146 TRAVELS IN 
is not fo difcouraglng as it at firft appears. 
It may be learnt by perfeveranee ; I have 
known planters who fpoke it fluently, and I 
myfelf was able to make myfelf underftood 
in a fhort time. It is, however, in general, 
very difficult for every European ; but more 
fo for a Frenchman than for a Dutchman, a 
German, &c. efpecially as the Uy the and 
the g are pronounced in the fame manner as 
in the languages of the two latter; that is 
to fay, the ou ; and the other two letters 
by expirations, for which the throat of a 
Frenchman is not formed, and which he 
catches with great difficulty. 
Of all the vocabularies hitherto publifhed 
in different works, there is none by which a 
fmgle word can be comprehended. It would 
be in vain to attempt to ufe them, for one 
never could be underftood ; and a Hottentot 
would never fufpedt that he heard his own 
language. It would appear as if the au- 
thors of thefe vocabularies had purpofely 
fupprefled the only mark which often forms 
the whole fignification of the words ; for 
they have made no mention of different 
clappings with the tongue, which are indif- 
penfable 
