"In writing Arabic and other Oriental words in the present work, I have employed a system congenial with our language, and of the most simple kind; and to this system I adhere in every case, for the sake of uniformity as well as _truth_.[5] Some persons have objected to my writing in this manner a few familiar words which are found in our dictionaries; but they will excuse me for remarking that general usage is not altogether accordant with their opinion. Almost every author, I believe, now writes 'Koran,' or 'Kurán,' and 'Pasha,' or 'Pacha,' for our dictionary-words 'Alcoran' and 'Bashaw;' and most of our best authors on Arabian History, of late, have written 'Khalif' for 'Caliph.' In a work relating to a people who pronounce the Arabic w as v, I should write 'Vezeer' for the Arabic word 'Wezeer;' but to do so when the subject is Arabian, I consider inexpedient: and in this opinion I am upheld by a great majority of literary and other friends whom I have consulted on the subject, in the proportion of five to one. I may add that Dr. Johnson has written in his Dictionary, 'Vizier [properly _Wazir_];' and if we express the Arabic vowels by their _Italian_ equivalents, it _is_ properly 'Wazír' or 'Wezír.'--The system which I here employ requires but little explanation; the general reader may be directed to pronounce a as in our word 'beggar:'[6] á as in 'father:'[7] e as in 'bed:' é as in 'there:' ee as in 'bee:' ei as our word 'eye:' ey as in 'they:' i as in 'bid:' o as in 'obey' (short): ó as in 'bone:' oo as in 'boot:' ow as in 'down:' and u as in 'bull.' The letter y is to be pronounced as in 'you' and 'lawyer:' never as in 'by.' An _apostrophe_, when immediately preceding or following a vowel, I employ to denote the place of a letter which has no equivalent in our alphabet; it has a guttural sound like that which is heard in the bleating of sheep: ạ (with a dot beneath) represents the same sound at the end of a syllable, when it is more forcibly pronounced. Each of the consonants distinguished by a dot beneath has a peculiarly hard sound. Having avoided as much as possible making use of accents, I must request the reader to bear in mind that a single vowel, when not marked with an accent, is always short; and that a double vowel or diphthong at the end of a word, when not so marked, is not accented ('Welee,' for instance, being pronounced 'Wĕ'lee'): also, that the acute accent does not always denote the principal or only emphasis ('Hároon' being pronounced 'Hároón'); that a vowel with a grave accent (only occurring at the end of a word), is not emphasized, though it is long; and that dh, gh, kh, sh, and th, when not divided by a hyphen, represent, each, a single Arabic letter."[8] I have only to add one more extract from Mr. Lane's Preface.