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146 



GEOGRAPHY. 



[Sect. V. 



the accuracy of his information. These observations do 

 not of course apply to the languages of Europe, and to 

 those of the more civilized nations of the East, viz. the 

 Arabic, the Persian, orMahratta, &c., but are rather in- 

 tended for th- guidance of those who visit the islands of 

 the Pacific, or the Indian Archipelago, AustraHa, Afiica, 

 an^. other lands, of which the languages are still unknown. 

 In this respect there will in all probability be crreat 

 analogy with the previous subject. ^^Tiere a nation has 

 sprung up from the mixture of two races, it will gene- 

 rally, if not universally, be found that the language bears 

 traces of the same admixture, xlnalogous elements of 

 combination will have produced an analogous result in a 

 language partaking of the essential characters of those 

 of which it was composed. Any information, therefore, 

 showing how far the grammatical construction of the 

 resulting language or particular words are derived from 

 one or the other of the parent tongues, will be important. 

 Nor should these observations be confined to mere words, 

 and their affinities in different languages. It is eijually 

 desirable to obtain information respecting the genius and 

 character of languages : to remark how ftir the idioms of 

 one correspond with those of another ; and whether the 

 resemblances observed between the languages of various 

 nations can in any way be traced to any original con 

 nexion between the nations themselves, or to politic^ or 

 commercial relations existing between them at a former 

 period. 



But it is not alone with reference to the corapar:: -ns 

 to be made between diiferent lanoruages that it is desir 

 lb] e tx) obtain correct information. Even when the tra- 



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