DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.49270#0202
Canarian Speech
127
It will be observed that only the 41 words in Class I, or about 19% of the total
number, can be successfully compared with Berber.
The 34 words in Class II, or less than 16%, have some appearance of affinity with
Berber.
In Class III, 117 words—including 28 from the eighth Tenerifan sentence — form
about 54% of the total number of Canarian words contained in the three classes, none of
which can be satisfactorily compared with Berber. In this class, seven words of unknown
meaning are omitted in the total number. But as some of them are the native names of
the Islands, and two of them are the names of a special god and goddess, they deserve to
find a place in the catalogue of Canarian words. Seven nearly certain misreadings of
Bory de St. Vincent, the least reliable of our authorities, are also excluded. The words
of apparently Arabic origin, all of which may have come through the medium of Berber
with the exception perhaps of zonfa (§13) and harba (§16), amount to about 10%. But
the numerals are not included.
An inspection of the words contained in Class I shows many Canarian vocables which
hardly differ from the corresponding forms in Berber. This is clearly exhibited in
the table of correspondences between Canarian and Berber consonants at the end of
§5. This agreement is so close and exact in many instances that it is impossible not to
suppose that they are all cognate words which formed part of a common stock, dating as
far back as the first colonization of the Archipelago.
There was undoubtedly intercourse between some of the islands and the mainland
before the arrival of French and Spanish conquerors. This is indicated by the numerals
of List A which had found entry into the Grand Canary before 1341. And in 1402 Bon-
der and Leverrier mention that Bethencourt carried off many native prisoners from
Fuerteventura to Lanzarote, not only to fortify himself against his enemies with a view
of subjugating the country, but also to defend himself against the king of Fez. The latter,
it was understood, was preparing an expedition against the French, asserting that all the
Islands belonged to him. Thus, as early as the 14th century, and possibly even before that
time, the Archipelago was known to the Moors. It is also quite probable that some
of the Berber words were introduced after the reduction of the Islands by Bethencourt
and the Spaniards, for both were in the habit of making raids on the African coast and
bringing away captives.
The upshot of these investigations leads to the conclusion that a certain number of
the words of undoubted relationship with Berber were of relatively late introduction.
We may believe that they were easily absorbed into the speech of the original inhabitants,
as that speech was itself of African origin, although it included the sound of P. In its
verbal structure, as has been remarked, it apparently was in some points similar to that of
127
It will be observed that only the 41 words in Class I, or about 19% of the total
number, can be successfully compared with Berber.
The 34 words in Class II, or less than 16%, have some appearance of affinity with
Berber.
In Class III, 117 words—including 28 from the eighth Tenerifan sentence — form
about 54% of the total number of Canarian words contained in the three classes, none of
which can be satisfactorily compared with Berber. In this class, seven words of unknown
meaning are omitted in the total number. But as some of them are the native names of
the Islands, and two of them are the names of a special god and goddess, they deserve to
find a place in the catalogue of Canarian words. Seven nearly certain misreadings of
Bory de St. Vincent, the least reliable of our authorities, are also excluded. The words
of apparently Arabic origin, all of which may have come through the medium of Berber
with the exception perhaps of zonfa (§13) and harba (§16), amount to about 10%. But
the numerals are not included.
An inspection of the words contained in Class I shows many Canarian vocables which
hardly differ from the corresponding forms in Berber. This is clearly exhibited in
the table of correspondences between Canarian and Berber consonants at the end of
§5. This agreement is so close and exact in many instances that it is impossible not to
suppose that they are all cognate words which formed part of a common stock, dating as
far back as the first colonization of the Archipelago.
There was undoubtedly intercourse between some of the islands and the mainland
before the arrival of French and Spanish conquerors. This is indicated by the numerals
of List A which had found entry into the Grand Canary before 1341. And in 1402 Bon-
der and Leverrier mention that Bethencourt carried off many native prisoners from
Fuerteventura to Lanzarote, not only to fortify himself against his enemies with a view
of subjugating the country, but also to defend himself against the king of Fez. The latter,
it was understood, was preparing an expedition against the French, asserting that all the
Islands belonged to him. Thus, as early as the 14th century, and possibly even before that
time, the Archipelago was known to the Moors. It is also quite probable that some
of the Berber words were introduced after the reduction of the Islands by Bethencourt
and the Spaniards, for both were in the habit of making raids on the African coast and
bringing away captives.
The upshot of these investigations leads to the conclusion that a certain number of
the words of undoubted relationship with Berber were of relatively late introduction.
We may believe that they were easily absorbed into the speech of the original inhabitants,
as that speech was itself of African origin, although it included the sound of P. In its
verbal structure, as has been remarked, it apparently was in some points similar to that of