ialect."[88]

Mr. Stanley wrote the above in Africa in March, 1877. It was but a
repetition of the experiences of Drs. Livingstone and Kirk, that,
while the dialects west and south-west of the Mountains of the Moon
are numerous, and apparently distinct, they are referable to one
common parent. The Swahere language has held its place from the
beginning. Closely allied to the Mpongwe, it is certainly one of great
strength and beauty.

"This great family of languages--if the Mpongwe dialect may
be taken as a specimen--is remarkable for its beauty,
elegance, and perfectly philosophical arrangements, as well
as for its almost indefinite expansibility. In these
respects it not only differs essentially and radically from
all the dialects north of the Mountains of the Moon, but
they are such as may well challenge a comparison with any
known language in the world."[89]

The dialects of Northern Africa are rough, irregular in structure, and
unpleasant to the ear. The Mpongwe we are inclined to regard as the
best of all the dialects we have examined. It is spoken, with but
slight variations, among the Mpongwe, Ayomba, Oroungou, Rembo, Camma,
Ogobay, Anenga, and Ngaloi tribes. A careful examination of several
other dialects leads us to suspect that they, too, sustain a distant
relationship to the Mpongwe.

Next to this remarkable language comes the Bakalai, with its numerous
dialectic offspring, scattered amongst the following tribes: the
Balengue, Mebenga, Bapoukow, Kombe, Mbiki, Mbousha, Mbondemo, Mbisho,
Shekiani, Apingi, Evili, with other tribes of the interior.

The two families of languages we have just mentioned--the Mpongwe and
the Bakalai--are distinguished for their system and grammatical
structure. It is surprising that these unwritten languages should hold
their place among roving, barbarous tribes through so many years. In
the Mpongwe language and its dialects, the liquid and semi-vowel _r_
is rolled with a fulness and richness harmonious to the ear. The
Bakalai and its branches have no _r_; and it is no less true that all
tribes that exclude this letter from their dialects are warlike,
nomadic, and much inferior to the tribes that use it freely.

The Mpongwe language is spoken on each side of the Gabun, at Cape
Lopez, and at Cape St. Catharin in Southern Guinea; the Mandingo,
between Senegal and the Gambia; and the Grebo language, in and about
Cape Palmas. It is about tw