THE SPELLING OF ARABIC WORDS
IN such a work as this the question o f transliteration
calls for | remark, and its importance has secured its
most careful consideration. The system followed is that
adopted by the Beirut missionaries in 1838 and confirmed
in i860, modified to suit the singularly pure and classical
Maghribin pronunciation under the advice of several well-
known Arabic scholars, and as the outcome o f many years
•of experiment. Since each Arabic letter is distinguished
by a dot or other sign, the original form o f a word can
be at once reproduced; and since Arabic is written
phonetically, the correct pronunciation can be arrived at
by anyone acquainted with the values o f the original
characters. In my Morocco-Arabic Vocabulary this
system was strictly adhered to— printer’s errors excepted,
■ but in a work intended to present native words in a
form for popular use, it has been deemed essential to make
certain modifications for the sake o f simplicity.*
These modifications have, however, involved me in a
maze of difficulties, and have failed to satisfy either
party, the pedantic or the slovenly, so critics attack them
from either side. I am nevertheless convinced that no
■other course than a via media would have suited my
purpose, and since the publication o f The Moorish Empire
urther modifications with this view have been introduced.
These I trust will meet some objectors, but I see that
the correction o f the proofs having taken place partly
while travelling in Morocco and America, several discrepancies
and variations have been overlooked, for which
must ask my readers’ indulgence.
J l * l , d0eS ^ 1 C°UrSe apply t0 Arabic «tc., which are transliterated strictly. ' names of “bjects, Phrases,