THE ALPHABEl". 



vowel is elided ; as, omori gbS, oru, tlie lid receives (gl>ji) the steam ; mo anu, to 

 hriotc (m^) mercy. 



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 ymirhill ; fo 5ru, to h^eak a jug ; fe ina, 

 to blow 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; suru (for se ivn), patience ; sufe (for so ife) to 

 whistle; sure (for sa ire), to run; duro (for da iro), to stamd, <fec. 



CONSONANTS. 



Simple Consonants. 



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

 English, and are never quiescent. 



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



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

 lohuq, yonder; pronounced be-e, lo-uq. In all other cases, 'h' has the 

 same power as in the English word hat. 



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

 to the French n in ban. 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 g 16h? shall I got pron. kiq ]6h. But 

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

 following word; as, q kd mo, / do not hnow ; q 6 ri, I shall see; pro- 

 nounced r)k5 mc>, qo ri. 



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



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



z has the sound of English z in azwe. It occurs only in the compound ' d^.' 

 (See § 18.) 



Compound Coiisoncmts. 



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

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



dz is sounded like English _;', as in jiig, or «; in gem. Ex.: di;o, to dance. 



(This sound was formerly represented by^'.) 

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



old man. 

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

 represented by p.') 

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

 words. 



