Indian Antiquary Vol 04

Author(s): Jas Burgess
Publisher: Swati Publications

Page 38

28
THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY.
[JANUARY, 1875.
from a distance. The chief sources of confusion adjoining characters, and is apt to give rise to are the Sabxan forms for the letters
mistakes. For instance, the representative of I. , , , . II. , , , , ñ. III., and . standing too near after the perpendicular of IV. 1, P. V. and . VI. and c. separation, may with it be read as 4, 7; if it be VII. and ñ. VIII. y and . IX. p and D. after it will make with it the letters, and
An attentive collation of texts only can elicit if it be immediately after the supposed coalesthe true lection. (See p. 26.)
cence will represent Sy; and lastly if it precedes There is reason to believe that, besides the both together will make ¿ 5. The end of monumental, another more manageable cursive the inscription is sometimes indicated by certain form of writing also developed itself: the in- ornaments; there are also two or three signs to scriptions of Beled Arhab, of Beled indicate the beginning, especially in long texts Nehm, of Silyim, but principally the sculptured on large edifices. Inscriptions of graffiti of Jebel Sheyhan, which contain small extent destined to attract the attention of so many strange signs, bear witness to this. It the publicare enclosed by one or two letters. (D.)* is even possible that a portion of these signs are
The Verb. due to the combination of two or three letters
The voices which have hitherto been authen. for their unusual forms. That the Sabrean
ticated are the following seven :characters allowed of ligatures is proved by the
1. Original form - Qal :-71, IT, NO, :( existence of numerous monograms where one
Cre, p. common trait serves to unite three and even
2. Energetic form Pa'el:-*, T. four letters. Like many other nations, the
3. Reflective form won Tafa'el (tafa'el) : an, Sabreans also used ornamental letters, of which several specimens exist. In the Museum of the
Opn. Bombay Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society
4. Internal reflective form wno Pat'al :-- , there is among the Sabaan inscriptions one with
UND, op, wr. it large ornamental initial enclosed in a quadran
5a. Causative formen Hafel: hm, VT, pular frame cut round it, leaving the letter
91, D, 1951, 973. in relievo, with threo ornamental cavities in its
5b. o Safel : TC, 30, 38(), (), : body; and in another much smaller slab one trait
(Minean and Hadramaut dial.).
6. Reflective causative form : Seno Satfal ; unites several letters. The Sabæan orthography is very sparing in
word, in, rino. the designation of vowels. The letter a never
7. Causative and reciprocal form on Hingraphically denotes a vowel; with rare exceptions
fa'al : 27. i and u are rendered by and at the end of The Qal is the principal voice, from which words only. There exists, on the contrary, a the other voices are derived, either by internal great tendency to elide these in the body of modifications of the radical, or by the aid of words, even when they are radicals, or when they certain letters added externally. As the Sabæan represent an element of grammatical flection. writing shows only the skeletons of words, we Thus we meet with 7 (77.624, 2), ON (H. 155,1), are not able to point out the various details of 13 (08. iv. 1), en (H. 589), instead of the
the root with reference to the vowels. Accordnisual orthography, Dan, D1, 2, br. Sometimes ingly we do not know whether the second the scriptio defectiva is adopted where the exist- radical was pronounced with the vowels a, i, u, mce of a diphthong is certain; thus, for instance,
as in the majority of the Semitic languages, or the word lladrama nt is nearly always spelt
whether it was affected by the sheva, ns in norin; likewise xx (Os. XVIII. 5) for .
Ethiopic. The words are generally separated by a per- Thanks to the usage of separately pronouncpendicular line; this, however, is often omitted ing the duplicated liquids, it is possible to in inscriptions written with cursive characters, 1 discover the existence of the Pa'el among the which aggravates the difficulty of interpretation. voices derived by the internal modification of Often this mark of separation is too close to the the root : wc, pop, me (H. 188, 2); the proper
* All this I have shown on p. 26.