as the ث is to that of ت. It is expressed in French by the two
letters _DZ_ or _DH_. Most nations who speak the Arabic language make
no difference between this letter and the preceding; they pronounce
both as our _D_. Some others, as the Arabs of Muscat, pronounce the
ذ as the French _Z_, and such is the usage of the Persians and
Turks.
38. The ر answers exactly to _R_; and the ز to _Z_.
39. The س answers to the sound of _s_, when it is at the beginning
of words. When this letter is found, in Arabic words, between two
vowels, it may be rendered by _ç_, that its pronunciation may not
be confounded with that of _z_, which takes the sound of _s_, in
similar cases, in French words.
40. The sound of ش is exactly rendered by the French _CH_, (_sj_
Dutch, _sch_ German, _sh_ English). Many French writers render it by
the three letters _SCH_, in order that foreigners may not confound
its pronunciation with that of خ, which is the custom I generally
follow.
From the manner in which the Arabs of Spain transcribed Spanish in
Arabic characters, there is reason to believe that they pronounced
the ش as an _s_ strongly articulated, and the س as the _ç_ or _z_.
41. The ص answers to our _S_, but it ought to be pronounced a
little more strongly than the س, or with a sort of emphasis. It
appears that the pronunciation of the two letters has often been
confounded, as may be seen in the marginal notes of some copies
of the Kurán, in the books of the Druses, and in modern Egyptian
manuscripts.
42. The ض answers to _D_ pronounced more strongly than the French
_d_, or with a sort of emphasis. The Persians and Turks pronounce it
as the French _z_, other nations, as _DS_. In rendering Arabic names
into French, in order to express the ض, the two letters _DH_ ought
to be used.
43. The ط answers to the _T_ articulated strongly and emphatically.
If a person should wish, in writing in French, to distinguish it from
ت, it may be rendered by _TH_.
44. The ظ differs in no respect, in pronunciation, from ض, and
they may be rendered in the same manner. These two letters are very
often confounded in manuscripts. It ought to be observed, however,
that in Egypt the ظ is often pronounced as a _Z_, emphatically.
45. The peculiar pronunciation of ع cannot be expressed by any of
the letters used among the nations of Europe.
The manner in which the Piedmontese pronounce the _ñ_ appears to me
to approach something to the sound ع. Examples: _cañ_ chien, _boñ_
bon, _boña_ bonne.
46. The غ represents a sound which partakes of both _r_ and _g_.
Some writers have rendered this letter by _rh_, others by _rg_,
and others by _gh_; but as the sound of the _r_ ought to be almost
imperceptible, I have thought it better to employ, in rendering the
غ, the _G_ alone or the two letters _GH_.
47. The ف answers exactly to _F_.
48. The ق indicates a sound very nearly like that of the French
_K_, but it ought to be formed in the throat, and it is very
difficult to imitate it well. Many Arabs, those of Muscat, for
example, confound the pronunciation of this letter with that of غ,
and this pronunciation is common in the states of Marocco. In a
great part of Egypt, the ق is only a strong and quick aspiration,
and it appears that this sound, very difficult to imitate, was the
distinctive characteristic of the Arabs descended from Modhar.
49. The ك also answers to _K_, but it is not pronounced from the
throat as the preceding letter. The Turks and many of the Arabs give
it a softened pronunciation, analogous to that of _q_ in the French
words _queue_, _qui_; and it may be rendered by putting an _i_ after
_k_. Some Arabs pronounce the ك and the ق as an Italian _c_
before _i_, as in the word _cio_, a sound expressed in French by the
letters _tch_.
50. The ل is perfectly rendered by _L_, and the م by _M_.
51. The ن is susceptible, according to the Arab grammarians, of
many pronunciations. When it is followed by a vowel, it is pronounced
always as _N_ in the French word _navire_, but when it is followed
immediately by another consonant the pronunciation varies.
52. The و is pronounced as _OU_ in French, in the words _oui_,
_ouate_. It can also be rendered by _W_ pronounced in the manner of
the English. The Turks and Persians pronounce it as the French _V_.
