The second and fourth columns of these letters from the right hand are used only when they are connected with a preceding letter; as Mohammed. Every letter should be connected with that which follows it, except these seven; | alif, ♪ dal, ¿ zal, 、 ra, j za, j zha, vau, which are never joined to the following letter, as will appear from the words berk a leaf, l daveri a dominion.

and

بر؟

Though the perfect pronounciation of these letters can be learned only from the mouth of a Perfian or an Indian, yet it will be proper to add a few observations upon the most remarkable of them.

OF CONSONANTS.

It will be needless to say much of the three first consonants ❤❤ fince their found is exactly the fame as our b, p, and t, in the words bar, peer, and too, which would be written in Perfian

and . and.

This letter, which the Arabs pronounce like a th, has in Persian the fame found with aors, as Abu Leis, a proper name. It might, therefore, have been rejected from the Perfian alphabet without any inconvenience, but it is useful in fhowing the origin of words, as it is feldom, or never, ufed in any that are not Arabick. The fame may be obferved of the following letters, rarely occur in words originally Persian.

VOL. II.

で

The first of these letters answers to our foft g in gem, which a Persian

would write

چم

or to our j in jar: the fecond of them exactly like our ch in the words cherry, cheek; as

Chirkes چرکس

Circafia.

て

is a very strong aspirate, and may be expreffed in our characters by て

a double h, as Jahhál a condition.

خ

is formed in the throat, and has a found like the German ch; but the Perfians pronounce it lefs harshly than the Arabs, and give it the found of c before a, o, or u in the Tuscan dialect, as chan a lord, which a Florentine would pronounce like can. This is the word fo variously and fo erroneously written by the Europeans. The fovereign lord of Tartary is neither the cham, as our travellers call him, nor the han, as Voltaire will have it, but the afpirate on the first letter.

J

Janswers exactly to our d in deer.

khán, or cán, with an

ن

This letter, which the Arabs pronounce dh, has in Perfian the sound

of j ≈, and is often confounded with it; thus they write

and

گزشتن

guzeshten to pass: It is feldom used but in Arabick words;

though it sometimes occurs in words purely Perfian, as

Azarbiján the province of Media, fo called from jól azar, an old word for fire, because the adorers of fire, if we believe the Afiatick hiftorians, first built their temples in that province.

l

ر

and the three liquids Jare pronounced exactly like our r, l, m, n; as ¿ll arám rest, ¿Y láleh a tulip, ↳。 már a serpent, ¿↳ nán bread. But ☺ before a ♣ has the found of m, as

tower, is amber ambergris.

ز

jhas the found of our z, as jay lalehzár a bed of tulips.

kumbed a

ژ

This letter has the found of our in the words pleasure, treasure; and corresponds precisely with the soft g of the French in gens, or their j in jour. It may be expressed in our characters by zh, as aj zháleh dew; for it has the fame relation to ≈ which has to s.

س

and are our s and sh, as l Selim sháh king Selim.

ظ ط ض ص

These four letters are pronounced by the Arabs in a manner peculiar to themselves; but in Perfian they are confounded with other letters.

ص

and has nearly the fame found with

as

as Saddar the name of a Perfian book;

عطر

otr essence; a word often used in English, fince our connection with India, to denote the

precious perfume called otter of rofes.

letters and ↳ sufficiently prove.

The word is Arabick, as the

and differ very little from j; ↳

but they are pronounced more forcibly, and may be expreffed by zz, as

Çi Nezzámi the name of a poet;

phet in the eastern romances.

Khezzár the name of a pro

These two letters are extremely harsh in the pronunciation of the

Arabs. The found of &

fays Meninski, eft vox vituli matrem vocantis;

but in Persian it is a fort of vowel, and answers generally to our broad

7, as

غرب

عين

Arab the Arabians; áin a fountain. * Sometimes it has a sound like our o, as in the word before-mentioned, s otr perfume. As to έ it is commonly pronounced in Perfia like our hard gå in the word ghost, as ¿¿ gholám a boy, a servant.

has the found of f in fall, as Js an omen.

and

is another harsh Arabick letter, but in Perfian it is often con

founded with, which has the found of our k, as

قاف

-Ker کرمیان

mán the province of Carmania; Kaf a fabulous mountain in the

Oriental tales.

j