THE ALrilABEl'. 7 



vowel is elided ; as, omori gba oru, tlm lid receives (gbA) the 6-tc-am ; mo anu, to 

 hnaiv (mo) mei'cy. 



b. If the fii'st vowel is open, and neither of the vowels is long, grave, or accented, 

 the second is elided ; as, ko ebe, to make a yaiii-hUl / fo 8ru, to break a jitg ; fe ina, 

 to blotv the fire. Sometimes, however, the choice of the vowel to be retained is 

 reversed, to prevent ambiguity ; and frequently both vowels are sounded, for the 

 same reason. 



3. In a few cases neither vowel is dropped, but the two are exchanged for ' u ' ; 

 as, wure (for wi ire), to bless ; siiru (for se ii'u), patienGe ; sufe (for so ife) to 

 whistle ; sure (for sa ire), to run ; duro (for da iro), to stand^ &c. 



CONSONANTS. 



Simple Consonants. 



§17. The simple consonants, b, d, f, k, 1, m, u, r, s, t, w, and y, are sounded as iu 

 English, and are never quiescent. 



g is always hard, as in go^ get. Ex. : igi, xvood ; gele, a handkerchief. 



h in some dialects is silent when it occurs between two vowels ; as, behe, so ; 

 lohur), yonder; pronounced l^e-e, lo-ui). In all other cases, 'h' has the 

 same power as in the English word hat. 



D is the sign of nasalization. At the end of a word or syllable it is equivalent 

 to the French n in hon. Ex.: daq, to polish; suq, to sleep. 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 song. Ex. : qso, to proceed. 

 The nasal pronoun q, 7, is pronounced as a part of the preceding word, 

 when it follows a vowel ;. as, ki q loh? shall I go? pron. kiq loh. But 

 if ' q ' is not preceded by a vowel, it is attached in pronunciation to the 

 following word; as, q ko mo, / do not hnoio ; q 6 ri, / shall see; pro- 

 nounced qk() mo, qo ri. 



p occurs only in the compound 'kp.' (See § 18.) 



8 is sounded like English sh in show. Ex. : se, to do. 



i has the sound of English z in azwre. It occurs only in the compound ' dz.' 

 (See § 18.) 



Compo and Consonants. 



§ 18. Three compounds, of two consonants each, are of such common occurrence 

 as to have been frequently regarded as simple letters, viz. d^, gb, and kp. 



dz is sounded like English^', as in jtig^ or g in gem. Ex.: d^o, to dance. 



(This sound was formerly represented by_;.) 

 gb represents the sounds of g hard and b ; as, gba, to receive; ^gba, an 



old man. 

 kp is equivalent to k and p, as, kpa, to beat ; akpa, an arm. (Formerly 

 represented by^.) 

 The sound of ' g ' and ' k ' in these compounds is very slight at the beginning of 

 words. 



