OCR Text |
Show 64 ON TilE DISTRIBUTION AND north of the Bight of Benin,- between the 2d and 3d degree of W. long., and tho Gth and lOth degree of N. latitude. Tho WoLOF demarcates itself by its final intlcxious. To it other idioms, seemingly, have to be attached: such as the BrnsciiAOo, or Bmsuono, which is spoken in the island of Wun,- the GADSCIIAYA, idiom of a tribe called also SeMrute, or Serawouli,- and lastly the 0 OURA. X.-Anoihcr group, which is characterized by initial inflexions, iR spread over the basin of the Gambia, and is represented by the LANDOMA, that is spoken in the land of Kakondi,- and tho N Anou, used in the canton of Kakondan. Tho WoLOF verb is suBccptible of seventeen modifications, that consist in adding to each radical one or two syllables, and which extend or reFJtrict its acceptation. It is something like the forms of the Arabic verb. The article fc)llows the substantive, and embodies itself with it, as in agglutinate languages. The plural article exhibits equally an especial characteristic that makes it participate of a demonstrative pronoun. In general, tho WoLOl!' oifcrs, in its phonology, that same harmonica! disposition which belongs to all tho African languages. XI.- Although the WoLoF approximates to the YOZOUBA more than to any other African tongue, these two idioms still remain separated by a diilerence sufficiently defined. The YozounA possesses, in its grammatical system, a great dcgt·ce of perfection and regularity. One observes in it an '.' ~n~cmble" of prefixes complete and regular, that, upon JOimng themselves to the verb, give birth to a multitude of oth~r words formed through a most simple process. The radical thus passes on the abstract idea of action into all ~crivative ?on crete ideas; and thus reciprocally by tho addition of a s1mplo prefix, a noun becomes a possessive verb. Another peculiarity of the YozounA is, that the same adverb varies iu form and oven in nature accordinO' to the species of words it qualifies. 0 Tho Yoz?UDA system, notwithstanding its individuality, connects Itself tolerably ncar with that of tho tongues of Oongo. Tho M'PoNGWE, for example, spoken on the Gaboon coast, fo~ms its verbs by adding a monosyllabic prefix to the su~stantlvc; by oppositio~ to certain 8enegambian languages, such. as the MANDINoo, 111 which they employ suffixes to modify the sense of the verb or tho noun. XII.- The CONGO-languages appertain to that great formation of CLASSIFICATION OF TONGUES. 65 African tongues of which wo treated above, and that divide themselves into many groups, united inconLcstably by close bonds. 1st.-The first group is that of the tongues of Congo; tho whole of them characterized by the initial flexion. 'rhoy embrace tho languages of tho tribes named Atam, of which one of tho chiofost is tho UnoM, spoken in a country of this name, which has Ebil for its oapital,-tho languages of Mokos- tribcs, that subdivide themselves into several groups, embracing a great number of idioms,-tho tongues of Oongo and of Angola .that comprise three gt·oups; the first, represented above all by tho MnAMDA; the s cond, by tho BAnuMA, or MoDUMA; and the third, by the N'aoLA, speech of Angola. 2d.-Tho second group, comprehends the tongues of SouthWest Africa, viz: tho KmrAu, that al~>o forms its verbs by means of prefixes, and attaches itself very nearly to the Congo-languaO'cs. It appears to identify iLsolf with the MuNTOu-tonguc, spoken by tho Veiao, whom one encounters in tho country of Knyas, about two months' joumoy wcRL from the Mozambique coast. To tltis group, likewise, belongs tho MAI"l.AWI, tho NIAMDAN, and many other languages. 3d.-Tho third group is represented by tho Souahilee-tongucs; comprising the Sou,uriLI properly so-call ed, spoken by tho inhabitants of the coasts of Zanzibar; and the languages of neighboring peoples who dwell to the south of the Gallacountry; such as the WANIKA, the 0KAOUAFI, tho WAlCAMDA. A good deal of the KmiAu-language is met with in tho SouAIIiLI; which indicates well the affinity of the two O't'Oups. 4th.- The fourth, tbo group-Caffr, comprehends tho ZouLou, or CAFFil propcr,-tho TEMNEli, the SECITUANA, tho DAMARA, and the KINIKA. All these languages oftor the same organism, and a great richness of changes (voies) together wiLh au extreme poverty of verbs. XIII.- Tho tongues of the preceding formation approximate in a very singular manner, as regards certain points of their organism, to that family that may bo termed HAMITIC (from KmM:tjj, Oltemmia, tho ancient native name of Egypt); and which has for its type the Egyptian, of which the CoPTIC is but a more modem derivative. To it may be attached, on tho eastern siue, the GALLA; and on tho western, the BERBEit. The EGYPTIAN is known to us from a high antiquity, thanks 5 |