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i
A
R MM R
OF
THE
MPONGWELANGUAGE
VOCABULARIES
MISSIONARIES OF THE A . B . C . F M. GABOON M I S S I O N , WESTERN A F R I C A .
NEW YORK:
SNOWDEN & PRALL, PRI NTER S, 60 VESEY STREET.
1847.
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fblBLMJTIIECAil
REGIA
1
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CONTENTS OF
GRAMMAR.
P a g e .
INTRODUCTION 5
ORTHOGRAPHY 9
Vowel
s o u n d s 9
D i p h t h o n g s . 9
C o n s o n a n t s 9
ETYMOLOGY
1 1
A r t i c l e H
Nouns H
Number
and C l a s s i f i c a t i o n
o f Nouns
1 2
F i r s t d e c l e n s i o n 1 2
S e c o n d do 1 3
T h i r d d o 1 3
F o u r t h
d o 1 3
V e r b a l
Nouns
; 1 4
A d j e c t i v e s ' . 1 5
D e g r e e s o f Comparison
1 5
Number
and I n f l e c t i o n
o f
A d j e c t i v e s
. 1 5
C l a s s i f i c a t i o n
o f
A d j e c t i v e s . 1 6
F i r s t
C l a s s
o f
do
1 6
S e c o n d
d o .
do .
. . .
1 7
T h i r d
d o . d o
1 7
Numeral
A d j e c t i v e s wtu. 1 7
O r d i n a l
Numbers . ' .
i > | 1 8
R e l a t i v e p o s i t i o n
o f t h e Noun and AdjenH^. 1 9
G e n e r a l
Remarks
o n A d j e c t i v e s
2 0
Pronouns 20
P e r s o n a l P r o n o u n s 2 0
R e l a t i v e
P r o n o u n s
2 3
D e f i n i t e P r o n o u n s
2 3
Adverbs,
P r e p o s i t i o n s
and C o n j u n c t i o n s > 2 5
P r e p o s i t i o n s
2 6
C o n j u n c t i o n s
2 6
A d v e r b s
2 7
I n t e r j e c t i o n s
2 7
Verbs 2 8
R e g u l a r
V e r b s
2 8
C o n j u g a t i o n o f t h e Verb 2 9
S i m p l e
C o n j u g a t i o n s
2 9
Compound C o n j u g a t i o n s 3 0
A f f i r m a t i v e and N e g a t i v e f o r m s o f t h e V e r b , A c t i v e and P a s s i v e V o i c e s . .
3 1
Moods
3 2
T e n s e , Number and P e r s o n o f V e r b s 3 3
T e n s e s
o f
t h e
I m p e r a t i v e
3 5
T e n s e s
o f
t h e
S u b j u n c t i v e ,
P o t e n t i a l ,
&c
3 6
M i s c e l l a n e o u s
Remarks
3 7
I r r e g u l a r V e r b s 3 7
V e r b o f
E x i s t e n c e
:
3 7
P a r t i c i p l e s
3 8
I n f l e c t i o n
o f
t h e
R e g u l a r
Verb
Tonda,
t o Love 3 8
SYNTAX 4 1
P a r a b l e o f t h e P r od i g al , w i t h
an
i n t e r l i n e a t i o n o f E n g l i s h
45
M i s c e l l a n e o u s R e m a r k s . 4 7
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INTRODUCTION.
The Mpongwe i s a dialect
of
Western
Africa, s p ok en o n
both
sides of t he Gaboon r i v e r , at Cape Lopez, Cape S t . Catherine,
and in the i n t e r i o r , to the
distance
of two o r t hre e hu n d r e d miles.
I t belongs
to
o n e
general
fa mi ly of l a n g u a g e s which prevails
o v e r the whole
of
the
southern half
of t he Afr ican
Continent.
I t i s l e s s or more nearly a l l i e d to a l l the dialects a l o n g what
may be called t he Western C o a s t of S ou ther n Africa, to t h e .
Bechuana, Kafir,
Zulu, and
other
dialects
of S o u t h
Africa, and
to the l a n g u a g e s
of
Mosambique and Z a n z i b a r on the Ea s t ern
Coast,
but
ha s
n o
known
a f f i n i t i e s
to any
of
t he
l a n g u a g e s
north
of t he Mountains of t he Moon. The different members of this
great fam ily of l a n g u a g e s
v a r y mater i al ly a s
dialects,
but
they
a l l retain enough of
their original characteristics,
to
remove
a l l
d o u bt
a s
to their common
o r i g i n . A v ari ety of
causes
have
o p e r a t e d to p r o d u c e differences among t he dialects of t h i s o n e
great family of languages, among which may be m e n t i o n e d ,
the
want
o f w ri t t en s t a nd a rd s , t he rem ot e
re gi on s o f country
in
which the
different
tribes r e s i d e ,
their di versified employments
and
pursuits,
the
want
of
extensive
go v ern me n t s,
and
especial
l y , the v a r i o u s foreign n at i o ns w i t h whom they have had com
mercia l intercourse fo r a long period, and from whom they
must necessarily
have borrowed many
wor ds .
Those a l o n g the Western C o a s t have borrowed largely from
the
Portuguese,
those n e a r t he Cape of Good
Hope
from t he
Dutch
and
Engl i s h, tho se
of
Mosambique
from t he
Portugue se
and Madagascar, whilst those higher up t he coa st have drawn
quite a s freely from the Arabic.
N o t w i t h s t a n d i n g
these
a cce ss i on s o f foreign words, however,
the
different
dialects
retain
their
original
words
and
gramma
t i c a l
principles w i t h o u t
mater i al
modification,
and show more
a f f i n i t y for
e a ch other,
t h a n could
be expecte d of
b arb ar ou s
tribes li v ing so far a p a r t and h a v i n g
n o
intercourse.
No thing, perhaps, ha s contributed more
to
keep up these
gener al
resemblances,
t h a n
t he
peculiar character and struc
ture of
t he
l a n g u a g e s themselves.
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V i
INTRODUCTION.
Th e ir general structure i s marked
by so much regularity,
by
so
much
ex actness
and
precision,
and
w i t h
so
much
order
and
philosophical
a rra n geme n t, that i t would
require
a l o ng
period,
a s
well
a s i m p o r t a n t cha nge s in the outward
condition
o f
the people,
to e f f e c t any ma t eria l change
in t he
l e a d i ng cha
racteristics
of their l a nguage .
Of these v arious dialects,
n o n e a re more
nearly allied
th a n
t h e . Mpongwe o n t he Western C o a s t and the Sowhylee or
Swahere o n t he
E as t er n
Coast,
of
v e ry ne arly t he
same parallel
of latitude. The follow ing
a re a
few
of the verbal r e s e m
blances that may be p o i n t e d out between the Mpongwe and
Swahere.
E n g l i s h ,
E a r t h ,
Farm,
Face,
Tongue,
Eyes,
Teeth,
Shoulder,
Dog,
P i g ,
Goat,
M o n k ey,
Bee,
Doctor,
White
beads,
To-day,
One,
Two,
Three,
Four,
F i v e ,
E i g h t ,
A l l ,
Bad,
I ,
He ,
Who,
To r o a s t ,
To f a l l ,
To
pay,
Tog o,
To l e a v e ,
To speak,
To send,
S l e e p ,
Mpongwe,
i n t y e ,
k o m p i n d i , .
o z y o ,
o l i m i ,
a n t y f t ,
a n d . ,
i v e g a ,
m b o a ,
n i ,
nkema,
n y o w e ,
oganga,
o z y a n g e ,
l e l u ,
m & r i ,
m b a n i ,
t a r o ,
n a i ,
t a n i ,
n a n a i ,
y o d u ,
m b e ,
m i e ,
y e ,
mande,
k o - p i k a ,
kwa,
P f i
k e n d a ,
t i g a ,
kamba,
t o m a ,
nana,
Swahere.
i n t y e .
kupanda.
o z o .
o l i m i .
m a t y o .
mano.
b i g a .
mboa.
ngvluwe.
m b o z i .
k i m a .
n y u k e .
mganga.
o s h a n g a .
l e a .
m & j a .
m b i r i .
t a t u .
n e o r
i n e .
t a n i .
n a n i .
y o t e .
b e b a i .
m i e .
y e y e .
n a n e .
k o - p i k a .
kwanguka.
n i p e .
n e n d a .
w i g a .
kwambie.
t u m a .
l a l a .
If t he co m p a r i s o n includ e d other dialects on t he Western
C o a s t,
in
t he
vicinity of
the
Gaboon,
i t
would
appear that more
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INTRODUCTION.
v i J
t h a n one-fourth of the words of Swahere were either t he same
or
v e r y
ne arly
the
same
a s
t hose of these
dialects.
S i m i l a r
a f f i n i t i e s may
be
traced,
bu t not
to
the
same
extent,
between t he Mpongwe
and
the dialects
of
South
Africa and
Mosambique, a s may be seen from t he follow ing s p ecimens .
