and sanely conceived. It pays no attention, however, to the problem which I have here attacked, that of syntax (cf. pp. 38–40).
Armstrong and Tin, A Burmese Phonetic Reader, London 1925, contains an elaborate description of the phonetics of the language. There is no attempt at a syntactic analysis, and in general the texts are in a style that ‘is typical of that spoken by the educated classes of Lower Burma’ (p. 1).
H. O. Reynolds, Some Notes on Colloquial Burmese Syntax, Rangoon 1933, suffers from its arrangement, which is based on the English equivalent of the Burmese. As the author says in his preface (p. i), ‘The notes do not pretend to be a complete syntax of colloquial Burmese, or to replace the standard textbooks on the grammar and construction of the language’; and again (p. ii), ‘no great precision in terminology is claimed, and inconsistencies will be found in the use of terms like adverb, preposition, conjunction, and particle.’ As a matter of fact the book merely tries to fit Burmese forms into English categories.
Taw Sein Ko, Elementary Handbook of the Burmese Language⁴, Rangoon 1939, is a useful grouping of Burmese phrases. The attempt at syntactic analysis is based on the literary language. The author says in the Introduction (p. vii) that ‘the Burmese language can be made interesting by studying it from a philological standpoint.’
A. Judson, A Grammar of the Burmese Language, Rangoon 1888, suffers from the author’s attempt to force Burmese into the Indo-European pattern. Some of the chapter divisions are headed ‘number, gender, case, nominative, objective, ablative,’ and so on.
Of the older grammars, none of which was useful, I shall name those to which I have had access.
J. E. Bridges, The Burmese Manual, London and Rangoon 1906.
F. A. L. Davidson, Anglicized Colloquial Burmese or, How to speak the language in three months, London 1889.
H. K. Gordon, A Hand-book to Colloquial Burmese in the Roman Character, Rangoon 1886.
W. H. Sloan, A Practical Method with the Burmese Language, Rangoon 1876.
R. F. St.A. St. John, Burmese Self-taught (in Burmese and Roman Characters) with phonetic pronunciation, London 1936.
Considerable use has been made of the excellent Judson, Burmese English Dictionary, Rangoon 1921, and the Judson, English Burmese Dictionary, Rangoon 1922. Tun Nyein, The Student’s English Burmese Dictionary, Rangoon 1936, has also been of some help.
In conclusion I should like to acknoweldge my debt of gratitude to the American Council of Learned Societies and to Dr. J. Milton Cowan for their aid and encouragement in this undertaking. Professors Franklin Edgerton, George A. Kennedy, and Edgar H. Sturtevant have read and criticized the presentation and I have been able to make use of their suggestions. I am indebted to Professor Bernard Bloch for his advice and assistance in preparing the manuscript for the printer. My greatest obligation is to Professor Leonard Bloomfield for his guidance and for his unfailing patience and kindness.
