tinction I shall write the soft g, j. But this j must be pronounced sometimes rather like č (which sound can be explained only orally) or thinner than the English j. The hard g I shall write g. For the same reason I shall write the soft c, č, and the hard c, k. So there is no necessity of a pure c; for its two sounds are expressed either by č or by k; yet, wherever c occurs it must be pronounced according to the Latin, namely before a, o, u as k, before e, i as č. To express, if required, the Latin j, I shall use the English y.
4. In Konkani there are five similar sounds, namely the first as a hard s (as in assis), the second a soft s (as in rosa), the third a hard z (as in Ital. sazio), the fourth a soft z (as in Zephirus or zio), the fifth a very strong z (as in German Zeit). The first and second sounds very seldom occur; but the others are very frequent. In order to simplify, I will not introduce signs for the first and second sound; where they occur, I shall mark expressely their sounds. I mark the hard z by s, the soft z by z only, the German z by tz or ts or tč.
This s may have many degrees, i.e., from a sharp Latin s to the hard Italian z. For the sake of simplicity, I express all these sounds from the sharp Latin s to the hard Italian z by s, leaving those degrees to be learned by practice.
5. The Latin sound expressed by the Latin sc in scientia, and in English by sh, I will express by š.
6. In Konkani there occurs at every step the nasal sound expressed in Kanarese by ಂ. If this sound occurs in the middle of a word, it does not differ much from m or n. So in order to simplify, in the middle of a word I shall write it by m or n. But at the end of a word, it has also the same sound, namely, of an indistinct m or pronounced through the nose; but as in Latin a final m or n has not such a sound, I shall mark this nasal sound at the end of a word by m̃ or ñ.
7. The Latin compound consonant gn as in magnus, is usually pronounced, separating both consonants, as if it were written g-n or, as they pronounce it in German, e.g. Ig-natius. So in order to make this clearer, I write the two consonants