E n o l i s h ,
Mponqwe,
Beghuana,
S a l u t a t i o n ,
Antelope,
F a t h e r ,
R a i n ,
C h i l d ,
Behold,
A r i s e ,
To him,
Come
from,
A l l ,
With
him,
Hunt,
My c h i l d ,
To
f a l l ,
To
t e a c h ,
Love
y e ,
To d o ,
Thing,
E n t e r ,
Three,
Ten,
Tooth,
P i g ,
M a n ,
Water,
b o l o , b o r o ,
n k a m b i ,
khama,
r e r a , r a r e ,
m o M / o ( B a t ' d i a ' ) ,
p u l a ,
onwana,
v o n a ,
ndngwa,
k o - y e ,
v i l a ,
y o d u ,
n ' a y e ,
b u t a ,
onw ana w a r n ,
p o s w a ,
n e n j a ,
r o n d a n i ,
j a n j a ,
e z a ,
j i n g i n a ,
t a r o ,
i g o m i ,
a n d . ,
n g o a ,
mt u (Bat d i a l ' ) ,
majim (Panwe),
kwanage,
V h a r r o a nd
b a r a r r o ,
s j u m e ,
meno,
K a f i r ,
b u l i s a .
y i s e .
m v u l a .
unyana.
b o n a .
t d n g e n i .
I c u y e .
v e l a .
y o k e .
n a y e .
b u z e .
nyana w a r n .
p o s w a .
nenza.
t a n d a n i .
j e n j a l o n a .
i z i n t o .
g i n a .
a t a t u ,
s u m i ,
ngu,
m t u ,
m a z i ,
Mosambique.
b a t a t u .
kumi.
meno.
g u r u e .
muntu.
m a d j i .
The
grammatical
structure
of
these
v a r i o u s dialects show
equa lly a s much a f f i n i t y a s their verbal
resemblance, and i s
characterized
by so
many s tri k i ng p e cu li ari t i es that
no
d o u b t
i s l e f t of
the identity
of their origin.
Between this
great fam ily of
l a n g u a g e s
however
and those
s p o k e n by
t he the
negro races north of
the Mountains of the
Moon, there
a re not t he
most
distant
a f f i n i t i e s . I n d e e d
i t i s
a lmost impossible to conceive how they could be more unlike.
Those
i n N o r t h e r n Africa, generally, a re cha ra ct eri ze d by
an
excessive
number
of
harsh,
inarticulate
n a s a l
and
guttural
sounds, by
a
v e r y
limited
number
of
inflections,
by
a want
of
precision in the e xp re ss i on o f ideas, the want of arrangement
i n t hei r grammatical principles, and w i t h a v e ry limited power
of e x p a n s i o n
;
whilst those
Sou th, i f
t he Mpongwe dialect may
be t a k e n
a s
a s p e c im e n, a re
characterized by
just the reverse.
How
an u n c u l t i v a t e d
people, like those of
the Gaboon, could
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v i i i INTRODUCTION.
have
come
in
possession of
a
l a n g u a g e so beautiful and so
philosophical
i n
a l l
of
i t s
arrangements,
i s
a
question
which
can n ot
easily be a nsw ere d. The
tribe
bywhom i t i s spo ken,
though elevat e d
considerably
above mos t of t he tribes of Africa,
cannot. at mosl be regar ded i n any o ' . h e r l i g h t . iha n a semi-civil
i ze d p eop le .
The language, uniil w i th i n a few years past, ha s n e v e r been
wr i tte n
; the p e o p l e have no
i d e a
of the power of
l e t i e r s ,
and
yet a l l
t he
com p l ic a t e d principles of their grammar have b e e n
preser v ed w i t h u n v a r y i n g uniformity. They have no tradi
t i o n ary stories
from
which
i t could
be inferred. that
they had
d e s c e n d e d
from
a
p e o p l e
of
greater
cultivation.
For
more
t h a n two centuries they have been engaged m commerce, act
i ng a s factors between i nt eri or t ri be s and European vessels.
In t he prosecut ion of their business, they discover a
great
de al
o f
shrewdness, and
cannot easily be over-reached
either
by
w h i t e men
or
their own people. They
possess a
great
d e a l
of
v i v ac i ty
of disposition
and
a re
i m a g i n a t i v e beyond any p e o
p le
we
have
e v er known; and a l l hough they have no writ t en
l i t e r a t u r e , they have a
great
de al i n t he form of proverbial
sayings,
fables,
a n d
traditionary
s t o r i e s ,
and
i t
i s
common
for
them t o s p e n d mos t of
their
leisure hours i n rehearsing and
l is te ni ng t o
these fables and s t o r i e s . They have generally
a
good d e a l of
m e n t a l
a c t i v i t y , and some of them show'an as i o n
ishing
amount of correct knowledge
o n
a l l subjects, which come
wTithin
t he reach
of iheir
observation.
Whether t he disposition and habits of t he p e o p l e have b e e n
moulded
by t he character
of
i he language, or
ihe l a ng u ag e
o n
t he
other han d,
ha s b e e n
adjusted t o
s u i t
t he character of
t he
people, c a n n o t easily be d e t ermine d . At present, a n d f o r ce n
turies
past,
n o
doubt,
they
have
exerted
a
reci proca l infl uence
upon e a c h other.
And
t h i s
i s
not
more characteristic
of t h i s
particular peo ple th a n i t
i s
of a l l
other
tribes of
ihe
country.
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ORTHOGRAPHY
1
The vowel s o u n d s
which occur
in
this
language
a re a
s o u n d e d
a s
a
in
f a r ,
a
a s
a
i n
w a t er,
e
a s
a
in
hate,
e
a s e
in
met,
i a s i in m ach i n e, i a s i in pin, t i n , &c, o a s o i n note, 6 a s o in
not,
u a s
oo in
moon.
2 . These s o u n d s fl uct ua t e ma t e ri a l ly, and s o me t ime s ru n
into e a ch other. The s o u n d of ' a v a ri e s co ns id e ra bl y, bu t i s
n e v e r
so
long
a s a i n father,
except
in t he
word
a g n a n d i , g r i e f ,
and n e v e r
so short
a s a in hat, except in
the
word gn a n d i,
jealousy ;
the object
of t he use of these extreme s o u n d s of
t he same l e t t e r in
these
two cases, be in g to make a distinc
tion between two
words, whose orthography would other
w i s e
be
v e r y
nearly
the
s a m e .
The
s o u n d
of a and
5
a re
not
always distinguishable, except
where
they occur in j u x t a p o s i
t i o n , a s
in
t he word
ilonga,
country
; and
so
e and
i
frequently
ru n into
e a c h
other ;
e
and
e
f i n a l , can n ot
always
be distin
guished, excep t some grammatical principle i s
indicated
by
the
use of t he o n e or t he other.
3 . The s im ple vowels a and i , before t he l e t t e r n or 1 , have
s o m e t h i n g of the
n a s a l
sound,
and
may be
hear d
in the
words,
a nl aga, i n l e ,
sunginla, &c.
which a re not pronounced
an-laga,
i n - l e
and
sungin-la,
bu t
a s
i f
a
and
i
ru n
into
or
were
followed
by the mixed s o u n d of n and 1 .
4 .
Diphthongs.
hese a re a t ,
s o u n d e d
a s
i
in pine, au a s ow
in how, now, &c. and iu a s u in pure. Au occurs but sel d om,
and when f i n a l ha s an
indistinct
or na sa l sound , a s i f
followed
by
an obscure
n
or m.
I t i s fou n d
in the
word
o s aun,
thing,
which i s
v ar io usly writ t en
by those who
have
studied this
la n
guage,
osaun, osau, osaunh,
osa um, and e v e n os am .
U,
when
prec e d e d by j
or
y , a s in t he words njuk e and yuwi, ha s
t he
s o u n d of the d i p h t h o n g i u .
5 .
Consonant s.
he s im ple co ns on an t s ou nd s
a re
b , d,f,g
( a l w a y s
hard), h (but
n e v e r
excep t
in
the
c om b i n a t i o n sh),j,
k ,
I , m,
n,p,
r , s , t , v , w, y , z ;
e a c h
of which ha s a clear, well-d e
fined s o u n d of
i t s
own. The fol lo wi ng a re c on s o n a n t combi
n at i on s o f fre qu en t occurrence, bo th at the beg in n i n g and in the
m i d d l e of w o r d s, v i z . mb, a s in the word mboni, goa t ; mp , a s
in mpolu, large
;
mw,
a s
in
mwera to
scratch
;
nd,
a s
in
n d o n d o a ,
high
;
n j , a s in njdnga, a m a n ' s
name
;
nk, a s in nkala, town ;
n t ,
2
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10
MPONGWE G R A M M A R .
a s
in
ntono,
t he bre a st
; nty, a s
in
ntyani, shame ; ny, a s
in
n y a l a
new
;
ngw,
a s
in
ngwe,
mother
; nw,
a s
i n
o n w a n a ,
or
n w a ,
child
;
gn, &sgnandi and a - g n a n d i ; gw, i ng w i, where ; fw, and v w, a s i n
fwemi
to err ;
and vwela,
call ;
z y ,
a s
in z y e l e ,
i s
not ; s h , a s in the
words ishala, care ; and
s h i , i t ; though
by
t he ge ne ra l i t y of p e r
sons
these
words
a re
pronounced i s - a l a , and s i . M, at
t he
beg in
n i n g of a
word
i s
followed
only by b and p, and in o n e
single
case
by w. Ns followed by d , g,j, k , I , t , w, y , ty and gw, bu t
n e v e r
by b , or
p . Both of t hese classes of words
a re p ro
nounced a s i f
t he m or n
was
prec e d e d
by
a
half vowel
or
sheva.
When
a
or
i
i s
prefixed
to
such
words
to
form
t he
p l u
ra l number,
t he
i n i t i a l m
or
n
unites
w i t h
t he
prefix vowel and
forms a se para t e syllable ; thus, mp ogo , mo us e , in the plural
becomes
im-pogo
or s im- p ogo and not
i-mpogo.
