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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 15 March 2011
The following paper is a Specimen of what pretends to be no more than a Skeleton Dictionary of the Assyrian Language, which the few who know anything of the matter will assuredly expect to find incomplete, and often erroneous. The compiler, though well aware that such expectation will not be disappointed, believes that no apology is required; for many years must necessarily elapse before an approach can be made to completeness in such a work, and the best Assyrian decipherers are the most assured of the vague character of their interpretations, whenever the subject goes much beyond plain narration, or whenever words of infrequent occurrence are made use of. He ought rather, with Semitic knowledge limited to a superficial acquaintance with Hebrew, and with but little leisure, to apologize for venturing at all upon such an attempt; but having got together a very large number of words while assisting Sir Henry Rawlinson in the preparation of inscriptions for publication, and being, moreover, of opinion that a work like the present, which requires little more than persevering industry, will never be compiled by men of greater powers who are better employed, he was unwilling that his labour should be thrown away, and hopeful that it might be of some use.
page 226 note * Francis Thynne's Animadversions, &c, page 9; reprinted in 1865.
page 227 note * It is curious that when Jews write German in Hebrew letters, they have for centuries represented the vowel e by 
, making der Mensch 
. &c.
page 229 note * This we ourselves do when we write “viz.” and pronounce it “namely.” It appears from the following French translation of a passage in the “Fihrist” by Mons. de Quatremère, that this was also done by another eastern nation, many centuries ago:—“Les Perses ont aussi un alphabet appelé zewaresh, dont les lettres “sont tantôt liées, tantát isolées. Le vocabulaire se compose d'environ mille mots, “et ils s'en servent pour distinguer les expressions qui ont une forme semblable. “Par example, quiconque veut écrire le mot gouscht, qui, en arabe, signifie lahm “(chair), écrit bisra, qu'il prononce gouscht; si l'on veut écrire nan qui signifie pain, “on trace le mot lahm, que l'on prononce nan. Il en est ainsi des autres mots, “àl'exception de ceux qui n'ont point besoin d'être déguisés, et que l'n écrit comme “ils se prononcent.”—Journ. Asiat. Paris, 03, 1835. p. 256.Google Scholar This refers, of. course, to the so-called Pahlavi language.
page 233 note * I usually put a name in the nominative case in the translation, when I think I am sure of it, but the distrinction of cases is not always clear to me.