order or analogy. Thus, i, ri, re, wi, ko, mi, ro, noo, so, &c. a very satisfactory classification, however, may be made upon the Indian system, as follows: 1. Vowels, four-a, i, e, o, pronounced after the manner adopted by Sir W. Jones, for the Sanskrit vowels. 2. Consonants, 44 characters, but which by diacritical marks, effecting a variety of enunciation, are augmented to 78 vocal 3. The initial consonants and final nasal are manifestly, as sounds, drawn from Sanskrit sources, or sources common to it and the monosyllabic languages, the first and third of each class being preserved, while the alternate, aspirates are discarded. Thus ka and ga are retained, while kha and gha have been rejected. The difficulty of accounting historically for this evident adoption of the Indian phonetic letter, in application to a language of wholly distinct origin, having no points of resemblance, or approximation in vocabulary or genius, to the more elaborate language of the Bráhmans of India, is great, and in our present absence of all light from unexplored sources, insurmountable. But since it is most certain that the Chinese and its kindred dialects have borrowed from the same source and to the same extent of sound only, with even still less mutilation, whatever serves to throw light upon this interesting problem in the one case, will equally serve to elucidate it in the other. 4. The consonants have each its inherent vowel in quintuple variation; thus, ka, ki, ke, ko, koo. The four separate vowel letters never coalesce with a consonant, but ever form a distinct syllable, initial, medial or final. 5. In certain cases, however, the inherent vowel is dropped by contraction at the close of either a word or syllable; thus ts' is found for tsi or tsoo, r' for roo, kf" for kfoo, &c. This species of contraction occurs frequently in the vocabulary, as bir for bira, a leech, oos' for oosa, a cow, yob' for yoba, to call, yor' for yora, because; the contracted letter is then sounded strongly, almost as if doubled. 6. The Sanskrit Sandhi, or conjunction of letters, and consequent substitution, is not unknown to the Japanese language. The character tsoo at the end of a syllable and followed by a hard consonant, loses its original sound, and takes that of the succeeding letter; as te-tsoo (contracted to tets') po-oo is pronounced, tep-po-oo, a musket; so mots-to-mo, becomes motto-mo, exceedingly. 7. The single final letter n, which alone expresses the several nasals of the Indian alphabets, coalesces into one syllable with a preceding vowel or consonant and its inherent vowel, as in on, sound; sin, sincerity; bo-oo-gon, mockery, &c. 8. The semivowels wa, ya, wi, yi, &c. are often sounded as the simple vowels, a, i, &c. 9. The liquids and r, are frequently confounded, being used one for the other, as in many other languages. 10. One of the singularities of the Japanese alphabet is that it confounds the aspirate h and the hard labial f, which have but one letter in common, pronounced "with a whizzing noise something between the two;" i. e. the propulsion of the breath in the aspirate h, is modified by an approximation of the lips such as is necessary to pronounce the labial f: somewhat it is apprehended, as in blowing upon something warm in order to cool it. 11. Consonants of the same class have but one letter in common, and are distinguished in writing by two small strokes beside, in, or over the character, which is then rendered soft, as ka, becomes ka for ga, ta" for da, &c. 12. The letters of the 3rd class including p, b, f and h, having only a common character, which in its simple form is h or f, this is made b by the two dots as before, and p by a small circle, i. e. ha, (or fa) is ha" for ba and ha° for pa. 13. The fifth variety of the 1st or Palatine class, instead of simply koo or goo, is (inserting an f) kfoo or gfoo. So the 2nd and 5th varieties of the labial class, insert an s in enunciation, making tsi, and dsi, tsoo and dsoo, for ti and di, too and doo. This would approximate them to the Sanskrit ch class, of which (unless it be in the soft sibilant ≈) there are no other traces. 14. The formsof the Japanese letters, which we cannot present to our readers for want of types, are clearly drawn from Chinese characters, either simple and unaltered, as those for the sounds of i, mi, ho, and tsi, or in a form, for alphabetic purposes, curtailed and simplified. 15. A considerable proportion, fully more than a third of the vocabulary, is of Chinese origin, and very properly the Chinese corresponding characters are annexed, to all such. The monosyllabic property is then too, as far as possible, preserved by a "short" or rapid utterance, that in some sort brings the several syllables into one. We have been able to trace no words whatever of certainly Indian origin. 16. It should appear, though not stated, that the Japanese writing is in perpendicular lines like the Chinese, as the characters forming the words are so arranged in the vocabulary ; i. e. the letters which are upright (to our notion) in the table and at the heading of each page, are horizontal in the vocabulary, and the book must be turned with the back upwards, to be read. 17. It should seem also, that the Roman alphabet is fully adequate to express any Japanese sound, although it has also both vowel and consonantal sounds with which the language of Japan appears to be unfurnished. As however, they have so far outstripped their Chinese neighbours as to have formed an alphabet for themselves, and that by no means a difficult, clumsy or inelegant one, though still less neat and facile than ours, it is of less moment to contemplate the adoption of the Roman notation for the Japanese language. Under the present system of excluding all foreigners from their soil, at least, whatever may be thought of its expedience otherwise, there is no room left for the trial, as there is no possibility of making the natives themselves acquainted with it, or of inducing them to accept it. The acquisition to Europeans indeed, of the Japanese language, might thereby be rendered if not easier, more inviting perhaps. In conclusion, we feel happy in recommending the present work as likely to prove a most useful one to Japanese students; and as it includes a double enunciation in Native and Roman characters, and may therefore be learned with facility even without the assistance of a master, others may possibly be allured to the study. There are no peculiar sounds to offer impediments in this way, or to occasion much risk of acquiring a vicious pronunciation. Other observations might be made: but as our object is rather to draw the attention of better scholars than to venture ourselves into a region of mere conjecture in regard to a language with which we have no acquaintance whatever, not having even access to any other specimen of it, we shall here close by stating, as we are informed, that the Japanese and English Vocabulary may be had at Messrs. Thacker & Co.'s, Calcutta, Price 16 Rs. per copy. HAVARENSIS. Poetry. HYMN FOR THE NEW-YEAR. No voices heard on high, No signs in heaven proclaim the coming year : Can leave its traces on the upper sky! Far o'er our heads the stars of heaven are burning;- Why stoops the lofty brow, Which God hath fashion'd to look up to Him? Are with us in the shadows here below. Dim fall the shadows! and beneath them lies Of kindred hearts, and looks, and smiles more bright And wonder if we are amidst our own. The veil is lifting! lo, A far off gleam!-it lightens,-'tis the morn! And now the YEAR is born, And golden beams rush o'er the mountain's brow. They climb the mountain height; They flood with glory forest, stream, and vale; And yon bright stars grow pale Before the radiance of our nearer light. Forth! forth the world is up: cast care away, Hark! school-boy shouts ring out, and merry greeting, Wilt thou not think, O soul! How thou art out amidst the darksome night, Though far away, and far above they roll? U U M. LINES WRITTEN ON THE BURIAL OF A CHILD AT SEA. "BLOW gently, ye winds; be calm, thou wave, With airy flight by angels led, The mazy heavens the spirit treads; She dwells in holy transport there, Whispers and beckons, Mamma, come." 'Yes, yes,' the mamma's cry will be, My Ada, I will follow, and dwell with thee.' "' TO MY BIBLE. THOU precious book! guide of my early years; Ev'n then I sometimes felt a secret pang; My bosom then, sometimes would heave a sigh, On every moment as it hasten'd by. Then to thy page I turn'd;-thy sacred page ;- And still thy sacred pages I'll explore, From me perchance withheld ;-thou show'st the shore Of solid happiness, eternal, pure, φιλος. |