274 OS BECK'S VOYAGE. 



The language of the country has nothing 

 in common with any other ; it has no alphabet, 

 but as many characters and different figures as 

 they have words ; which have different fignifi- 

 cations according as they are differently pro- 

 nounced, and have different accents ; videlicet, 

 Tcbu signifies a mafter, a hog, a kitchen, and 

 a pillar. Le Comte (hews that by the pronun- 

 ciation only they make 1 66$ words quite differ- 

 ent from each other out of 333. He is 

 reckoned very learned among the Cbinefe who 

 knows half their words ; for they have 80,000 

 characters a ; and for this reafon the Europeans 

 think it impofiible to learn the Cbinefe lan- 

 guage any other way than by abiding many 

 years in China ; and they likewife look upon 

 it as unneceffary, fince they can avail them- 

 'felves of the French, Portugueze, or Englifl? 

 languages, which the Cbinefe fervants employ- 

 ed in trade have learned ; though they have a 

 particular dialect, and think that he does not 

 fpeak well who does not intermingle Englijh, 

 Portugueze, and Dutch. Some of the Cbinefe 



a It is faid that the emperor Koambi, 4300 years ago, 

 introduced the characters ; and afterwards wrote himfelf 

 allronomical, arithmetical, and medical treatifes. Le Comte, 

 p. 189, 



fervants 



