Dictionary and grammar of the Kongo language, as spoken at San Salvador, the ancient capital of the old Kongo empire, West Africa. Appendix

1895·16.6 MB·English

by  Bentley, William Holman, 1855-1905

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ATTHE
UNIVERSITY OF

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APPENDIX
TO THE
DICTIONARY AND GRAMMAR
OF THE
KONGO LANGUAGE
As spoken at San Salvador, the Ancient Capital of the Old
Kongo Empire, West Africa
Compiled and Prepared for the Baptist Mission on the
Kongo River, West Africa
BY THE
HOLMAN BENTLEY
Rev. W.
Missionary ofthe Baptist Missionary Society on the Kongo
PUBLISHED BY THE BAPTIST MISSIONARY SOCIETY
19, FuRNivAL Street, Holborn, London, E.C.
AND
KEGAN PAUL, TRENCH, TRUBNER & CO., Ltd.
Paternoster House, Charing Cross Road, London, W.C.
1895
Bh
842839
PREFACE
More than seven years have passed since the completion of the Dictionary
and Grammar of the Kongo language. Duringthis time the New Testament
hasbeen translated, and other books for religious instruction and school use
have been translated and prepared aBi-monthly Magazine, "Se kukianga"
;
(The Dawn is Breaking), has appeared, containing original native articles.
School workhas been well pushed, and a Kongo correspondence passes freely
between the natives about our stations.
Kongo can no longerbe spoken ofasan unwritten language.
Allthis literary activity has called foran Appendix to theworkpublished in
1887. Every new word acquired has been most carefully preserved and in-
vestigated obscure idioms, and any constructions throwing light on the
Grammar ;and Syntax, have been noted. While the New Testament was
in the press, the Appendix to the Dictionary was printed. Returning to the
Kongo afewdays after the first hundred copies of the New Testament came
from the book-binders, the mass of Grammatical and Syntactical notes which
had accumulated was studied and arranged.
The Dictionary of 1887 contains some 10,000 Kongo words, omittingas far
as possible the thousands of derivative words, which, beingformed from the
root-words accordingto simple rules, neededno specialnote. As the possibili-
ties of thishighly flexible language are so great, these derivatives in actual or
possible use would numberhundreds of thousands ; it was therefore necessary
rigorously to exclude them, except such as by their frequent or special usage
required special note.
Some4,000new words are now added on the sameprinciple,which include,
as far as possible, all words or roots which are used in the Kongo literature of
the English Baptist Mission published up tothe present.
In the same way, the endeavour has been made to reduce the rules of
Grammarand Syntax whichhave been found to be further necessary, during
theliterary workin which the correctness and sufficiency of the former work
was tested. As forthe correctness, it has beenfound thatnogreat changes are
necessary ; in sometwo orthree cases onlyit has been necessaryto narrowthe
application ofcertain rules which had been too widely stated these caseshave
;
been carefully noted in theirproper places in the Grammarand Syntaxof this
Appendix.
Inthis translation andlinguistic work, Nlemvo, who rendered such valuable
assistance in thepreparation ofwhat was published in 1887, has still continued
his aid, renderedall the more efficient bythese fourteen years of work, which
have trained and developed his great natural aptitude. This gives the uni-
formity which is ofsuch great importance.
A changehasbeen made in the KongoAlphabet, which must here be noted.
PREFACE
aApdroolpanrtogeuedncp(eraosp8ionratniPdoorntzuobgfeufetoshreee),piewo.hpailsleeshzatabnSedfaonrjeS;aiflovwraadtsohre,wrsaiontutdenndinassihjt.sthneOeiulgrehttbbeooruorkXhsowoaadrs,e
readovera much widerarea than the district of San Salvador, and in those
paadritfsfiwchuletrye•8itanhadsztrheemreafionreunbceheanngdeedcibdeefdorteoiu,stehe8uasnedofzxonalny,dajnhdasmprtohvoesde
parts where the soundoftheseletters is softened before i they willbe naturally
softened in pronunciation, and wheretheyremain unchanged they will bepro-
noTuhnicsedmaasywcraiuttseen.somedifficulty in the use of, t,he ^Di.cti.onary and. Asppendji-x,
since 8iml)aappears asximbaunderXin the Dictionary, andas simbaunder
SwitinhtthheeApimppeonrdtiaxnc;ebuotftthhatelaatctkaionfmeunnitfoorfmiatypeirsmoafnesnmatllfomrommeantt,thecomeapralrieesdt
possible date, and the widerusefulness ofour literary productions.
For reasons noted in the preface to the Grammar of 1887, the frequent
elision offinaland initial vowels in Kongohas notbeen made in thisAppendix,
in orderthat there mightbeno obscurityas to the actual forms used.
