SOUTHERN AFRICA. 
it had been prefled, according to the fignification of the word 
about to be uttered ; for the fame found, with the dental, will 
have a very different meaning with the palatial retra6tion of 
the tongue. The noife made by the dental is exadlly that 
which is fometimes ufed to exprefs impatience, and the palatial 
is much more full and fonorous, and not unlike the clacking of 
a hen that has young chickens. This found is never made to 
precede or to follow a fyllable, but is thrown out at the fame 
time, and incorporated with it. All languages in their infancy 
confifted probably of fmiple or monofyllabic founds ; but as 
thefe could convey only a very limited number of ideas, 
recourfe was had to inflexion of voice and compofition of the 
fimple founds to make the vocabulary more copious. The divi- 
fion of fuch fimple founds into their elements, and by the 
various combinations of thefe elements to form an almoft unli- 
mited number of new founds, was one of the moft wonderful 
inventions in the hiftory of man, and much beyond the genius 
of a Hottentot. He has done, however, all that he found to 
be necelTary by a very few compound words, and by the clack- 
ing with the tongue. In the firft formation of his language, 
nature feems to have been his guide. The croaking of a frog is 
readily recognized in kraak or kraaie ; the lowing of an ox in 
^mmo ; the mewling of a cat in menu; the neighing of a horfe 
in hah^ ; the breaking of the fea upon the fhore in hurroo ; 
all of which are correfpondent words in the language of this 
people. Many inftances, befides thefe, fufficlently prove that 
the vocables were adopted in imitation of the founds proceed- 
ing from the different objeds they were meant to exprefs. In 
the origin they might probably be much clofer imitations. The 
y enun- 
