Page:A plea for phonotypy and phonography - or, speech-printing and speech-writing (IA pleaforphonotypy00elliiala).pdf/37

 APPENDIX.

IN the preceding pages we have only spoken of the English Language, and have only given such an alphabet as will suffice for the representation of English sounds. Hence, it would be impossible to print French, German, and many other languages with these characters, because those languages contain sounds unfamiliar to English organs. As, however, words from those languages are of frequent occurrence in English works, and as a knowledge of the mode of pronouncing those languages is important to Englishmen, we have temporarily extended the Phonetic alphabet to embrace all the languages with whose pronunciation we could form an acquaintance. We think that it may be useful to the reader to see a complete Table of the Phonetic Alphabet, with exemplificative words, such as would suit it for the representation of all European and almost all Oriental languages, and we annex it with a few specimens in different languages.

In the following list we have placed against each Phonotypic character, a number of words in different languages, containing the sound represented by it; and if its value does not occur in any English word, we have enclosed in brackets that Phonotypic letter which denotes the sound an Englishman may substitute for the correct one until he is better informed. The Italic letters in the examples point out the particular sounds which they are meant to illustrate.

The order of the letters in the following Alphabet has been chosen to facilitate reference; the unaccented letters being placed in the order assigned to them in the first Table, and the accented letters being placed immediately after their unaccented prototypes. In order still farther to assist the eye, the letters of a similar form, and which only differ by the accents placed upon them, are grouped. For what the writer considers the theoretically best mode of arranging the letters, he begs to refer the reader to the "Alphabet of Nature," Part 1, in which the subject is entered into at great length. The English Alphabet will, however, in practice, be kept distinct, and arranged as in the first Table, and the Phonotypic Journal for June, 1845; while the Additional Symbols required for the extension of Phonotypy to foreign languages, will form a separate Table, as in the July Journal for the same year. C