Page:Compendious Syriac Grammar.djvu/44

Rh Greek ε and αι are in some writings expressed by, e. g.. The desire to render Greek vowels with accuracy gave rise to various strange forms of transcription among learned Syrians.

Greek ο on the other hand is frequently left entirely unexpressed, e. g., alongside of ; ,  alongside of ,. Thus the placing of the vowel letters in Greek words is far more fluctuating than in native ones.

§ 5. A distinction is to be made between the employment of as a vowel sign and those cases in which it has its place from etymological considerations,—especially from having been formerly an audible spiritus lenis: e. g.  malakhā "angel", from ;  bērā (bīrō) "a well" from  (Hebrew );  ʿāllīn "enter" (pl. part.), because of the sing. ʿāʾēl "enters" (sing. part.) &c.

§ 6. This insufficient representation of vowel sounds was gradually made up for by new signs. At first, in some words which might be pronounced in various ways, a point over the letter concerned was employed to signify the fuller, stronger pronunciation, and a point under it to denote the finer, weaker vocalisation, or even the absence of vowel sound. Thus there was written (and is written) ʿe̊vāδā "a work", set over against  ʿavdā "a servant";  mān "what?" and man "who?", men "from";  qāṭel "he kills" (part.) and qaṭṭel "he murdered" (Paël),  qe̊ṭal "he killed" (Peal);  ša(n)tā "a year",  šenthā "sleep";  malkā "king",  melkā "counsel";  ṭāvā "good";  ṭebbā "fame";  hau "that" (masc.),  hū "he";  hāi "that" (fem.),  hī "she";  hānōn "those",  hennōn "they" &c. Frequently it is held to be sufficient to indicate by the upper point the vowels ā, a,—e. g. in se̊yāmā "setting",  aidā "what?" (fem.), daḥḥīl "timorous", without giving also to words written with the same consonants the under point proper to them, viz.:— sīmā "set",  īδā "a hand",  de̊ḥīl "terrible". Here too we must note the employment of almost without exception to signify the suffix of the 3rd pers. fem. sing., e. g. bāh "in her" as set over against  bēh