SYLLABLES. . 9 



§ 23. As consonants do not occur at the end of syllables, they are not redupli- 

 cated in spelling. Thus we write ile, a hcnise^ and ofa, an arrow, instead of ille 

 and offa. (See § 6, 2.) 



ACCENT. 



§ 24. By the term accent is here meant that emphatic pronunciation of a 

 syllable which distinguishes it from other syllables of the same word. This, when 

 marked, is denoted in the present work by the sign ( ' ), commonly termed the 

 acute accent, placed after the accented syllable ; as, i-da', a swcyrd, e'-ni-a, a person. 



§ 25. In words of two or more syllables, the accent falls regularly on the 

 penult ; as, a'-ga, a chair • e-le'-da, a creator. 



§ 26. But since the accent of derivative words follows that of their primitives, 

 this rule has several exceptions. 



1. Nouns of two syllables dei-ived from verbs having the acute tone (§11) are 

 accented on the ultimate ; as, e-dd', a creature, from dd, to create. 



2. When a verb or preposition having the acute tone enters into the composi- 

 tion of a noun of three or more syllables, it usually takes the accent ; as, a-bd'-ni- 

 d^e, an injurer. 



3. When an accented vowel is elided or changed, as in the union of two words 

 to form one, the accent retains its place ; as, be'-ru (for ba' eru), to he afraid • 

 ni'-no (for ni' in()), witliin / su'-re (for sa' ire), to run. 



§ 2Y. Primitive nouns, or those which cannot be r^erred to any root in the 

 Yoruba language, are generally irregular in regard to accent ; as, a'-da-ba, a dove / 

 o'-ri-sa, an idol; a-lu-fa', a learned man. 



§ 28. In polysyllables, a lighter secondary accent usually falls on the second 

 syllable before or after the primary; as, d'-la-tai)'-kpo-k6', a grasshopper; 

 d'-la-^a'-ra, a dealer in snuff. But many compounds retain the accents of their 

 component words ; as, a-lai'-lo'-gboq, a foolish man ; o-ni'-ba'-ta, a slwemaTcer. 



§ 29. 1. It is proper to observe here, that all the Yoruba vowels (unless very 

 short as to quantity) are sounded much more fally and distinctly than English 

 vowels. Thus, a-la'-ra-da', a healthy man, which has two full accents, is pro- 

 nounced with a strong emphasis on both the accented syllables, and with a consi- 

 derable although slighter stress on the unaccented ones. 



2. The distinctness with which Yoruba vowels are uttered is particularly 

 observable in the monosyllabic verbs, prepositions, and adverbs, which are 

 generally spoken as if accented ; as, d le' 6e' e, we can do it ; 161i' so' o nd', go^ 

 throw it atvay. 



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