These if and four of its secondary sounds: in the whole Thirty-Eight. analysed on the alphabetic plan, will be found to contain sixteen Vowel sounds, namely eight simple vowel sounds, four compounded with y, and four compounded with w; seven Diphthongal sounds, three simple ones, three compounded with y, and one compounded with w; and fifteen Nasal sounds, or seven simple nasal sounds, five compounded with y, and three united with w, in the whole fifteen; all of which make thirty-eight, Thus then, the Chinese, by forming a regular system, and carrying it as far as it seems capable of being extended, have procured finals sufficient to unite with the initials, so as to form a colloquial medium wholly on the monosyllabic plan. And although the excellence of the alphabetic system is such as enables us to express almost any sound, there is scarcely any language on earth which employs all the Chinese finals in forming significant words. We now proceed to give the Initials and Finals as actually united in forming the words which constitute the Chinese Colloquial medium. These are contained in Four Tables, which are given in the Imperial Dictionary: and in these the attentive reader will find, that, as has been already said relative to the formation of the finals, certain series of the Initials refuse to unite with the Open finals, and certain others do not coalesce with the Close finals. In some of these instances the nature of the initial and the final seems to forbid the union; but several are wanting where there appears nothing of this nature. This is to be ascribed to the caprice in some degree visible in all languages. Before we give these Tables, however, it seems necessary slightly to notice a peculiarity in the Chinese language, which we shall more fully consider afterwards; the Tones or Intonations affixed to the various monosyllables. These are Four; the Fourth and last of which alone we have to consider here. This is a short, thick sound, which, in some instances, so affects the monosyllable pronounced, as to make a certain change therein. Thus kea in the second sound, when pronounced by contracting the throat, becomes kyěh;. kee, when thus pronounced, becomes kih; and ko becomes koh. Although the other three tones are found attached to all the twelve finals; the Fourth has place in only four of them, namely the first, the second, the fifth, and the twelfth, ka, kea, kee, ko, the four simplest of the vowel sounds, which, by admitting this fourth tone, become kăh, kyěh, kih, kõh. It will be evident to the sagacious reader, that the four nasals ang, ung, an, and un, will not admit of this contraction of the throat in pronunciation; nor will the four diphthongs ao, ai, ooi, and ou. Hence this sound is confined to the vowels already mentioned. It seemed necessary thus briefly to mention the Fourth tone, previously to giving the tables, as several of the finals will be found to have no other of the tones. This Fourth tone the Catholic Missionaries generally express by an e with the mark of the short vowel, in words which end with i; as kie, pie, &c. and in those ending with a oro, by placing the mark of the short vowel over that letter. In some of the provinces the vowel is sounded quick and short, and the word made to end with p, t, or k; thus what the Catholic Missionaries spell kie, in this provincial pronunciation is kit; what they write nie is pronounced nip. The case is this: in the Mandarine pronunciation these words are made to end with an obscure sound somewhat resembling our final h; but in the provincial pronunciation this indistinct sound is carried out so as to form a distinct consonant, which becomes t, k, or p, according to the class to which the initial belongs. As the final h in English almost constantly shortens the preceding vowel, it seemed better to end all the monosyllables of the fourth tone with h, than to adopt the final e, which in English rather lengthens than shortens the preceding vowel. All of the fourth intonation therefore, will be found to have the vowel marked with the short accent, and also to terminate in h; which method, if it does not convey precisely the sound which the Chinese give the fourth tone, (a thing not very easy,) will at least sufficiently distinguish this tone from the others. We now proceed to give the Four Tables of Monosyllables, as they stand in the Imperial Dictionary. In some instances, the reader will find the monosyllable differ somewhat from the natural expression of the Initial and Final. The chief of these differences he will find in the ch series of the 4th final in Table 1; in the series of the 9th final in Table II; and in the 8th final of Table IV. Beside these, in a few instances the reader will find the y omitted, and in some few the w. This is to be ascribed either to the provincial pronunciation or the caprice of my Chinese assistants, from whom I preferred taking the actual pronunciation, to forming a factitious one from the initial and final. But all these variations bear but a small proportion to the great body of monosyllables contained in these tables; and only serve to evince the general correctness of the principles on which the Chinese have formed them. I. THE OPEN PRIMARY FINALS. p-ing m-ing | Ts-ing ts'hing ts-oong s-in s-yea Y-ing h-yaò y-u hh-yah, L-ai y.ih tchha tehá tsha Tch-yaò tchh-zan tch-úng tsh-in shy-én Y-ing h-yao y-ú hh-yah| L-ai y-ih ee hee tsín sin sin tsyén syen syen tsyéu syeu syeu tsy Ŏh syōh ai hyai hhyai lai lin yin leu yeu tchyen tchhyen tchyén tshyen shyen yen hyen yen hhyen lyen yen * Also tse, ts'he, sc, se. tshyoh shyoh yoh hyoh yoh hhyoh lyoh yoh tshyeu shyeu yeu nhyeu yeu |