8 OBTHOEPi' AND ORTHOGRAPHY. 



§ 19, Compounds of a nasal and another consonant occui' incidentally : 



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

 as, emi qb5, I am coming ; emi qdd, I am making^ &c. 



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

 prefix, instead of 'q'; as, emi mb5, X am, coming ; emi mfe, I ami loving. 



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

 the words, mbfe, to ^e ; mbi, or/ a-la-mgba, a Z^2W»*(^; nde^ to arise ; vAk^tohelarge ; 

 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 remember that letters ai-e frequently interchanged ; 

 as in the following examples : 



1. Not a few words begin indififerently with 'a' or 'o'; as, abanidze, or obd- 

 nid^e, an injurer. 



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

 (of sins). 



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

 to-datj ; eri for ori, the Tiead^ &c. 



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



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

 for d6q, to 5e sweet. 



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



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



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

 with ' ts.' Thus, for ^e, to dx)^ the Ibakpa dialect has ' tse,' and the Ibolo has ' se ' ; 

 and in other places s^, to coo\ is pronounced ' se.' 



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

 h6 ; and aw6q, the tongue, instead of ah6q. 



CHAPTER II. 



SYLLABLES. 



§ 21. A syllable consists: 



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



2. a. Of a consonant and a vowel; £is, da, to create ; daq, to polish. 



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

 qdaq, is polishing. 



3. a. Of two initial consonants and a vowel ; as, die, to eat ; ghh, to receive ; kpfe, 

 to call ; mb|, to be; nde, to arise ; gboq, to be 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. 



