Index to English and Vernacular Names 



Explanatory Note 



Unfortunately, it has been impossible to consult experts in the various Bantu 

 languages current in Nyasaland on the subject of the correct spelling of the vernacular 

 names. I fully realize that there are many imperfections; this is particularly so 

 in the use of the letter " h ", of " m " and " n " and of the difficult " w " and " b " 

 of the Northern Province. 



The English " ch " sound has in all cases been represented by the letter ** c " in the 

 Bantu word, e.g., chimanga is spelt cimanga. As a very large number of the names 

 begin with m, these have been indexed under their first two letters, e.g., ma, mb, etc. 



When using the index the following points should be borne in mind : — 



1. That "1" and " r " are interchangeable 



2. That " m " and " n " are often incorrectly interchanged or omitted at the 

 begiiming of a word 



3. That " w " and " b ".are often confused 



4. That "v" and "vb," "s" and "ts, " "z" and "dz" are used 

 inconsistently 



5. That " h " is often wrongly used 



6. That prefixes, such as ci, ka (little) and naka (like) are often used and 

 may disguise the real word. 



Number 



Bamboo, feathery 

 Bamboo, golden 

 Bamboo, large green 

 Bamboo, mountain 

 Bananas 

 Bananas, wild 

 Bango 

 Baobab tree 

 Bean, Bengal 

 Bean, Buffalo 

 Bean, Butter 

 Bean, French 

 Bean, Gotani 

 Bean, Haricot 

 Bean, Hyacinth 

 Bean, Hyacinth wild 

 Bean, Jack 

 Bean, Kaffir 

 Bean, Kidney 

 Bean, Lima 

 Bean, Locust 

 Bean, Lucky 

 Bean, Mackay 

 Bean, Sea 

 Bean, Snake 

 Bean, Soya 

 Bean, Sword 

 Bean, Tepary 

 Bean, Velvet 

 Bean, Yam 

 Beech, African 

 Beetroot 



Number 



53 



53 

 326 



49 

 316 

 197 

 355 

 9 

 311 

 312 

 351 

 352 



84 

 352 

 181 

 182 



84 

 473 

 352 

 351 

 339 

 14, 204 

 198 

 198 

 430 

 225 



84 

 349 

 311 

 419 

 213 



59 



141 



