OF THE INDO-CHINESE NATIONS. 247 



tlie European mode : r and / are generally pro- 

 nounced n, in the close of a syllable ; // is often pre- 

 fixed to a consonant, but from the total suspension 

 of voice, in pronouncing syllables which terminate 

 in a consonant, no aspiration can be pronounced after 

 them ; ma^ and ba, tya, and chya, are often difficult 

 to be distinguished in pronunciation, as are y^', andyrt, 

 kye and chye with other combinations. From this 

 circumstance, many combinations of letters are pro- 

 nounced in a manner somewhat different from that in 

 which they are written. 



The first Eii?vpean who attempted the stndy of 

 Sicunese literature, was the learned Gervaise, but his 

 lucubrations have never been published. The learned 

 and indefatigal)le IJvde procured from the Siamese 

 ambassador at London, an imperfect copy of the aS>V/- 

 mese alphabet, which has been published by Greg. 

 Sua HP E, in the " Syntagma Dissert atiomim," I767. 

 It is inferior to La Loubere's alphabet in accuracy, 

 though it contains a greater number of compound 

 characters. La Loubere's alphabet contains three 

 forms of the .?«, corresponding to the Nagari ; but 

 the sha and sNha being disused in common pronun- 

 ciation, are commonly omitted both in the alphabet 

 and in modern MSS. 



The Siamese or Vhay langiuige contains a great 

 variety of compositions of every species. Their 

 poems and songs ate very numerous, as are their 

 Cheritras, or historical and mythological fables. 

 Many of the Siamese princes have been celebrated 

 for their poetical powers, and several of their histo- 

 rical and moral compositions, are still preserved. In 

 all their compositions, they either affect a plain, 

 simple narrative, or an unconnected and abrupt style 



R4 



