8 OUTJIOKPi' A>'1> OKTHOGRArJlY. 



§ 19. CVim})ouuds of a nasal and auother cousonaut occur incidentally : 



1. The nasal 'q,' as an auxiliary particle, may be prefixed to all the consonants ; 

 as, emi ijl)5, I am coming ; emi r)dd, I am making, tfec. 



2. Before the laljial consonants, 'm' is frequently employed as an auxiliary 

 prefix, instead of 'rj'; as, emi mbo, I am coming ; emi mfe, I am loving. 



3. 'M,' 'n,' and 'q,' are occasionally prefixed to consonants in other cases; as in 

 the words, mbe, to be ; mbi, or ; a-la-mgba, a lizard; nde, to arise ; nld, to he large ; 

 qso, to proceed. 



INTERCHANGE OF LETTERS. 



§ 20. In consulting the Dictionary for the meaning of words, as also in tracing 

 out their roots, it is necessary to remcniljcr that letters are frequently interchanged ; 

 as in the following examples : 



1. Not a few words begin indiit'erently with 'a' or 'o'; as, abdnid^e, or obd- 

 nidze, an injurer. 



2. Some words begin indifferently with 'a' or 'i'; as, afidzi, or ifidzi, remission 

 (of sins). 



3. ' E ' and ' o ' are interchangeable ; as, onia for enia, cc person ; leni for loni, 

 to-day ; eri for ori, the head, &c. 



4. 'E' and 'o' are interchangeable, as, oni for eni, une, any. 



5. In certain cases, previously stated (§ 7), 'u' is substituted for 'o'; as, diiq 

 for dog, to he sweet. 



6. ' G ' for ' k ' ; as, ge for ke, to cut. 



7. 'H ' for ' f ' ; as, eho for efo, a valley. 



8. ' S ' and ' & ' are frequently interchanged with each other, and in some dialects 

 with ' ts.' Thus, for se, to do, the Ibakpa dialect has ' tse,' and the Ibolo has ' se ' ; 

 and in other places se, to cools, is pronounced ' se.' 



9. In the Egba dialect, ' w ' is frequently used for ' h ' ; as, w6, to boil, instead of 

 ho ; and awoq, the tongue, instead of ahoq. 



C! H A P T E K 1 I . 



SYLLABLES. 



§ 21. A syllaljlu consists: 



1. Of a single vowel, pure or nasal; as, o, thou; 6q, he. 



2. a. Of a consonant and a vowel; as, dd, to create ; daq, to jwlish. 



b. Of a consonant and a vowel, with the nasal q prefixed ; as, qda, is creating ; 

 qdaq, is polishing. 



3. a. Of two initial consonants and a vowel ; ss, Aie, to eat ; ghh, to 7-eceive ; kpe, 

 to call ; mbe, to be; nde, to arise ; gboq, to he wise, &c. 



b. Of two initial consonants and a vowel, with a nasal prefixed. (See § 19.) 

 § 22. No word or syllable ends in a consonant, except occasionally in the nasal 

 ' m ' ; as, bam-bam, a beetle. 



