-* The Languages of Liberia 



In the form of the Negative Particle (which is generally 

 ma) ^ they recall a similar feature which is found in many 

 of the Sudan languages from Senegambia right across to the 

 speech of the Nile Negroes and Masai. This ma negative 

 particle even appears in some of the Semitic and Hamitic 

 languages. 



In grammatical structure^ except for the use of suffixes 

 instead of prefixes, the Mandingo, like other West African 

 groups, offers resemblances to the Bantu. As in the last-named 

 family of African languages and all other forms of purely 

 Negro speech, there is no distinction of gender between male 

 anci female. In Fnla and in some of the 'Temne-Bulom lanffuao^es 

 there is a ciistinction between what is human, or even what 

 is living, and what is lifeless or merely vegetable. But the 

 Mandingo family has dropped this distinction, if it ever possessed 

 it. Some of the Nilotic Negro languages, even such as are 

 found far to the westward ot the main seat of the flimily, in 

 the region ot the Bahr-al-Ghazal, preserve that distinction of 

 masculine and feminitie which is so characteristic of the Aryan, 

 Semitic, and Hamitic languages. This distinction, for example 

 (though very often degenerating into two classes, "strong" and 

 "weak "), is found in the Masai. It may possibly be explained 

 by the direct influence of the first Caucasian invaders on the 

 ancient Negro stock in the Nile Valley. It is curious, however, 



' In my vocabularies the negative particle in Mandingo proper appears usually 

 asde. This is represented in Vai hyre, applied often in connection with the auxiliary 

 verb " to be.'' But the commonest and simplest negative in Mandingo and Vai 

 is ma. Ma also reappears in Bulom as a sign of negation, thougli the verbal 

 negative is ke, ken, en. Fula is altogether outside this group. Its most common 

 negative particle is ta. VVolof, also, has no share in this negative use of ma ; it 

 employs as prefixes or suffixes to express negation du-, dc-, -tt^ iil. In De, Basa, 

 and Kru the negative particle is si-, sed-, or ser- ; in Grebo it isjv-; in Rpwesii/^"- or 

 fit-; in Bu^i, fc-; and in Gora, /w-. In Bantu the negative particle is ka (k-), ta, sa, 

 or si; sometimes as an adverb, vc, pe. 



1097 



