z6o 



The Htjlory of Book II. 



And they are often heard to fay when they are in a good hu- 

 mour, Moy bonne Cdraibe, I am an honefl Caribbian. 



6. Yet is it to be obferv'd, that though the Caribbians of all 

 the Iftands do generally nnderftand one another, yet is there 

 in feveral of them fome dialed different from that of the 

 others. 



7. There is no great ufe made of the letter P. in their Lan- 

 guage 5 but that only excepted, there is no want of letters, as 

 there is in the Language of Japan s Brafeel and Canada, which 

 want the letters F. L. R. Or in that of Peru, wherein B. D. F. G. 

 J. confonant and X are wanting,as Hiftorrans affirm. 



8. The Language of the Caribbians is extreamly fmooth, and 

 for the moft part pronounced with the lips, fome few words 

 with the teeth, and in a manner nothing at all from the throat. 

 For though the words we fhall fet down hereafter, feem to be 

 rough, as they are written, yet when they pronounce them, 

 they make elifions of certain letters, and give fuch an air 

 thereto as renders their difcourfe very delightful to the ear: 

 Whence it came, that Monfieur du Monul hath given this tefti- 

 mony of them s cc I took great pleasure, faid he, in hearkning 

 ec unto them when I was among them, and I could not fuffici- 

 ce ently admire the grace-, the fluency ,and the fweetnefs of their 

 * c pronunciation, which they commonly accompany with a Kt- 

 <c tie fmiling, fuch as takes very much with thofe who converfe 

 c ' with them. 



9. The Caribbians who are Inhabitants of the Iflarrds have 

 a fweeter pronunciation than thofe of the Continent : but 

 otherwife they differ only in a dialed. 



10. By the fame word,according as it is diverfly pronounced 

 they fignifie feveral things : For example, the word /inhanhg- 

 nifies, i.Tes, 2. 1 kpoxv not, 3. Thine, or take it, according to 

 the pronunciation that is given it. 



11. The Europeans cannot pronounce the Caribbian Lan- 

 guage with the grace and fluency natural thereto, unlefs they 

 have learnt it very young. 



12. They hear one another very patiently, and never in- 

 terrupt one the other in their difcourfe ; But they are wont to 

 give a little hem at the end of every three or four periods, to 

 exprefs the fatisfaction they have to hear what is fpoken. 



13. What advantage foever the Europeans may imagine they 

 have over the Caribbians, either as to the natural feculties of 

 the mind, or the eafinefs of pronunciation of their own Lan- 

 guages, in order to the more eafie attainment of theirs, yet hath 

 it been found by experience, that the Caribbians do fboner 

 learn ours than we do theirs. 



14. Some among the French have obferv'd, that the Carib- 

 bians have a kind of averfion for the Englifi tongue, nay fo 

 far, that fome affirm they cannot endure to hea* it fpoken 



where 



