a grammar of the mpongwe language

7/26/2019 A Grammar of the Mpongwe Language

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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


14/113

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


15/113

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.


16/113

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,


18/113

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 .


19/113

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 ) .


20/113

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 :


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 :


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,


21/113

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.


22/113

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


23/113

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.


24/113

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


25/113

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 .


26/113

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

;


27/113

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


28/113

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


29/113

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.


30/113

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 .


31/113

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 :


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 .


32/113

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-


33/113

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


34/113

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


35/113

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


36/113

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

a grammar of the mpongwe language

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