Chapter XX (2)

Any one who glances at a linguistic map of Africa—such an one as Mr. Ravenstein has drawn for Mr. Cust’s book on African languages—will hardly fail to perceive how thickly certain districts, such as Abyssinia, the basin of the White Nile, the Lower Niger, or the country round Sierra Leone, are dotted with the names of distinct languages. Nor is it merely a question of numerous dialects of common origin. Many of these tongues—spoken, it may be, by only two or three thousand inhabitants of a single cluster of villages in a circumscribed area—are quite isolated, quite without relationships to other known forms of speech; or again, some of the languages may show faint indications of possible affinities—just a few hints in their grammatical construction or vocabulary, or phonology—sufficient to enable great generalizers in philology to bundle them together in one common group, in a desperate hope of simplifying the arrangement of African languages. Even the well-marked and undoubted natural families that overlie these regions—the Hamitic, the Fula, the Nubian, the Šiluk, the Hausa, the Mandiṅgo—exhibit only sufficient similarity of structure in their different branches to enable the philologist to satisfy himself that he is justified in regarding them as forming homogeneous groups. But the various members of any one of these families often differ widely in their vocabularies, and sometimes are unlike in many grammatical points. For instance, Galla and Šilha (Shlu) (the language of the Moroccan Berbers) are both members of the Hamitic group, yet, beyond their structural resemblance and their agreement in certain main features of grammar, they scarcely possess a root or test-word in common.[75] I need not multiply instances of this; the fact is already recognized by students of African languages, that in the northern half of the continent there are bewildering multitudes of diverse tongues belonging to many independent families, and apparently irreducible to a common origin. Yet cross the irregular boundary-line which runs over the continent from 6° N. on the west coast to the Equator on the east coast—viz. the northern limit of the Bantu speech—and what do we find? Why that the whole of the southern half of Africa, with the exception of the Masai and Galla intrusion in the north-east and the Hottentot enclave in the south-west,[76] is the domain of a single homogeneous family of languages, the Bantu differing perhaps less among themselves than do the many offshoots of the Aryan stock. The only other African tongues which in any way approach the Bantu (as regards similarity of structure) occupy little isolated patches of country in Central and Western Africa, surrounded often by totally dissimilar forms of speech. Originally, there is little doubt, the primal Bantu language was as one of these, a member of a little group of prefix-governed tongues developed somewhere in the heart of Africa. Peculiar circumstances gave the people who spoke it the opportunity of playing a great _rôle_ in unwritten African history; and the Bantu negroes, at one time very likely an obscure and unimportant tribe like the Temne and Bulom of Sierra Leone, the Efik of Old Calabar, or the Tumale of Kordofan, became the ruling and almost the exclusive race of Southern Tropical Africa, swallowing up, obliterating, absorbing the previous inhabitants of the land, and carrying their own form of language triumphantly from the Upper Nile to Natal, and from the River Tana on the east coast to Fernando Po on the west. In the spread of the Masai race and language we may see, on a much smaller scale, a parallel to this extension of the Bantu. It will be remembered that I already have pointed out the relations which the Masai language bears to the Šiluk and other tongues spoken in the basin of the White Nile. Some of these forms of speech resemble Masai about as much as the Non-Bantu prefix-languages resemble Bantu-proper. Most of them are spoken over small and confined areas. Yet the range of the Masai tongue and its various dialects extends almost uninterruptedly from 3° N. to 5° S. of the Equator, wherever the Masai race has spread in its warlike raids. Now we know that in many parts of Eastern Equatorial Africa the Masai only arrived, as it were, the other day. In many districts, too, in the centre of their present home the remnant of aboriginal natives still retain the oral tradition that several generations ago the Masai were unknown in the land. Yet, with the exception of a few isolated mountain-ranges where the Bantu-speaking inhabitants still linger, the Masai language is dominant throughout the whole length and breadth of the huge country known as Masai-land. Moreover, it is probable that had this warlike race not encountered natives armed with firearms and dominated by Arabs on the south, they would have overrun a considerably larger district than the one they at present occupy, and their language would have acquired an even greater range, and in course of time have lost its uniformity, and become split up into many separate dialects. Yet it is probable that some centuries ago the Masai were only a small section of a Nilotic race which adverse circumstances drove from its original home, and forced farther and farther south, the Masai all the time developing their fighting qualities, first to save themselves from extinction, and then in turn to pursue a successful policy of rapine and dominion. Such, in all likelihood, were the origin and history of the spread of the Bantu race and language. It is quite possible that before their advent the southern half of Africa was sparsely populated, perhaps by a low type of negro in the north and west, and Hottentots, Bushmen, and Pigmies in the south and centre. The invading Bantu carried all before him in the early days of his invasion, and was probably little but a fighting-man, as is the Masai at the present day. In the west, however, he was stopped—choked, one might almost say—by the dense negro population, and in the south-west by the Hottentots, who were probably driven to bay in this corner of the continent. In the centre of Africa the race and language of the Bantu people are purest to this day, probably from the much less intermixture which took place between them and any previous inhabitants. Judged by his purest types—the inhabitants of the great lakes and the Congo basin—the Bantu was probably a red race in its origin. Intermixture with Hottentots has given the Zulus a yellowish tinge, and clicks in their language, and the fusing of Bantu and Negro on the west coast has debased the character of the speech and deepened the colour of the skin.

Taking into consideration the fact that the unwritten languages of a savage people vary with extraordinary rapidity, and noting at the same time how great is the uniformity in grammar, construction, and vocabulary between all the Bantu languages, we can hardly believe that they are a very ancient offshoot of the negro race, or that the date of their original dispersion from their centre of development is very far removed. I should think, as far as we may judge, that it is about 2000 to 2500 years since the Bantu people commenced their invasion of Southern Africa; and that before this date—before the dispersal of what was evidently a compact and homogeneous tribe—one common language, the Bantu mother-speech,[77] was spoken. One of the principal reasons which induces me to hazard this guess as to the recent period at which this family of languages split up into separate branches and spread out over half the continent of Africa, is the interesting fact that in nearly every form of Bantu speech the domestic fowl is indicated by words of one type, all pointing to a common origin. This in its most archaic form is _ṅguku_. This is the term used in Ki-nyoro,[78] in Lu-ganda (the language of Buganda, on the north-west shore of the Victoria Nyanza), in the tongues of the Upper Congo, of Lake Tanganyika, of Kilima-njaro, at the present day, while variants of the same word are found in Kafir (_iṅkuku_), Zulu, Mpoṅgwe, and, in short, almost all the known members of the Bantu group. Now this leads us to believe that the domestic fowl must have been known to the original Bantu race before it commenced its migrations from the centre of its development, from its primal home. Yet the era of the domestication of _Gallus Bankiva_ is not a very remote one, as far as we can ascertain, even in Malacca and Indo-China, its original habitat. Hindustan seems to have known it as a domesticated bird about 2000 years B.C., China about 1200 B.C., and the Polynesians possibly carried it with them when they started about two thousand years ago to colonize the Pacific Archipelagoes. From India it spread to Persia, and the Persians made it known to the Greeks about 1000 B.C. Aristophanes called it the “Persian bird.” It was not known to the Romans till much later, and the Ancient Jews ignored it till long after the Babylonian captivity. It was introduced into Egypt, as far as we can tell, during the early part of the Ptolemic rule. Down the Nile it quickly spread to the negro and negroid inhabitants—as quickly as turkeys, Muscovy ducks, pine-apples, manioc, Indian corn, and other American products have penetrated to the heart of Africa during the last two centuries—and thus probably reached the ancestors of the Bantu race not more than some two thousand years ago. Even yet there are many parts of Africa where the fowl is not known, such as in Masai-land and in some parts of South and West Africa. The Bushmen have it not. Moreover, the fact that there is such an absence of special varieties and peculiar breeds seems to suggest that the fowl in Africa has not yet had time to depart in any marked manner from the original stock.[79]

