Page:Muhammad Diyab al-Itlidi - Historical Tales and Anecdotes of the Time of the Early Khalîfahs - Alice Frere - 1873.djvu/23

xii "The Arabic suffix, when used to denote an ordinary or gentilic adjective, I have represented by y, which somewhat in the same way constitutes the formative of many of our English adjectives, e.g., windy from wind, stormy from storm, etc. This terminal y should be pronounced with a ringing Italian i sound. "The acute accent (ˊ) over a vowel denotes the syllable to be accentuated: attention to this expedient will prevent such mispronunciations as Maskát instead of Máskat. The circumflex (ˆ) over a vowel prolongs it: î is equivalent to ee, û to oo. The apostrophe before a vowel is intended to express the guttural ʾain; before a consonant, the ellipsis of a preceding vowel."

I trust that with the foregoing explanation readers will have no difficulty in giving to every word its correct pronunciation, and that the object attained by following the above rules will compensate those not acquainted with the original language for the unfamiliar appearance of the words.

I must say a few words respecting the verses which appear in the following pages. I do not possess, alas! "the gift of linking measured words" into rhyme,