53. The ه represents only a very light and often insensible
aspiration, as the _h_ in the French words la _Hollande_, la
_Hongrie_, or it indicates only a simple hiatus.
54. The ى ought to be pronounced as a _Y_ consonant, as in the
English word _yacht_. The Germans render it by _j_, as in the words
_bejahen_, _jagd_.
55. The لا finds a place in the alphabet only because the two
letters ل and ا, of which it is composed, take, in their
junction, a form which sometimes renders them unrecognizable.
_The Vowels._
64. The Arabs have only three signs to indicate all the sounds.
The first, named _fatha_, is formed like an acute accent, and is
placed above the consonant with which it forms an articulate sound,
as, كَتَبَ _cataba_. The sound expressed by the _fatha_ answers
sometimes to the French _a_ more or less open, sometimes to _è_ or
_ai_, as in the words _succès_, _faire_.
The second is called _kesra_. It is formed similar to the preceding,
but is placed beneath the consonant with which it forms an articulate
sound, as in the word نِمْرِ _nimri_. The sound of the _kesra_
answers sometimes to the French _i_, sometimes to _é_.
The third, called _dhamma_, has very nearly the form of our figure
9, sometimes it resembles our (,), and is always placed above the
consonant with which it forms an articulate sound, as, كُلُّ
_coullou_. The sound of _dhamma_ answers sometimes to the French _o_,
sometimes to _ou_ or _eu_.
68. The letters و, ا, and ى often serve only to prolong the
sound of the vowel which precedes them.
74. Besides the three vowel signs before spoken of, the Arabs have
three other signs to which they give the name of _tenwin_, which
indicates that the vowel ought to be followed with the articulation
of a ن. Our grammarians call them _nunnations_; I shall call them
_nasal vowels_. These nasal vowels are only placed at the end of
words, and they serve to form some grammatical inflexions. Their
signs are nothing but the figure of the analogous vowel redoubled;
as, for example, بَابٌ _bâbon_, بَابٍ _bâbin_ بَابً _bâban_.
These examples show at the same time the form of the three nasal
vowels and their pronunciation. The nasal vowel _an_ ought always to
be followed by an ا, as يَوْمًا _yauman_, except when it is found
over a ة, as in حِكْمَةً _hicmètan_, or followed by a ي mute,
as هُدًي, or placed over a _hamza_, as شَيْئً: in the last case
the _elif_ is often preserved after the _tenwin_, and it is written
شَيْأً. The ن contained in these nasal vowels, in pronunciation,
is subject to the same variations as the ن consonant, and these
variations are indicated in the same manner.
77. In a great number of Coufic manuscripts the three vowels are
indicated by a very large point, painted ordinarily in red. Placed
above the letter it indicates the _fatha_; placed below, it indicates
the _kesra_, and placed in the body of the letter or at the end, or
in a line with the writing, it indicates the _dhamma_. In order to
indicate the nasal vowels, this point is doubled.
78. In African manuscripts the _fatha_ and the _kesra_, instead of
being inclined as our acute accent, are placed horizontally above or
below the consonant to which they belong.
_Of Orthographical Signs._
89. The _djesma_ is so called, because it separates the artificial
syllable at the end of which it is found, from the syllable
succeeding. Its name signifies _separation_. It is placed above the
letter, and is formed thus ( ْ ), as in the word أُقْعُدْ _ok-od_.
The _djesma_ may be considered as the sign of a very short vowel; it
answers to the quiescent _sheva_ of Hebrew grammarians, and also to
their other short vowels, such as _hatèf-patah_, _hatèf-ségol_, &c.,
and to the sixth vowel of the Ethiopic alphabet.
107. When a consonant ought to be doubled in pronunciation, without
the interposition of a written vowel, the Arabs do not double the
figure of the letter, but they employ a sign named _teschdid_, formed
thus ( ّ ). This mark is placed above the letter which ought to be
doubled. Among the Arabs of Africa it is generally formed thus ([#]),
or thus ([#]), and is placed above or below the letter, as the vowel
which accompanies it. The figure of the _teschdid_ is a little ش,
abbreviated from the word شَدِيدٌ _strong_, or of the word شِدّةٌ
_strength_, which is the name that the Africans give it.