By studying the comparative vocabularies of the Bantu languages, many interesting conjectures may be made as to the original home and primitive condition of this people. Thus the fact that similar words are used in the remotest and most widely separated members of the group to express “leopard,” “elephant,” “hippopotamus,” “buffalo,” “pig,” “ape,” “monkey,” “grey parrot,” “bee,” &c., leads us to believe that these creatures were familiar to the primitive Bantu race; while we may infer that because the rhinoceros, giraffe, lion, ostrich, and zebra are known by many different and varying terms in the dialects of those tribes acquainted with them, they were unknown to the forefathers of the people in their ancestral home. Now the first-mentioned list of creatures (with many others which might be cited but for want of space) suggest a well-forested and well-watered country in West Central Africa as the original abode of the Bantu race. The grey parrot, for instance, is found as far east as the Victoria Nyanza, and as far south as Angola, but otherwise is confined to Western Africa. The leopard, elephant, apes, and monkeys mostly affect densely-wooded regions. The hippopotamus only inhabits big rivers or lakes. The buffalo is rarely found _westward_ of the Niger. On the other hand the lion, giraffe, rhinoceros, zebra, or ostrich decidedly prefer the sparsely-wooded steppes and savannahs of Eastern and Southern Africa; so that, on the whole, we may conclude that the primitive Bantu being unacquainted with them, and knowing other creatures (such as the grey parrot) confined to the forested districts of Western Central Africa, there had his primæval home, and thence started on his career of conquest and colonization over Western, Southern, and Eastern Africa.

From the fact that there is a common name for “ox” (_ṅgombe, iṅkombo, iṅkomo, omo, ṅombe_) throughout nearly all the Bantu languages, we may safely infer that cattle-keeping was a feature of the primitive life of the race, and also that they were agriculturists, because the terms applied to various implements for tilling the soil, to “ploughing,” “digging,” “sowing,” “reaping,” are retained, very little altered, by some of their remotest descendants. We may gather from the same reasons that besides the ox they possessed other domestic animals, namely, the goat, possibly the sheep, the dog, the pig,[80] and the fowl. Of the present cultivated plants, very few were known to them in the days before their dispersal, perhaps only millet, pumpkins, edible arums, the banana, and a few obscure roots and fruits.

They seem to have been acquainted with the use of iron and copper, used smelting-forges of the primitive type still in vogue, and beat out knives, spears, and arrow-heads as they do now. The bow was certainly in common use, and its name is not only well-nigh universal throughout Bantu Africa, but also seems to have sprung from a very old root. Pottery, basket-weaving, and some form of clothing, either of plaited grass, banana-fibre, or imported cloth, was in use. Canoes were familiar to the early Bantu people, to judge by the universality of their primitive name. A conception of a Supreme Being or Creator seems to have existed, but a belief in spirits of the dead, in magic, witchcraft, certain vague forms of “fetishism,” and phallic worship certainly prevailed, and the “medicine-man,” “rain-maker,” or magician most undoubtedly exercised as powerful a sway over the primitive Bantu as he does throughout every branch of his widespread descendants.

Apparently in that golden age before their dispersal the Bantu people were neither acquainted with small-pox, syphilis, nor many forms of disease which plague them nowadays. They smoked hemp, possibly, but not tobacco, and they drank one or two kinds of fermented liquors. They anointed themselves with oil, rancid butter, red earth, and the dyes of certain trees. They sang and they danced, and they possessed drums and musical instruments with strings.

Circumcision is not universal among all Bantu nations at the present day, and it is possible that it was not originally practised by their common ancestors, though at the same time it may have been partially in use. Initiatory ceremonies for youths on attaining manhood were certainly in vogue. Just as the life of the early Aryans may be conjectured from the examination of word-roots common to most of the forms of speech which are descended from an Aryan mother-tongue, or in the same way by a careful study of the modern Bantu languages, we are able not only to reconstruct the primitive Bantu speech, but we can also glean much information as to the relative culture and mode of life existing in the original tribe of negroes from which most of the Bantu races of Africa are descended.

It is just possible that some of my readers may wish to know the meaning and origin of this term “Bantu” which has been so frequently used in this book, and which is generally accepted as the designation of an important family of African languages and a large section of the negro race. “Bantu” (properly _Ba-ntu_) means “men, people, folk.” It is the plural of _Mu-ntu_ “a man,” “a human being,” and is a term which under different variations is present in nearly every one of the languages belonging to this family. It may become _Wantu_, _Wandu_, _Watu_, _Vantu_, _o Vantu_, _Vatu_, _Atu_, _Batu_, _Wanu_, _Vanu_, _Anu_, _o Manu_, but it is always traceable back to the archaic form—_Bantu_. This with the added article in some languages becomes a _Bantu_. Such it is in Zulu, in Kaffir, and such it is in Ki-nyoro and Lu-ganda, on the Victoria Nile and the Victoria Nyanza. On account of the universality of this form, and of its being so characteristic of the structure of these languages, it was proposed by Bleek as a fit designation for the great South African family of prefix-governed tongues. Many other titles, of course, have been suggested. Krapf proposes, firstly, “Nilotic,” which is absurd, as only one or two outlying members of the family touch the Nile; and Orphno-Cushitic, which is utterly unmeaning and very cumbersome. Another writer suggests “Kaffir-Congo” as a fit appellation, but how is this term to include the languages of Kilima-njaro and the Cameroons? “Zingian,” “Zanjian,” are equally silly and inadequate. “The prefixing languages” is not sufficiently restrictive, as several other African groups are governed by prefixes—in short we return to “Bantu” as the only satisfactory designation of this class of languages and of the tolerably homogeneous races who speak them. The leading characteristics of the Bantu languages have been much misinterpreted by various writers on African philology. As a rule one original author takes the question up in a superficial manner, studies one particular language, or at most a small section of the entire group, draws a few hasty conclusions, and those who succeed him in a consideration of the subject copy him like unreasoning parrots, and spend neither time nor trouble in elaborating an opinion of their own. Thus Bleek, who only made a detailed study of Kaffir-Zulu, and was (through no fault of his) unacquainted with more recently discovered tongues, states that he considers the Kaffir-Zulu to be the most archaic form of existing Bantu speech and the nearest approach to the original mother-tongue. Other writers succeeding him blindly copy the same opinion and parade it as their own, whereas had they taken the trouble to make any independent researches, using recent material to aid them, they would have long since ascertained that Kaffir-Zulu is very far from proving to be the Sanskrit of the Bantu. Again, other authors, speak of the concord (a feature by no means peculiar to the Bantu, but present in many other radically different languages, as I have pointed out on page 459) as “euphonic alliteration.” This is rubbish. Its origin is clearly not euphony, but lies in the laborious reiteration which in so many savage languages is used to obtain certainty of meaning; and as to alliteration, why in most languages it does not exist because the nominal and other prefixes no longer correspond in sound. For instance, in Lu-ganda, one of the most archaic of Bantu languages, we should say—

Mu_ti_ gu_li_ mu_vundo_ gu_tuka_; _tu_gi_sale_.
Tree that rotten falls; let us it cut down.
= That rotten tree is falling; let us cut it down.

If it were a question purely of euphonic alliteration we should expect to find _mu_ as the concord-prefix applied to “Muti,” a noun of the third class. But, as you see, it is sometimes _mu_, sometimes _gu_, and sometimes _gi_. This is explained to the careful student who finds by research that the original form of the third prefix was _ṅgu_, which became changed in some situations to _mu_, and in others to _gu_ or _gi_. This is not only the case in nearly all the Bantu languages, but it applies to many of the prefixes, and shows that anything like alliteration does not often occur.

