OF THE LENNI EENAPE INDIANS. i) 1 



vernmont, who, it is reported and generally believed, are 

 preparing to publish an important national work on the 

 languages of the Ind'ans who inhabit those United States on 

 the model considerably improved of that of the empress Ca- 

 therine, have recommended to the agents and other persons 

 emploved in collecting the materials to conform themselves 

 as much as possible to the alphabet proposed by Mr P ck- 

 ering. Thus America will have the honour of giving an 

 example which it is to be hoped will he more generally 

 followed. 



This alphabet is entirely formed of our Roman characters. 

 The vowel sounds are those of the G< rnian and Italian lan- 

 guages. I he nasals are expressed by a comma or ctililla 

 Ui der each nasal vowel, after the Polish manner. The En- 

 glish s/t is preserved, and its correlative zh is adopted for the 

 sound of the French and Portuguese j. The compound 

 consonant sounds are represented by their component 

 signs, thus A\s, ksh, ts, tz. fyc. The Author has been care- 

 ful not to introduce any new characters. Even the sound 

 of the Greek x and Spanish joia is expressed in the most 

 usual manner by kh ; and although there is a real diffe- 

 rence between these two sounds, the one being A\ and 

 the other g aspirate. Mr Pickering did not think it ne- 

 cessary to appropriate to each a separate character, well 

 knowing that approximation is all that can be reached, and 

 that every attempt to distinguish nice differences of sound 

 would eventually prove vain. 



Thus, with a liberality which cannot he too much praised, 

 Mr Picketing has selected among the various powers which 

 the nations of Europe have given to the characters of the 

 Roman alphabet those which best suited his purpose, without 

 shewing i'a\ our or partiality to any country, and least to 

 bis own. His plan, moreover, is simple and easy of execu- 

 tion. If it is not the best that could possibly be devised, it is 

 the one that is most likely to be certainly adopted. Bril- 

 liant theories and highly complicated schemes may dazzle 

 for awhile: but simplicity in plans presented for general 