124. Every ا which is moved by a vowel, or which is moveable by
nature, although it may become djesmaed by certain grammatical rules,
is marked by a sign named _hamza_. This sign is formed thus (ء).
The _hamza_ or _elif_ hamzaed is a real articulation, of which the
value has been indicated already, and differs essentially from the
_elif_ not hamzaed, which is never moved by any vowel, and only
enters into words as a letter of prolongation or as a mute letter. If
the _elif_ is moved by a _kesra_, the _hamza_ is placed below the
letter, and the _kesra_ below the _hamza_, as, إِضْرَبْ.
130. A word which commences by a أ hamzaed ought often to be
joined to the word which precedes it; and this union is indicated
by a sign named _wesla_, that is, _junction_; it is formed thus
(ٱ), and is placed above the _elif_. When this union takes place,
the _elif_ is always followed by a letter djesmaed, and then it is
pronounced as a compound syllable, with the last one of the preceding
word.
144. When the _elif_ of prolongation is followed immediately by
an ا mute, instead of the last of these two ا, the _hamza_
only is written with its corresponding vowel, and over the ا of
prolongation is placed a sign which is formed thus (ۤ), and which
is called _medda_ or _matta_, that is, _prolongation_.
146. The same sign is placed also over the letters, when they are
employed as figures, or as abbreviations instead of entire words.
_Of Punctuation and Abbreviations._
168. The Arabs generally do not employ any mark to indicate the
pauses, whether at the end of a period, or in the course of the
sentence. They only indicate the end of a subject, either by a red
point, or by one of these marks ۬, ؞, ۞, or by writing in red
the word which commences a new article, or by prolonging one of the
letters of the first word, as وَفِيـــــها. These different methods
of indicating the commencement of a new article answer to our fresh
paragraphs (_alinéa_).
169. If, in common manuscripts, no mark of punctuation is made use
of, these signs, on the contrary, are multiplied in manuscripts of
the Kurán. The end of each verse is there indicated by the figure ؞;
after each tenth verse, another sign is employed, which resembles the
ن isolated, but entirely closed. These two signs mark rather the
division of verses, founded in general upon the rhyme, than serve
to distinguish the places where the reader ought to pause, in order
to render more intelligible the sense of his discourse. The true
signs of punctuation are the little letters written in red ink in
the superior interlineation. The م indicates a pause, necessary to
avoid ambiguity: it is abridged from the word لاَزِمٌ _necessary_.
The ط, contracted from the word مُطْلَقٌ, that is, _universal_,
shows a pause universally received by the readers of the Kurán.
The ج, contracted from the word جَآئِزٌ _permitted_, shows a
pause left to the will of the reader. The ز, contracted from the
word مُجَوَّزٌ, _allowed_, indicates a pause permitted, but not
becoming. The ص, contracted from the word مُرَخَّصٌ _admissible_,
marks a slight pause granted only from necessity, in order that the
reader may draw breath. When the sense requires that there should
be no pause at the end of a verse, it is indicated by the word لا
_not_, written above the last word of the verse, and of which the
meaning is لاَوَقْفَ _there is no pause here_. The ق, contracted
from the word قِيلَ _they say_, marks a contested pause. Lastly the
letters قفه, which represent the words وَقْفَةٌ يَسِرَةٌ, are the
sign of an extremely slight pause.
Among the great number of marks of punctuation peculiar to the Kurán,
the most necessary and the most used are the ط, the ج and the
word لا.
171. Abbreviations are sometimes indicated by a figure similar to a
_medda_, and often they are marked by no particular sign.