Another generally enunciated dictum about the Bantu languages was that _all_ their roots were polysyllabic. This is, however, not the case. While some of the simple concepts expressed in words of more than one syllable cannot be dissolved any farther into their component elements, at the same time many most important ideas are expressed by monosyllabic roots which are certainly not abbreviations. Such are the widespread forms found in nearly every member of the group: _-fa_, “dying, to die;” _-pa_, “to give;” _-ndi_ and _-ba_, “to be;” _-ta_, “to slay;” _ńa_ (_nya_) “to evacuate;” _ya_, _za_, “to come,” &c., and numberless noun-roots, such as _-ti_ (in _mu-ti_, “a tree”—anything to do with wood; _ka-ti_, “a little stick;” _-ka_, diminutive prefix), _-ntu_, “an object” (_mu-ntu_, “man;” _ki-ntu_, “thing;” _pa-ntu_, “place,” &c.), and so on.

We may therefore reduce the real features of the Bantu family of languages to these:—

I. They are agglutinative in their construction.

II. _None_ of their words ever end in a consonant except in rare
instances, where the termination through contraction becomes a nasal
sound.

III. No two consonants come together without an intervening vowel,
except where one of them is a nasal or a labial.

IV. Substantives are divided into many classes or genders, the full
number of which is sixteen. These are governed by characteristic
prefixes, differing in singular and plural, and observing the
“concord” throughout the sentence.

V. No sexual gender is recognized, but two particular classes of
prefixes (one singular, and one plural) indicate sentient forms of
animal life only, though these may also be expressed by nouns bearing
other prefixes as well.

VI. The pronominal-particles (which are really identical in origin
with the prefixes) must always precede the verbal-root, except in the
imperative mood.

VII. The verbal-root may modify its termination by change of vowel or
by suffixing certain particles; or it may even change its radical
vowel, either to form a tense or to alter the original meaning of the
simple stem, this being actually inflection.

VIII. Adjectives and numerals always _follow_ the noun.

The complete number of prefixes is, as before remarked, sixteen. Bleek has made it eighteen, by adding two prepositions to the list, which in a few of the languages appear to adopt the concord; but they are independent prepositions, and not true pronominal-prefixes.

In the most archaic forms at present discoverable the sixteen prefixes are as follows:—

Singular. Plural.
1. Mŭ. 2. Ba (Mŭ and Ba are only applied
to sentient beings).
3. Mū (Ṅgu).[81] 4. Mi (Ṅgi).
5. Di or Li (Ndi). 6. Ma (Ṅga).
7. Ki (Ṅki?). 8. Bi (Pi?).
9. N- (Ni?). 10. Ti, Ti-n (ϑi-n?).
11. Lu. 12. Tu (often diminutive in sense).
13. Ka (often diminutive in sense).
14. Bu (generally used to form abstract nouns from concrete roots).
15. Ku (a directive; identical with preposition meaning “to.” Used as
an infinitive with verb-roots).
16. Pa (locative; only applied to nouns or other forms of speech
indicating place or position).

There are few instances of the prefixes changing from plural to singular in signification, or _vice versâ_, except that the 14th (Bu), which is generally used to form abstract nouns, may occasionally serve as plural to the 13th (Ka). The 15th and 16th (Ku and Pa) are of no number, being practically prepositions. Ku is used with verbs in the sense of “to,” and as an adverb of locality. Pa only serves as concord to nouns of place, and as a preposition generally means “here” and “on.” The 9th prefix often adheres to nouns in both numbers.

As regards the correspondence of singular and plural prefixes, it is by no means constant, though the plan set forth above is considered by some the normal one. The 1st (Mu) always takes the 2nd (Ba) as a plural, but the 2nd prefix may occasionally become plural to the 9th (N-). The 5th always takes the 6th and the 7th and the 8th as plural, but the 6th prefix (Ma) and the 8th (Bi) sometimes correspond with other singular prefixes. Thus Ma may often be the plural of Bu, or of N-, or of Lu. Again, the 12th prefix (Tu) is very often the plural of the 13th (Ka), and the 10th (Tin or ϑin) of the 11th (Lu). In some languages certain prefixes drop out altogether, and are either represented by a hiatus or replaced by another prefix. Indeed, there are very few Bantu languages in which all the sixteen prefixes are present, and probably none in which they all retain their archaic forms.

In Makonde, a language spoken about Cape Delgado in East Africa, the entire sixteen are present, and possibly this occurs also in Ki-nyoro, the tongue spoken in Bu-nyoro, on the Victoria Nile, Oči-herero, of Damara-land, and probably a few languages of the Congo basin and the Upper Zambezi possess this distinction. On the other hand, there are many Bantu tongues in which the number of classes has become very much diminished, while some of the prefixes have so changed their forms as to become fused into others, and no longer recognizable. Thus, in Mpoṅgwe, the corrupt tongue of the Gaboon, there are only twelve of the original sixteen classes represented, and among these the 1st, 3rd, and 11th assume the same form, and can only be distinguished by their corresponding plurals or concord. In Swahili, also, the classes are reduced to twelve, and in some other languages to eleven, and even ten.

Again, the forms of the prefixes often vary from the standard already cited. Thus Ba will become Va, Wa, A, and even Ma. And ϑin or Tin change to Zin, Din, Lin, or ϑon.

The Bantu languages have been divided for convenience of description into four main branches, the Western, Southern, Eastern, and Central. These are not altogether natural and homogeneous divisions, as some of the languages though geographically close to one another are in reality widely separated in manner and time of development. However, for the present this arrangement, being a simple one, may stand.

It is, therefore, in the Eastern division that the Bantu languages of Kilima-njaro are placed, though they exhibit certain points of resemblance to the tongues spoken on the Victoria Nyanza. On the whole, perhaps, their most decided affinities lie with the languages to the east of them, namely, the Ki-kamba, Ki-taita, Ki-nyika, and Ki-pokomo.

The language spoken _on_ Kilima-njaro is Ki-čaga. This seems to be the speech of all the Bantu inhabitants of the mountain, unless, indeed, the Wa-rombo are to be excepted. These wild people seemed to me to use a different dialect to the rest of the Wa-čaga. (_Vide_ Chapter XIV.)

To the south-east of the great mountain is the little agricultural colony of Taveita. Ki-taveita is the language used by the Bantu half of the population—Masai being the speech of the remainder. Ki-gweno closely resembles Ki-čaga. It is the dialect of the Ugweno mountains to the south of Lake ǰipé.

Ki-kamba is spoken by the A-kamba dwelling on the upper waters of the Tzavo river, but as this language has already been described by Krapf, and latterly by the Rev. A. Downes-Shaw,[82] I do not think it necessary to include it in my vocabularies, otherwise than to point out an occasional correspondence of terms.

For the system of orthography used in spelling these languages, I would refer the reader to the explanation given on page 476 in connection with the Masai vocabulary. In the phonology of these languages several facts require to be noticed.

_Ki-čaga_, which has evidently been an isolated tongue for several centuries, surrounded by an ocean of Masai, has developed rather a peculiar pronunciation. Some of the vowels, especially _u_, have acquired a much duller and more indistinct sound than is usual among Bantu languages, where ordinarily the vowels have a clear, open sound, as in Italian. In Ki-čaga it is often difficult to distinguish between _a_ and _u_ (_ü_) and _i_. In many words where _u_ is the tonic vowel in other forms of Bantu speech, it is changed to _i_ in Ki-čaga.

