Page:Judson Burmese Grammar.djvu/7

 A GRAMMAR

PRELIMINARY REMARKS.

. The Burmese language is written from left to right, and without any division of words.

. The pure Burmese is monosyllabic, every word consisting of one syllable only; but the introduction of the Pali language, with the Boodhistic religion, has occasioned the incorporation of many polysyllabic words of Pali origin into the pure Burmese.

. The form of the letters, the order of the vowels and consonants and the classification of the latter, prove that the Burmese alphabet is but one modification of the ancient Nagari; as the Pali language itself as used by the Burmese, is but a modification of the Sanscrit.

THE ALPHABET.

. The Burmese alphabet consists of ten vowels (သရ), and thirty-two consonants (ဗျည်း).

. The ten vowels are:—အ, a, အာ, a, ဣ, ee, ဤ, ee, ဥ, ဥိ, oo, ဦ, oo, ဧ, aa, [or ey in they, St.] အဲ, ai, ဩ, ဩော, au, ဪ, au,—to which may be added the diphthong, အို, o.

. The thirty-two consonants are:—