_Of Figures or Signs of Numeration._
The eighth column of the alphabet shows the value which the
Arabs attach to their letters when they are employed as signs of
numeration. Of these letters, which are twenty-eight in number, nine
indicate the units, nine the tens, nine the hundreds, and one the
number 1000. The order according to which these letters are placed,
when considered as numerical signs, is that of the _aboudjed_. The
last six letters being, as there is every reason to believe, of a
much later invention than the rest of the alphabet, it is probable
that the Arabs, before they made use of these letters, indicated
the hundreds from 400 to 900 inclusive, in the same manner as the
Hebrews, whose alphabet consists only of twenty-two letters. If they
wished to express, for example, the number 600, they would join
together the ت, which is equivalent to 400, and the ر, which is
equivalent to 200. In order to express 900, they would join two ت,
equal together to 800, to ق = 100.
The letters employed as figures follow the same direction as the
writing, from right to left, as, قلب 132, غنج 1053.
174. It is unnecessary to observe that in this system of numeration
there is no figure which answers to our cipher (0); it is absolutely
useless, as the value of each figure does not depend on its position
in relation to those which precede or follow it.
175. The _aboudjed_ of the Africans differing in some degree from
that of the Asiatics, there is also some difference in the value
which they attach to certain letters as signs of numeration. This
difference consists in that among them the ص is equal to 60, the
ض 90, the س 300, the ظ 800, the غ 900, and the ش 1000.
176. The Arabs have also another mode of numeration, from which
is derived those figures which we call _Arabic_; they call it the
_Indian cipher_ رَقَمٌ هِنْدِيٌّ. It is composed of the ten figures
following:
١ ٢ ٣ ٤ ٥ ٦ ٧ ٨ ٩ ٠
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0
The 5 is often formed thus [#], and the 0 like our own. When the
Arabs make use of this cipher, they follow a direction quite contrary
to that of their writing, and proceed from left to right. This
singularity is sufficient to prove that this cipher is not originally
Arabic.
_Arabic in the British Foundries._
_Great Primer._ Thorowgood and Besley. Walton’s Polyglot, 1657.
This letter was in Grover’s foundry, and afterwards in James’s.
Thorowgood and Besley. Another Great Primer, cut from drawings
made by Dr. Wilkins.
_English._ Caslon. These were the first punches cut by William
Caslon for types. They were cut in 1720 for the Society for
Promoting Christian Knowledge.
Thorowgood and Besley. This character was cut by the late Dr.
Fry, under the directions of Dr. Wilkins, librarian to the East
India Company, and is considered the most perfect fount at
present in Europe.
Thorowgood and Besley. Another English from the punches cut for
the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge.
Oxford University.
Watts. Cut under the immediate directions of Professor Lee.
ARMENIAN.
“The Armenians had no characters peculiar to themselves until the
fourth century, but they used indifferently those of the Syrians,
of the Persians, of the Arabians, and of the Greeks. The present
Armenian Alphabet contains thirty-eight letters, which they say were
invented by one Mesrop or Miesrob, minister of state, and secretary
to Warasdates, and Arsaces IV. kings of Armenia. Some authors affirm,
that this Mesrop afterwards became a hermit, and corresponded with
St. Chrysostom, who lived in the fourth century; though Angelus
Roccha, in his discourse on the books in the Vatican library,
George, patriarch of Alexandria, and Sixtus Senensis, assert, that
St. Chrysostom was the inventor of the Armenian characters, in whose
time the Bible was translated into the Armenian language, from the
Greek Septuagint, by some of their doctors who had learned the Greek
language, and amongst others by one Moses the grammarian, and David
the philosopher. Although the Armenian characters are generally
supposed to have been derived from the Greek, their forms are very
different, and their number exceeds those in the Greek alphabet,
by more than one third. The powers of the Armenian letters are
peculiarly adapted to the notation of that language, which is very
unpolished, and consequently very unlike the Greek. This alphabet
contains several letters or marks for sounds which frequently occur
in the Hebrew, Syriac, Arabic, and Armenian languages, but are not
found in the Greek.
“The Armenians have four kinds of writing: The first is called
_Zakghachir_, or flourished, used for the titles of books, and for
the beginning of chapters.
“The _second_ is called _Erghathachir_, _writing with iron_, or with
a _Stylus_, which has long been disused.
