STEN()(.k.\IMn AS AN AID T(J THE PHONETIC 

 ANALYSIS AND COMPARISON OF AFRICAN 

 LAN(iCA(ii-:S. 



Hy \\v\ . W'l 1,1.1 AM Ai.KKKi) Norton, B.A., IM-iti. 

 ( IJ'ifh fii'o text fi(/iirrs.} 



Often in hearing oases of discipline 1 ha\e felt the need of 

 a system ojf shorthand. .\t last 1 evolved, on much the same 

 princi]3les as those of Pitman and others ( th<.)u_<;fh none of these 

 are a])j)licable completely to the languages we are considering), a 

 system which should suit the Bantu languages. The result was 

 rather interesting to my natives. In otu" Clnn-ch Coiuicils thev 

 might he inclined at tirst to complain, seeing me scril)l)le when 

 1 should he attending to their remarks, but when they chal- 

 lenged my version of these. I could read out the \ ery words the\ 

 Iiad said, and coinince them that I was doing them onl\- too much 

 justice. 



It was in the ( iale llill>. o])posite .\mani ( "' Peace"), the 

 lovely Botanical Station the Cermans had founded, and which 

 stands not far from the Panga line, some 30 or 40 miles tip. and 

 some 17 miles from ()ur English mission statinn. This latter 

 had been there before the (Germans' arrixal, but had been left, 

 with our usual insular l)lindness the wrong side uf the Ixumdary.* 

 The \'ista of broken i)reciijice and i)almy forest stretched 

 away to the sea, and framed the Island of Pemba. standing 

 leagues off in the Indian ( )cean. 1 sat actually shivering, one 

 winter's day." 4 cleg, south of the e(|uator. and took down 

 evidence given l)efore one of mv colleagues in Bondei, a dialed 

 I did not know, in this same shorthand. I was surprised to i\n(\ 

 that ni}- friend was al)le to recall the evidence, when I spelt out 

 my phonetic signs in ordinary letters. With this introduction 

 the system adopted presumes t(j make its humble salaams. It 

 it should be of any use to missionaries, soldiers, doctors, traders 

 and others, who have to do with native tribes, it will give me 

 nuich jdeasure. 



F'R-. I gives the alphabet, arranged phonetically. The 

 small circle is S as usual, but, c<^mpressed to a slojjing oval, is 

 the HI of Suto-Zulu-Xosa, the Welsh LI, written i)y Aleinhof. 

 in .some of his books, as a modified S. Thickened, it will be 

 tbe kaffir Dl. 



The sU>pe marked * is left free f(jr Swahili Tli 

 and its flat (thickened). In the Southern langua.ues. which have 

 not this (doubtfully Bantu) sound, it is free for the Q palatal 

 click. 



* When shall we learn to .study native conditions ? The Germans havo 

 done so with great effect. \\'itness the u.sc they made of their natives in 

 !he East African canipaijiii. 



