LANGUAGE. 
the Kamschatkans expressed by mnen- mil- 
chin, that is, five and one. Numbers are so 
familiar to us, and so distinctly arranged in 
groups, that perhaps in no case are our 
ideas more clear; but this clearness entirely 
depends upon the distinctness of the signs, 
and of the manner of using them. We 
speak of ten and twenty, &c. and all seems 
very clear ; but it is evident if we attempt 
to form a conception of ten or twenty 
things, we must pass over every one singly, 
and endeavour to combine them by pro- 
cesses which will be varied by the habits 
of the individual. If we give a fresh name 
to every group of objects, and then con- 
sider those groups as units, and so on, we 
are capable of extending our ideas of num- 
ber indefinitely, and of speaking and think- 
ing of them with accuracy : but if the small 
extent of intellect, or the circumstances of 
situation, prevents this grouping, and our 
attention be confined to individuals, our 
arithmetic must be very confined. Those 
nations which reckon only by comparison 
with their fingers without grouping num- 
bers, carry tlieir ideas of number no farther 
than ten ; those who take in the toes, go as 
far as twenty. The Kamschatkans can 
count no farther ; and when they have ad- 
vanced to this limit, they say, “ where shall 
we go now ?” It is difficult to conceive what 
circumstances could bound the arithmetic, 
of Lord Monboddo’s Indians to three, or 
rather what should induce them to choose 
so troublesome a mode of procedure; but 
it appears highly probable that they joined 
together the names of three different men 
or other animals, and if they had proceeded 
further (which however Condamine informs 
us they did not) they would have joined 
four together, die. Perhaps their tribe 
originally consisted of three only ; and then 
in order to speak of three they might use 
the three names combined together, which 
combination, losing its primary application, 
would become a general denotement of 
three^ 
15. If Lord Monboddo had looked into 
the vocabulary of the Mexicans, he would 
bave thought that his theory derived great 
-confirmation from their words. Clavizego in- 
forms us, that they had wor ds of fifteen or 
sixteen syllables: but he expressly sa)'s 
they are compounds. He gives one as a 
specimen of their combinations, viz. not- 
lazomalmitzteopixcatalzin : this signifies my 
very worthy father or revered priest, and is 
compounded of seven words. The language 
of the Mexicans is very copious ; and one 
cause of the length of their words is pro- 
bably the deficiency of consonants, which 
renders a combination of sounds necessary 
for distinctness. After all, we may admit 
that the languages of the American Indians 
favour the hypothesis of long words with- 
out any injui-y, for- among them alphabetical 
writing never existed; and we should have 
enlarged less on this point, if it had not led 
us to notice some curious procedures of lan- 
guage : but it seems reasonable to admit, 
as an inference, that the original or rather 
the secondary words in language might be 
long, though not to tlie degree that Mon- 
boddo supposes. When, however, we ad- 
vance further, and inquire of wdiat kind the 
original words of man really were, we see 
sufficient reason to conclude them to be 
short. Language was first used in the east, 
and there too writing was invented. Be- 
sides the evidence to be derived from the 
ancient Egyptian (§ IS), we may cite the 
following. The Chinese, which as far as 
oial language is concerned, appeals to have 
undergone very little alteration, and to be 
nearly an original language, is composed 
entirely of what are at present mono- 
syllables. The original words of the He- 
brew, Greek, &c. (that is, those which have 
not been varied by the addition of other 
w ords) are short, frequently only of one 
syllable, seldom of more than two. And 
to conclude, of the various vocabularies 
which we have had an opportunity of con- 
sulting, of the uncivilized nations of the 
east, the words are generally monosyllabic, 
or dissyllabic. 
16. Our last object is to consider the 
position, that, in the early languages, con- 
sonant sounds were at least generally ac- 
companied by vowel sounds : but though 
this is a material point in tracing the tran- 
sition from hieroglyphics to alphabetical 
writing, it will not be necessary to enlarge 
much upon it. We think this position 
proved by the following, in some measure 
unconnected, cpnsiderations. 1. Vowel- 
sounds are by far the most easy ; and con- 
sequently they constitute the earliest Vocal 
sounds of children, and a large proportion 
of the vocal sounds of uncivilized nations. 
Several words among the South Sea island- 
ers are composed entirely of vowel sounds ; 
and so great is the difficulty which these 
people find in pronouncing consonants to- 
gether, that they called Sir Joseph Banks, 
Opano. Froni this consideration we may 
fairly infer, that vowel sounds would be 
frequent in tlie original words of the early 