“The _third_ is called _Poloverchir_, or round, which is found in
their fairest MSS.
“The _fourth_ is called _Notrchir_, or running hand, which is used
for the ordinary affairs of life. The names and powers of the
Armenian letters are as follow:
“The Armenians say that _Haik_, who lived before the destruction
of Babel, was the first who spoke the Haikanian or Armenian
language.”--_Astle._
[Illustration: The Armenian Alphabet]
_Armenian Alphabet._
Key to Column Headers--
NL - Names of the Letters.
FL - Figures of the Letters.
PL - Powers of the Letters.
NV - Numerical Value.
+-----------------------------+
| NL | FL | PL | NV |
+-------+-----+-----+---------+
Aip ա A. 1.
Pien բ P. 2.
Chiem գ Ch. 3.
Ta դ T. 4.
Jeg ե Je. 5.
Ssa զ Ss. 6.
E է E. 7.
Jet ը Je. 8.
Tho թ Th. 9.
Sgie ժ Sg. 10.
Ini ի I. 20.
Liun լ L. 30.
Hhe խ Hh. 40.
Za ծ Z. 50.
Ghien կ Gh. 60.
Ho հ H. 70.
Zza ձ Zz. 80.
Kat ղ K. 90.
Ge ճ G. 100.
Mien մ M. 200.
I յ I. 300.
Nu ն N. 400.
Scia շ Sc. 500.
Vua ո V. 600.
Ccia չ Cc. 700.
Be պ B. 800.
Gge ջ Gg. 900.
Rra ռ Rr. 1000.
Se ս S. 2000.
Vieu վ V. 3000.
Diun տ D. 4000.
Ere ր R. 5000.
Zzo ց Zz. 6000.
Hinu ւ V. 7000.
Ppiur փ Pp. 8000.
Che ք Ch. 9000.
Ieu օ Eu.
Fe ֆ F. 10,000.
Letters Which Bear An Affinity To Each Other.
ա a ......... տ d.
գ ch ......... դ t.
ե je ......... է e.
զ ss ......... ղ k.
ը je ......... ր r.
ժ sg ......... ծ z.
ի i ......... խ hh.
լ l շ sc չ cc.
ձ zz ......... ն n.
ռ rr ս s ո u.
_Armenian in the British Foundries._
_English._ Oxford University.
_Pica._ Caslon.
ASCENDING LETTERS.
This term includes all the capitals and the following small letters,
b, d, f, h, k, l.
ASS.
Sometimes by way of joke, and sometimes by way of irritation,
compositors are called Asses by the pressmen. In Moxon’s time they
were called Galley Slaves. _See_ ANCIENT CUSTOMS.
ASSISTANTS. _See_ NEWSPAPERS.
ASTERISK,
or little star *, directs the reader to some note in the margin, or
at the bottom of the page. Two or three asterisks generally denote
the omission of some letters in a word, or of some bold or indelicate
expression, or some defect in the manuscript.--_Murray._
When there are more than one note in a page, the asterisk is the
first reference used.
ASTRONOMICAL CHARACTERS.
The Twelve Zodiacal Constellations.
︎
♈︎ Aries.
♉︎ Taurus.
♊︎ Gemini.
♋︎ Cancer.
♌︎ Leo.
♍︎ Virgo.
♎︎ Libra.
♏︎ Scorpio.
♐︎ Sagittarius.
♑︎ Capricorn.
♒︎ Aquarius.
♓︎ Pisces.
Names and Characters of the Planets, with Dragon’s Head and Dragon’s
Tail.
⊙ The Sun.
♄ Saturn.
♃ Jupiter.
♂ Mars.
♁ Earth.
♀ Venus.
☿ Mercury.
☽ The Moon.
☊ Dragon’s Head.
☋ Dragon’s Tail.
Planets discovered since 1780.
♅ Uranus.
⚳ Ceres.
⚴ Pallas.
⚵ Juno.
⚶ Vesta.
The Character of the Aspects.
☌ Conjunction.
⚹ Sextile.
