TO THE READER.
The following Lessons and Vocabulary are intended to assist those who wish to acquire quickly a temporary or superficial knowledge of the language spoken by the people of Swatow and its neighbourhood, thus including a large proportion of the vast and increasing multitudes that annually emigrate to seek an easier livelihood in the labour-market of Singapore.
An attempt has been made to express as far as possible the Chinese sounds in simple English.
In carrying out this plan only three sounds have occurred which seem to be at all beyond the capabilities of the English alphabet. These are (1) m, (2) words beginning with ng, and (3) those ending with r. In the first case, the speaker has only to pronounce the m without the aid of any vowel, and not according to its usual sound em. In the second case, supposing him to meet the combination ngo, let him think of some such word as mango, and pronounce it with the suppression of the first two letters. In the third case, take the word "her," as one which is constantly used in conversation. Now if the speaker were to pronounce it simply as the English word her, regardless of the italicised letter, the chances are he would be understood. The proper way, however, is to stop short at the r, retaining its influence on the preceding e without allowing its consonantal force to be heard. This last trivial difficulty might, moreover, have been obviated by a single stroke of the pen; for the sounds that are heard as ler, her, ger, etc., on one side of the Swatow harbour, are on the other side distinctly pronounced loo, hoo, and goo.
Nothing now remains but to direct the reader's attention to four short Rules on the next leaf, and to the hyphens, which are meant to assist him in giving each sentence its correct rhythm; also, to point out the absolute necessity of pronouncing i as i and not as e—a most common mistake among people who see for the first time such combinations as li or dzi.
In conclusion, I have to express my thanks to His Excellency Sir Wm. Drummond Jervois, Governor of the Straits' Settlements, for his kind assistance towards the publication of this handbook.
H. M.'s Consulate, Swatow.
1st January, 1877.
