Page:Hausa Proverbs.djvu/116

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page needs to be proofread.

104 Proverbs in the Hans a Language BOKKOI. May be a contraction of hiii and the Songhai word lioi^ meaning owner of. There is another possible explanation : the Bolewa people have a great difficulty in pronouncing the letter Zu in some words, and bokhoi may be connected -with ha oulohj 7, as ha-h-ouloh. TOKKOS. The same contraction of uhu and hoi is suggested. Taka. No connection can be traced with any other dialect. GOMA. Either from gou, which in Songhai means 5 : or it may be connected with the Kanuri megu, ten. When counting in tens the Bolewa have a similar word, A:o, to represent 10. Again, in Kanuri, Songhai, and Hausa the same method of combining numerals and the thing numbered prevails : — Hausa mutum daia man one Kanuri kamm tilo man one Songhai boro f o man one Hausa mutum ashirin man twenty Kanuri kamm piasku man thirty Songhai boro waranka man twenty Also, in expressing numbers, such as 18, 28, 38, or 19, 29, 39, i.e. 20, 30, 40, less two or less one, both