Page:Persian manual pocket companion 1877.djvu/24

 a (fatḥa), it has no sensible sound, as in, dānǎ, "a grain." In this case, it is called hā,e-mu kh tafī or obscure h. In a few words, where the fatḥa is a substitute for the long vowel alif, the final is fully sounded; as--

shah [for shāh] " a king."

mah [for māh] " a month."

rah [for rāh] " a road." It is sounded in dah, " ten," and all its compounds. It is imperceptible in the words ki and chi, with their compounds, whether conjunctions or pronouns. A Persian word ending in the obscure h will have the h omitted when written in Roman characters ; as nāma [not nāmah] "a letter," or "written communication."

4. It is difficult to distinguish between the sounds of the letters forming one of the following groups :

The Persians never attempt to pronounce them as the Arabs ; they content themselves by sounding them according to the Persian letters, to which they most nearly assimilate.