Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: Bindu doubled is a symbol for kh. (!) Raibha is the symbol for r preceding another consonant. Matransi is the symbol for r following another consonant. Yangsi is the symbol for y following another consonant. Sanyaga has two powers: first, before the rough linguals it is the sign of the corresponding smooth lingual, also before w it stands for d. Second, before all other consonants it stands for a nasal pronounced slightly. (!) On studying the above scheme of symbols, with the conflicting rules respecting their position and their double or treble conflicting significations, the apologists of the Deva-nagari, Telugu, Tamil, and other characters, have an excellent opportunity of forming an unbiassed judgment respecting the merits of the Indian system of writing. If they have not already learnt Singhalese, I have no doubt that they are unanimously of opinion, that it would be unwise to give their sanction to the use of such a character, or to do any thing that would ensure its perpetuation, seeing that it is so evident that it must be an obstacle to education. They will admit at once that it would be a mercy to poor Singhalese children to set them free, if it were possible, from the necessity of getting up these minute, intricate, perplexing rules. " Bradshaw" itself would be a pleasant easy study for children of five years of age in comparison with this alphabetical puzzle ! One would almost imagine that it had been the wish of the Singhalese schoolmasters to invent a system of writing which should enable them to keep all the knowledge in the island in their own hands for ever. In forming this judgment of the Singhalese, however, the Indian systems will be found to come under the same condemnation; for, after all, on a careful comparison of each of the Singhalese symbols wit...