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ALPHABET FOR CHINA.

Chineae _ scholars who are dissatisfied with the ideographio characters in which their language has always been written have set out to form au alphabet which they hope to see gradually adopted by their countrymen. Chow Hi Chu, secretary of tho Chinese Legation at Rome, assisted by Wan and Chou, sub-secretaries, and Signor Rivotfca, professor of Chinese and Japanese at the Oriental Institute at Naples, began the project. To represent oxactly all the sounds of tho Chinese language it was necessary to draw upon almost all existing alphabets. The alphabet composed in the present case consist* of forty-two characters, of ivhioh twontythree are vowels and nineteen are consonants. Of the vowels four are taken from the Greek, four from the Russian, five from the Latin, and one from the Chinese. Of the nino others, two are what are called "modified" or "prolonged," and seven, are reversed. Of tho consonants fourteen aro taken from the Latin, threo from the Russian, and two from the Greek.

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Permanent link to this item

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/EP19190201.2.92

Bibliographic details

Evening Post, Volume XCVII, Issue 28, 1 February 1919, Page 10

Word Count
166

ALPHABET FOR CHINA. Evening Post, Volume XCVII, Issue 28, 1 February 1919, Page 10

ALPHABET FOR CHINA. Evening Post, Volume XCVII, Issue 28, 1 February 1919, Page 10