represents them by certain accepted Roman equivalents. It has the merit of simplicity, it gives a very fair approximation to the sound of the word, and it tends to consistency in that it leaves very little scope for the idiosyncracies of individual writers. On the other hand, it is faulty because the Arabic vowel system does not adequately deal with Malay vowel sounds, and because its rough-and-ready character hinders, rather than helps the proper study of phonetics.
The phonetic method presents great difficulties. To begin with, it is difficult to exactly reproduce Malay sounds in a character associated with a different phonic system. In the next place, the pronunciation of the language varies dialectically, so that the same word might be differently romanized in different localities. Again, its successful working depends in a great measure upon the individuality of the writer, so that consistency is hard to attain. Finally, a phonetic system, however accurate and detailed, is a poor substitute for the study of pronunciation from the lips of good speakers. A study of the romanized books published in Singapore shows that a rough-and-ready phonetic system based on Hunterian principles is generally followed[1]; and that this system, on the whole, works well. It is not always consistent, but rarely suffers in legibility from the peculiarities of individual writers. It meets the requirements of all except specialists, and its practical advantages for general work need not be sacrificed to a pedantic love for the perfectly accurate or the perfectly uniform.
In this work, the literal methods followed by the Dutch lexicographers have been generally observed; but a certain latitude has been taken in the representation of vowel sounds, and notes have been added in cases where the transliteration of a word would otherwise give an incorrect idea of its pronunciation. Had it been possible to deal in the spirit of the specialist with the dialects of the Malay Peninsula, these would not have been the only concessions to phonetics. As it is, the spelling in this Dictionary would possess sufficient simplicity for popular usage but for the use, in certain cases, of the redundant ze and y. The popular spelling of tuwan as tuan and of iya as ia is to be recommended for general elementary work, but, in more advanced work, is apt to be misleading. It suggests that the second syllable in words such as those quoted above, commences with the spiritus lenis when it really begins with a we or a y. It gives an incorrect idea of the value of alif by confusing the "hamzated" alif with the alif of prolongation. It is also faulty for etymological study; for instance, watu is the Javanese form of batu, and the bearing of this fact on the derivation of suwatu is not suggested by the spelling suatu which implies that atu and not watu is the second portion of the word. These points may seem trivial; but the confusion imported into Malay spelling is in great measure due to the inadequate com- prehension of the alphabet fostered by the belief that the spelling tuan is not a mere approximation to the sound of a certain work but is an exact transliteration of certain Arabic letters. For this reason, it has been considered advisable, in a work for relatively advanced students, to sacrifice simplicity to some slight extent. For elementary students the popular system is recommended and has been used in every work except this by the writer of this Dictionary. 1 E.g., in KELLY and WALSH's Malay Handbook and in some Romanized School Readers-published anonymously.
APPENDIX VII.
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS.
Achin. Arab.... Arab. Nights. Batav. Bint. Tim. Bust. Sal. C. and S. LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS. Achinese (van Langen's Dictionary is the one referred to). Chin.... Arabic. Arabian Nights, Malay version, published in Singapore. Batavia Malay. Bintang Timor," the name of a newspaper published in Singa- pore in 1895. Bustánu 's-salatin, MS. The two first books of this work have, however, been published in Singapore, American Mission Press. Malay-English Dictionary by Clifford and Swettenham, Letters A. to G.; Government Press, Taipeng, Perak. Cr. Cr. Gr. Cr. Hist. Ind. Arch. Eng. Eur. Chinese. The dialect of Chang- chow, near Amoy, is the one referred to unless otherwise stated; Dictionary by Carstairs Douglas. Malay-English Dictionary, by J. Crawfurd. Dissertation on the Malay langu- age (grammatical portions), by J. Crawfurd. History of the Indian Archipelago, in 3 volumes, by J. Crawfurd. English. "European," i.e., some European language, used when it is doubt- ful which of two ог more European languages a word is
derived from.
- ↑ In a number of publications of the American Mission Press a peculiar system of omitting the indeterminate vowel has been adopted, leading to spellings such as “mmbri.” This system is not referred to; it is hardly Hunterian, and is in only limited use.