_G_ often becomes _h_, and sometimes γ. _H_ may replace several consonants, but generally stands where a _g_ is used in other tongues. _L_ as an initial is very frequently changed to _n_,[83] and sometimes _r_, while _r_ is an exceeding common sound, being constantly substituted for _t_, _d_, and _z_. Sometimes _d_ stands for _t_, and after the former letter a “trilled” sound like an _r_ is often heard, so that the listener hardly knows whether to write such a word as _wanda_, “place,” _wanda_, or _wandra_. _F_ before _i_ often becomes _š_ (_ši_), and _p_ changes to _w_. In Ki-taveita _g_ often becomes γ, but never _h_. _D_ sometimes replaces _t_, and so does _s_ in a few words, but otherwise _t_ holds its place and does not change to _r_ or _h_, as is so frequently the case in Ki-čaga or Kinyika. _V_ has a tendency to become _w_, and _p_ does not exist in the language, its place being nearly always taken by _h_, in foreign words by _b_, and in a few cases by _f_. Ki-gweno offers much the same features as Ki-čaga in its phonology, except that _h_ instead of _w_ replaces _p_, and _t_ is not so often changed to _r_.

A TABLE OF SUBSTANTIVAL PREFIXES IN KI-ČAGA, KI-GWENO, AND KI-TAVEITA.

┌──────────────────────┬──────────────────────┬───────────────────────┐ │ KI-ČAGA. │ KI-GWENO. │ KI-TAVEITA. │ ├──────────────────────┼──────────────────────┼───────────────────────┤ │ Classes. │ Classes. │ Classes. │ ├─────────┬────────────┼─────────┬────────────┼─────────┬─────────────┤ │Singular.│ Plural. │Singular.│ Plural. │Singular.│ Plural. │ │ 1 Personal 2 │ 1 Personal 2 │ 1 Personal 2 │ │Mu- │Wa- │Mu- │Wa- │Mu- │Wa- │ │M- │ │M- │ │M- │ │ │A- │ │ │ │ │ │ ├─────────┼────────────┼─────────┼────────────┼─────────┼─────────────┤ │ 3 │ 4 │ 3 │ 4 │ 3 │ 4 │ │Mū- │Mu- │Mū- │Mi- │Mū- │Mi- │ │ │Mwi- │ │ │M- │ │ │M- │M- │M- │ │ │ │ │ │Mi- │ │ │ │ │ ├─────────┼────────────┼─────────┼────────────┼─────────┼─────────────┤ │ 5 │ 6 │ 5 │ 6 │ 5 │ 6 │ │Ni- │Ma- │Ni- │Ma- │Ni- │Ma- │ │Nyi- │ │ │ │ │ │ │Li- │ │ │ │I- │ │ │I- │ │ │ │ │ │ │Ri- │ │Ri- │ │ǰi- │ │ │(—) │ │ │ │ │ │ ├─────────┼────────────┼─────────┼────────────┼─────────┼─────────────┤ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ 7 │ 8 │ 7 │ 8 │ 7 │ 8 │ │Nki- │Nši- │Ki- │Fi- │Nki- │Wi- │ │(Ngi-) │Ši- │ │ │Ki- │Vi- │ │Ki- │Fi- │ │ │ │ │ │Č- │ │ │ │ │ │ ├─────────┼────────────┼─────────┼────────────┼─────────┼─────────────┤ │ 9 │ 10 │ 9 │ 10 │ 9 │ 10 │ │N- │N- (M-) │N- │N- │N- (M-) │N- (M-) │ │(M-[84]) │Nǰ- │(M-) │(M-) │Ni- │Ni- │ │ │6 + 10 │ │ │ │ │ │ │Ma-n- │ │ │ │ │ ├─────────┼────────────┼─────────┼────────────┼─────────┼─────────────┤ │ 11 │ 10 │ 11 │ 6 + 11 │ 11 │ 6 + 11 │ │Nu- │N- │Lu- │Ma-lu- │Lu- │Ma-lu- │ │Nyu- │Nǰ- │Nu- │ │ │ 10 │ │Nyo- │(M-) │ │ │ │N-(M-) │ │(—) │ │ │ │ │ │ │U- │ │ │ │ │ │ ├─────────┴────────────┼─────────┴────────────┼─────────┴─────────────┤ │ 13 Diminutive 8 │ 13 Diminutive 8 │ 13 Diminutive 8 │ │Ka- │Ši- │Ka- │Fi-? │Ka- │Tu- │ │ │ │ │ │ │ 8 │ │(Ki-?) │ │ │ │ │Vi- │ ├─────────┼────────────┼─────────┼────────────┼─────────┼─────────────┤ │ 14 │ 6 + 14 │ 14 │ 6 + 14 │ 14 │ 6 + 14 │ │Wu- │Ma-wu- │Wu- │Ma-wu- │Wu- │Ma-wu- │ │U- │Ma-u- │U- │Ma-u- │ │ │ ├─────────┼────────────┼─────────┼────────────┼─────────┼─────────────┤ │ 15 │ 6 │ 15 │ 6 │ 15 │ ? │ │ │Plural in │ │ │ │ │ │ │nouns. │ │ │ │ │ │Ku- │Ma- │Ku- │Ma- │Ku- │ │ ├─────────┴────────────┼─────────┴────────────┼─────────┴─────────────┤ │ 16 Locative │ 16 Locative │ 16 Locative │ │Wa- │ │Ha- │ │Ha- │ │ └─────────┴────────────┴─────────┴────────────┴─────────┴─────────────┘

EXAMPLES OF THE ABOVE PREFIXES APPLIED TO NOUNS.