Nd s e l d o m
oc
curs
a t the beg in n i n g of a w or d, except in
a few m o n o s y l l a
bles, a s nde, n d a , &c. Nk,
when
prec e d e d by
t , i s
pronounced
a s i f g interposed,
thus
i n k al a i s not p r o n o u n c e d i-nkal a n or
in-kala, but ing-kala. Nw i s not s e p a r a t e d in con s equ ence o f
be i ng
prec e d e d by
o or a
; thus
onwana i s not
p r o n o u c e d on-wana
bu t
o - n w a n a .
Ngw,
in
the
m i d d l e
of a w o r d , usua lly d o u b l e s t he
g,
thus
ingwe
i s
not
pronounced
in-gwe,
bu t
ing-gwe,
and
the
same
may be said
of ng
in t he m i d d l e of a word ;
thus
bbnga i s p ro
nounced
bong-ga,
tho ugh
this
and similar words a re
wr i t ten
w i t h a
single
g.
Ny,
at t he beg in n i n g of words, i s common
to
a l l t he
dialects
of
north
and south
Africa,
but
i s
not
easily
ex
p l a i n e d ; before u
i t i s
p r o n o u n c e d ( i . e . nyu) like new in n e w s ,
and n e u in neuter.
Ty
i s pronounced like ch in chair. N t y,
when
p r e ce d e d
by i
or a , the
n
unites w i t h t he
prefix
v o w e l,
and
forms
o n e syllable,
whilst ty forms t he beg in n i n g of another.
G n,
a t
the
beg in n i n g
of
a w ord ,
i s
d i f f i c u l t
of
pronunciation,
bu t
a lmost
the only o n e that i s really so in the l a nguage . There
i s an int ermed ia t e s o u n d between v and w, that i s usually, bu t
not
accurately
represent e d
by fw
or vw
;
indeed, i t seems to
p a r t a k e in some measure of
the
three l e t t e r s ft v ,
w,
bu t i s no t
o n e or
t he
other. N l, in
the
m i d d l e of a w o r d , i s d e s i g n e d to
indicate a
nasa l
s o u n d of t he vowel by which
i t
i s p r e c e d e d
(see Sec.
3 ) . This same mixed c on s o n a n t s o u n d also occurs
a t
the
commencement of a few m on o sy ll a bi c w o rd s , a s in t he
preposit ions
ne, na, nla, &c. There i s also an int ermed ia t e
s o u n d
between
m
and
w,
a s
in
t he
word
omanda
or
o w a n d a ,
day t i m e
; but i t
i s usua lly
writ t en w i t h
o n e
or t he other
o f
these
l e t t e r s .
6 . Two vowels s e l d o m come together in
the
Mpongwe l a n
guage,
excep t
i
and a ,
in
such words a s mbi a ,
good, bendia,
to
e a u s e
to
be angry,
&c. and in
such words a s w a o, sao,
m a o,
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ETYMOLOGY.
11
Ac.
When
o n e
'word
e n d s
i n ,
and
t he
s ucce e d i ng
o n e
com
mences
w i t h a v o w e l, o n e of three things t a k e s
place,
1 s t , a
c o n s o n a n t must be interposed, thus ayon i sinyare, i ns te ad
o f ayoni inyare ; o r ,
2d,
o n e of the
v o w e l s must f a l l away,
thus
n'ayS,
by him,
i s
u s e d for na
a y e . or
ne a ye ; o r , 3d,
t he two
vowels
coalesce and form
a
new
so un d,
thus h e , a ye becomes
KayS ; and so oma ombe, bad person, becomes oma 'mbe ; onwa or
onwana ombe,
a
bad c h i l d , becomes
onwa
'mbe :
ne
be
t o n d a
e ,
be
comes
ne
be tonde.
A cc o r d i n g to
t he
same
rules of contraction
and
coalescence,
other cha nge s s t i l l
more
r e m a r k a b l e
occur
;
thus,
ndego
yazyo,
our
friend,
becomes,
ndeg
'wazyo,*
&c.
&c.
ETYMOLOGY
7 . The
parts
of s p e ech
in
the Mpongwe are, nouhs, p ro
nouns, adjectives, verbs, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions,
and
interjections.
8 . Article.he Mpongwe possesses
no
a r t i c l e , definite
or
i n d e f i n i t e .
The want 6 f
an
indefinite a r t i c l e , i f su p p l i e d at a l l ,
i s d o n e
by
the u se
of
t he
numeral
for o n e ;
thus, mi
jena omd
mar i,
I
see one
person, for a person. The
want
of
a
definite
article
i s variously supplied, by the d e m o n s t r a t i v e
adjective
p r o n o u n,
by
the
definite
p r o n o u n, or
by
the
copul a t i ve conjunc
tion n\ ne or n i . Thus,
they
say, onomi
w i n a , this
man, or
onomi w a n a , that man, for t he man : and s o , Dagula rfonwana
wi
Songe,
Dagula
the
s on
of
Songe, though t he
definite pronoun
y\
which
i s
here
translated
t h e ,
forms
a
co n n e c t i ng
link
be
tween t he two nouns, and agrees w i t h t he f i r s t noun,
a s an
ad
jective
would
w i t h i t s p r o p e r
substantive. The
follow ing se n
tence furnishes an
illustration o f
t he use of a
copul a t i ve
co n
juncti on
fo r
t he definite a r t i c l e ,
v i z .
:
i m p a n l a
mesana
imb an i,
p a t h s
t h e s e
two
ni
m ar i
yi kenda g w i g o n u, ni mari yi k e n d a ,
&c,
which might
t h e
o n e
i t
l e a d s a b o v e ,
t h e
o n e i t
l e a d s ,
& c .
be rendered,
of these two paths, and o n e le a ds abov e, and.
one leads, &c.
NOUNS.
9 .
Mpongwe nouns
have number
and classification, bu t
*
The
c o n t r a c t i o n s ,
e l i s i o n s and c o a l e s c e n c e s which
o c c u r i n
t h e Mpongwe, f r e
q u e n t l y
c h a n g e
a
whole c l a u s e o f
a
s e n t e n c e t o
a
s i n g l e word ; t h u s ,
t h e
p h r a s e ,
aye r e oma o m p o l u , h e
i s
a
g r e a t
p e r s o n , i s r e d u c e d
t o
a r o m p o i u .
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12
MPONCWP.
G R A M M A R .
neither g e n d e r n or case.
The
g e n d e r i s formed by suffixing
the
word
for
male
or
female
to
t he
noun
;
thus,
onwana
w'ono-
mi,
a
male
c h i l d ,
for
a
boy ; and
s o ,
onwana
nyanto,
a fema l e
c h i l d , for a
g i r l .
The accusat i v e
o r o bj ect i v e
ca se of nouns i s
always t he
same a s the n o m i n a t i v e . *
The
possessive case i s formed
by
i nt erp os in g t he definite
pronoun
between
the
nouns, but in
t he
reverse order from
that
practised
in the
dialects of northern Africa ; i v a n g a
ny
'Anyam-
b i a ,
i . e . , t he law i t of G o d , for G o d ' s
law
; and s o , ampanga
m'Anyambia,
i . e . ,
laws they of
G o d , for G o d ' s
lawsn
bot h of
which
cases,
the
definite
p r o n o u n s
ny'
and
i r C
agree
w i t h
the
nouns by which
they
a re preceded, and
not
w i t h those by
which
they
a re
followed,
and
w i t h
which they
a re
incorpo
rated.
NUMBER A N D CLASSIFICATION O F
NO U NS .
1 0 . All Mpongwe nouns may be a rra nge d into four classes
(which, for the s a k e of convenience, will be denominated
d e
clensions, though
this
i s not
s t r i c t l y
a philosophical use
of
t he
term),
each
o n e
of
which
ha s
a
peculiar
mode
of
i t s
own
of
d e r i v i ng t he plural from t he s in gu la r number. This classifica
t ion o f n ou ns , which forms a striking
feature
in the
language,
i s
rend ered
s t i l l
more
prom inent, by the manner in which t he
adjectives and
definite
p r o n o u n s a re inflected to accommodate
t h ems e l v e s to them severally.
FIRST
DECLENSION.
1 1 .
This
declension
embraces
a l l
those
nouns
which
com
mence w i t h one or more co n s o n a n t s and form their plurals by
prefixing
i
or s i ; thus,
S I N G U L A R . P L U R A L .
Cow,
nyare,
inyare
or sinyare, cows.
Knife,
s w a k a , i s w a k a
or
s isw ak a, knives.
Baske t, tondo, i tondo or sitondo, baskets.
N o t e .erbal or
der i v at i v e nouns,
which commence w i t h
the
i n i t i a l
i ,
have
no
singular
forms,
and
a re
therefore
to
be
arr a ng ed
u n d e r t he head
of
plural
nouns
of t he
f i r s t declension.
To t h i s c l a s s , be l on g s u ch nouns a s , i n umb a , hatred : ibenda,
anger ; itonda, love, &c. &c.
T h i s d o e s n o t
h o l d
i n r e l a t i o n
t o
p e r s o n a l and
d e f i n i t e
p r o n o u n s (which s e e ) .
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ETYMOLOGY.
13
SE C O N D DECLENSION.
1 2 . This declension embraces only those
nouns
which
have
e for their i n i t i a l l e t t e r ; and they d eri ve their plurals s i m p l y
by d r o p p i n g
this
l e t t e r , thus :
S I N G U L A R . P L U R A L .
