Mr Cull on the recent Progress of Ethnology. 19 



not only the simple conjugation, but others in which radical 

 letters are doubled, other letters added, or both these modi- 

 fications made at once. From these roots verbal nouns are 

 formed, either by a simple change of the vowels, or by the 

 addition of letters, such as are called, in Hebrew, Hee- 

 mantic. 



The Assyrian agrees with the Arabic more closely than 

 with any other of the Syro- Arabian family in these respects : 



1st, In forming the conjugations, consonants are inserted 

 among the radical letters, as well as prefixed to them. This 

 takes place regularly in Arabic, but in Hebrew only w T hen 

 the first radical is a sibilant. 



2d, The termination of the aorist varies as in Arabic, 

 different verbs taking different vowels between the second 

 and third radicals, while the first radical sometimes termi- 

 nates the verbs, and sometimes takes after it a or u; and, 



3d, The forms of the plural vary, and the cases of nouns 

 differ in a manner which resembles, in some measure, what 

 takes place in Arabic. 



The Assyrian language differs from all the Syro- Arabian 

 languages yet known in the following respects : — 



1st, Where they have h it has s in a variety of instances, 

 and especially in the pronouns and prenominal affixes of the 

 third person— Su, si, sunu, since ; sa, sa, si, sun, and sin — 

 most of which resemble forms in other languages, if only 

 h be substituted for s. The same difference occurs in the 

 characteristic of the causative conjugation. In these re- 

 spects, but not by any means generally, the Assyrian agrees 

 with the Egyptian, and, through it, with the modern Berber. 



2d, The Assyrian has no prefixes, such as b for in, I for to, 

 which occur in all the Syro- Arabian languages. In place of 

 these it has separate prepositions: and to evoid the awkward- 

 ness of joining these to the prenominal affixes, and perhaps 

 for greater clearness, nouns are inserted, forming compound 

 prepositions, as ina kirbisu, "in its midst," for " in it." Com- 

 pound prepositions may be used, also, before other nouns, as 

 ina kirib biti. Sometimes the Assyrian uses affixes as sub- 

 stitutes for prepositions. Instead of ana, " to " or " for," 



before a noun, ish may be added. Thus, for "a spoil" is 



b2 



