. Taraska, 

6. Apatse, 

7. *Otomi. 

8. Maya, PokontH, 

9. MoskUo. 

C. South - American 

languages. 

1. Moeka {Chibcha). 

2. Guarani {Canb). 

3. Tt^pi {Brasilian). 

4.. Botokudian {Enffe- 
rekmung^ Aimbore), 

5. *Kiriri, 

6. *KhetBua {Kechua^ 

Peruvian). 

7. -4«mara. 

8. Cruaikur. 

9. u4.rati4ana (Moluche). 

10. Pueltie {Pampa). 

1 1 . Tehuel (Patagonian), 



309 



POSTSCEIPT. 

The publication of these sheets has been delayed longer than 
we expected , on account of the increased number of alphabets, 
from all classes of languages , which had to be reduced to our 
standard. We hope that this delay will only have been in the 
interest of the present work, as we have already explained 
above (p. 19), why we considered it necessary to devote parti- 
cular care to this Second Part of our pamphlet. We met with 
great difficulties especially among those languages, which pos« 
sess from ancient times a native alphabet and a national litera- 
ture; and yet these are just the most important, as well for 
Missionaries as for Linguists. 

We have now still to complete the list of publications given 
above (p. 2 sqq.), in which the Standard Alphabet has been 
adopted. As far as we are acquainted with them, they are 
tlie following: 

JoL Andr. Sj5gron*s Livische Grammatik nebst Sprach-^ 
proben, tnt Auftrage der KaiserlicJten Akademie der Wissen-- 
scha/ten bearbeitet von Ferd. Jo h. Wiedemann, St. Peters- 
burg, 1861. 2 vol. in 4^ 

Aug. Ahlquist, Verauch einer Mokscha-Mordwinis-chen 
Grammatik nebst Teaten und Worterverzeichnise^ St. Petersburg, 
1861. 8^ 

The same author has published a Wotic Orammar in the 
Acta Societatia scientiarum Fennicae^ tom. V. 

C. F. Schlenker (Church Miss.), Collection of Terme 
Traditions^ Fables and Proverbs. 1861. 



310 FOSiSCRIPT. 

H. Hahn (Rhen. Miss.)? OmaJmngi nomambo omatororoa 
UomambS oa Mukuru ttetestamente eku7ni nepe pura oviprente 
omngi^ G(Uersloh, 1861. 

The same: Omahongise uokoleza Motyi-herero. 1861. 

R. Lepsius, Ueher die Arabiachen SpracMaute und deren 
TJmschrifty und iibe)* den harten ( Vocal. (Abhandl. der Ber- 
liner Academie, 1861.) 

J. F. Schon (Church M. Soc), Grammar of the Hausa 
language, London, 1862. 

H. Barth, Collection of Vocabularies of Central-African 
languages^ 1®* Part, 1862. of the Kanuri, Teda, Hausa ^ FuU 
fuldcy Sonyaij Ldgone, Wdndala^ Bdgrimma, and Jt/(f6a- lan- 
guages. 

Dr. Fr. Mtiller, Beitrdge zur Lautlehre der Neuperai- 
schen Sprache^ Wien, 1862. (from the Sitzungeberichte der Phil. 
Hist Classe der Kaiserl. Akad. d. Wise., vol. xxxix.) 

The same, Ueber die Sprache der Avghdnen (Poj-to). 
Wien, 1862. (Vol. XL.); IP Part, 1863. (Vol. xlii.) 

Dr. W. Bleek, A Comparative Grammar of South Afri- 
can languages. Parti. London. 1862. 

The Standard Alphabet has also been introduced in the 
great Map in four parts of the Austrian Empire with 
its manyfold countries of different languages, edited by Ar- 
taria in Vienna, 1862; and Prof. Augustus Petermann 
in Gotha writes to us, that he has the same intention for his 
own future Maps. 