Chest,
egara, gara, chests.
Tree, erere, rere, t r e e s .
N o t e .f t he f i r s t c on s o n a n t of the word be z in formin g
the
plural,
not
only
i s
t he
i n i t i a l
e
d r o p p e d ,
but
z
i s
i n v ar i ably
changed
into y ; thus,
S I N G U L A R .
P L U R A L .
B o o k ,
ezango, yango, books.
Thing,
ezdma, yama, things.
e z a , ya , things.
Broom, ezdmbald,
y d m b d l a ,
brooms.
THIRD
DECLENSION.
1 3 .
Under this head
a re i ncl ud ed a l l those nouns
which
have
i for their i n i t i a l
l e t t e r ( verba l or d eri v a t i ve nouns excepted),
and form
their plurals
by changing i into a , thus :
S I N G U L A R . P L U R A L .
Shee p, i d dmbe, a d d m b e,
sheep.
Duck, izdge, azdge, ducks.
N o t e .
.
I f t he
s econ d
l e t t e r or f i r s t co n s o n a nt be v , no t
only
is
t he
i n i t i a l
i
changed
into
a ,
but
v
i s
changed
into
mp ,
thus :
S I N G U L A R .
P L U R A L .
Law, i v a nga, ampanga,
l aw s .
Wing, i vava, a m p a v a , wi ngs .
N o t e .
. To
the p lural number of
this
declension,
belong
a l l those nouns which
have
but o n e number
;
they
a re
such,
generally, a s
t he
names
of l i q u i d s , a s an ingo, water ;
alugu,
rum
;
agali,
o i l ,
< f e c .
F O U R T H
DECLENSION.
1 4 .
This declension
comprises a l l those nouns which have
o
fo r
their i n i t i a l
letter; and
they form
their plurals,
1 s t ,
by
changing
o into i , o r ,
2d. by changing
o
into
a
;
thus,
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1 4
MPONGWE G R A M M A R .
S I N O T T L A R .
P L U R A L .
N u t ,
R i ver,
Man,
Child,
Arm,
olonda,
o l a v i ,
onomi,
o n w a n a ,
Ho n d a , nuts.
i l a v i , r i v e r s .
anom i, men.
oga,
anwana,
children.
a g a,
arms.
N o t e .f t he f i r s t c on s o n a n t i s w, in formin g the plural, t he
. w i s either changed into
m
or
into
b ;
thus,
1 5 .
There a re several
irregularities u n d e r this
declension
:
thus, a nl aga, people, i s t he plural of o m a ,
person
; anto, wo
men,
in
the
singular,
i s o m a n t o or onw ant o, the f i r s t
of
which
means a
fema l e person, and
the
secon d
a
fema l e c h i l d . OwSm-
ba
or
wmba
soup,
belongs
to
this
declension,
bu t
i s
irregular.
1 6 . Those nouns which term in ate w i t h a ,
when
followed
by
a word that
commences
w i t h y or w, change a into
i ;
thus,
s w a k i
yam, my knife,
and
not
swaka
yam
; and
s o , ilambi
wam,
my
cloths, and
not
il amba wam.
Another change on t he
f i n a l
syllable t a k e s place, when o i s followed by y ; thus, u deg'
wazyo, o ur f r i e n d , instead of ndego yazyo. Both of
these
changes
a re
made for
t he s a k e of e u ph o n y .
1 7 . There
a re
three
k i nd s of
nouns which
may be der i v e d
from
verbs. 1 s t . Abstract nouns, generally, a re d eri v ed from
^he p re sent o f the indicative, by
s i m p l y
prefixing
i
; thus, from
jtonda, to love,
comes
itonda, love ;
from benda,
to
be angry,
comes ibenda, anger. This class
of
nouns be l o n g to
the
plural number of the f i r s t declension, and not to the singular
number of t he
t h i r d ,
or the plural of t he fourth declension, a s
may be
inferred
from
t he p a rt i cu la r
form
of
the
adjective
which
i t
i n v ar i ably
takes. 2d.
Nouns o f agency a re formed
by
p re
f i x i n g * ) ,
i ns te ad of
i ,
to
the present
of
the
indicative, andbychang
i ng a into
i
; thus, noka, to l i e ; onoki, l i a r . In some instances,
t he noun
of agency
i s formed
by prefixing e , and by suffixing
ni ; thus, band a, to commit adultery,
eb an dan i, an adulterer.
The
f i r s t of these belongs to the fourth, and the other to t he
S I N G U L A R .
P L U R A L .
Ship, o w a t a n g a ,
C a n o e , owaro,
Feather,
o w o w a ,
a m a t a n g a .
a m a ro .
ibowa.
VERBAL
NOUNS.
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ETYMOLOGY.
15
s econ d
declension.
3d.
Frequent at i v e
n o u n s
a re
forme d
from
t he p re se nt o f t he indicative, bych a n g i n g a f i n a l into i , and by
suffixing ni ; thus, noka, to l i e ; nokini, much or habit ua l
lying.
1 8 . There i s a no ther
species
of
noun d e r i v e d from t he
verb,
bu t not much used, which may be denominated t he G e r u n d .
I t
i s
d er i v e d
from t he ra di ca l form of the verb,
by
prefixing
n ,
by changing a f i n a l into
i , and
by
suffixing
ni ;
thus,
from
tonda,
to love, comes
ntdndini, the pleasing, or the ple a sure o f .
There may
be a s
many gerunds
a s
there
a re co nj uga ti on s o f
t he verb, bu t they a re not frequently used.
ADJECTIVES.
1 9 . The number
of adjectives
in
t he
Mpongwe, i s
not v e r y
considerable ; bu t somewhat more so
t h a n
i n most of
the
d i a
lects of Western Africa. They have
number, inflection
and
classification, bu t neither
case,
g e n d e r no r degrees of com
parison.
20. The degrees of co m p a r i s o n a re expressed, partly by c i r
cumlocution,
and partly
by
t he a i d of the words
v i a g a n u,
or
posiu, both
of which have the force of s o m e t h i n g like
excel, more than,
&c.
The c o m p a r a t i v e d egree i s
formed
by employing o n e of t hese words when a co m p a r i s o n i s to be
instituted between t wo, or a definite number of objects, thus :
s w a k i yam v i a g a n u s w a k i
ya ;
i .
e . ,
my knife excels y o u r
knife.
The
s u p erla t i ve
d egre e
i s
ex pressed when an unli
m i t e d
or
indefinite
number
of
objects
a re
brought
together
;
thus, s w a k i yam v i a g a n u i sw ak i s o d u ; i . e . , my knife i s bet
ter t h a n a l l knives, o r , i s the best of knives. The i d e a of com
p ar ison
i s also expressed, but of
course v e r y indefinitely,
by
the
e m ph a s i s that i s la^d upon
t he
word ; for
e x a m p l e , when
t he word mpolu, great, i s pretty strongly em ph a s iz e d, i t i s un
derstood that t he object i s greater t h a n usual. When the
e m p h a s i s requires
t he u tm os t stretch of t he voice, t he o bje ct i s
superlatively large. In this
way, the
c o m p a r a t i v e d egrees
of
greatness, smallness, hardness, rapidity, and strength, &c,
may
be conveyed
w i t h
more
a ccuracy
and
precision
t h a n
could readily be conceived.
21. Number and Inflection o f Adjectives.very adjective
ha s not only a singular and plural number, bu t each o n e i s
i nflected to correspond
with, or to
accommodate i t s e l f
to
n o u n s o f
a l l
t he declensions. ;
i .
e .
e a ch adjective ha s
a
form,
both singular and p lura l, for
nouns of
e v e r y declension.
This
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1U
MFONGWE
G R A M M A R .
singular
feature
i n
the
l a n g u a g e
will
be
better
u n d e r s t o o d
by
the follow ing illustration ; thus :
1 s t De cl e n s i o ningular, nyare ya m, my cow .
Plural, i nya re s am, my cows.
2 d Singular, eg ar a zam, my chest.
Plural, gara y am, my chests.
3 d Singular, i d a m b e nyam, my sheep.
Plural,
adambe
mam,
my sheep.
4t h
S i ngu la r, o to nd o wam,
my basket.
Pl ura l , i t on do ya m,
my
baskets.
We
find
here,
ya m,
s a t n ,
zam,
nyam, mam,
wam, < f e c , a s the
different
forms into which
the
adjective i s
inflected
in order
to accommodate i t s e l f to the different classes or declensions
of
t he
nouns.
2 2. C la ssi fi ca ti on
o f Adjectives.
d ject ives
a re a r r a n g e d
into two d i st i nct cl ass es, accord ing to
the
different modes by
which
they
a re
inflected
through
the
v ar i ous
declensions.
A
third class
may be formed of
those
that a re indeclinable.
23.
F irst Class.
nder t h i s head,
may be
grouped
a l l those
adjectives and adjective pronouns, which depend upon t he
a i d
of the definite
pronoun,
to express their v a r i o u s numbers and
declensions ;
thus, ' a m i s the word
for my,
bu t
i s n e v e r used,
unless i t ha s
the
definite pronoun prefixed ;
i . e .
y i , s i , z i , mi ,
&c, which unites w i t h 'an, by d r o p p i n g i t s own vowel ; thus,
yi ' a m
( l i t e r a l l y
i t of me, f o r , my or mine,) becomes yam,
sam,
zam,
&c,
accord ing
to
the
declension
of
the
noun to
which i t belongs.
24.
