OF THE YORUBA LANGUAGE. 



41 



21 "Person and number are denoted by the form of the personal pronoun that repre- 

 sents the subject; E. g. : 



"emi ri (Egypt., man* a), I see ; awa ri (Egypt., man en), we see. 



22. "The modes and tenses arc indicated by auxiliary particles placed before [or after] 

 the verb. The whole difficulty of the verb lies in the position and meaning of those parti- 

 cles ; and thus the intricacies usually found in the inflexions of the verb are here trans- 

 ferred, as it were, to the department of syntax. 



23. "There is but one conjugation, and [there arc] no irregular verbs; all verbs being 

 varied in the same manner. 



24. "The use of n or m in [Yoruba] conjugation, is to denote a continuing or unfinished 

 action, or one which was unfinished at the time referred to." "To form the past tense 

 (or perfect definite) in Egyptian, en is introduced between the subject and verb." 



25. The future, in Egyptian, is formed by an r, or simply an (Copt, e), "esse versus," like 

 the Italian "essere per," prefixed to the root. The same tense is formed in Yoruba. by 

 prefixing o to (lie root. Bowen thinks that this o was originally the personal pronoun, 

 and that the expression emi o ri, I shall see, means literally, / am he to see. It seems to 

 me more probable that o is an abbreviation of the Yor. substantive verb wa Egypt, an, 

 winch is perhaps, in its turn, the root of av or ah in habere, aver, avoir, (est mini = habeo). 

 The close coincidence of the demonstrative roots in Yoruba, with the various elements of 

 the substantive verb, reconciles this opinion with that of Bowen, and also shows an identity 

 of structure in the Egyptian, Yoruba, and Coptic futures, as well as in the French aur-ai 

 (avr-al), and Italian avr-o.f 



2(>. The optative is formed in Yoruba by the particle ma (Chinese mang; Ger., mag ; 

 Eng., may), in Egyptian by mai. Both in Yoruba and Egyptian this particle expresses 

 desire, as well as permission and possibility, as in the Latin ma-lo, Ger., mag ich, Eng., 

 may /, and apparently for a similar reason. I great to go, may as fitly express an ardent 

 wish, as I long to go. 



27. "This form of expression [the optative] is much employed instead of the imperative, 

 as being more courteous; as, ma. kuro, thou mayest git mil <>/ my icay; 6 mayara,ye may 

 make haste." The Yoruba, imperative has three forms : 1. The simple root, as in English; 

 ri, or iwo ri, see, or see thou; 2. The root preceded by ma, as in Egyptian; ma ri, or iwo 



* The root ri, is found in the Egyptian iri, eye, but I know of no authority for its use in that language as a 

 veil). The Egyptian matt, and the Chinese muh (Morrison, 7803), may be cognate. " In Coptic, as in Yoruba, 

 the pronoun precedes the verb. 



f The views here expressed are confirmed by the fact that the Y. verbs 'i, ni, ri, are used both in the sense of 

 to be, and to have, and that the verb wa, to be, is used in the formation of the past perfect; e. g., emi wa ri, Iwas 

 seeing, or I saw. Bowen saya (Gram. p. 85), "the verb wa, to be, is used in all tenses; but there is a tendency 

 to restrict it to the past." Cfr. K. was, L. -vi. 

 vor,. xin. — 6 