We have also the satisfaction to refer to a detailed review 
and recommendation of the Standard Alphabet by Prof. Wil- 
liam D. Whitney, the eminent Sanskrit scholar, in New 
Haven, Yale College: On Lepsius' s Standard Alphabet (from 
the Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. VII. 1862). 
Some of the deficiencies, which he points out in the first 
Edition, had been already removed in the present Edition, 
before his pamphlet reached us. 



posTsoRarr: 311 

Dr. Fr. MftUer, Zend-Studien, Wien, 1868. (Siezungs- 
berichte etc. Vol. XL.) 

The same, Beitrdge zur Lauilehre der Armenischen 
Sprache^ Wien, 1863. (Vol. xll) 

The same, Beitrdge zur Lautlekre des Ossetischen. Wien, 
1863. (Vol. XLi.) 

R. Lepsius, Dcls uraprimgliche Zendalphabet^ Berlin, 
1863. 4^ CAbhandl. d. Mad, 1862.) 

The same, Ueber doe Lautsyatem der Persischen Keil* 
schri/ty Berlin, 1863. 4«. {Abh. 1862.) 

In order to inform the reader as to the more or less reliable 
means, which were at t£e disposal of the author, respecting 
the apprehension of the sounds of those living languages, which 
are discussed in the present pamphlet, the following remarks 
may here not be out of place. The author has had the opportunity 
of learning directly from intelligent natives the pronunciation 
of the ArmeniaUy Serbian^ Russian^ Cheakian {Bohemian)^ Polish^ 
Rumanian ( Wallachian)^ Hebrew^ Arabic^ Coptic^ B^a (Biiari)^ 
Galla^ Turkish, Madyaricy Japanese y Zulu-Kafir^ Kongara {Dar- 
Fur)y Nuba; he conversed orally with the following learned 
gentlemen, who had long resided in the respective countries 
and were practically acquainted with their languages: on most 
of the Sanskritic languages, spoken actually in India, with the 
Kev. Dr. Trumpp (see above p. 19); on the Paato or Afyan 
with the same, whose last Indian residence was for several years 
Peshawer, where he mastered this language completely; on the 
modern Persian, Ossetian^ Turkish^ Georgian with the Prussian 
Consul at Jerusalem Dr. G. Rosen, late interpreter at the 
Prussian Embassy in Constantinople, and author of gram- 
matical Sketches on the Georgian and the Ossetian languages, 
which he studied in their respective coimtries; on ^q Slavonic 
languages with Prof. Miklosich in Vienna; on the Rumanian 
with the highly accomplished Princes AI. and Matth. Stourdza, 
as well as with Mr. Campianu, the learned author of a 



312 poerocBiPT. 

RnmaiiJMi Gnunmar; on tbe Welsh or Kimri wifli one of the 
best Welsh schokrs, Karl Meyer, in Berlin itself; on the 
Amharie with the Rev. C. W. Isenberg, Church Missionary 
in Bombay; on the Hausa and Ibo with the Bev. J. F. Scho n, 
formerly Church Missionary at Sierra Leone, now in England; 
on the AJordvmian with Dr. Ahlquist in Helsingfors; on the 
different Chinese dialects, especially the Mandmme, Hok-lo^ 
and Hak'ku, with the Revs. J. Gongh and T. M'Clatchie, 
late Church Missionaries in China, as well as with the Rev. 
Lechier, Basle Missionary, who resided eleven years first 
in Tsau^tieuy afterwards in Haiirhoh^ and the Bev. A. Krone, 
Rhenish Missionary in China; on the Thai or Siamese with 
Mr. Tb. von Bunsen, of the Prussian Bast- Asiatic Expe- 
dition, who was kind enough to inquire into this hitherto 
most obscure language expressly according to our views and 
at our request; on the Yukagirie and Tus with Prof. Schief- 
ner of Petersburg; on the Albanian with J. G. von Hahn, 
the learned editor of the Albanian Researches, the Austrian 
Consul at Syra, who formerly resided several years in 
Albania; on the Makassar and Bugis with Dr. B. F. Matthes, 
Agent of tbe Amsterdam Bible Society in Makassar; on the 
Makua (Mosambique) with Prof. Peters in Berlin, who re- 
sided five years in Mosambique ; oo the Hererd with the Rev. 
H. Habn, Rhenish Missionary among the Herero; on the Vei 
and Kdwuri (Bomu) with tbe Rev. S. W. Kolle, Church Mis* 
sionary; ou Xh^ Fitl with the Rev. C. L. Reichardt, Church 
Missionary at Sierra Leone. The author has also been in literary 
communication on the sounds of the Kurd and the Kazak or 
Kirghiz with Mr. Peter Lerch; on the TamU with the late 
Rev. L. B. E. Scbmid formerly connected with the Church 
Miss. Soc. in South India, and for many years resident in 
Ottacamund; on the Tibetan with the Rev. H. A. Jaschke, 
Miss, of the United Brethren 9XKye'lah; on the Sudheli with 
the Rev. Dr. Krapf, in Komthal^ late Church Missionary; 



