Note 7 — GHÁNAH — Aúdaghost — Aúlíl.

The Arabic wa و when it begins a word, is a consonant, like our w. Hence, when the Arabs would write a name beginning with a long o or u, they are obliged to prefix an aleph ا to the wa و to preserve to the latter its vocal function; thus اودغست, اوليل, اوكار, would be written to express Odaghost or Udagost, Olíl or Ulíl, Okár or Ukár. The áú او may be also intended for a diphthong. But it must be observed that the prefixed aleph in the Berber language is a sign of case, and may have other offices; there is some temerity therefore in excluding the form Awadagost, and in reading Berber names according to the analogies of a foreign language.