┌───────────────────────────┬────────────────────┬────────────────────┐ │ KI-ČAGA. │ KI-GWENO. │ KI-TAVEITA. │ ├───────────────────────────┼────────────────────┼────────────────────┤ │Class 1. Mu-ndu, _a │Class Mu-ka, _a │Class Mu-ndu, _a │ │ man_. │1. woman_. │1. man_. │ │Sing. M-gogo, _a │Sing. M-du, _a │Sing. M-fuma, _a │ │ girl_. │ man_. │ chief_. │ │ A-suko, _a │ │ │ │ devil_. │ │ │ │Class 2. Wa-ndu, _men_.│Class Wa-ka, │Class Wa-ndu, │ │ │2. _women_. │2. _men_. │ │Plur. Wa-gogo, │Plur. Wa-ndu, │Plur. Wa-fuma, │ │ _girls_. │ _men_. │ _chiefs_. │ │ Wa-suko, │ │ │ │ _devils_. │ │ │ │Class 3. Mu-ri, _a │Class Mu-ri, _a │Class Mu-ti, _a │ │ tree_. │3. tree_. │3. tree_. │ │Sing. M-tingo, _a │Sing. │Sing. M-furo, _a │ │ drum_. │ │ river_. │ │Class 4. Mi-ri, │Class Mi-ri, │Class Mi-ti, │ │ _trees_. │4. _trees_. │4. _trees_. │ │Plur. M-tingo, │Plur. │Plur. Mi-furo, │ │ _drums_. │ │ _rivers_. │ │ Mwi-ša, │ │ │ │ _thorns_. │ │ │ │ (Sing., │ │ │ │ Mu-ša.) │ │ │ │Class 5. Ni-fuo, _a │Class Ni-fumo, │Class Ni-ganza, _a│ │ bone_. │5. _spear_. │5. hand_. │ │Sing. Nyi-ho, _a │Sing. Ri-so, _an │Sing. I-gi, _an │ │ stone_. │ eye_. │ egg_. │ │ Li-boro, _an │ │ ǰi-so, _an │ │ egg_. │ │ eye_. │ │ I-ruṅ, _a │ │ │ │ leopard_. │ │ │ │ Ri-na, _a │ │ │ │ name_. │ │ │ │Class 6. Ma-fuo, │Class Ma-fumo, │Class Ma-ganza, │ │ _bones_. │6. _spears_. │6. _hands_. │ │Plur. Ma-ho, │Plur. Me-so, │Plur. Ma-gi, │ │ _stones_, &c. │ _eyes_. │ _eggs_, &c. │ │Class 7. Nki-mnyo, _a │Class Ki-ndu, │Class Ṅki-kitu, │ │ toe_. │7. _thing_. │7. _forest_. │ │Sing. Ki-ndu, _a │Sing. │Sing. Ki-ndu, _a │ │ thing_. │ │ thing_. │ │ Č-oondi, _a │ │ │ │ sheep_. │ │ │ │Class 8. Nši-mnyo, │Class Fi-ndu, │Class Vi-kitu, │ │ _toes_. │8. _things_. │8. _forests_. │ │Plur. Ši-ndu, │Plur. │Plur. Wi-ndu, │ │ _things_. │ │ _things_. │ │ Ši-ondi, │ │ │ │ _sheep_. │ │ │ │Class 9. N-umba, _a │Class N-yumba, │Class N-goma, _a │ │ house_. │9. _house_. │9. spirit_. │ │Sing. M-beho, _a │Sing. M-bua, │Sing. Ni-wui, _a │ │ wind_. │ _nose_. │ bed_. │ │ N-dofu, _an │ M-budyi, _a │ │ │ elephant_. │ goat_. │ │ │Class 10. N-umba, │Class N-yumba, │Class N-goma, │ │ _houses_. │10. _houses_. │10. _spirits_. │ │Plur. M-beho, │Plur. M-bua, │Plur. Ni-wui, │ │ _winds_. │ _noses_. │ _beds_. │ │Cl. 6 + 10. Ma-n-dofu, │ │ M-budyi, │ │ _elephants_. │ │ _goats_. │ │Class 11. Nu-čaa. │Class Lu-čaa, │Class Lu-tiko, _a │ │ _finger-nail_.│11. _nail of │11. zebra_. │ │ │ finger_. │ │ │Sing. Nyu-ruso, _a │Sing. Nu-ilimi, │Sing. Lu-hembe, _a│ │ thread_. │ _the │ hoe_. │ │ │ tongue_. │ │ │ U-tufo, _the │ │ │ │ heel_. │ │ │ │ Ošo, _sword_. │ │ │ │ │Cl. 6 + Ma-lu-čaa, │Cl. 6 + Ma-lu-tiko, │ │ │11. _nails_. │11. _zebras_. │ │ │Plur. Ma-lu-limi, │Plur. │ │ │ _tongues_. │ │ │Class 10. N-čaa, │ │Class M-bembe, │ │ _nails_, &c. │ │10. _hoes_. │ │Plur. Nǰ-ošo, │ │ │ │ _swords_. │ │ │ │Class 13. Ka-rika, _a │Class Ka-mwana, _a│Class Ka-handi, _a│ │ grave_, _a │13. little │13. knife_. │ │ little ditch_.│ child_. │ │ │Sing. │Sing. │Sing. Ka-ṅonǰe, _a│ │ │ │ lamb_. │ │ │ │Class Tu-ṅonǰe, │ │ │ │12. _lambs_. │ │ │ │Plur. │ │Class 8. Ši-rika, │Class Fi-mwana?, │Class Vi-handi, │ │ _graves_. │8? _little │8. _knives_. │ │ │ children_. │ │ │Plur. │Plur. │Plur. │ │Class 14. Wu-ki, │Class Wu-ra, _a │Class Wu-yaṅga, │ │ _honey_. │14. bow_. │14. _sorcery_. │ │Sing. U-sawi, _a │Sing. U-sawi, _a │Sing. │ │ ghost_, │ ghost, │ │ │ _spirit_. │ witchcraft_.│ │ │Cl. 6 + 14. Ma-wuki, │Cl. 6 + Ma-wu-ra, │Cl. 6 + Ma-wu-yaṅga,│ │ _honey-boxes_.│14. _bows_. │14. _sorceries_.│ │Plur. Ma-u-sawi, │Plur. Ma-u-sawi, │ │ │ _ghosts_. │ _ghosts_. │ │ │Class 15. Ku-ru, _an │Class Ku-ru, │Class │ │ ear_. │15. _ear_. │15. │ │Sing. and Ku-aša, │Sing., & in │All infinitives of │ │all _birth_, _to │infinitives of │verbs. │ │infinitives. be born_. │verbs. │ │ │Class 6. Ma-ru, _ears_.│Class Ma-ru, │ │ │ │6. _ears_. │ │ │Plur. │Plur. │ │ │Class 16. Wa-ndu, _a │Class Ha-ndu, _a │Class Ha-ndu, _a │ │ place_, │16. place_. │16. place_. │ │ _places_. │ │ │ │Sg. & pl. │Sg. & │Sg. & │ │ │pl. │pl. │ └───────────────────────────┴────────────────────┴────────────────────┘

THE CONCORD IN KI-ČAGA AND KI-GWENO.

┌────────────────┬──────────────────────┬─────────────────────┐ │ CLASSES. │ Sing. Plur. │ Sing. Plur. │ ├────────────────┼──────────────────────┼─────────────────────┤ │ „ │ 1. 2. │ 3. 4. │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ ├────────────────┼──────────────────────┼─────────────────────┤ │ Examples of │Mu-_ndu_. Wa-_ndu_. │Mu-_ri_. Mi-_ri_. │ │ Nouns. │ │ │ │ „ │ │Mu-. Nyi-. │ ├────────────────┼──────────────────────┼─────────────────────┤ │_Adjectives._ │ │ │ │Good. │Mu-_ča_. Wa-_ča_. │Mu-_ča_. Mi-_ča_. │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │Bad. │Mu-_bi_. Wa-_bi_. │Mu-_bi_. Mi-_bi_. │ │_Possessive_ │ │ │ │_pronouns._ │ │ │ │My. │U-_ako_. W-_ako_. │Fu-_ako_. Y-_ako_. │ │Thy. │U-_fu_. Wa-_fu_. │Fu-_fu_. Yi-_fu_. │ │His, her, its. │U-_ake_. W-_ake_. │Fw-_ake_. I-_ake_. │ │Our. │U-_aru_. W-_aru_. │Fw-_aru_. Y-_aru_. │ │ │ │(Fu-_ru_.) │ │Your. │U-_nyi_. Wa-_nyi_. │Fu-_nyi_. I-_nyi_. │ │Their. │U-_wo_. Wa-_wo_. │Fo-_wo_. I-_wo_. │ │_Personal_ │ │ │ │_pronouns._ │ │ │ │_Nom._: │ │ │ │He, it, &c. │A-. W-a. │Fu-. I-, Y-. │ │_Acc._: │ │ │ │Him, &c. │-mu-, m-. -wa- │-u-. -i-. │ │ │ │ │ │_Demonstrative │ │ │ │pronouns._ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │This. │U-u. Awa. │U-fu. Ii. │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │That. │U-_la_. Wa-_la_. │Fu-_la_. I-_la_. │ │_Interrogative._│ │ │ │Which? │U-_ku_. Wa-_ku_. │Fu-_ku_. I-_ku_. │ │How many? │ Wa-_ṅga_. │ I-_ṅga_. │ │_Numerals._ │ │ │ │1. │U-_mo_. │Fu-_mo_. │ │2. │ Wa-_vi_. │ I-_vi_. │ │ │ │ │ │3. │ Wa-_raro_. │ I-_raro_. │ │ │ │ │ │4, &c. │ Wa-_na_. │ I-_na_. │ │ │ │ │ │Many. │ W-_eṅgi_. │ _Iṅgi._ │ │ │ (Wa-_iṅgi._)│ │ └────────────────┴──────────────────────┴─────────────────────┘