POSTSCRIPT. 313 

on the Ewe with the Rev. J. B. Schlegel, of the North 
German Miss. Soc. at Bremen^ on the Slave Coast. 

Lastly we have to mention that we have been most cour- 
teously seconded in our endeavours for exhibiting the Native 
Alphabets. Besides the types furnished to us by the 
Printing-office of the Berlin Academy or forwarded to us 
from Mr. G. M. Watts iu Loudon, whose private entreprise 
ID this department must not be overlooked; we have been 
enabled to make use of the types of Mr. Tettenrode in 
Amsterdam for the Battak, Mandailing^ Makassar and Bugis 
languages. Dr. Land, Secretary to the Netherland Bible 
Society at Ainsterdam, was kind enough to send them to 
us, accompanied by his explanations. We owe to the Rev. 
Dan Beach Bradley of the Amer. Miss. Assoc, the Sia- 
Tnese types, which he had the kindness to send to us through 
Mr. de Bunsen. But most of all we have to thank Mr. 
Alois Auer, Director of the Imperial Printing-office at 
Vienna, for the praiseworthy liberality, with which he has 
placed the excellent Collection of foreign types, the result of 
his intelligent labours since many years, at our disposal. We 
are obliged to him for the types of the Pdlf^ Gujardti^ Pan-- 
jdbiy Bangdk^ Uriya^ Old Slovenian^ Cyrilliaii^ Geyez^ AmhaHcy 
Mdieq^ Manju^ Mongolian, Kambojay Burmese^ Japanese, Ja-- 
vanese^ and Chiroki. 

In the course of the printing, arduous and full of inter- 
ruptions as it was, several mistakes and misprints have hap- 
pened, which we will partly rectify here. 

P. 1, lin. 18, read: uncontroverted. P. 3, 14: anrubutasi, 

P. 6, 15: Estnischen; 1. 18: Helsingfors. P. 7, last line, expunge: 

(See—Alphabet). P. 8, 22: cf. p. 71. P. 17, 3: come. P. 26, 12: 

entirely; 1. 13: characterises. P. 27, 19: the Vet and the Bornu. 

P. 30, note: Essay. P. 32, 5: recommends. P. "35, 6: ap- 

pliquee. P. 41, 8: Sudheli. P. 48, 28: as /i, m. Expunge 

note 2. P. 52, 16: a what^ hot; 1. 21: w hood. P. 54, note, 1. 6: 

X 



814 POSTSCRIPT. 

ManjUy Mongolian^ Kalnmk. P. 55, 7: See also the lAobnian 
p. 223.^ P. 58, 16 expunge: which— system Z; 1. 28: Slii- 
vonic i. P. 59, 18: different. P. 66, 11: modern Gkwk y, 
before «, o, w, ov^ and the consonants (y before «, 17, t 
being pronounced / = y). P. 68, 9 expunge: Sanskrits. P. 71, 
7 c Cf. p. 161; 1. 24: Carey. P. 76, 11: see. P. 77, 2 ex* 
punge: z chin, mandar. Uz; 1. 12 after (yain) add: modv greek 
«yai9^m,*; 1. 23 add behind ^v engl. we: w germ. Wind. P. 80, 
not. 2, expunge: We cannot till if, and in the last line but one 
read: work (p. 4. 15. 34). P. 81, note, 1. 5: the clicks before 
these lettets. P. 82, note, 1. 3: declare ourselves. P. 89, 1: 
into. P.9(\ 10: all. P. 94, 8: nasalization; 1. 15: We; 1. 30: view 
of the atacieiit. P. 99, 4: wishes; 1. 8: ^ (ki) and H (ffn); I 21 : 

