DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.49263#0018
XIV
Introduction
gulla KDM. s. gullu-d K. water-jar, pitcher. ar. kulla-t.
Certain words, which are only found in use in Egypt or the Sudan, and are
therefore open to the suspicion that they represent Arabic borrowings from
indigenous languages, have been prefixed with eg. ar. (Egyptian Arabic) or sud. ar.
(Sudan Arabic).
Considerations of space have induced me to omit the greater part of the Arabic
loan-words collected, amounting to nearly two thousand in all, and to include only
those in which a change in transliteration has accompanied the borrowing, e. g. the
substitution of Nubian j for Arabic d (^A). A few obvious Arabic loan-words have
also been included, since they are used elsewhere in the text, in the sentences
illustrating the use of other words.
Secondly, words from Ge’ez, Tigre, Tigray, Amharic, and a few stray parallels
from Hebrew (which latter may indicate roots formerly existent in the foregoing) are
included under the prefix sem. Semitic.
Thirdly, the Hamitic languages proper form a large class, denoted by ham.
Under this title, I have included the remainder of Reinisch’s Hamito-Semitic group,
Galla, Somali, Kafa;1 the Agau languages of Abyssinia, such as Bilin, Dembea,
Quara, Khamir, Khamta, and Agaumeder ; Saho and 'Afar spoken by the Danakil in
Eritrea; Bedauye spoken by the Hadendawa, Beni Amer, Bishariya, and till lately
by the Ababda; the languages of Egypt, Ancient Egyptian and Coptic (preferring to
consider these as only influenced by Semitic); the Berber group from west of the
Nile—Siwa, Kabyle, Auelim, Tamasek (spoken by the Tuareg); and finally Hausa.
With these I have included the Niloto-Hamitic group, Bari, Masai, Nandi, Latuka,
Turkana, Suk, and hypothetically Tabi.
Fourthly, we have the Nilotic languages proper, or Niloto-Sudanics as Westermann
calls them : Dinka; Shilluk and its dialects, Gang, Dyur, Anywak, &c.; Gule (which
Marno calls Funj), Nuer, Bongo, and Bagirmi. And among this Nilotic group,
I would put Nubian itself—it would seem to be of Sudanic origin like Dinka and
Shilluk, and to have been affected by the same Hamitic influence as Bari—and its
relations Barea and Kunama. (Reinisch wTould have these latter Hamitic, but
Westermann calls Kunama a Sudan language,) Finally, the little that is known of
Kunjara suggests that it belongs to the Nilotic group. All these are included
under the prefix nil. The larger question of the relationship of the Nilotics
to the Sudan languages is discussed in Westermann’s Shilluk People, pp. 33-6.
Fifthly, a small group of languages in Central Africa, of uncertain origin, but
with some common elements has been classified under the conveniently vague
term Central, cent. Such are Teda, Zaghawa, Kanuri, Buduma, Kuri (a dialect
of Buduma), and Maba.
1 Reinisch’s spelling: other authors give Kaffa.
Introduction
gulla KDM. s. gullu-d K. water-jar, pitcher. ar. kulla-t.
Certain words, which are only found in use in Egypt or the Sudan, and are
therefore open to the suspicion that they represent Arabic borrowings from
indigenous languages, have been prefixed with eg. ar. (Egyptian Arabic) or sud. ar.
(Sudan Arabic).
Considerations of space have induced me to omit the greater part of the Arabic
loan-words collected, amounting to nearly two thousand in all, and to include only
those in which a change in transliteration has accompanied the borrowing, e. g. the
substitution of Nubian j for Arabic d (^A). A few obvious Arabic loan-words have
also been included, since they are used elsewhere in the text, in the sentences
illustrating the use of other words.
Secondly, words from Ge’ez, Tigre, Tigray, Amharic, and a few stray parallels
from Hebrew (which latter may indicate roots formerly existent in the foregoing) are
included under the prefix sem. Semitic.
Thirdly, the Hamitic languages proper form a large class, denoted by ham.
Under this title, I have included the remainder of Reinisch’s Hamito-Semitic group,
Galla, Somali, Kafa;1 the Agau languages of Abyssinia, such as Bilin, Dembea,
Quara, Khamir, Khamta, and Agaumeder ; Saho and 'Afar spoken by the Danakil in
Eritrea; Bedauye spoken by the Hadendawa, Beni Amer, Bishariya, and till lately
by the Ababda; the languages of Egypt, Ancient Egyptian and Coptic (preferring to
consider these as only influenced by Semitic); the Berber group from west of the
Nile—Siwa, Kabyle, Auelim, Tamasek (spoken by the Tuareg); and finally Hausa.
With these I have included the Niloto-Hamitic group, Bari, Masai, Nandi, Latuka,
Turkana, Suk, and hypothetically Tabi.
Fourthly, we have the Nilotic languages proper, or Niloto-Sudanics as Westermann
calls them : Dinka; Shilluk and its dialects, Gang, Dyur, Anywak, &c.; Gule (which
Marno calls Funj), Nuer, Bongo, and Bagirmi. And among this Nilotic group,
I would put Nubian itself—it would seem to be of Sudanic origin like Dinka and
Shilluk, and to have been affected by the same Hamitic influence as Bari—and its
relations Barea and Kunama. (Reinisch wTould have these latter Hamitic, but
Westermann calls Kunama a Sudan language,) Finally, the little that is known of
Kunjara suggests that it belongs to the Nilotic group. All these are included
under the prefix nil. The larger question of the relationship of the Nilotics
to the Sudan languages is discussed in Westermann’s Shilluk People, pp. 33-6.
Fifthly, a small group of languages in Central Africa, of uncertain origin, but
with some common elements has been classified under the conveniently vague
term Central, cent. Such are Teda, Zaghawa, Kanuri, Buduma, Kuri (a dialect
of Buduma), and Maba.
1 Reinisch’s spelling: other authors give Kaffa.