I f the
adjective
commences w i t h a consonant, or
i f
i t i s
a
noun
that i s u s e d a s
an
adjective, the
definite pronoun
i s
s i m p l y
prefixed,
and
the only
inflection
which
t a k e s p la ce
i s
that upon the prefix p r o n o u n, the ra di ca l or original form of
t he
word r e m a i n i n g unchanged
; thus, the word ngulu,
strong,
becomes yingulu, zingulu,
nyingulu,
mingulu,
& . c . The prefix
pronoun
may
have for
i t s
v o w e l,
i ,
a ,
or
o ; bu t
by
what
law
i t chooses between these, i s not known. Under the f i r s t class
of
adjectives
may
be a rra nge d
a l l
t he p o ss es si v e
persona l
p ro
nouns,
a s , ya m,
my ; ya,
your ; y e , hi s ;
yazyo,
our
; yani, your ;
yao,
their
: t he d e m o n s t r a t i v e
adjective pronouns, a s ,
yina,
t h i s ;
y a n a , that ;
and their
c o m p o u n d s ,
meyina and meyana ;
and v a r i o u s other adjectives, a s ,
yonigi,
s w e e t ; yinoni, bitter ;
y i ngul u, s t ro n g ; y im p y u, hot ; y a t e n a t e n a ' r e d ; y a p u p u , white,
&c. &c.
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ETYMOLOGY.
17
25. S e c o n d Class.d ject i ves of t h i s cl ass reje ct t he d e f i
nite
pronoun
altogether,
and
a re
inflected
like
so
many
n o u n s
of the different declensions
;
that
i s ,
in the
f i r s t
declension,
i t
ha s
the form
o f
a
noun of this
declension ;
in
the
secon d
d e
clension,
like
a noun
of
that
declension,
&c. This
will
be
better
u n d e r s t o o d by a
table
in which the cha nge s a re laid
down; thus:
1st D ec l e n s i o ningular, ny ar e mpolu, a bi g
cow .
Plural, inyare simpolu, large cows.
2d
Singular,.
eg ar a
evolu,
a
large
chest.
Plural, gara volu, large chests.
3d Singular, i d a m b e i v o l u , a large sheep.
Plural,
adambe a m p o l u,
large
sheep.
4 t h Singular,
olavi
ompolu, a large river.
Plural, ilavi impolu,
large
r i v e r s .
26. The changes wrought
upon the
incipient
c on s o n a n t or
c om b i n a t i o n
of
consonants,
v ari es
in
different
words.
The
mb,
in
the
words mbi a, good , and mbe, ba d , u n d e r g o e s t he same
changes
in
t he secon d and
third
declensions that mp d o e s ;
i . e . , they
become e v i a ,
i v i a ,
e v e , i v e , &c.
Mp,
in the word m p e,
short, i s changed into p
; thus, ny ar e mpe,
a short cow ; eg ar a
e p e , a short chest, &c. Nd, in
the word n d a, long, i s changed
into I ; thus, mpanla n d a , a long p a t h ; in the secon d declen
s i o n ,
we
have eg ar a e l a ,
a long
chest, &c.
Ny, in
t he words
nyenge, many, much, and
nyango,
small,
i s changed
into
z in
t he
singular
number,
into
y of the plural of the
secon d declen
s i o n ,
and
into
m
in
the
plural
of
t he
t h i r d .
These i n f l e c t i o n s ,
ho w e v e r, will be
better
u n d e r s t o o d by a careful e x a m i n a t i o n
of the
table
of nouns
and
adjectives ;
which
s e e .
27. There
a re a
few adjectives
that a re
indeclinable, and o f
course, a re u s e d in c o n n e x i o n
w i t h
nouns of a l l declensions,
w i t h o u t
any
v ar i at i o n of their ground form. To this class be
long t he word n t m b e , black ; nai, f o u r , &c. ; but they a re not
n u m e r o u s . These,
though
few,
may be denominated the
third
class
of a d j e c t i v e s * .
NUMERAL ADJECTIVES.
28. The manner of co u n t i ng in t h i s l a n gu a g e, i s
s t r i c t l y
the
d e c i m a l
system. They count
up to ten,
when
there
i s a
r e d u
plicat ion : t en and o n e for eleven, t en and two for t wel ve, &c.
Twenty
a re two tens,
thirty
a re three tens ;
o n e
hundred,
for
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IS
MPOKUYVE U R A M M A H .
which
they have a
name,
n k a m a , i s t en tens. Beyond
o n e
hu nd re d, t he y
reduplicate,
and
make
two
hundred,
three
hun
dred, &c. They use the Engl is h
word
thousand, having no
t e r m
for
any
higher
number t h a n o n e hundred .*
29. The
following
i s a
l i s t
of t he numerals :
1 .
mari.
2 . mb an i,
v ani, a m b a n i , &c.
3 . tyaro, taro, araro, &c.
4 . nai.
5 .
tyani,
t a n i , atani, &c.
6 .
orowa
or
r o w a .
7 . or a ge nu and
ragenu.
8 . n an a i .
9 . inagomi.
1 0 . igomi.
1 1 . ig om i ni mari (ten and one).
1 2 . ig om i ni mbani (ten and two).
20. agomi
mbani
( t w o tens).
30. agomi
nytaro
(three t e n s ) .
100.
nkama.
2 0 0 . inkama mbani ( t w o hundreds).
1000 .
inkama i g om i (ten
hundreds).
30. The n u me ra l s, a cco rd i n g
to
their orthographical struc
ture,
be l o n g
to the
f i r s t ,
second, or third
(indeclinable) classes
of adjectives; orowa, o ra g e nu , i n a go mi , and igomi, commencing,
a s
they
do,
w i t h
v o w e l s,
be l o n g to t he
f i r s t
c l a s s , but a re not
generally i n f l e c t e d , excep t when they a re
u s e d
a s ordinals,
and
excep t where
the
incipient vowel f a l l s away for
the s a k e
of
e u ph o n y .
M a r i ,
nai, and
n a n a i
belong,
for
t he
most
p art
(but
not universally), to t he third or indeclinable c l a s s . Mbani
tyaro, and
tyani a re of the
secon d
class of
adjectives
;
and hence
we have from
mbani,
vani, a v a n i, &c. ; and
from
tyaro, t a r o ,
araro,
&c. ; and from tyani, t a n i , atani, &c.
31. The ordinal numbers a re d er i v e d from t he cardinal, by
s i m p l y prefixing to the latter the definite pronoun of the noUn to
which
i t belongs.
I f
t he
cardinal number commences
w i t h a
v o w e l,
the
definite pronoun
d r o p s i t s
own v o w e l, and incorpo
rates
i t s e l f
w i t h
t he
numeral
;
but
i f
i t
commences
with a
con-
* The mode o f c o u n t i n g i n t h e d i f f e r e n t d i a l e c t s o f A f r i c a i s v e r y v a r i a b l e .
The
Grcbo c o u n t s
t o f i v e , when
t h e r e i s
a r e d u p l i c a t i o n ;
t o
t e n , when
t h e r e i s a n o t h e r ;
and t o t w e n t y ,
when
t h e r e
i s
a t h i r d . Huba
i s
t e n t w e n t ie s , o r two h u n d r e d .
A l l
t h e s e
d i f f e r e n t
modes
o f c o u n t i n g h a v e a r i s e n f r o m
t h e
u s e
o f t h e
f i n g e r s
i n
enume
r a t i o n .
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ETYMOLOGY.
l f i
sonant,
t he
definite
pronoun
retains
i t s
v o w e l,
and
i s
s im p ly
prefixed,
choosing,
h o w e v e r , that
vowel which will
be most
con s on a n t to
the laws
of e u ph o n y . Thus we hav e, yimari,
f i r s t ;
yimbani, secon d
; yintyaro, the t h i r d , &c. Each o n e of
these ordinals ha s a s many different forms a s
there
a re declen
sions
;
thus,
we ha ve,
yimari. zimari,
nyimari, &c.
For a
more f u l l
illustration
of these
principles, see table
of
nouns
and
adjectives.
32. The distributives a re formed
s i m p l y
by a repetition of
t he ca rd ina l numbers ; thus, mar i -m ar i, o n e by o n e ;
mba n i -
mbani, two by t w o,
&c.
THE RELATIVE POSITION O F THE N O U N A N D THE
ADJECTIVE.
33. When there a re not more t h a n two
adjectives
be l o n g in g to
the same noun, they always follow and s t a n d in
juxta-
position
to
i t ;
thus,
nago mbia, a good
hou s e
; i m p a n i y a n i
mbe, fashions
your bad
;
f o r , your
bad
fashions. If
there
a re more t h a n
two
adjectives,
and
especially i f
o n e of
them i s an
adjective
of quan
t i t y ,
i t
may
be
s e p a r a t e d
from
i t s
noun by
several
i n t e r v e n i ng
words ; hence we s o m e t i m e s find
the
word yodu, a l l , at
the
end
of a clause or sentence, whilst i t s
noun
st a nd s a t the beginning.
When two or more adjectives, be l o n g in g to t he
same
noun,
a re
c ou p l e d to
e a ch other
by
a
copul a t i ve conjunction,
t he
rela
tive
position
of
t he
noun and i t s adjectives, a re somewhat
p e
culiar ; thus, a vieni go denda evia e m a r i
na
e v i l o evolu ; f o r ,
he
h e came t o do g o o d o n e and work
g r e a t
;
came
to
d o o n e
great
and good w o r k .
