44 



CEYLON BRANCH ROYAL ASIATIC SOCIETY. 



of the lips, every new length of the vocal tube gives a new 

 vowel. But by commencing to sound the vocal tube with 

 the lips compressed and linear, then opening the mouth wide, 

 and then closing it circularly, as also by reversing this 

 process, ail the vowels may be produced in an orderly series 

 at one breathing. The former series is very distinctly pro- 

 duced by a cat, when it mews, the latter less distinctly by a 

 lion, when it roars. How then are we to represent this 

 series in writing? In itself it is infinite, and even its mem- 

 bers which are distinguishable by the ear, are more numerous 

 than the entire letters of any alphabet. We must therefore 

 limit the number of letters which are to represent the vowel 

 sounds ; and if so, how many shall we invent or adopt ? I do 

 not think that we can find or fix on any thing better than 

 that which the Roman alphabet gives, viz., five simple vowel 

 letters, each distinct from the other, and no more. Now of 

 these the phonic value may be found, independently of every 

 particular language, in the following way. Let the letter m 

 be written down to represent the- initial sound of the vocal 

 tube when the mouth is shut, then, after it in this order, the 

 vowel letters i, e, a, o, u, then, fixing the eye on each of these 

 successively, while the voice is simultaneously made to imitate 

 the mew of a cat, and attaching about an equal amount of 

 utterance to each, a just idea of the significancy of each 

 symbol or letter will be obtained by the student, and that 

 though he be quite ignorant of Italian and Latin as pro- 

 nounced in Scotland, Ireland, and all Europe except Eng- 

 land, and of English, nay of every other language but that 

 in which he happens to acquire his ideas. By any one who 

 can recall the roar of a lion, the proper sound may also be 

 attached to each letter, by reading the series backwards 

 while imitating the roar of this more noble cat. In English 

 indeed, in consequence of the rapidity with which its pro- 

 nunciation has departed from its orthography, sad confusion 



