viii 
Preface. 
volume. We have followed the system — similar to 
that of Dr. Lepsius — applied by Dr. Krapf to the 
languages and dialects of Eastern Africa, and which, 
despite some few inconsistencies, is a marvel of sim- 
plicity and accuracy. We have avoided all hair- 
splitting distinctions and diacritical signs for the sake 
of plainness, and in disputable instances we have 
followed sound rather than strict science. If the 
reader will remember that the vowels are continental, 
and that the accent — except in rare cases, which are 
marked — falls upon the penultimate, the words can 
scarcely be mispronounced. In the word Muham- 
mad and its derivatives, after the example of such an 
oriental scholar as Dr. Wilson, we have followed the 
pronunciation. With regard to the prefixes, it may 
be explained that U denotes locality, as U-nika ; M, 
a man of the country, M-nika ; Wa, men of the 
country, Wa-nika ; and Ki is an adjectival particle, 
corresponding to our ish in English, and always, 
but not exclusively, applied to the language, as 
Ki-nika. 
Our life in East Africa has not been favourable to 
literary pursuits and studies. We went to the country 
at an early age, to a forlorn hope, and have ever since 
been engaged in the stern realities of our work, 
having neither had time nor conveniences for pay- 
ing attention to the art of literary composition, and 
in that department, therefore, we make no preten- 
