National Institute of Informatics - Digital Silk Road Project
Digital Archive of Toyo Bunko Rare Books

DETAILS OF THE CONSONANTS.   155

"n:" we considered the four forms of "n" occurring in Sanskrit and Bengali as too much alike to assign them • separate letters in writing Indian words in European transcription. Where, as in Hindostâni, the consonant "n" is connected with a nasal vowel, the "n" cannot be phonetically heard; and it is the modification of the vowel only that receives the sign ", as mentioned above.

"r : " its guttural modification, I propose to distinguish only in the native writing.

19.  the Hindostani alphabet, including its Persian and Arabic elements, has two modifications of "s," sin and sad, and these we have distinguished by the native characters. Oriental scholars generally agree that there is but little phonetic distinction between the two consonants. The palatal "s" of the Sanskrit alphabet has no exact equivalent in English; Wilson writes it in both forms, viz. "s" and "sh." I have not considered it advisable to make any separate distinction.

20.  in the native alphabet a cerebral "t" is distinguished. This is the "tô" of the Arabic, as in the word "Sultan;" but as in the pronunciation no sufficient phonetic distinction is made, I have introduced rio separate sign for it.

"v," as the "w" in German (Wasser), being distinct from the "v" in very and the "w" in water.

25.  as " y" in the English word "yes" and "j" in the German word "ja." In Tibetan words the "i" sometimes found written in European transcription as preceding a vowel is invariably "y."

26.  soft, as in zeal in English; but in Hindostani it is only met with in its Semitic elements. The Sanskrit alphabet and the corresponding part of Hindostani contain no such letter. In the Arabic the modifications of "z," which might be distinguished as ze, zal, zad, and zo, have individual powers, but in Hindostani no phonetic distinction is made.

"zh," in the detail of native spelling, is used in analogy with the "sh," for representing the softer sound, as "j" in the French word "jour."

Tibetan consonants not pronounced.

The distinguishing of Tibetan consonants not pronounced could not be neglected in the detailed transcription (placed next to the native words). I have used in the glossary modifications marking such prefixes and suffixes as are not pronounced, by

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