104 



BTHNOLOOT OF THE INDO-PAOIFIC ISLANDS, 



roots, aa an alliance of assimifated FocaHularicf. In clialf?ot9 of 

 common descent the proportion of word« l\mt pro^erve (heir 

 identity in root and meaninj^ graduaNy decreasps, while the pro- 

 portion of ihoan roots that \mv» acquired a pt*cuJinr conventional 

 meanfnc; gradually increases. But in tim life of langjaacrea a root 

 that hag trholy lost its primary aignificalion and gained a different 

 one, )8 eqiiivalent to a new word. Hence in cnrtnate disilects thnt 

 are separalcd, alien vocahulfirieB arc coniflaruly growini; up, and 

 they may at last come to he as distinct from vnvh o! her as tils 

 possible for human ton^^nrs to be, So that wlu thi^r speech began 

 TTilh one langtiage or with many, the kind and dofjrre of tliver- 

 gency and resemblance between all the vocabului'ies of the world 

 -firould, in the lapse of time, he th < same. It is probable iliat all 

 existing vocabularies arc etymoloj^icfdly identicjil, and even thiit 

 they have all been woven fiom a few primitive roott desiijnatinf^ 

 the most familiar objects, qualities und Bensntions, bu». it is true at 

 the name time that the identity of ihe roots with few esce]nioiuj 

 is not a living one even in the same languaj^e. It k on the capaeity 

 of the eame root to receive almost endless changes in meaning 

 End form, and thus to become in reality the progenitor of a sne- 

 cespion of new generations of root'i, that the growth of language 

 depends. It hence becomes possible for the human mind nnd 

 tongue to create a lanj^uflge from a few primary cries. These 

 sounds, partly exclamatory and pardy imtiative, gmdually undergo 

 infinite variation and composition, f*nd each modification becomes 

 a new substantive sound or roof, in the linguistie progress of the 

 family, the tribe and the circle of tribe?. 



The following arc OUiatrationa from Semifcico-Libjati. Tho 

 Bibilaut, varying to the dental, is used for JTend in several Zira- 

 biaii languagea Attoa, /«'zoa, wiftiia, mtu &c, and in Fanti it}i7 (pL 

 ifyi^) ; for li^j/e in the same family with a different prcf. dm\, /rsu, 

 ^itu Ac. and in Berber tbith ; for Face in Kosah vdth a third pref. 

 ttbuso I for Ilfiir in simple or duplicated forma and with the labial 

 final in Gara abof, Mahrah shob, Saumali tcmo, Biahari tamo, Agau 

 aifa, sisifa, tsab/m, tsebe^a ; for Heard with similar forms in Zim- 

 bian dzevu, devu, debu Ac. ; for Hair wifchout the labial postf. in 

 several East Zimbian vocabularies wi/siai, wiatiti &c. ; for Mouth 

 with feho labial final in Arabic tlmm, Hottentot tub, Felup batum^ 



