text_original: We may well ask whether he ever employed papyrus or prepared skins for these purposes. It would, indeed, seem strange that, after cen  turies of intercourse, no caravan should have brought into Chaldaea any of those materials which were in such constant use for literary purposes in Africa; yet the same clay which furnished the architect with such an abundant building material appears to have been the only medium for transmitting the language which the scribes possessed.
text_transcription: WE MAY WELL ASK WHETHER HE EVER EMPLOYED PAPYRUS OR PREPARED SKINS FOR THESE PURPOSES IT WOULD INDEED SEEM STRANGE THAT AFTER CENTURIES OF INTERCOURSE NO CARAVAN SHOULD HAVE BROUGHT INTO CHALDEA ANY OF THOSE MATERIALS WHICH WERE IN SUCH CONSTANT USE FOR LITERARY PURPOSES IN AFRICA YET THE SAME CLAY WHICH FURNISHED THE ARCHITECT WITH SUCH AN ABUNDANT BUILDING MATERIAL APPEARS TO HAVE BEEN THE ONLY MEDIUM FOR TRANSMITTING THE LANGUAGE WHICH THE SCRIBES POSSESSED
phonemes: wiː mˈeɪ wˈɛl ˈæsk wˈɛðɚ hiː ˈɛvɚɹ ɛmplˈɔɪd pɐpˈaɪɹəs ɔːɹ pɹɪpˈɛɹd skˈɪnz fɔːɹ ðiːz pˈɜːpəsᵻz. ɪt wˈʊd, ˌɪndˈiːd, sˈiːm stɹˈeɪndʒ ðˈæt, ˈæftɚ sˈɛn tˈʌɹiz ʌv ˌɪntɚkˈɔːɹs, nˈoʊ kˈæɹɐvˌæn ʃˌʊdəv bɹˈɔːt ˌɪntʊ tʃældˈiə ˌɛni ʌv ðoʊz mətˈɪɹiəlz wˌɪtʃ wɜːɹ ɪn sˈʌtʃ kˈɑːnstənt jˈuːs fɔːɹ lˈɪɾɚɹˌɛɹi pˈɜːpəsᵻz ɪn ˈæfɹɪkə; jˈɛt ðə sˈeɪm klˈeɪ wˌɪtʃ fˈɜːnɪʃt ðɪ ˈɑːɹkɪtˌɛkt wɪð sˈʌtʃ ɐn ɐbˈʌndənt bˈɪldɪŋ mətˈɪɹiəl ɐpˈɪɹz tə hɐvbɪn ðɪ ˈoʊnli mˈiːdiəm fɔːɹ tɹænsmˈɪɾɪŋ ðə lˈæŋɡwɪdʒ wˌɪtʃ ðə skɹˈaɪbz pəzˈɛst.