┌────────────────┬────────────────────┬────────────────────┐ │ CLASSES. │ Sing. Plur. │ Sing. Plur. │ ├────────────────┼────────────────────┼────────────────────┤ │ „ │ 5. 6. │ 7. 8. │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ ├────────────────┼────────────────────┼────────────────────┤ │ Examples of │Ni-_fuo_. Ma-_fuo_. │Ki-_ndu_. Ši-ndu. │ │ Nouns. │ │ │ │ „ │ Nki-. │Fi-. │ ├────────────────┼────────────────────┼────────────────────┤ │_Adjectives._ │ │ │ │Good. │Li-_ča_. Ma-_ča_. │Ki-_ča_. Ši-ča. │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │Bad. │Li-_bi_. Ma-_bi_. │Ki-_bi_. Ši-bi. │ │_Possessive_ │ │ │ │_pronouns._ │ │ │ │My. │Ly-_ako_. G-_ako_. │ǧ-ako. Š-_ako_. │ │Thy. │Li-_fu_. Ga-_fu_. │Ki-_fu_. Ši-_fu_. │ │His, her, its. │Ly-_ake_. G-_ake_. │Č-_ake_. Š-_ake_. │ │Our. │Ly-_aru_. G-_aru_. │Č-_aru_. Š-_aru_. │ │ │ │ │ │Your. │Li-_nyi_. Ga-_nyo_. │Ki-_nyi_. Ši-_nyi_. │ │Their. │Li-_wo_. Ga-_wo_. │Ki-_wo_. Ši-_wo_. │ │_Personal_ │ │ │ │_pronouns._ │ │ │ │_Nom._: │ │ │ │He, it, &c. │Li-, ly-. Ga-, G-. │Ki-, Č-. Ši-, Fi-. │ │_Acc._: │ │ │ │Him, &c. │-li-, -ga-. │-ki-. -fi-. │ │ │-ly-. │ │ │_Demonstrative │ │ │ │pronouns._ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │This. │Ili. Aha or │Iki. Iši, Ifi. │ │ │ aga. │ │ │ │ │ │ │That. │Li-_la_. Ga-_la_. │Ki-_la_. Ši-_la_, │ │_Interrogative._│ │ Fi-_la_. │ │Which? │Li-_ku_. Ga-_ku_. │Ki-_ku_. Fi-_ku_. │ │How many? │ Ha-_ṅga_. │ Ši-_ṅga_. │ │_Numerals._ │ │ │ │1. │Li-_mo_. │Ki-_mo_. │ │2. │ Ga-_wi_. │ Ši-_vi_. │ │ │ │ │ │3. │ Ga-_raro_.│ Fi-_raro_.│ │ │ │ Ši-_raro_.│ │4, &c. │ n-_na_. │ Fi-_na_. │ │ │ │ Ši-_na_. │ │Many. │ _eṅgi._ │ Si-_ṅai_. │ │ │ │ │ └────────────────┴────────────────────┴────────────────────┘

┌────────────────┬─────────────────────┬─────────┬──────────┬─────────┐ │ CLASSES. │ Sing. Plur. │ Sing. │ Sing. │ Sing. │ ├────────────────┼─────────────────────┼─────────┼──────────┼─────────┤ │ „ │ 9. 10. │11, takes│13, takes │14, takes│ │ │ │ 10 as │8 as plur.│ 6 as │ │ │ │ plur. │ │ plur. │ ├────────────────┼─────────────────────┼─────────┼──────────┼─────────┤ │ Examples of │N-_umba_. N-_umba_. │Nu-_čaa_.│Ka-_rika_.│Wu-_ki_. │ │ Nouns. │ │ │ │ │ │ „ │ │ │ │ │ ├────────────────┼─────────────────────┼─────────┼──────────┼─────────┤ │_Adjectives._ │ │ │ │ │ │Good. │I-_ča_. Zi-_ča_. │Lu-_ča_. │Ka-_ča_. │U-_ča_. │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │Bad. │I-_bi_. Mȯi. │Lu-_bi_. │Ka-_bi_. │U-_bi_. │ │_Possessive_ │ │ │ │ │ │_pronouns._ │ │ │ │ │ │My. │Y-_ako_. Z-_ako_. │L-_ako_. │K-_ako_. │W-_ako_. │ │Thy. │I-_fu_. Zi-_fu_. │Lu-_fu_. │Ka-_fu_. │U-_fu_. │ │His, her, its. │Y-_ake_. Z-_ake_. │L-_ake_. │K-_ake_. │W-_ake_. │ │Our. │Y-_aru_. Z-_aru_. │L-_aru_. │K-_aru_. │W-_aru_. │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │Your. │I-_nyi_. Zi-_nyi_. │Lu-_nyi_.│Ka-_nyi_. │U-_nyi_. │ │Their. │I-_wo_. Zi-_wo_. │Lu-_wo_. │Ka-_wo_. │U-_wo_. │ │_Personal_ │ │ │ │ │ │_pronouns._ │ │ │ │ │ │_Nom._: │ │ │ │ │ │He, it, &c. │I-, Y-. Tzi-, Z-. │Lu-, L-. │Ka-, K-. │Wu-, W-. │ │_Acc._: │ │ │ │ │ │Him, &c. │-i-. -zi-. │-lu-. │-ka-. │-u-. │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │_Demonstrative │ │ │ │ │ │pronouns._ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │This. │Ii. Izi. │Ulu. │Aka. │Uu. │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │That. │I-_la_. Zi-_la_. │Lu-_la_. │Ka-_la_. │U-_la_. │ │_Interrogative._│ │ │ │ │ │Which? │I-_ku_. Zi-_ku_. │Lu-_ku_. │Ka-_ku_. │U-_ku_. │ │How many? │ Zi-_ṅga_-. │ │ │ │ │_Numerals._ │ │ │ │ │ │1. │I-_mo_. │Lu-_mo_. │Ka-_mo_. │U-_mo_. │ │2. │ Tzi-_wi_. │ │ │ │ │ │ϑi-vi. │ │ │ │ │3. │ Tzi-_raro_.│ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │4, &c. │ Tzi-_na_. │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │Many. │ Ny-_iṅgi_. │ │ │ │ │ │ Nǰ-_iṅgi_. │ │ │ │ └────────────────┴─────────────────────┴─────────┴──────────┴─────────┘

