Like Italian--the coquette who
grants her smiles to many, her favours to few--one of the easiest
to understand and to speak a little, it is very difficult to
master. Whilst every native child can thread its way safely
through its intricate, elaborate, and apparently arbitrary
variations, the people comprehend a stranger who blunders over
every sentence. Mr. Wilson thus limits the use of the accent:
"Whilst the Mandenga ("A Grammar of the Mandenga Language," by
the Rev. R. Maxwell Macbriar, London, John Mason) and the Grebo
("Grammar," by the Right Rev. John Payne, D.D. 150, Nassau
Street, New York, 1864), distinguish between similar words,
especially monosyllables, by a certain pitch of voice, the
Mpongwe repel accent, and rely solely upon the clear and distinct
vowel sounds." But I found the negative past, present, and future
forms of verbs wholly dependent upon a change of accent, or
rather of intonation or voice-pitch, which the stranger's ear,
unless acute, will fail to detect. For instance, Mi Taund would
mean "I love;" Mi taunda, "I do not love." The reverend linguist
also asserts that it is almost entirely free from guttural and
nasal sounds; the latter appeared to me as numerous and
complicated as in the Sanskrit.
Pages:
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136