^66 ON THE LANGUAGES AND LITERATURE 



their accentuation. But though the same mono- 

 syllables occur, and though they are also accented 

 frequently in a similar manner, yet even in this case, 

 the signification of these monosyllables is, for the 

 most part, totally different. In the syntax or con- 

 struction of the two languages, there is also a very 

 great difference, for in almost all the instances in 

 which the Banna language differs in construction 

 from the Malayu, T'liay, and Anam, the Chinese 

 ajrrees with the Banna, and differs from the three 

 others. Thus, when two substantives follow each 

 other, in Chinese and Banna, the first is in the gen- 

 itive or oblique case; whereas, in Malayu, Tliay^ 

 and Anain, the second is in the oblique case. Some- 

 times, too, the Chinese order of arrangement differs 

 e(|ually from them all. Thus, in Chinese, the adjec- 

 tive generalh' precedes the substantive, whereas it 

 follows it in Malay u, Banna, Tliay, and Anam. It 

 must be observed, however, that when the term 

 Chinese is applied to the spoken languages of China, 

 it is used in a very wide signification, unless some 

 particular province be specified. The Chinese collo- 

 quial languages appear to be more numerous than the 

 Indo-Chinese tongues, and equally unconnected with 

 each other. Barrow himself declares, that scarcely 

 two provinces in China have the same oral language. 

 (Travels in China, p. 244.) While the nature of the 

 Chinese character is still so imperfectly understood, 

 it is not surprizing that the investigation of the 

 spoken languages of China has been totally neglected. 

 In the course of some ►enquiries that I made among 

 the Chinese of Penang, I found that four or five lan- 

 guages were current among them, which w^cre totally 

 distinct from each other, and the names of several 

 others were mentioned. I was informed that the 

 principal Chinese languages were ten in number; but 



