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ORTHOGRAPHY.
As this small work is destined primarily for the
use of British searchers after knowledge, I have
considered it probable that correct pronunciation
will be the more easily compassed by retaining the
entire alphabet with the exception of the letter w.
So far as has been possible phonetic spelling has
been adopted ; consonants being pronounced as in
English, with the exception of some uses of g. In
some neighbouring Bantu languages and dialects the
nasal-guttural ng abounds, and is a sound extremely
difficult to indicate by letters, as, indeed, to pro-
nounce. In the examples given it will be distinguish-
ed by means of the Portuguese til accent thus g,
which will be a guide to a sound not unlike that of
ng in strong. I have also been compelled to utilise
another method of consonant combination in dealing
with cases in which the sound of t is followed by an
aspirate between that letter and a following vowel ;
in chi-Makua th is never pronounced as in thin for
example, each of the two consonants being separately
sounded thus, ukatha, to wash (clothes) would be
pronounced ukat-ha; mratha, a duck, mrat-ha, etc.
I have availed myself so far as possible of the
unmistakcable sound of k to replace c, qii, and ck,
taking advantage of the cedilla, whenever, in the
case of the use of the soft e, its position in a word
might give rise to doubt. |
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