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App.] 



ETHNOLOGY 



441 



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A P P E N D I X. 



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By THE EDITOR, 



In compiiiDg vocabularies from the mc tbs of natives, whether of written 

 or unwritten languages, but especially of the latterj and of languages 

 which, though reduced to writing, are so in charactei^ (like the Chinese, 

 &c.) illegible to Europeans, it is of the utmost imnortaace to secure the 

 possibility of a reasonably faithful repruduction of the sounds from the 

 writing when read by a third party having no persoiial communication 

 with either the speaker or writer. This can only, of course, be accom- 

 plished by the adoption of a system of writing very different indeed from 

 our ordinary English practice of spelling (which is utterly inapplicable 

 to the purpose); fixing upon a set of letters, each of which shall express 

 a distinct, recognised, and as arly as possible invariable sound, and 

 regulating their combination by simple and fixed rules. 



Pending the introduction of a Phonetic character free from objection, 

 and bearing in mind that, after all, it is only a very imperfect repre- 



sentation of the native pronunciation which can be so conveyed (although 

 amply sufficient if due care be taken to render the speech of a foreigner 

 intelligible among th^mi), the voyager or traveller will find ia the 

 ' Ethnical Alphabet' of Mr. Ellis* a stock of characters prepared to his 

 hand capable of accomplishing to a considerable extent the object 

 proposed;! or he may adopt the following as a conventional systeiOj 

 in which only Roman, Greek, and Italic characters are employed, and 

 which therefore 



ordinary printing office. In the examples annexed the letters printed 



he at once transferred from MS. into print at any 



sounds 



Vowels. 



1. u 



long (zm) as in Engl, boot; Germ. BruAer ; Ital. verd?.ra; Pr.. 



oMvrir :— short (w) as in Engl, foot ; Germ, r^nd ; lUl. bratto ; 



very short or coalescent as in Ei^!. w^ig; Germ. q?^er; Ital. 

 quale. 



* * Tli^ Ethnical Alphabet, or Alphabet of Nations, tabularly arranged for the use of 

 Travellers at^d Missionaries, with Examples in ten Languages.'! 



t In thus directing attention to the « Ethnical Alphabet * of Mr. Ellis for this sp. led 

 purp!)se, the Editor must be understood emphatically to protest against being con- 

 sidered an advocate of the "spelling reform^' of the 'Err-'' h language /or the use 

 of Englishmen, as proposed and urged by cither that gentleman, Mr, Pitman, oi 

 Mr. Fsulder, 



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