266 Dr Beke on the Languages of 



the immediate contiguity of the Gindjar of Abu-Ramla and 

 El iA^tish,* I would suggest the probability that this lan- 

 guage belongs to the same class. In the second volume of 

 the Proceedings of the Philological Society,! I have given 

 forty-two words of the Gindjar tongue. Of these the greater 

 number are evidently a corrupt Arabic ; but the following 

 eleven words may be regarded as native expressions : — 



earth wota. 



grass gesh. 



mountain gdllah. 



boy djenna. 



leg kiirdh. 



foot kdfat kurdi. 



XVI. TheBishdrye or Bidja {Beja) Language. The probable 

 affinities of this tongue ai-e stated by Dr Latham, on the 

 authority of Dr Lepsius, to be with the Coptic ; but, at the 

 same time, the language of SuAkin, which is classed with it, 

 is said to have affinities with the Argobba of Abessinia. As 

 this latter dialect belongs to the Ethiopic Class (xvii.), it 

 would seem that the Suakin language ought to be ranged 

 under the same head. 



XVII. The Ethiopic Class of Languages. This class com- 

 prehends the Tigre, Arkiko, Amh4ra, Argobba, Harrargie 

 (Hurrur) or Adhari, Guragie, and Gafat. I cannot agree to 

 Dr Latham's proposition, in accordance with the opinion 

 generally entertained, that these languages are the original 

 ones of Abessinia. I can scarcely admit them to be those of 

 the greater part of the country. On the contrary, I look 

 upon the Agau languages (xviii.) as holding a higher rank 

 in the former respect, and probably in the latter likewise. 

 The Geez, which is the ancient language of Tigre, — the most 

 north-easterly province next the coast, — is that of the reli- 

 gion and literature of the country; and, when Tigre was 

 dominant, it was that of the court. The Amharic, which is 

 spoken in the south-east, is that of the present dominant 

 race, and is used by the court, the army, and the merchants. 

 It is that, too, with which alone travellers, who penetrate 



* ^^& Journal of the Royal Geographical Society, \o\. ii\\. T^. 9. t P. 95. 



