Oct. 1858,— -Mar. 1859.1 In Roman Characters- 



221 



Vowel Marks, 



1 . Zabar or fat' ha : the mark above the consonant to 



which it belongs, and equivalent to a short. Thus ^ kalam 



i 



a pen. It is generally omitted in ordinary writing. 



2. Zer or kasra ; the mark below, equivalent to short i ; 

 as c^-v<^>- khidmat. service. 



3. Pes/i or zamma, the mark * above, equivalent to 

 short it as J^, a flower. 



4. Hamza, the mark * above. It is a mere compres- 

 sion of the voice, and in Roman character, is designated by 

 an aspirate. It is seldom met with except between long d 

 and long 1. Thus ^J]^ amrai an orchard, &Hn a 

 statue or law. In some cases the long i is converted into 

 shorty as u^^<j\ azmaish instead of azmaish trial; vIj 

 kaim instead of kdim fixed ; * jjJIj faida instead of faida 

 profit. In this case it is called hamza i mulaiyana, or sof- 

 tened hamza. 



5. Tash'did, the mark w above, shewing that the letter 

 under it is doubled, 



6. Jazm, the mark above, shewing that the letter un- 

 der it is sdkin or inert : that is, having no vowel to be sound- 

 ed after it. Thus^; kabr a tomb, ism a name. These 

 words, if there were no jazm, would be kabar, and isam. So 



kalam a pen, if written JJj would be kbn. Thus ^ 



kasr breaking, kasab a trade. The last letter of a 



word is always inert, and the jazm always understood. 



Vowels. 



7- a short ; as~the a in ' volatile.' This sound is sup- 

 posed to commence every syllable, unless the jazm occurs. 

 ;para.. 6.) The initial alif is the only instance where the 

 written \ is pronounced short, X B. When the unwritten 