34. Numeral
adjectives
also v a r y
from the
gener al rule
a s
to
their
relative
posit ion
to
t he
n o u n .
When
the
numeral
i s
ten, or u n d e r that, i t inv ariably conforms to the gener al r u l e ,
and s t a n d s next to t he noun ; thus, a n l a g a
a vani,
two p ersons ;
i n a g o
t a n i ,
five
houses,
&c.
When the
number
i s
more t h a n
t e n , and l e s s t h a n o n e hundred,
t he
word for ten
or
t e n s ,
goes
before
the noun, whi lst t he
multiplicator follows and
s t a n d s
next, and the noun may or may not be r e p e a t e d before the u n i t s ,
i f
there
a re
any
;
i f
the
noun
i s not repeated, t he
units
a re
jo ine d
to the
multiplicator by
the
copul a t i ve
conjunct ion
; thus,
agomi
m' imboni
ambani
ni
n a i
;
for
twen ty-four
goa t s
;
or
thus
t e n s
o f g o a t s two and f o u r ;
( w h i c h i s the m o s t common phraseology), agomi mHmboni ambani
n' imbonina i . t e n s o f
g o a t s
two
and g o a t s f o u l .
I f
the
number exceed s o n e hundred, i t i s ex pressed thus:
Nkama y'imboni mart n' agomi ambani ni na i;
Hundred o f g o a t s
o n e
and
t e n s
two and f o u r
;
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2 0
MPONOWE
G R A M M A R .
fo r
o n e
hundred
and
twenty
four
goats.
S o m e t i m e s ,
the
multi-
p M s a t o r
in
the plural i s
u s e d
a lone ;
thus,
akanda amb an i,
for
twenty
pl antains,
the
tens be in g i m p l i e d
by t he
plural form of
the multi p lica tor. In the p r e ce d i ng illustrations i t will be p er
ceived,
that ogomi and nkama assume the character o f n ou ns ,
whilst
the
words rtCimboni
and
xfimboni, by t a k i n g
the definite
p r o n o u n s
which belong to agomi and nkama respectively,
be
come n o u n s of t he genitive case, and a re
g o v e r n e d
a s such.
GE N E R AL
R E M A R K S .
35. The want of
adjectives
in t h i s l a nguage, i s suppl ie d by
the use of a noun and v e rb ; s i c k , hungry, r i c h , a s h a m e d , &c,
a re ex pressed by this means ; thus, mi jaga njana, I am sick
w i t h hunger,
f o r , I
am hungry ; a re ni sika, he i s w i t h money,
o r , there i s money to
him
( l i k e
the
L a t i n e s t
mihi,
there
i s to
me ,
f o r ,
I
ha v e ) f o r , he i s rich ; and s o , e j en a
nty an i
; i .
e . ,
he sees
shame ; f o r , he i s a s h a m e d .
36.
As the
number
of adjectives
in
t he language i s not
co n
siderable,
i t
follows a s
a
n e ce s sa ry co ns e qu e nce ,
that
those
which a re used, have
great
latitude, w i t h o u t
much
precision of
m e a n i n g . The word mbia, good, i s t he only word which they
have to express t he i d e a s of kind,
l i b e r a l ,
merciful, just
disinterested, affectionate, &c.
;
and
mbe,
bad, i s u s e d for un
j u s t , cruel,
avaricious, offensive,
w ic k e d ,
&c. ; and
s o , etinge
s i g n i f i e s a
p o o r man, f o o l , stupid, &c.
PRONOUNS.
37. The
Mpongwe
i s
exc e e d i n g
rich
in
p r o n o u n s ;
and,
in
this way, not only
a cq ui re s gre a t
f l e x i b i l i t y of character, bu t a
degree
of precision which bu t
few l a n g u a g e s
possess. There
a re three
k i n d s
of
pronouns,
the Personal, R e l a t i v e and Defi
n i t e . Possessive pronouns, indefinite and d e m o n s tr a t i v e
a djec
tive pronouns, have been includ e d u n d e r the gener al head of
adjectives;
which
s e e .
PER S O N AL
PRONOUNS.
38.
Persona l
p r o n o u n s
have no gender, bu t
they have
num
ber, a v ar ie ty of
forms, a nd, so
fa r
a s t he
objective case
d i f f e r s from
t he
n om i n a t i v e, they may
be
said to possess case.
They a d m i t
o f
no classification
correspond ing
w i t h what i s
d e n o m i n a t e d declension, u n d e r the
h e a d s
of nouns and a djec
t i v e s . There
a re
three of
them, e a c h of
which ha s
several
forms for
the
singular, a plural, and what may
be
denominated
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ETYMOLOGY.
2 1
an
em p h a t i c
form.
The
followi ng
table
w il l e xhi bi t
fully
a l l
of the
p erson al
p r o n o u n s :
S I N G U L A R .
P L U R A L . E M P H A T I C .
1 s t p e r s o n
\
mi and mie, azuwe, mie.
2d p e r s o n
, d and o m a ; a n u w e , awe
or
' w e .
3d
p e r s o n
e , y e , wi,
w u,
waoand
w a ,
ay6.
R e m a r k s .s t .
i r t i s
a
contracted
form of
mi or
mie,
and i s
seldom
used,
excep t
when
followed
by
b ,
w i t h
which
i t
i n v a
riably unites i t s e l f . There i s a
real
distinction between
mi
and mi e ; so much s o , that the n a t i v e s would f e e l i t to be a
m a t e r i a l violat ion
of the l a w s
o f grammar, to
us e
o n e where
t he ot her
ought to
be u s e d
;
but upon
what
g r o u n d s t he
dis
tinction
i s
made,
unless
for
t he s a k e
of e u ph o n y, i s not known.
Mi and mi e a re bo t h u s e d in
the
objective case ; mi e i s n e v e r
u s e d a s an objective case.
2d. O i s t he or di n ary word for the secon d
person singular
;
when
i t
follows
t he v e rb to which
i t
i s the n o m i n a t i v e ,
and
that
v e r b
e n d s
in
the
vowel
a ,
a
co al es ce nce t a ke s
p lace
be
tween t he
o
and f i n a l a , and forms a ; thus, instead of saying,
t o n d a
o aye,
you love him, i t i s inv ariably
rend ered
t o n d a
aye.
In t he
same
way, i t i s incorpora t e d w i t h
the
verb, when i t i s
t he
ohjective case, and
i s
g o v e r n e d by
the
verb. 'We, which
i s
a contraction of the
e m p h a t i c
form,
i s
also
u s e d
as
an objec
t i ve
o f the secon d p e r s o n singular. Oma
or
ow a, which signi
f i e s
person,
i s also
u s e d
for
the
secon d person singular in t he
n o m i n a t i v e
case, bu t not v e r y frequently.
3d.
There
a re three
forms
for
the
third
p e r s o n
singular
of
t he p r o n o u n,
v i z . c , e and
ye
; of these, e i s
the
or di n ary
form ;
e follow ing the v e rb to which i t i s either t he object or subject,
incorporates i t s e l f w i t h t he f i n a l syllable, a s t he case of t he
secon d p e r s o n just me n t i o n e d , and becomes e or ye ; t he l a t t e r ,
y e , i s s o m e t i m e s, though not frequently, u s e d a s a
n o m i n a t i v e ;
more commonly, i t i s
u s e d a s an
objective,
and
when thus
used,
i t i s
to
be
reg ar d e d a s
a contraction
of emphatic aye,
E, before a v e rb in t he his to rica l t en se, commencing w i t h a ,
a l w a y s, in obed ience to the laws o f e u ph o n y,
d i s a p p e a r s
;
thus,
they
n e v e r
say, e
a v a n g i
yama yodu,
but
s i m p l y
a v a n g i
ydma, &c.
4th. The plural forms a re the same in the n o m i n a t i v e and
objective cases, excep t that when i t follows a v e r b
e n d i n g
in a ,
t he
incipient
a of the f i r s t and
secon d p ersons
disappears,
and
we
have
'zuwe and
'nuwe.
Azuwe i s s o m e t i m e s
pronounced
az'we ;
but t h i s i s a contracted form. Wi ,
wu
and wu
a re
n ot p ro pe rl y
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2 2 MPONGWE G R A M M A R .
p e rs on al p ro no un s,
bu t
definite
p ro no un s u se d a s such. Wao
i s t he only form of t he third
p e r s o n plural, and
i s the
same in
t he n o m i n a t i v e and objective cases.
5 t h . The forms of mie, awe and a ye a re u s e d when some
thing e m p h a t i c i s i n t e n d e d ; awe and a ye a re also u s e d in con
nection
w i t h verbs
in t he
p a s t
and historical tenses, in whicii
case
t he
v e r b
uniformly d r o p s i t s
prefix a . When these two
words occur in
t he
objective, they
a re
always of
the
contracted
forms, 'we or ' y e .
6th. The third p erson singular,
v i z .
e when i t re fe rs t o some
object
present,
and
no
an teceden t
i s
expressed,
i s
appl ie d'
i n
discriminately
to
objects
of the
male,
fema l e and n e u t er gen
ders,
whether those objects
be of the
human species,
of
brutes,
or i n a n i m a t e
objects. I f
the
an teceden t i s expressed,
then the
definite pronoun (of which we shall presently s p e a k ) i s use d
in a l l cases,
.except
when some p erson or the D e i t y i s alluded
t o . Wao i s n e v e r
used,
excep t in connecti on w i t h
human
beings.
