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 BANYILLE, THEODORE 142 the negative particle is used without any vestige of a may become in other forms -idi, -ire, -ini, but is always referable languages being attached to it, and is applied indifferently to all back to some form like -Hi or He, which is probably connected pronoun persons. Sometimes this particle has fallen out of use, and with the root li or di (ndi or ni), which means “ to be or exist. the the negative is expressed (1) by stress or accent; (2) by a suffix The initial i in the particle -He often affects the last or penultimate answering to the French “pas,” and having the same sense ;^and syllable of the verbal root, thereby causing one of the very rare by the separate employment of an adverb, like the “not” in changes which take place in this vocable. In many Bantu dialects (3) the root pa (which means to give) becomes pele in the preterite (no English. Authorities.—A Comparative Grammar of South African doubt from an original pa-ile). Likewise the Zulu tandile is a Languages (in two parts, left unfinished) by Dr W. H. I. Bleek, contraction of tanda-ile. Two other frequent changes of the terminal vowel of 1869.—Cennidi Glottologia Bantu Sud-Africana, by Dr Giacomo the common root are those from the vowel a (which is almost DI Gregorio. (Turin, 1882.) This last not much more than a parainvariably the terminal vowel of Bantu verbs), (1) into e phrase of the work of Bleek and others.—A Sketch of the Modern to form the subjunctive tense, (2) into i to give a negative Languages of Africa, by R. 1ST. Gust, 1882.—Comparative Grammar sense in certain tenses. It has been stated that the vowel cc of the South African Bantu Languages, by Father J. Torrend. almost invariably terminates verbal roots. The exceptions to this (Mainly based on a study of the languages of the Central Zambezi, rule are so rare that it might almost be included among the and therefore erroneous in some deductions, and incomplete.)— elementary propositions determining the Bantu languages. And The Kilimanjaro Expedition, by H. H. Johnston, 1884. (Slight sketch of the history and structure of the Bantu languages given these exceptions when they occur are generally due (as in Swahili) to borrowed foreign words (Arabic, Portuguese, or English).1 This at the end of the book.)—British Central Africa, by Sir H. H. point of the terminal a is the more interesting, because by chang- Johnston (1898, second edition); a further description of the ing the terminal vowel of the verbal root and possibly adding a Bantu languages in general is given in this book, together with personal prefix one can make nouns from verbs. Thus in Luganda vocabularies and illustrations of the Bantu languages of South Africa.—Jfrm: Past and Present, by Professor A. H. Keane, senyua is the verbal root for “ to pardon.” !t A pardon or “ for- Central giveness” is Jci-senyuo. “ A pardoner ” might be mu-senyui. In 1899.—An Encyclopaedic Dictionary of the Mananja (Mang anja) Language of British Central Africa, by the Rev. D. C. Scott, Swahili patanisa would be the verbal root for “ conciliate 1891. — The Folklore of Angola, by Dr Eli Chatelain.—A mpaianasi is a “conciliator,” and upataniso is “conciliation. Another marked feature of Bantu verbs is their power of modify- Dictionary of the Kongo Language, by the Rev. Holman Bentley. ing the sense of the original verbal root by suffixes, the afhxion of —Polyglotta Africana Orientalis, by J. T. Last.—The late Bishop which modifies the terminal vowel, and sometimes the preceding Steere’s Manuals of the Swahili, Shambala, and Makonde Languages consonant of the root. The fullest number of these variations and —Introductory Handbook of the Yao Language, by the Rev. Alexander Hetherwick. — Vocabularies of Various Kongo Lantheir usual meanings are as follows :— Supposing an original Bantu root, tanda, to love ; this may guages, compiled by Dr A. Sims ; (published by Gilbert and Remington). become The present writer has, however, relied considerably for his to be loved, tandica information on vocabularies and other studies of Bantu languages to be lovable, tandeka or taiulika2 independently compiled by himself, which are not yet accessible in to love for, with, or by tandila or tandela print, but which he hopes to publish shortly. Some of these some other person. vocabularies (especially those to the north - west of the Bantu iandiza (or -eza) ) ... to cause to love. border line) have been printed in Foreign Office reports dealing tandisa (or-csaf' ' ’ . with the Niger. Vocabularies of more or less value may also be tandana. . . • ■ to love reciprocally. found in Sir H. M. Stanley’s Through the Dark Continent, and The suffix -aka or -aga sometimes appears and gives a sense of In Darkest Africa; also, in Serf A Pinto’s How I Crossed Africa, continuance to the verbal root. Thus4 tanda may become tanAaka and in Commander V. L. Cameron’s Across Africa. An interesting in the sense of “ to continue loving.” study of a little - known language is the Methodo Pratico para The negative verbal particle in the Bantu languages may be Foliar a Lingua da Lund,a, by Henrique de^ Carvalho. This traced back to an original ka or sa in the Bantu mother tongue. work, the outcome of a Portuguese expedition to the Lunda Apparently in the parent language this particle had already two country, was published in 1889 at Lisbon by the Imprensa forrns—]ca and sa. In the vast majority of the languages at the Nacional. Another work which should certainly be consulted, present day the negative particle in the verb (which nearly always especially in regard to the Western Bantu borderland, is Koelle’s c oalesces with the pronominal particle) is descended from this ka Polyglotta Africana. (h. H. J.) or sa, assuming the forms of ka, ga, nga, sa, ta, ha, a. It has Banville, Theodore Faullain de (1823 coalesced to such an extent in some cases with the pronominal particle that the two are no longer soluble, and it is only by the 1891), French poet and miscellaneous writer, born at existence of some intermediate forms (as in the Kongo language) Monlins in the Bonrbonnais on 14th March 1823, was that we are able to guess at the original separation^ between the two. Originally the negative particle ka or sa was joined to the the son of a captain in the French navy. His boyhood, by his own account, was cheerlessly passed at a lycee pronominal particles, thus :— in Paris; he was not harshly treated, but took no part in Ka-ngi ...... not I. (therefore Ka-ngi tanda— not love.) the amusements of his companions. On leaving school not thou, Ka-ku or ka-wu with but slender means of support, he devoted himself to not he, she. Ka-a. letters, and in 1842 published his first volume of verse not we. Ka-tu not ye. (Les Cariatides), which was followed by Les Stalactites in Ka-nu not they. Ka-ba 1846. The poems encountered some adverse criticism, In like manner sa would become sa-ngi, sa-wu, &c. But very but secured for their author the approbation and friendearly in the history of Bantu languages ka-ngi, or sa-ngi, became ship of Alfred de Vigny and Jules Janin. Henceforwrard contracted into kai, sai, and ki, si / ka-ku or ka-wu into ku, and kaa or saa have always been ka or sa. Sometimes in the modern Banville’s life was steadily devoted to literary production and criticism. He printed other volumes of verse, among 1 Exceptions to this rule are of course foreign interjections which in which the Odes Funambulesques received unstinted praise course of time have been verbalized, and the verbal particle li or di, from Victor Hugo, to whom they were dedicated. Later, which means “ to be.” 2 several of his comedies in verse were produced at the Or -ira, -era. 3 This form may also appear as sa, as for instance aka = to be on Theatre Frangais and on other stages; and from 1853 fire,4 becomes asa, to set on fire. onwards a stream of prose flowed from his industrious In choosing this common root tanda, and applying it to the above various terminations, the writer is not prepared to say that it is pen, including studies of Parisian manners, sketches M associated with all of them in any one Bantu language. One has to well-known persons (Caviees Parisiennes, &c.), and a series be so very careful what one writes on the subject of the Bantu lan- of tales {Contes bourgeois, Contes heroiques, &c.), most of guages in general, because at the present time very few people are which were republished in his collected works (1875-<8). livino' who have studied several of these languages. There are students He also wrote freely for reviews, and acted as dramatic of Zulu and Chinyanja, of Kongo, of Swahili, of Luganda, who are apt to attack a theory which does not exactly accord with the state of critic for more than one newspaper. Throughout a life things of which they have made an exclusive study. Thus, although spent mainly in Paris, Banville’s genial character and tanda is a common verb in Zulu, it has not in Zulu all these variations, cultivated mind won him the friendship of the chief men and in some other language where it may by chance exhibit all the of letters of his time. He was also intimate with Frederic variations its own form is changed to londa or randa.