8er সাহিত্য-পরিষদ-পত্রিকা। [ कांकि we must follow the phonetic system and not a literal one, inasmuch as we have to deal with many names of which we have no original litera symbols, and with others which have many silent letters which the genius of the Bengali language will not tolerate. The practice of European geographers has been to reproduce the native names with such slight modifications as the nature of the Roman alphabet and the genius of their languages rendered necessary. In many instances they had no native names to record, and therefore gave names from their own languages; and our duty clearly is to represent the sounds of those names in Bengali letters, bearing in mind that, when we have foreign names to deal with, we should avoid as much as possible the corruptions which the imperfections of the Roman alphabet have led to. The Bengali translators of the Bible were of this opinion, and accordingly, instead of the English transcribed the, Hebrow names of persons and places; and instead of transliterating Jesus and Moses, wrote Isá and Masi. This can always be easily effected, and no “universal linguistic attainments' would be necessary. lt cannot be denied that the practice of European geographers is not consistent as regards European terms; but this is due to a different cause. The same alphabet being current over nearly all parts of Europe, at first sight it might appear that when we write Calais in English, we neglect its French sound, but in reality we do no such thing. The alphabet we use indulges in silent letters, and we know that though we write Calais it will be read as Cadaye, just as w and l in could orgh in might would be so used as if the words written with OO and d, or mit and e. This indulgence in silent letters is what has led to the necessity of pronouncing dictionaries and already in many parts of England-Dorsetshire for instance-we find a new system of spelling getting into vogue, in snch phrases as “I would not," and "I could not,' which are written “I ooden' and "I cooden.' In ordinary English general usage does not admit of such abbreviations when we have to deal with European terms, but it would be as wrong to read Calais with the final 8 sounded, as to sound all the letters of Worcester, Gloucester, &c.; and that teacher would be as unworthy of his post who would, in an Anglo-Indian School, make his boys pronounce all the letters of such names as Brougham, Waughan, and Cockburn, as he who would all the letters of would or might. Now, if some of the components of these words are not to be pronounced, I know not how all those components could be preserved in a language like the Bengali, the genius of which does not admit of silent letters. Indeed the idea of reproducing in Bengali characters all the elements of such names as Blois, Walais,
