between g and h. In the case of a word of a male vowel, no 中 sign precedes a neuter vowel i, it being pronounced, not qi or γi, but ki or gi. So a γ sound preceding the particle -i is converted to a g sound.
An h sound occuring at the initial part of a word, which has almost disappeared now-a-days is never accompanied by the sign 中 in a word containing a male vowel.
As the consonant r has never existed in Chinese, the original text indicated the r sound by the sign 舌 placed on the left-hand shoulder of a Chinese ideograph :representing an l sound. (Ex. 3)
迭額舌᠋列上deġere 騰格舌᠋理天teṅgeri
(EX. 3. BK. 1,1a)
By the way, the g or γ sound occurring between two vowels is a sort of semi-vowel to be variously pronounced with a weak half-voiced g, w or y sound according to the quality of the following vowel.
Consonants not accompanied by a vowel, such as l, m, s,d, γ and g are respectively indicated by a smaller-typed 勒, 木, 思, 惕,黑, or 克. (Ex. 4) As no Chinese ideograph represents a consonant only, a smaller-typed ideograph was adopted for the purpose. Only r and s occurring at the end of a word are indicated respectively by large-typed 舌᠋兒 and 思.
嫩禿黑᠌剌周營盤做着nutuγlažu
(EX. 4. BK. 1, 1a)
In romanizing the text, special care has been taken in the following points. As a rule, an aspirated sound of a Chinese ideograph has been converted with a voiceless sound, and a not aspirated sound of a Chinese ideograph with a voiced sound. For example, t'a 塔 and č'a 察 have been transcribed into ta and ča, ta 答 and ča 札 into da and ža. But 圖舌᠋兒, 突舌᠋兒, 禿舌᠋兒 途舌᠋兒, 都舌᠋兒, particles in the dative case, have been converted, in accordance with Mongolian grammar, regardless of the nature of the Chinese ideograph, with a voiceless -tur (-tür) after consonants r, s, d, γ, g, and b, and with a -dur (dür) after other consonants and vowels. This measure has been taken because the grammar in those days is not yet known definitely.
Particles in the dative and the instrumental case were were several, several, and were inflected according to the nature of the final sound of the preceeding noun or its meaning. Though the inflection of particles and their relation with nouns involve problems yet to be solved, the present book has represented -iyan (-iyen), the particle in the dative case and -iyar (-iyer), the particle in the instrumental case in the traditional grammar, respectively with -yan (-yen) and -yar (-yer). An leaf instance from 32b, Bk. 1, is reproduced here.
可兀的-顏子(每)自的行köġüd(i)-yen
In Mongolian, as a rule, a long vowel does not exist. Only when two similar vowels occur together, or when two vowels only are indicated as a result of a γ̇ or g sound before or after rendered voiceless, the second vowel is marked as if it were a long vowel with a sign-over it. For instance, as na-ya 納牙 in Bk. 7 must be converted into Najaγ̇a on account of the phrase na-ya-a 納牙阿 in Bk. 5, it has been rendered Najā.
K'un 昆 *güm in the phrase Sang-k'un 桑昆 *sengum on leaf 26a, Bk. 5, may be considered to have ended in an n sound like gün. For some definite reason, however, it has been rendered with an m.
The title “Onyaku-Môbun-Genchô-hishi 音譯蒙文元朝祕史 (Yüan- ch'ao-pi-shih in Romanized Mongolian)” was chosen by Dr. SHIRATORI, but while this book was going through the he press, was unfortunately taken ill and passed away. He was unable to attend to reading the proofs and other matters concerning this work. It must be mentioned that, should this book contain any error or omission, only those who have been engaged in preparing the publication are responsible for it.