┌────────────────┬─────────┬─────────┬────────────────────┐ │ CLASSES. │ Sing. │ Sing. │ │ ├────────────────┼─────────┼─────────┼────────────────────┤ │ „ │15, takes│ 16. │ „ │ │ │ 6 as │ │ │ │ │ plur. │ │ │ ├────────────────┼─────────┼─────────┼────────────────────┤ │ Examples of │Ku-_du_. │Wa-_nda_.│ „ │ │ Nouns. │ │ │ │ │ „ │ │ │ „ │ ├────────────────┼─────────┼─────────┼────────────────────┤ │_Adjectives._ │ │ │ │ │Good. │Ku-_ča_. │Wa-_ča_. │Ki-gweno differs in │ │ │ │ │one or two points │ │ │ │ │from Ki-čaga in its │ │ │ │ │concords. │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │Thus the concord for│ │ │ │ │the 6th class (Ma-) │ │ │ │ │is A- or Nya-, and │ │ │ │ │for the 8th always │ │ │ │ │Fi-. │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │In the 14th class it│ │ │ │ │is always Wu-, and │ │ │ │ │in the 16th class │ │ │ │ │Ha- instead of Wa-. │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │The nouns, pronouns,│ │ │ │ │&c., given as │ │ │ │ │examples of the │ │ │ │ │concord are in │ │ │ │ │Ki-čaga. They differ│ │ │ │ │slightly from │ │ │ │ │Ki-gweno. │ │Bad. │Ku-_bi_. │Wa-_bi_. │ „ │ │_Possessive_ │ │ │ „ │ │_pronouns._ │ │ │ „ │ │My. │Kw-_ako_.│Wa-_ako_.│ „ │ │Thy. │Ku-_fu_. │Wa-_fu_. │ „ │ │His, her, its. │Kw-_ake_.│W-_ake_. │ „ │ │Our. │Kw-_aru_.│W-_aru_. │ „ │ │ │ │ │ „ │ │Your. │Ku-_nyi_.│Wa-_nyi_.│ „ │ │Their. │Ku-_wo_. │Wa-_wo_. │ „ │ │_Personal_ │ │ │ „ │ │_pronouns._ │ │ │ „ │ │_Nom._: │ │ │ „ │ │He, it, &c. │Ku-Kw-. │Wa-. │ „ │ │_Acc._: │ │ │ „ │ │Him, &c. │-ku-. │-wa-. │ „ │ │ │ │ │ │ │_Demonstrative │ │ │ „ │ │pronouns._ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ „ │ │This. │Uku. │Awa. │ „ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ „ │ │That. │Ku-_la_. │Wa-_la_. │ „ │ │_Interrogative._│ │ │ „ │ │Which? │Ku-_ku_. │Wa-_ku_. │ „ │ │How many? │ │ │ „ │ │_Numerals._ │ │ │ „ │ │1. │Ku-_mo_. │Wa-_mo_. │ „ │ │2. │ │ │ „ │ │ │ │ │ „ │ │3. │ │ │ „ │ │ │ │ │ „ │ │4, &c. │ │ │ „ │ │ │ │ │ „ │ │Many. │ │ │ „ │ │ │ │ │ „ │ └────────────────┴─────────┴─────────┴────────────────────┘

THE CONCORD IN KI-TAVEITA.

┌─────────────────┬──────────────┬──────────────┬──────────────┐ │CLASSES. │ Sing. │ Plur. │ Sing. │ ├─────────────────┼──────────────┼──────────────┼──────────────┤ │ „ │ 1. │ 2. │ 3. │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ ├─────────────────┼──────────────┼──────────────┼──────────────┤ │ Examples of │ Mu-_ndu_. │ Wa-_ndu_. │ Mu-_ti_. │ │ Nouns. │ │ │ │ ├─────────────────┼──────────────┼──────────────┼──────────────┤ │_Adjectives._ │ │ │ │ │Good. │Mu-_wedi_. │Wa-_wedi_. │Mu-_wedi_. │ │Bad. │Mu-_wiwi_. │Wa-_wiwi_. │Mu-_wiwi_. │ │_Possessive │ │ │ │ │ pronouns._ │ │ │ │ │My. │U-_aṅgu_. │W-_aṅgu_. │U-_aṅgu_. │ │Thy. │U-_ako_. │W-_ako_. │U-_ako_. │ │His, her, its. │U-_akwe_. │W-_akwe_. │U-_akwe_. │ │Our. │U-_etu_. │W-_etu_. │U-_etu_. │ │Your. │U-_enu_. │W-_enu_. │U-_enu_. │ │Their. │U-_awo_. │W-_awo_. │U-_awo_. │ │_Personal │ │ │ │ │ pronouns._ │ │ │ │ │_Nom._: │ │ │ │ │He, it, &c. │A-. │Wa-. │U-. │ │_Acc._: │ │ │ │ │Him, it, &c. │-mu-, -m-, │ │-u-. │ │ │-wa-. │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │_Demonstrative │ │ │ │ │ pronouns._ │ │ │ │ │This. │_Ha_-u. │_Ha_-wa. │_Ha_-u. │ │That. │_Ha_-u-_la_. │_Ha_-wa-_la_. │_Ha_-u-_la_. │ │_Interrogative._ │ │ │ │ │Which? │Nu-_hi_. │Wa-_hi_. │Nu-_hi_. │ │How many? │ │A-wo. │ │ │_Numerals._ │ │ │ │ │1. │U-_muezo_. │ │U-_muezo_. │ │2. │ │W-_ere_. │ │ │3. │ │Wa-_tatu_. │ │ │4. &c. │ │Wa-_nne_. │ │ │Many. │ │W-_eṅgi_. │ │ └─────────────────┴──────────────┴──────────────┴──────────────┘

┌─────────────────┬──────────────┬──────────────┬──────────────┐ │CLASSES. │ Plur. │ Sing. │ Plur. │ ├─────────────────┼──────────────┼──────────────┼──────────────┤ │ „ │ 4. │ 5. │ 6. │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ ├─────────────────┼──────────────┼──────────────┼──────────────┤ │ Examples of │ Mi-_ti_. │ Ni-_ganza_. │ Ma-_ganza_. │ │ Nouns. │ │ │ │ ├─────────────────┼──────────────┼──────────────┼──────────────┤ │_Adjectives._ │ │ │ │ │Good. │Wa-_wedi_. │Li-_wedi_. │Ma-_wedi_. │ │Bad. │Mi-_wiwi_. │Li-_wiwi_. │Ma-_wiwi_. │ │_Possessive │ │ │ │ │ pronouns._ │ │ │ │ │My. │Y-_aṅgu_. │Ly-_aṅgu_. │-_aṅgu_. │ │Thy. │Y-_ako_. │Ly-_ako_. │-_ako_, │ │His, her, its. │Y-_akwe_. │Ly-_akwe_. │-_akwe_. │ │Our. │Y-_etu_. │Ly-_etu_. │-_etu_. │ │Your. │Y-_enu_. │Ly-_enu_. │-_enu_. │ │Their. │W-_awo_. │Ly-_awo_. │-_awo_. │ │_Personal │ │ │ │ │ pronouns._ │ │ │ │ │_Nom._: │ │ │ │ │He, it, &c. │I-, Y-. │Li-, ly-. │A-. │ │_Acc._: │ │ │ │ │Him, it, &c. │-i-, -y-. │-li-. │-a-, -ma-. │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │_Demonstrative │ │ │ │ │ pronouns._ │ │ │ │ │This. │_Ha_-yi. │_Ha_-ili. │_Ha_-ma-. │ │That. │_Ha_-yi-_la_. │_Ha_-ili-_la_.│_Ha_-ma-_la_. │ │_Interrogative._ │ │ │ │ │Which? │Ni-_hi_. │Li-_hi_. │A-_hi_. │ │How many? │Iyo. │ │Amo. │ │_Numerals._ │ │ │ │ │1. │ │li-_muezo_. │i-_muezo_. │ │2. │Y-_ere_. │ │M-_ere_. │ │3. │I-_tatu_. │ │Ma-_tatu_. │ │4. &c. │I-_nne_. │ │Ma-_nne_. │ │Many. │I-_ṅgi_. │ │M-_eṅgi_. │ └─────────────────┴──────────────┴──────────────┴──────────────┘

