46 
MISSIONARY LIFE 
CHAPTER XYI. 
LANGUAGES. 
The languages and dialects of the people are 
very defective in words, and especially in words 
which to express abstract ideas. Hence 
they fail to give definite ideas of quantity, quality, 
time, distance, number, and so on; and in the 
absence of any written language, or standard of 
language, a mongrel speech of English, French, 
and Spanish, with various native dialects, has ob- 
tained, which is better calculated to excite laughter^ 
often, than to communicate thought. To give a 
description of quantity they say, not much,’^ or 
‘^little much,’’ or plenty much,” and of quality, 
they say, ‘^good a little,” or good too much;” of 
distance, not far,” far a little,” or far too 
much;” and by the way of the river they say, ^^so 
many points,” — meaning the bends in the river, — 
and the traveler is left to find out as he goes along 
whether these bends are the fourth of a mile, or 
four miles apart. 
