26

Mr. HitteLtson mentioned the border country between Bahr el Ghazal and Darfur as an area probably requiring teaching in Arabic if there was to be any education at all. It was impossible to draw a rigid line between North and South and the political and adminis- trative connection with the Northern Sudan could not be disregarded.

Tue CHAIRMAN pointed out the difference between places like Malakal, where there was a definite need for kuttabs of the Northern type, and those like Mongalla, with its miscellaneous population using Arabic as a convenient means of communication. He had no desire to introduce kuttabs of the Northern type in these places, and the | existence of other schools would make it easier to resist pressure

to. do so.

Several speakers emphasized the importance of using Roman script for the teaching of Arabic in such schools.

Mr. Hittetson: The teaching of Arabic in Roman script entailed certain difficulties with reference to orthography and the type of language. These difficulties might not be insurmountable, but the problem required further study.

The Conference proceeded to consider the reports of the Group

- Language Committees on orthography.

The tabulated list of alphabets suggested for the various languages was examined in detail, with particular reference to cases where suggestions differed from the orthography of the Memorandum or

from that used by various Missions at present.

The Inter-dental Sounds.

ARCHDEACON SHAW repeated his plea in favour of representing these sounds by dots under the letters in preference to th, dh, and nh, which had been accepted by the Shilluk Committee and the Nuer part of the Dinka Nuer Committee. This was a violation of the principle “‘ one sound one symbol ”’.

He himself had originally tried to represent these sounds by the th, dh, and nh, but after the Arua Conference had adopted ¢ d m and

had found them much more convenient in practice.

FaTHER CRAZZOLARA: As a matter of principle a single sign was preferable, but dots under letters were unsatisfactory and, if the principle had to be maintained, satisfactory single signs for the inter- dentals would have to be invented. In teaching Shilluk at Tonga dh, th, was used and no difficulty was experienced.

Miss HurrmMan: Nuer pupils who were acquainted with both methods seemed to prefer the dotted letters, but this might be due

to the fact that they were more used to them.

A suggestion to the effect that the signs recommended in the Memorandum for retroflex cerebrals which did not occur in Nilotic

languages might be used for the inter-dentals, was objected to on the ground that there would then be no corresponding symbol for the inter-dental n. | The same objection applied to the Greek @ and 8.