218 
REPORT- 1847. 
1. The System of Prefixes m In tiieBechuana gram¬ 
mar it is written that “the second person singular of the imperative mood 
of the verb may be considered the root, from which most verbs may I* 
directly or indirectly derived. In this situation the simple root appears oir 
incumbered by prefix or affix, and yet- not wanting in any of its ints^ 
parts.” This Is saying that the second singular imperalive is withootifr 
flections (as it is in many languages), and that it coincides in form with ^ 
simple verbal root. That the verbal root should be of great iraportanam 
languages iu the state of development in which wc find the African u* 
regular phajuomenon. The verb is all in all in the American tongues; 
I think, that in the African languages, in general, a greater number « 
verbs, expressive of fundamental ideas, will be found to appear in differw 
languages than of substantives. 
The author continues:—“ By prefixes to the root, but more frequently 
a change of initial and tennination, verbal nouns are formed." Tbus,liim 
itsi~to know comes hico=knmvlcdg€, from Tuta=(o teach comes tuto-* 
teaching, and moru(e=a teacher. 
Again, “ Nouns are also formed from adverbs, ns tnorimo, asnpertt^/*^' 
son, from remo—above,'' It must bo observed that this statement by 
moans prcclmlcs the great likelihood of remn itself, and words like it, beii^ 
originally nouns. 
Now with these fiu^ts, we may consider the prefix as a kind of sign ef 
infinitive mood, f.f?. of that form of the verb which is pre-emineiiUy 
Btantival in character. I am not aware that this view has ever been 
tained. Without being wholly ineompatible with the following doctnnp, ' 
differs from it. 
It is (^nsy to concoivo a langiiiige of which it is the habit to combine wjj 
every noun meaning a* yxy.vcw, some such word as Mon, and with e’e. 
noun meaning a thmy, soine such word ns thirty, just fls if in 
said, inntead oV father, ,mn. Ml, mother. Hog, bed, wafer, &c., 
rMn~c/ti/H, man-woman, man-dog, ihhnj-heti, ' Ihinq-tvoler, &c. ; or 
the term prefixed, instead of being thus ilcfinite, might be a word like^ 
in the sense of head of game, or of the German word stiick in the term 
s^-ke, applied with the generality with which it often is used. _ 
thing of this (tort really Jmppi.n8 in the numerals of certain hido-ljinf 
languages, and something of this sort is a possible explanation of the Lain* 
system of prefixes. , 
, view’s be taken of this system, it is consid^^ 
tnat It IS, m neither case, a charaolcristic of the language that is neceswo*. 
of great antiquity. ® 
iett^ 
xriirJiL p before I met with the foUowuigpassigeinEwald.-*-' I 
bietet. zeigt sicb io ihrer Anffassung ® . 
Belehrt clambej dem mtindlicben vortrage dcr Sansknt- ^ 
y«te«ebei,hinB dm Mtoalidieu nud WdbUchen, sondfui J* 
Bclebtcn Oder Unhclelrtcn 
dbt mill 't***!*' blicrrasclieml grossen fieweis fur diewahrhcit du^ - 
Scht ha? '* •'"‘‘^'-wheidet namlicll dasManliche nnd daa 
hcindlirr m’l K" Ctcfichteeiit. Dagegen onterwheiiM . 
raannictSclir-?i\!'f*r’ "*'^**^ Ahgcnrelnen. sender auch weiter im ^ 
mit .Muhe iiivifern Untcrsdieidungen eiii «0Toa ^ 
durch ehi ®vhaffe,i kflimen. Jede Abrtofimg diesw 
enger mit den 'Vv^^*^**”* bczi-ichnct ; alle dicser Wiirtcheu haben stcU 
einrual an de? Sr?/? ^’1“ vvrschhiegcn, sind aber aoch erkensbar. 
of the P- The great field for the 
cal division into Animate and Inanimate are the languages of Awei' 
I 
