APPENDIX. 



BKIEF REMAKES ON THE MALAGASY LANGUAGE. 



It will be apparent, from several statements in the preceding 

 pages, that my knowledge of the native language was but limited. 

 I had, however, with the assistance of the Missionaries, previously 

 made myself acquainted with its structure and general principles, 

 for the purpose of tracing its affinities with the languages of Poly- 

 nesia; and I had given some attention to the Grammars of 

 Messrs. Baker and Griffiths, as well as to the Dictionaries of 

 Messrs. Freeman and Johns, and to the Scriptures and other 

 books translated into Malagasy. I was also, during my sojourn 

 in the country, constantly amongst the people, occasionally with 

 one or more of the natives who understood English, but generally 

 with those who knew no language besides their own. Under 

 these circumstances my residence in Madagascar was a continued 

 lesson in the language ; and notwithstanding the opinion ex- 

 pressed by a late amiable and distinguished writer in connection 

 with language, that " the concerns of barbarians unconnected 

 and remote from all contact with literature or civilisation, and 

 destitute of all historic records, will scarcely be thought to 

 require any great portion of attention from the philosophical 

 inquirer," I am induced to hope that a brief notice of some of 

 the distinctive features of the Malagasy language, and the family 

 of languages to which it belongs, may not be inappropriately 

 added to the narrative of my visits. 



In the course of my first interview with the people on shore, 

 I was impressed with the resemblance in colour, and often in 



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