7th. The r e f l e c t i v e p r o n o u n s
a re form ed
by suffixing me to
t he e m p h a t i c forms and
the plural
numbers ; thus, mieme,
my
self
;
a w e m e,
yourself ; ayeme, himself ;
azu wem e,
ourselves ;
anuweme, yourselves ; and w a o m e , themselves.
8th.
The
relative
position of the persona l pronoun
and
the
verb i s
variable. When
i t i s the subject
of
the
verb,
i t
must
always be
in
juxta-posit ion
w i t h
i t
; but may be before
or
after
the
verb. When
i t
goes
before the
verb,
i t
s o m e t i m e s
d i s a p p e ars, for the s a k e of euphony (see n o t e 3 ,
a b o v e )
; some
t i m e s i t incorporates
i t s e l f
w i t h the
i n i t i a l
vowel of t he
verb,
but , i n
most
cases,
st an ds
u n c o n n e c t e d
w i t h the verb.
When
i t
follows
t he
verb,
i t
may
be
incorporated
w i t h i t
or
s t a n d
alone, a cc ord i n g
to
circumstances.
I f
there
a re two p r o n o u n s in the
same clause,
t he o n e of
which i s t he n om i n a t i v e, and t he
other
the objective
of
t he
verb,
there will be two
modes
of construction, accord ing
to
t he
position
of
t he n o m i n a t i v e
;
i f i t
goes before
t he verb,
then
t he
objective case follows, and
i s
either incorporated w i t h o r s ta nd s
in juxta-position to t he v e r b by which
i t i s
g o v e r n e d ; i f , on
t he contrary, the pronoun
n o m i n a t i v e
fo ll ow s t he verb, i t must
s t a n d between
i t
and the objective
case
; thus, anuwe lendi wao
n a n a ,
ye
d i d
thus
;
or thus,
which
i s
t he
more
common
co n
struction, n e be
denda ' n u w e
wao
nana ; i . e .
and
d i d
you them
thus. For a more f u l l illustration of these principles,
see
sp e
cim en s
of Mpongwe,
w i t h an
interlineation o f En gl is h, at
the
end of the Grammar.
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ETYMOLOGY.
2 3
RELATIVE
PRONOUNS.
38. The
relative pronoun for who i s
o ,
when no question i s
a s k e d . I t can be distinguished from the
se co nd p ers on
s ingu
lar
only
by
i t s
relative
position
in
a
sentence
;
i . e . by coming
between i t s a nteced ent and the v e r b ; thus, oma o d e n d a y a n a ,
the p e r s o n who
d i d
t h i s . The
plural
of o i s , w i
or
wa ( i f these
be not t he
definite
pro n o u n ) ; *
thus, mbngi
w i d e n d a n a n a , the
p e o p l e who d i d s o . The
definite p r o n o u n s
a re also u s e d a s
relative
pronouns, irrespective
of t he
character of
the an tece
d e n t
;
i .
e .
whether
the
relative
refers
to
p ersons
or
things
;
thus, rera yazyo yi re g ' oro w a ; i . e . o ur F a t h e r who i s in
heaven,f &c.
39. The interogative relative p r o n o u n s
are,
m a n d e , who;
o m a n d e, what p e r s o n ; and
a n d e
and
s e ,
what ; o s a u n nde, what
for ; and the compound ez'ande, what thing (compounded of
e z a , thing, and an de, wha t). Mande i s rend ered plural by
h a v i n g wa prefixed
; thus,
a n l a g a wamande ? what
p e o p l e ?
Zye i s sometimes
used. in
the
sense
of what,
in connection
w i t h
a
noun
;
thus,
egombe
zye
?
what
t i m e
?
Oma
jo ine d
to
t he word
' e d i t ,
any, which,
&c,
omedu
becomes
wh o s o e v er,
any one, &c. The pronoun ( d e f i n i t e ) y i , in connecti on w i t h
t he auxiliary r e , i s often u s e d
in
t he
sense of that,
which;
thus,
ndaga yi
r e ,
the a f f a i r
which, &c. &c.
40. The d e m o n s tr a t i v e
p r o n o u n s
are, yina, this ; plural, sina,
these, and y a n a , that ; plural,
s a na , t ho se
; and their compounds
meyina, mesina, meyana and mesana
;
a l l of which a re t re at ed
of more fully
u n d e r the head
of adjectives.
DEFINITE
PRONOUNS.
41. We
come now
t o t rea t
of o n e
p art
of s p e ech which belongs
to this
l a nguage, and i t s k i n d r e d
dialects,
and i s p e r h a p s entirely
unknown t o
the
dialects
of the
northern portion
of t he
African
continent. I t i s denominated t he d e f i n i t e p r o n o u n, bu t not
w i t h
philosophical accuracy. I t i s
i n t im ate ly i n t e r w o v e n
w i t h t he
entire
structure of the l a nguage, and i s u s e d for s uch a
v ar ie ty
of
purposes,
that
i t
i s d i f f i c u l t
to
ass ign i t a p lace
u n d e r any
o f
the
established
div isions
of
speech.
I t
p a r t a k e s
of
t he
n a t u re
of
a p erson al p r o n o u n, and i s often u s e d a s such ;
i t
performs
*
I t i s n o t p o s s i b l e
t o
d e t e r m i n e
w h e t h e r
wi
and w a b e t h e
p l u r a l o f o , o r whe
t h e r
t h e y b e d e f i n i t e p r o n o u n s u s e d a s r e l a t i v e s .
f We c a n n o t c l a s s what w e c a l l d e f i n i t e p r o n o u n s , u n d e r
t h e
head o f r e l a t i v e s ;
f o r , t h o u g h t h e y
a r e
u s e d
a s
s u c h ,
t h i s i s
by n o means t h e
p r i n c i p a l
o r o n l y o f f i c e
which t h e y
p e r f o r m .
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2 4 MPONGWE
G R A M M A R .
the
o f f i c e
of
a
relative
pronoun
;
an d,
in
such
cases,
identifies
t he a n t ec e d e n t w i t h a d mi r a bl e precision ;
i t
serves a s a connect
i ng link between
two
nouns, when o ne of them
i s
i n the p o sse s
sive case ;
they
p erform the
o f f i c e
of a
d e m o n s tr a t i v e
p r o n o u n ;
they incorporate themsel ves w i t h
a l l
verbs
which have a
vowel
for their inci p ient syllable ; they serv e a s an auxiliary in form
i ng
the
i n f i n i t i v e mood ; s o m e t i m e s they p erf orm t he
functions
of a preposit ion ; they incorporate th e m s e l v e s with, and a re
indispensable to
t he
inflections
of t he
great
mass
of
adjectives
in
t he
language,*
&c. &c.
42. There a re four of these pronouns, correspond ing with
the four d eclensi ons of n o u n s ; bu t e a ch o n e of which has
three forms,
both for
the
singular
and plural
numbers, accord
i ng
a s
they
t a k e
the v o w e l s
a , i
or o .
This
will be better un
derstood
by
t he
followi ng table :
S I N G U L A R . P L U R A L .
1 s t Declension, y i ,
ya , yo, s i ,
s a , s o .
2d ' z i , z a , z o , y i , ya , y o .
3 d
nyi,
nya,
nyo, mi,
ma ,
mo.
4 t h wi, w a ,
wo,
y i , ya , y o .
Ex p l a n a t i o n s .
hen t he definite pronoun i s the nomina
tive
to a
v e rb
of
the present tense, which a l m o s t i n v ar i ably
commences
w i t h a consonant, i t
t a k e s i fo r
i t s
vowel
;
and
so i t
t a k e s
the
same vowel when
i t
acts a s an auxiliary
t o the i n f i n i t i v e m o o d . In a l l cases, when the word which
follows
i t ,
commences
w i t h
a
v o w e l, i t i s impossible to t e l l
what
vowel
properly
belongs
to
i t ,
for
i t
invariably
d r o p s
i t s
v o w e l , and incorporates i t s e l f
w i t h t he
follow ing w o r d .
Thus,
in the p hra se, mongi w'alendi yi na , t he p e o p l e who d i d
t h i s , we
can n ot
t e l l what vowel belong ed to w ' , inasmuch a s i t
i s
rejected
for
the s a k e of incorporation.
The definite
pronoun
i s n e v e r foun d
in t he objective
case
w i t h
i . When
i t act s a s
a
connecting link between nouns,
the
latter of which commences
w i t h a consonant, i t i n v ar i ably t a k es a ; thus, onwana wa
Jems, i .
e .
the child i t of J a m e s . When i t i s prefixed to an
adjective
commencing
with a
consonant,
i t s o m e t i m e s t a k e s a ,
* The
f o l l o w i n g e x a m p l e s
w i l l i l l u s t r a t e t h e
v a r i e d u s e
o f
t h i s
anomalous
p a r t i c l e :
1 s t .
As a p e r s o n a l p r o n o u n , nya n y i nya o r o v e , t h e cow
i t
e a t s
g r a s s ;
2 d . As a
r e l a t i v e p r o n o u n , r e r e y a z y o y i r e g ' o r o w a , o u r F a t h e r who i s
i n
h e a v e n ;
3 d .
As a
c o n n e c t i n g l i n k b e t w e e n
two n o u n s ,
onwana w ' A n g i l a ,
t h e c h i l d
i t
o f A n g i l a
;
4 t h .
As a d e m o n s t r a t i v e p r o n o u n , Abambo mo d e n d a y e n a ,
t h e
d e v i l s who
( t h e
v e r y o n e s )
do
s o ; 5 t h
I n c o r p o r a t e d w i t h
v e r b s , t h u s , mongi v f a y u w i , t h e
p e o p l e
who d i e d .
