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0169 Results of a Scientific Mission to India and High Asia : vol.3
Results of a Scientific Mission to India and High Asia : vol.3 / Page 169 (Grayscale High Resolution Image)

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doi: 10.20676/00000041
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1. Collection and elaboration of material.—2. Principles of writing foreign languages in a European alphabet.—Phonetic
transcription.—Transliteration.—3. Limits to physical accuracy.—4. Alphabet selected; importance of simplicity for
practical use.—5. Account of systems hitherto in use.

1. COLLECTION AND ELABORATION OF MATERIAL.

The Geographical Glossary presented in this volume was collected during our
travels, chiefly with a view to avoid in our manuscripts errors in writing those
geographical names which must occur in our maps and publications in general. Many
Indian names had assumed, under the disguise of Roman characters, an appearance
quite different from that which they presented in their original spelling. This cir-
cumstance, together with the inducement offered by the result, that the information
obtained also for countries beyond India proved to be rather more detailed and
somewhat better defined than we could expect, gave me the idea of introducing into
our publications also a selection of geographical names; but I have limited myself to
such names only, for which to the spelling also an interpretation of their meaning
could be added.¹

We soon had to acquire a practical knowledge of Hindostáni; this, and the
selection of good Hindostáni interpreters, who also had to act as guides in the