yazdh or v^j^^ yazzwah; lasl 1. but one: Kdyaihi, P. 107, 
16: which'is derived. P. 109, 4: Bdlbodh. P. 114, 1: Pa^id. 
P. 117 put J \ behind ^^ eb; 1. 9: Lrigatures. P. 121, 9: 
<:: y. P. 123, 24: Cf. p. 311. P. 124, 9: y«,i,H; 1. 10: 
Lyt\iti) . ra,i r«; 1. 11: za,(i),u . t/;/. P. 125, 3^ 1. from thfe ^d: 
eatiyn. P. 127, 21: the Romance. P. 129, 12: Cf. p. 311. 
P. 131, 16: ^W d(z). P. 136, Spec. 1. 1. 2: b§, ^\ 1. 9: 
e e I 0. P. 138, 12: H' g h P. 143, 1: remarks; 1.15: 
the a ^nd ^ .... are; 1. 20: diphthongal, not cfissyllabic. 
P. 144, 16: f = 2/ i i {. P. 149, 7 *4-om below: befitcyws. 
P. 156, 17: weak. P. 157: Hard vowels: «, a, «, {. P. 180, 
16: n r t p. P. 161, 13, affix; 1. 19: ancient a(nd modern 
Asiatic languages. P. 165, 4* 1. from below: St a fost, P. 168, 
23: in use. P. 173, 8' 1. from below: jT I P. 174, 21: We- 
hd*m*e§; 6*** 1. from below : Wayya>aL P. 188, 3: i'tt, ga. 
P. 189, 2: Himyaritic. P. 191 and 192, write t instead of ^. 
P. 198, 16: drops. P. 200, <m the end: Matth. 2, 1. 2. P. 202: 
t d -. P. &03, 8: descendants. P. 204, 6: n; 1. 15 expunge: z. 
P. 205: Ta-Mdseq (MdUy). P. 206, 12: Ta^Mdieq, Ttt-Maseyt. 
P. 309, \Q: e u i; 1. 11: Write f?;; instead of fw^, and likewise 
•p. 210; after the Specimen add : Langlds, Alphabet Mantschou, 



POSTSCRIPT. 315 

p. 158, sqq. P. 218, 12; r U. P. 233, 1 : Yeujrthai\ P. 243, 
15: it ^, if. P. 252, 4**» 1. from below : The letters .... where g i is. 
P. 253. According to Prof. Schiefner's Versuch uber die Thusch-- 
Sprache oder die Khistische Mundart in Thiiachetien in the Mi- 
moirea de VAcad. des Sc. de St. Piterabourg^ VI. Ser. Sc. Polit. 
etc. T. IX, (in which he writes Af, t, p instead of M, fA, pA) 
it seems that his c and c belong to our third , c aixd c to our 
first column. P. 252, 6 f. b.: feeble; 1. 1 f. b.: pronounceable. 
P. 253, 2^ 1. from below: ^ d i £ P. 271, 5 f. b.: newly; 
1. 2 f. b.: feel. P. 275, 14: Clarke (Baptist Miss,). P. 276—278: 
Yoruba instead o£ Yoruba. P, 280 3: blew. P. 288, 4; Kon- 
ffdra^ and likewise 1. 4 from below. P. 292, 3 from below: 
Miss, of the Amer. Board of Comm. P. 295, 23 : of the Chi- 
nese, the Tatarian and Slavonic languages. 



Berlin, printed by C. and F. Unger. 



t 



r 



% 

» 



V 

r 



> • 












