226 THE LANGUAGES OF THE INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. 
there are others depending on the length of the vocal cavity, 
the organs employed in modifying its shape, and the varying 
inode in which they are used. The length of the cavity 
however depends on the organs used ia producing the sound, 
so that when we say guttural, linguo-palatal, linguo-dental, 
dental, and labial we express at once the organs in action, 
aiid the length of the vocal chamber. 
dhe distinction of surd and sonant is not confined to the 
nonaspirates, although it is most uniformly and strongly 
marked in them. The aspirates exhibit an analogous dualism 
in eh, j ; s, z : v; and the weak aspirates to a certain less 
appreciable degree in 1, n. 
It is difficult to show In one view all the above characters 
of each letter in itself, and all its affinities and relations to 
the others. We have endeavoured to do so graphically in 
the subjoined table, in which the horizontal columns represent 
the character of the breathing, whither non-aspirate, aspirate, 
or weakly aspirate. The vesical columns shew the organs 
employed in producing the letters, according to their natural 
order, and necessarily indicate, at the same time, those qua¬ 
lities of sound depending on the length of the vocal cavity. 
To indicate the surd and sonant, the oral andnasal, characters, 
the letters, both in the horizontal and vertical columns, have 
been placed in double rows.* 
Guttural 
P 
* !2 5 
3 O 
(f) V) 
Linguo- 
Palatal 
S3 
a 
S3 o 
Crt CO 
nr 
-w 
a 
* 
a 
P CJ 
ir> 
Labial _ 
' 4 * 
P 
p 0 
C/3 GA 
Non 
"Surd 
k 
t 
P 
Aspirate 
Sonant 
g 
d 
b 
' Surd 
Cll 
s 
f 
Aspirate - 
Sonant 
b 
j 
z 
T,W 
Weak £ 
Oral 
r>Y 
l 
W 
Aspirate § 
co 
. Nasal 
n s 
n 
no 
There are other properties of the consonants which are 
necessary to be considered before we have fully ascertained 
their respective powers, such as degrees of resonance, 
volume of sound, timbre, harshness or liquidity, strength and 
* The 19 consonants of our alphabet may be reduced to 13, if we consider 
the surd end sonant aa one letter. This ia practically the case in the 
Polynesian languages. 