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2 5
T
i / : mxm
3HT o^iTiamza
i p l i -
ena,
3 , i t
hen
ng7,
&c.
3ce-
erb,
be
ent
de-
-oun
ina-
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2 4
the
the -
ing
theO
for
1
of s *
in 1
TBI Hf ll
j i i v
J o .
I C E
i . iVm^)
' i n i v n i - .
. \ i r u i i * \ J
( A o o i l ) o g r t s s 3 . ^ m V 6
( b J i x k J ) o y n i S y
. M i l
Upj
( q i n r i n i o t f i n f l h s . W
I v d t y r t l i U n n l q ) i t i n f b l i
. j i k V A I
i m
( . n i s i n n l q )
i f x i i . J n . nM
( i n n )
n f l a d l o
. j n i ' A j
( e i n n ) s h n o l i
(nyh) i ' i S l n . j n V A
( s i b ' i i i ) i v s l i
. N i j
( n n n i ) f m o ' r t o
- s h V A
( n M i n )
inmna
. i j * \
( h f i d o ) Bnnwio
. f n i %
1
-
1 s t .
r e l a t i
conn
A s
a
do
s c
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ETYMOLOGY.
2 5
s o m e t i m e s
i ,
a n d,
more
frequently,
o
;
we
have
this
exem p l i
fied i n
the
three follow ing words
:
y i ngu l u, s t ro n g
;
yatenatena,
red
; and yonigi,
sweet.
When i t
i s
in
t he objective
case,
i t
i n v ar i ably t a k e s o ; i t t a k e s o in t he n o m i n a t i v e only when
s o m e t h i n g
v e ry
definite
or
special
i s i n t e n d e d > thus, mongi,
wo d e n d a ,
the
p e o p l e
who ( i . e . t he v e r y p eo p le) d i d
thus,
&c. &c.
43. The definite pronoun
i s
n e v e r u s e d
w i t h o u t an
a ntece
dent. As a n om i n a t i v e, i t
inv ariably
st and s before the verb,
and next to i t . I t s a n t ec e d e n t
may
s t a n d before i t , or may be
s e p a r a t e d by several int ervening
words;
t he
a nteced ent
can
always
be
identified by
b e i n g
of
the
same number
and
d e
clension o f
the
definite p r o n o u n . When t he definite pronoun
i s in
the
objective case, and i s g o v e r n e d by t he verb, i t or d i n a
r i l y st a nd s next to i t .
ADVERBS, PREPOSITIONS AND CONJUNCTIONS.
44.
These
t hre e p a rt s
of
s p e ech
a re
grouped u n d e r o n e
hea d,
bec au s e
there
a re
a large number
of
particles
in the
l a nguage,
which
a re
indiscriminately
u s e d
in
t he
three-fold
cha ra ct e r o f
adverbs, preposit ions and
conjunctions.
The particles go and
ne a re examples of this^
The former
i s not only u s e d a s a p re
position,
conjunction and
a d v erb,
but a s an auxiliary to
the
i n f i n i t i v et s
meaning in any
particular
p lace
be i ng deter
mined by i t s relative posit ion in t he
sentence.
When i t p re
cedes a v e r b which commences w i t h a , and there i s a pronoun
comingbetween them, i t not only incorporates the
pronoun
w i t h
i t s e l f , but,
in t h i s
compound
character, i t incorporates
i t s e l f w i t h
the v e rb ; thus, i nstea d of the phrase, go e
avieni,
when he
c a m e , they say, gw' a v i en i .
The particle ne, na, n i , or n l e , n l a , n l i ( i t i s pronounced in a l l
these
ways) i s l i k e w ise
u s e d
in t h i s
three-fold
character. When
i t accompanies the
v e r b of
existenoe
(as
in the
L a t i n phrase,
e s t
mihi,
I
have), i t
gives
i t the
i d e a
of possession ;
thus,
a re n a
s w a k a , l i t e r a l l y , he i s w i t h a knife, fo r he ha s a knife. Suffixed
to a neuter verb, i t fo rms a distinct conjugation, and gives i t
an active signification ; thus, e be n d i n a mie, he i s a n g r y a i or
w i t h me .
Used
a s a co pul at i v e conjunction, or a s a
preposi
tion
signifying
with,
i t
expresses
the
i d e a
of
accession
in
either
case, and i t matters v e r y l i t t l e whether i t be called a preposi
tion or conjunction
; thus,
the
phrase,
nkombe,
n'ogweli, n'ige-
geni, may be
tran sl a t ed, e i the r
t he sun,
and
the
moon, and
the
s t a r s , or the
sun,
wi th t he
moon, w i th
the s t a r s . Nor i s
there
any essential
difference between
these two w o r d s, in
t he gre at
major i ty of cases, in t he English l a nguage, though we a re ac-
4
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2 f i
MPONGWB
G R A M M A R .
customed
to
call
o n e
a
preposit ion
and
the
other
a
conjunction.
N o t w i t h s t a n d i n g t h i s circumstance, h o w e v e r , i t will be
necess ary to o f f e r a
few remarks
o n e a ch o ne of
t he se p a rt s
o f
s p e ech separately.
PREPOSITIONS.
45. The number of
preposit ions
in
the
l a n g u a g e i s not large,
bu t
those
which a re u s e d have great latitude of m e a n i n g .
Sometimes the
same
w o r d , in two
different
places, have
mean
ings
directly
o p p os i t e
to
e a c h
other.
Thus,
go ,
in
o n e
connex
i o n , s i g n i f i e s from, a s mi
p i l a
go
Mbenga,
I amfrom Benga;
and in another, i t ha s t he signification of
t o ,
a s mi k e n d a go
Mbenga, I am
g o i n g
t o
Beng a .
Before persons, i t i s changed
into
gore,
a s
ar om i mi e go re
' w e , i . e .
he
sent
me to you.
I f
i t
goes before a noun
or
v e r b
commencing w i t h
a v o w e l,
i t
inv ariably incorporates i t s e l f
w i t h
i t , accord ing to
the
g e n e
ra l
principles
o f co n tr act i o n and coalescence.
The
next
most common preposition i s n i , na or n e , which
also
incorporates
i t s e l f
w i t h
t he
noun
i t
governs,
p r o v i d e d
the
noun commences
w i t h
a v o w e l . I t ha s
much
latitude of mean
ing, and s i g n i f i e s i n , with, b y , for, &c.
Va,
i n , in t he
s p a c e o f ,
&c. i s also much used, bu t especially fn
con n ex i on
w i t h n o u n s
of time. Nd,
which
i s u s e d only
in
conjunction w i t h t he
secon d and
third persons
singular o f
the persona l
pronoun, ha s
the meaning
of b y , a s nde, by him, n d a ,
by
you, &c. Piere and
baraba, near, and a few
others,
a re also used.
46. The
deficiency
in
t he number
of prepositions,
i s made
up chiefly
by
t he u se
of
n o u n s
and
v erbs ;
for
e x a m p l e ,
to
e x
press
t he
i d e a
of between,
a
noun
i s
u s e d
which
ha s
t he
force
of t he
m i d d l e
or
centre. They
have n o
word for
up
and
d o w n ,
bu t t hese i dea s a re i n v o l v e d in t he words band a, to go
up,
and
s um i n a ,
to come
down ; i .
e .
they
a re
equ i v alen t to
the Engl is h
words descen d
and
ascend.
47. Prepositions,
in
t h i s l a nguage,
inv ariably
s t a n d
before,
and
next
to t he n o u n s
which
a re g o v e r n e d
by
them ; so that they
are,
w i t h
special propriety,
denominated prepositions. In t he
Grebo, Mandingo, and p e r h a p s
a l l of the dialects
of
N o r t h e r n
Africa,
t he
prepositions,
with a
few
exceptions,
follow
the
nouns which a re g o v e r n e d
by
them.
CONJUNCTIONS.
48. There a re words that a re u s e d bo th a s copul a t i ve and
disjunctive
conjunctions, the most common of
which are,
n i ,
na,
and
;
ge, genu
and geni, and or nor, accord ing to circum
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ETYMOLOGY. 2 7
stances
;
mbe,
or
;
kao,
u n t i l ,
except,
& . c .
;
ja,
i f , when
;
k a n d e
and k a n d e n e , beca use ; kambe and kambenle, wherefore,
that
i s
to s a y ; i n l e , saying, to t h i s
e f f e c t ,
so that ; yena and n a n a , s o ,
thus,
after t h i s fashion
;
ka,
s o , and k e , t o o ,
&c. &c.
These
co nju nct io ns a re extensively u s e d a s auxiliaries to certain
moods and tenses of
the
verb, w it ho ut w hi ch, their meaning
c a n n o t be fully d e v e l o p e d .
ADVERBS.
49. The following a re t he principal a d v e r b s in use, v iz : v e i >
vend, gun and g u n u, here ; v a v d and gogo, there ; gwi, where ;
goboso, ahead ; o f t ime
: v d t e
vend,
now ;
pelS,
this
moment
;
sunge, quick
; n e g a n e g a ,
qu ick ly
; nUl a,
t o - d a y
; jau, yester
day
;
mele, to-morrow
; j a j a n g w i ,
presently, by and
by ;
ja, go
or gw\ when. Of quantity : polu, much, v e r y much ; nyenge,
many, &c. Of doubt : v e n d i and venditua, perhap
Recommended