68 15IBLIUGKAPHY OF TILE 



SOME OF THE 



Advantages of the New Syllabary. 



I. — The direction of the curve or angle of each sign infallibly deiermims 

 the natu're of the vowel added to the fundamental consonant of each syllable, 

 and this direction is always perceived without the least eftbrt of the mind. In 

 the Cree Alphabet such as given in Petitot's Grammairei'aisonnee, this direc- 

 tion ou which depends the vowel of the syllable is either difficult to discern or 

 governed by no fixed rules. Thus, in that Syllabary, ^ points to the right, 

 t:^ to the left, ^ upwards, ^-^ downwards, though the consonants expressed by 

 these differently turned signs are all in connection with the same vowel a. Hen- 

 ce confusion — with co-relative difficulty — for the mind of the pupil. 



II. — All the cognate sounds are rendered in tlie new syllables by similarly 

 formed characters the general shape of which denotes the phonetic group to 

 which they belong, while their intrinsic modifications determine the nature of 

 the particular sound they represent. Thus the dentals are expressed by a single 

 curve; the gutturals by a double curve; the soft sibilants by a curve with un- 

 dulating extremities; the hard sibilants by a double curve with like extrem- 

 ities, etc. Therefore our 30 sets of letters are practically reduced to 9, viz.: 

 <3CC[£CQCC£- So that the pupil who has become familiar 

 with these 9 signs may almost be said to have mastered the whole Alphabet; 

 for another good point in its favor is that 



III. — The modifications of each fundamental character take place internally 

 and in conformity with logical and therefore easily learnt rules. To illustrate 

 this remark, we will refer to the sign g. The student who already possesses 

 the aforesaid 9 principal signs will recognize it at sight — through its double 

 undulating curve — as a hard sibilant which, being affected by no modification, 

 must be given the primary hissing sound Sa. Let us now insert therein the 

 perpendicular line which, when used as an internal accretion to a sign, corres- 

 ponds to the h of the Roman Alphabet (as in < hra, < hioa, Q tha, Q kha), 

 and we obtain g sha. Should we cross the end of its horizontal line, we will 

 thereby add a t to that sign which will then become g tsha-ov cha. In li- 

 ke manner, g may be changed into g tsa which in its turn is liable to be 

 transformed into Q tsa. C ^, etc. may also become Q, S, etc. — This 

 logic and consequent flicility are sadly Avanting in the old Syllabary which is 

 made up of disconnected signs many of Avhich are ditferentiated only by addi- 

 tional and ^j^i^'niaZ smaller signs (/i-^ '^ '1^ /^ bi tz>c c<^ //<] <•) 

 most of which are also used as non-syllabic letters, and as such sometimes ha- 

 ve in that same Alphabet a meaning quite different from that which is attribu- 