┌─────────────────┬──────────────┬──────────────┬──────────────┐ │CLASSES. │ Sing. │ Plur. │ Sing. │ ├─────────────────┼──────────────┼──────────────┼──────────────┤ │ „ │ 7. │ 8. │ 9. │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ ├─────────────────┼──────────────┼──────────────┼──────────────┤ │ Examples of │ Ki-_ndu_. │ Wi-_ndu_. │ Ṅ-_goma_. │ │ Nouns. │ │ │ │ ├─────────────────┼──────────────┼──────────────┼──────────────┤ │_Adjectives._ │ │ │ │ │Good. │Ki-_wedi_. │Vi-_wedi_. │_Wedi._ │ │Bad. │Ki-_wiwi_. │Vi-_wiwi_. │_Wiwi._ │ │_Possessive │ │ │ │ │ pronouns._ │ │ │ │ │My. │Ki-_aṅgu_. │Vy-_aṅgu_. │Y-_aṅgu_. │ │Thy. │Ki-_ako_. │Vy-_ako_. │Y-_ako_. │ │His, her, its. │Ki-_akwe_. │Vy-_akwe_. │Y-_akwe_. │ │Our. │Ki-_etu_. │Vy-_etu_. │Y-_etu_. │ │Your. │Ki-_enu_. │Vy-_enu_. │Y-_enu_. │ │Their. │Ki-_awo_. │Vy-_awo_. │Y-_awo_. │ │_Personal │ │ │ │ │ pronouns._ │ │ │ │ │_Nom._: │ │ │ │ │He, it, &c. │Ki-, Či-. │Vi-, Vy-. │I-. │ │_Acc._: │ │ │ │ │Him, it, &c. │-ki-. │-vi-. │-i-. │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │-či-. │ │ │ │_Demonstrative │ │ │ │ │ pronouns._ │ │ │ │ │This. │_Ha_-iki. │_Ha_-iwi. │_Ha_-i. │ │That. │_Ha_-iki-_la_.│_Ha_-iwi-_la_.│_Ha_-i-_la_. │ │_Interrogative._ │ │ │ │ │Which? │Ki-_hi_. │Vi-_hi_. │I-_hi_. │ │How many? │ │Iwyo. │ │ │_Numerals._ │ │ │ │ │1. │Ki-_muezo_. │ │I-_muezo_. │ │2. │ │Vi-_wi_. │ │ │3. │ │Vi-_tatu_. │ │ │4. &c. │ │Vi-_nne_. │ │ │Many. │ │V-_iṅgi_. │ │ └─────────────────┴──────────────┴──────────────┴──────────────┘

┌─────────────────┬──────────────┬──────────────┬──────────────┐ │CLASSES. │ Plur. │ Sing. │ Plur. │ ├─────────────────┼──────────────┼──────────────┼──────────────┤ │ „ │ 10. │ 11, │ 12. │ │ │ │ takes 6 & 10 │ Plur to 13. │ │ │ │ as plur. │ │ ├─────────────────┼──────────────┼──────────────┼──────────────┤ │ Examples of │ Ṅ-_goma_. │ Lu-_tiko_. │ Tu-_mwana_. │ │ Nouns. │ │ │ │ ├─────────────────┼──────────────┼──────────────┼──────────────┤ │_Adjectives._ │ │ │ │ │Good. │M-_bedi_. │Lu-_wedi_. │Tu-_wedi_. │ │Bad. │M-_biwi_. │Lu-_wiwi_. │Tu-_wiwi_. │ │_Possessive │ │ │ │ │ pronouns._ │ │ │ │ │My. │ǰ-_aṅgu_. │Lu-_aṅgu_. │Tw-_aṅgu_. │ │Thy. │ǰ-_ako_. │Lu-_ako_. │Tw-_ako_. │ │His, her, its. │ǰ-_akwe_. │Lu-_akwe_. │Tw-_akwe_. │ │Our. │ǰ-_etu_. │Lu-_etu_. │Tw-_etu_. │ │Your. │ǰ-_enu_. │Lu-_enu_. │Tw-_enu_. │ │Their. │ǰ-_awo_. │Lu-_awo_. │Tw-_awo_. │ │_Personal │ │ │ │ │ pronouns._ │ │ │ │ │_Nom._: │ │ │ │ │He, it, &c. │ǰ, or Zi-. │Lu-. │Tu-. │ │_Acc._: │ │ │ │ │Him, it, &c. │-ǰ- or -Zi. │-lu-. │-tu-. │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │_Demonstrative │ │ │ │ │ pronouns._ │ │ │ │ │This. │_Ha_-iǰi. │_Ha_-ulu. │_Ha_-utu. │ │That. │_Ha_-iǰi-_la_.│_Ha_-ulu-_la_.│_Ha_-utu-_la_.│ │_Interrogative._ │ │ │ │ │Which? │ǰi-_hi_. │Lu-_hi_. │Tu-_hi_. │ │How many? │Iǰo. │ │Utwo. │ │_Numerals._ │ │ │ │ │1. │ │Lu-_muezo_. │ │ │2. │ǰi-_wi_. │ │Tw-_ere_. │ │3. │N-_datu_. │ │Tu-_tatu_. │ │4. &c. │ǰi-_nne_. │ │Tu-_nne_. │ │Many. │ │ │ │ └─────────────────┴──────────────┴──────────────┴──────────────┘

┌─────────────────┬──────────────┬──────────────┬──────────────┬──────────────┐ │CLASSES. │ Sing. │ Sing. │ Sing. │ Sg. & P. │ ├─────────────────┼──────────────┼──────────────┼──────────────┼──────────────┤ │ „ │ 13, │ 14, │ 15. │ 16. │ │ │ takes 12 & 8 │ takes 6 as │ │ │ │ │ as plur. │ plur. │ │ │ ├─────────────────┼──────────────┼──────────────┼──────────────┼──────────────┤ │ Examples of │ Ka-_handi_. │ Wu-_ta_. │ Ku-_fwa_. │ Ha-_ndu_. │ │ Nouns. │ │ │ │ │ ├─────────────────┼──────────────┼──────────────┼──────────────┼──────────────┤ │_Adjectives._ │ │ │ │ │ │Good. │Ka-_wedi_. │U-_wedi_. │Ku-_wedi_. │Ha-_wedi_. │ │Bad. │Ka-_wiwi_. │U-_wiwi_. │Ku-_wiwi_. │Ha-_wiwi_. │ │_Possessive │ │ │ │ │ │ pronouns._ │ │ │ │ │ │My. │K-_aṅgu_. │U-_aṅgu_. │Kw-_aṅgu_. │H-_aṅgu_. │ │Thy. │K-_ako_. │U-_ako_. │Kw-_ako_. │H-_ako_. │ │His, her, its. │K-_akwe_. │U-_akwe_. │Kw-_akwe_. │H-_akwe_. │ │Our. │K-_etu_. │U-_etu_. │Kw-_etu_. │H-_etu_. │ │Your. │K-_enu_. │U-_enu_. │Kw-_enu_. │H-_enu_. │ │Their. │K-_awo_. │U-_awo_. │Kw-_awo_. │H-_awo_. │ │_Personal │ │ │ │ │ │ pronouns._ │ │ │ │ │ │_Nom._: │ │ │ │ │ │He, it, &c. │Ka-. │Wu-. │Ku-. │Ha-. │ │_Acc._: │ │ │ │ │ │Him, it, &c. │-ka-. │-wu-. │-ku-. │-ha-. │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │_Demonstrative │ │ │ │ │ │ pronouns._ │ │ │ │ │ │This. │_Ha_-ka-. │_Ha_-wu. │_Ha_-uku. │Aha. │ │That. │_Ha_-ka-_la_. │_Ha_-wu-_la_. │_Ha_-uku-_la_.│Aha-_la_. │ │_Interrogative._ │ │ │ │ │ │Which? │Ka-_hi_. │U-_hi_. │Ku-_hi_. │Ha-_hi_. │ │How many? │ │ │ │ │ │_Numerals._ │ │ │ │ │ │1. │Ka-_muezo_. │U-_muezo_. │Ku-_muezo_. │Ha-_muezo_. │ │2. │ │ │ │Ha-_re_. │ │3. │ │ │ │Ha-_tatu_. │ │4. &c. │ │ │ │Ha-_nne_. │ │Many. │ │ │ │H-_engi_. │ └─────────────────┴──────────────┴──────────────┴──────────────┴──────────────┘