316 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1895. , 



The following alphabet has beeu used in transcribing Indian words 

 and names : 



a, e, i, o, u, have their continental sounds (short). 

 a, e, I, o, u, long vowels. 

 " not articulated, but indicated by position of the mouth. 



obscure e, as in flower. 



in German Blir. 



aw in law. 



o in German voll. 



e in bell. 



i in hill. 



separates vowels which do not form diphthongs. 



i in island. 



ow in how. 



as in English. 



posterior, palatal 1; the tip of the tongue touches the 

 alveoli of the lower jaw, the back of the tongue is 

 pressed against the hard palate, sonant. 



the same, short and exploded (surd). 



velar k. 



velar g. 



English k. 



palatized k, almost ky. 



palatized g, almost gy. 



ch in German Bach. 



X pronounced at posterior border of hard palate, between 

 X and X- . 



palatal ch in German ich. 



as in English. 



English sh. 



.^s in English, but surd and sonant are difficult to dis- 

 tiujiuish. 



b, p r 



h as in English, 



y as in year. 



w^ 



m > as in English, 



n ) 



' a pause; when following a consonant combined with in- 



crease of stress of articulation. 

 ' accent. 



The texts of Indian songs, phrases, and legends do not lay any claim 

 to philological accuracy. They are merely inserted here as authen- 

 ticating the translations and the material presented in this paper. It 

 may be that a further study of the songs will modify the transla- 

 tions in many respects. The obscurity of the songs is often very great, 