☍ Opposition.
△ Trine.
□ Quartile.
The Moon and its changes are thus designated:--
⚫ Denotes a New Moon.
☽ First Quarter of the Moon.
⚪ The Full Moon.
☾ Last Quarter of the Moon.
AUTHORS’ NAMES. _See_ BOTANICAL AUTHORITIES. LAW AUTHORITIES. ORGANIC
REMAINS.
AUTHOR’S PROOF.
After the errors of workmanship have been put to rights, a clean
proof is printed and sent to the author or editor, who makes on it
such alterations and amendments as he may think proper. This is
called an Author’s Proof; and the compositor is paid for the time
occupied in making these alterations in the types.
B.
BACK BOXES.
In cases for Italic where there are no small capitals, also in Old
English, and similar founts, the boxes in the upper case, that are
appropriated to small capitals in Roman letter, are styled _Back
Boxes_, and serve to lay two-line Capitals in, and other irregular
sorts.
BACK OF A COMPOSING STICK.
That part on which the bottom of the types rests.--_M._
BACKS.
In a form of bookwork, the backs are those pieces of furniture
placed between the sides of the pages and the cross of the chase, in
quartos, octavos, and duodecimos; and, when a sheet is folded, form,
except in quartos, the margin of part of the fore edge of a book.
_See_ IMPOSING. MARGIN.
BACKSIDE OF THE FORM,
is the under side that touches upon the correcting stone or press
stone.--_M._
BACK STAY.
A piece of girth or leather fastened to the lower hind rail at
one end and to the top rim of the coffin at the other, in wooden
presses, to check the running out of the carriage beyond the point
which will allow the tympan to rise clear of the front of the platen.
BAD COPY.
Such copy as is ill written, or has much Italick, Latin, or Greek,
or marginal notes, or few breaks, &c.--_M._ The term is now used
only of manuscript that is badly written, and the words or the sense
difficult to make out, with many interlineations. When this is the
case, it is usual to pay something extra per sheet. For Greek, and
marginal notes, an extra sum is always given, as may be seen in the
Scale of Prices.
BAD REGISTER. _See_ OUT OF REGISTER.
BAD WORK.
Any fault at the case or press, is in workmen’s language called _Bad
Work_.--_M._ We now call it _Bad Workmanship_; and by the term _Bad
Work_ is understood solid matter; that is, not leaded; with long
paragraphs; no white lines nor branching out; no short pages; nor
any white pages; such work is also called _A Solid Dig_; any other
work is also called _Bad Work_, that is tedious in the execution, or
difficult to perform, and does not fetch the workman a remunerating
price.
BAKE.
When the compositor lays up a form to clear it away, after a work
is finished, if he does not rinse the letter as well as if it were
rinsed for present use, or rather better, the ink that is dissolved
among the lye would, with long standing by, harden between the
letter, and make the letter stick so fast together that when it comes
afterwards to be distributed, the compositor cannot without great
difficulty and trouble get them asunder. This sticking together of
the letter is called _Baking of the Letter_. And compositors in this
case say _The Letter is Baked_.--_M._ This is the case particularly
with new letter, if it be not distributed almost as soon as worked
off; for if it be afterwards allowed to remain some time locked up
in the chase, it is very difficult to separate and distribute, and
causes great loss of time, and injury to the letter.
The usual remedy for this inconvenience is to pour boiling water
on the pages repeatedly, which tends to make the letters separate
more readily; but still the compositor has to press them against
the edge of his case, which makes the ends of his fingers sore, and
when he cannot accomplish it in this way, he not unfrequently must
have recourse to his teeth. Soaking the new letter in soap and water
before it is used, is said to be the best remedy.
BALDWIN, ELIZABETH. _See_ DONATIONS.
BALL KNIFE.
An old blunt-edged knife, that pressmen lay by, to scrape their balls
with.--_M._ It is generally an old table knife; but a sharp-edged one
is better than a blunt one, if it be carefully used. The use of the
Ball Knife is now nearly superseded by the adoption of composition
rollers.
BALL LEATHERS.