Personal Narrative Of Travels To The Equinoctial Regions Of America During The Years 1799-1804 - Volume 1 - By Alexander Von Humboldt And Aime Bonpland.
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The Chaymas Substitute R
For L; A Substitution That Arises From A Defect Of Pronunciation
Common In Every Zone.* (* For
Example, the substitution of r for l,
characterizes the Bashmurie dialect of the Coptic language.) Thus,
the Caribbees of the
Orinoco have been transformed into Galibi in
French Guiana by confounding r with l, and softening the c. The
Tamanac has made choraro and solalo of the Spanish word soldado
(soldier). The disappearance of the f and b in so many American
idioms arises out of that intimate connection between certain
sounds, which is manifested in all languages of the same origin.
The letters f, v, b, and p, are substituted one for the other; for
instance, in the Persian, peder, father (pater); burader,* (*
Whence the German bruder, with the same consonants.) brother
(frater); behar, spring (ver); in Greek, phorton (forton), a
burthen; pous (pous) a foot, (fuss, Germ.). In the same manner,
with the Americans, f and b become p; and d becomes t. The Chayma
pronounces patre, Tios, Atani, aracapucha, for padre, Dios, Adan,
and arcabuz (harquebuss).
In spite of the relations just pointed out, I do not think that the
Chayma language can be regarded as a dialect of the Tamanac, as the
Maitano, Cuchivero, and Crataima undoubtedly are. There are many
essential differences; and between the two languages there appears
to me to exist merely the same connection as is found in the
German, the Swedish, and the English. They belong to the same
subdivision of the great family of the Tamanac, Caribbean, and
Arowak tongues.
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