APPENDIX. 463 



omitted from the English alphabet are, C, Q, U, TV, and Z. G is 

 always pronounced hard, as in go. C is expressed by <S' or K. 

 U is expressed by io. The Continental pronunciation is given to 

 the vowels. The sound usually attached to the letter u in French, 

 and in the English word rule, is of very fi-equent occurrence ; but 

 the letter u is omitted in the Malagasy alphabet, and the sound 

 usually expressed by u is signified by o. This causes different 

 sounds to be represented by the same letter, and presents also to 

 the eye of the European I'eader the sign of a sound which is not 

 pronounced, and would thus seem likely to increase the difficulty 

 of teaching European languages to the natives ; but the letter u 

 may easily be added to the Malagasy alphabet whenever the 

 requirements of the people render it desirable, and the letter o 

 be then employed only to express its usual sound in other 

 languages. 



The sounds of the Malagasy language are more masculine and 

 forcible than those of Polynesia, but scarcely less harmonious. 

 Consonants occur much more frequently in the former; and though, 

 as a general rule, each syllable consists of a consonant and vowel, 

 a number of double consonants, which readily coalesce in one 

 sound, and allow of easy articulation, are admitted ; such as, dr, 

 tr, mb, mp, nd, ndr, ng, nj, nk, nt, and nts. Hence, also, for the 

 sake of euphony, several consonants are changed when they follow 

 other consonants : thus, f changes into p after m ; h changes into 

 k after n ; I changes into d after n, and t changes into d after n ; 

 V changes into b after m ; v changes into d after n, and z changes 

 into j after n ; nr assumes d, and becomes ndr ; and t is inserted 

 after n before s, as in sivy (intsivy), " nine times." 



The syllables, with the exceptions above specified, usually con- 

 sist of a consonant and a vowel ; and the uniform vowel termina- 

 tions of the words gives a peculiar softness and harmony to the 

 tones of native speech. The vowels at the end of the words are 

 often so slightly sounded as to be scarcely perceptible to the ear 

 of a stranger unacquainted with the structure of the language. 



There is but one article in the language — 7iy, which is definite ; 

 the noun without the article is indefinite. 



The nouns are roots, derivatives, or compounds, and admit of no 

 inflections to signify number, case, or gender. These are indicated 



