in.] SIGHtJAFA LANGUAGE. 117 



This language expresses the comparison of adjectives in 

 a very quaint way. 



"An attempt at comparison is made by adding the word 

 great, great-great, or great, from golu, from gola, to grow: 

 selo se se golu, a thing which is great; selo se se golu bogolu, 

 a thing which is greater (great-great) ; or it is made by mo, 

 go, out, from = than : mothu eo, o mogolu go eole, this man is 

 great to the other yonder. 



The superlative is indefinitely represented by reduplica- 

 tion, and the addition of such words as thata, strong ; 

 mahura, fat; bobe, very; phola, &c. ; mothu eo, o mogolu 

 bogolu thata, this man is great-great strongly. 



The word kholu, which is nearly the same as golu, great, 

 imparts the idea of old age: mothu eo hholugolu, an ancient 

 man; babogolugolu, the ancients 1 ." 



The question of Numerals being so interesting to all 

 readers, as well as methods of counting, I feel constrained 

 to quote the following passage from pp. 36, 37, of the 

 Analysis; 



"Numerals. — Each numeral takes the sign of the noun 

 counted, thus: mothu monue hela, one man; khomu enue 

 hela (hela meaning only). Then all the other plurals, ba, 

 li, me, ma, &e. Hence, when specimens of the numerals 

 have been furnished, philologists have been misled by the 

 signs and radicals being mixed together. When men are 

 counted the signs mo and ba are used. When the fingers 

 are counted the signs mo and me are used — from movuana, 

 finger; menuana, fingers. The people always begin with 

 the little finger of the left hand: the under finger of 

 the right hand is named shupa, the verb to show or 

 point out, and indicates number 7. In counting S the 

 little and ring fingers of the right hand are folded 

 down ; hence 8 is called hera menuana meheri, or fold down 

 two fingers; and 9 fold down one finger: 11 is 10 and one 

 1 Analysis, p. 18. 



16—2 