It maybe of interest to note the comparative compactness of Kongo and
English, in the number of words used in the expression of ideas. For this
purpose'thewords andletters used in Kongo and English in the ist Epistle to
the Corinthians, 13th chapter,have been counted ; in the Kongo version there
are 289 words, and 1209letters ; inthe E" . ish Revised Version there are 274
words, and 1172 letters.
On page xi. of the preface to the work of 1887, reference is made to an old
translation of a Portuguesetreatise on Christian Doctrine, published in Lisbon
in 1624. Fr. Bernardo Mariade Cannecattim, authorof the Bunda Grammar
(1804), says thattheabovewas "the first work printed in the Kongolanguage,"
and we may be most probably correct in saying that it was the first work
printed in any ofthe Bantu languages.
The Rev. G. R. Macphail, who was ministerof the Presbyterian Church of
Scotland in Lisbon,very kindlyarranged to have the work copied forme by
hand.
Itis a Catechism in Portuguese and Kongo interlinear. Two copies are in
the National Library at Lisbon, and one in the Library of the Propaganda in
Rome.
The Portuguese from which the translation was made "by the order of
Mattheus Cardoso," is still in use in the schools in Madeira, as a standard
CaTtehcehiPsomrt;uigtuweasse-wKrointgtoenwboyrkMahracsosbeJoerngev,erS.yJ.carefully studied, and is a very
interesting work, affording evidence ofthe early usage of certain special words
which we find current to-day. It is a creditable production, showing that a
goodvocabulary has been acquired. There is a liberaladmixture ofCoast and
Mbamba words, suggesting that the early missionaries had picked up the
language on the Coast,and carried up the Coast influence with them; this Vis
noticeable in the employment of CU(ku)as aprefixto the Infinitive Noun.
is always written asb; Wasii,kias qui; the nasalsm and n arehopelessly
confounded, and often omitted orwritten as in old Portuguese with er
the vowel But, afterall, it affordsno evidence ofany change in the language.
The main points are true to Kongo; but where there are differences, it is im-
possible to determine how much is due to a mixture of the Coast and other
;
PREFACE vii
dialects, and how much to an imperfect knowledge of the language. It is
certainly White-man's Kongo, and sometimes the words are awkwardly spelt.
The N of Nzambi ampungu, God^ never appears on the name itself, but is
often found on the end ofthe preceding word—dian Zambi ampungu.
It is interestingto find untotela (p. 39) used for majesty^ so that Ntotela is
not simplya dynastic name ofthe presentkings. Anquissi (-aukisi, fetish) is
used for holy, sacredj and even uquissi {fetish nature) for divinity (p. 30) !
This is a very objectionable use of nkisi,/^//j//.
The words in use forthe "Holy Faith ofthe Church ofRome" are : "Canca
auquissi yanzua muquissi acuna Roma" (p. 85).
Canca is nkanka, devotion, faithfulness, and, for want of abetterword, was
strained by these early missionaries into that use ; this explains the ex-
pression : "Dingamena muna nkanka a Nzambi ampungu," continue in
the Faith of God; so f^ish devotion was used for Holy Faith. Yanzua
muquissi is yanzo ankisi, of the fetish house(nzo ^^.tlIli^i^thegravealso)
thisis the only translation used forthe Holy Church (of Rome), not the build-
ingcalled a "church," but the Church of the Saints. So wefind "The Holy
Faith of the Church of Rome" thus translated, to the mystification of the
native mind : "Thefetish devotion ofthe fetish house ofat Rome" !
Baptism is always spoken of then, and by the priests to-day, as dia
mungua, toeat salt; the placing of a little salt in the mouth of the infant,
with the words, "yeare the salt {/"^the earth," being part of the ceremonyof
Baptism accordingto the Romish iftmal.
Ecussuilu[ekuswilu, t/ieplaceof rubbing on, or smearing (from kusu, to
rubonorsmear)^ is the equivalent ofPurgatory.
Nsambu is used for grace, favour, as it is still by us ; and much of the
" religious terminology," as to-day used, isfound in this old book; only it has
been necessaryto make a discreet selection. However, the workis certainly
creditableforthose far-offtimes, when viewed with akindly eye, even in these
days in which we have learned tovalue agreater accuracy.
Mythanks are due to the Committee of the Baptist Missionary Society, for
undertakingthe expense of publication of this Appendix, as they did that of
the previous work.
May the workbe foundhelpful to allwho seekto make known in Kongo the
Gospel ofthe GraceofGod, and to extend the Kingdom of Righteousness and
Peace.
W. H. B.
Wathen Station, B.M.S.,
Congo Free State,
September \st, 1894.