Page:An Anglo-Chinese vocabulary of the Ningpo dialect.djvu/9



Many have expressed surprise on their first arrival at Ningpo, that no Dictionary, or suitable text-book of any kind, has ever been prepared, to facilitate the acquisition of the local dialect; and those who have wished to learn it, have been compelled to begin de novo, to accumulate, by a toilsome process, a vocabulary, or transcribe one already partially prepared. The present work is an attempt to supply this felt want. The author began immediately on his arrival, nearly sixteen years ago, the collection of a vocabulary for personal use. This process of time grew to a considerable size, and the idea was suggested of putting it into a more permanent and accessible form. The suggestion was taken up, and has resulted in the present work.

During the earlier period of preparation, Lobschied's and Medhurst's Dictionaries, and Williams' and Edkins' Vocabularies were freely consulted. Every word however has been subsequently examined and re-examined with the help of five different Chinese teachers, and no pains have been spared to secure accuracy as far as possible.

Just before his death, the Rev. Dr. Knowlton reviewed the entire manuscript, and added many Chinese words and phrases.

The original plan was to give the equivalents of the English words in the Romanized System, and also in the Chinese character, adhering as closely as possible to the sound of the colloquial. In carrying out this plan great difficulties were encountered.

It was found that if characters were used to represent the