How English Works A Linguistic Introduction Ebook PDF Version
How English Works A Linguistic Introduction Ebook PDF Version
How English Works A Linguistic Introduction Ebook PDF Version
Glossary 487
Bibliography 511
Credits 526
Index 529
Detailed Contents
Inside Front Cover Dialect Map of American English, Consonant Phonemes of American
English, Vowel Phonemes of American English
Inside Back Cover Brief Timeline for the History of the English Language
List of Symbols, Linguistic Conventions,
and Common Abbreviations xx
Preface to Instructors xxiii
Letter to Students xxxi
vii
viii Detailed Contents
English Consonants 68
Stops 69
Fricatives 70
Language Change at Work: Is /h/ Disappearing from English? 70
A Question to Discuss: Does English Have Initial or Final /Z/? 71
Affricates 71
Nasals 72
Liquids and Glides 72
Syllabic Consonants 73
English Vowels 73
Front Vowels 74
Back Vowels 75
Central Vowels 75
Diphthongs 75
Language Change at Work: The cot/caught and pin/pen Mergers 76
Natural Classes 77
Phonemes and Allophones 77
Sample Allophones 78
Minimal Pairs 80
Phonological Rules 80
Assimilation 81
Deletion 81
Language Change at Work: Is larynx Undergoing Metathesis? 82
Insertion 82
Metathesis 82
Syllables and Phonotactic Constraints 82
Perception of Sound 83
Special Focus: History of English Spelling 86
Should English Spelling Be Reformed? 88
Summary 89
Suggested Reading 89
Exercises 90
Summary 196
Suggested Reading 197
Exercises 197
Summary 232
Suggested Reading 233
Exercises 233
Summary 267
Suggested Reading 268
Exercises 268
Dialectology 351
xvi Detailed Contents
Glossary 487
Bibliography 511
Credits 526
Index 529
List of Symbols,
Linguistic Conventions,
and Common Abbreviations
†
For the transcription conventions for spoken conversation, see Exercise 8.7.
xx
List of Symbols, Linguistic Conventions, and Common Abbreviations xxi
Common Abbreviations
AAE African American English
ADJ adjective
ADJP adjective phrase
ADV adverb
ADVP adverb phrase
ASL American Sign Language
C consonant (in phonology)
C complement (in syntax)
COCA Corpus of Contemporary American English
CONJ conjunction
DET determiner
EMdE Early Modern English
ESL English as a Second Language
IPA International Phonetic Alphabet
ME Middle English
MICASE Michigan Corpus of Academic Spoken English
N noun
NP noun phrase
O object
OE Old English
OED Oxford English Dictionary
P preposition
PDE Present-Day English
PP prepositional phrase
PRED predicative
PRO pronoun
RP Received Pronunciation
S sentence (in syntax)
S subject (in syntax)
V vowel (in phonology)
V verb (in syntax)
VP verb phrase
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Preface to Instructors
How English Works: A Linguistic Introduction has proven to be a highly successful intro-
ductory language/linguistics textbook designed specially for English and education
majors. This engaging, accessible textbook provides extensive coverage of issues of par-
ticular interest to English majors and future English instructors, and it invites all students
to connect academic linguistics to the everyday use of the English language.
One of the principal challenges of an introductory course in English linguistics is
helping students see the material as relevant to their professional and personal lives. Lin-
guistics textbooks often present technical linguistics as if it were disconnected from what
students already know about language. Our goal with this book is to encourage students
to connect academic linguistics to the everyday use of the English language around them,
as well as to relevant social and educational questions. We provide students with the tools
to make these connections to explore their own questions about English, to understand
more fully the language they see and hear every day. The book also shows students how
English and the study of English are dynamic: it engages students with ongoing changes
in English, new insights in linguistics, and problems that remain to be solved. Students
thereby become active participants in the construction of linguistic knowledge. And the
book emphasizes for students why the study of English matters—not only for them as
students but also for them as parents, teachers, and citizens.
For example, students take a narrative walk among dialect areas in order to discover
how subtle shifts in vocabulary and pronunciation—and attitudes about them—are related
to isoglosses on maps. They see how the world of computer technology has employed
natural word-formation processes to create most of the needed high-tech vocabulary (e.g.,
blog, cyberspace, to google). They encounter the origins of prescriptive usage rules and
see their relationship to descriptive grammar. They explore the integral role of indirect
speech acts in dating rituals. They learn why some speakers are more fluently bilingual
than others and have the opportunity to consider the implications for educational policy.
Thus, in How English Works we apply the premise that by moving away from a more
esoteric study of language and by making connections between the study of linguistics
and the everyday use of language, students will:
■ be more interested in and care more about the material because it is relevant to
their lives outside the classroom;
■ learn the material more effectively because they can integrate it with what they
already know; and
■ apply and use the information beyond the class, and talk about the material with
others.
xxiii
xxiv Preface to Instructors
Organization
How English Works: A Linguistic Introduction covers topics at the core of linguistics
(e.g., syntax, phonology, discourse analysis, language variation), complemented by
related topics particularly relevant to English majors and future English teachers (e.g.,
language attitudes and authority, bilingual and bidialectal education, the history of Eng-
lish spelling and prescriptive usage rules). You might visualize the book’s organizational
structure as a progression inside a frame.
The first two chapters frame the book by introducing the foundations of systematic
language study and addressing some of the prior understandings that students may have,
both about the nature of language and about sources of language authority.
The central ten chapters (Chapters 3–12) progress “up” through the levels of lan-
guage structure, and the units of analysis at each level serve as building blocks for the
next. For example, sounds combine to make words, which combine to make sentences.
Sentences in combination can be analyzed as text or discourse. All of this information
can be analyzed as the linguistic and communicative competence of a speaker; speakers
together create speech communities, which generate language variation.
The final two chapters focus on language change. Chapters 13 and 14 provide an
historical context in which to consider the preceding ten chapters on the structure of Mod-
ern English. These two chapters describe the history of English: how English looked
before and how it may look after this particular historical moment.
The third edition continues to create strong connections among chapters. For exam-
ple, it employs the distinction between form and function to explain syntax at the level
of the word (Chapter 5) and at the level of the clause/sentence (Chapter 6); it integrates
more explicitly the discussion of semantics (Chapter 7) with syntax (Chapters 5 and 6)
and pragmatics (Chapter 8); it shows how speech acts (Chapter 8) help us understand
and analyze literature (Chapter 9).
The chapters can be reordered and some might be omitted, depending on how
instructors choose to organize the course.
and a more extended discussion of attitudes about language change. The new
edition includes an opportunity for students to reframe their own pet peeves
about language in the context of new information about language variation
and change.
■ Why did the punctuation guide Eats, Shoots & Leaves become a best seller?
Chapter 2 (“Language and Authority”) tackles the concept of “rules” and language
authority, providing students with critical background on traditional sources of
language authority such as dictionaries and grammar books. The third edition con-
tains a nuanced treatment of the definition of Standard English that addresses the
relationship of dialect and register, particularly formality.
■ How does a stream of continuous sounds become words in our brains? Chapter 3
(“English Phonology”) not only explains the fundamental concepts of the English
sound system but also connects this material to dialect variation, sound change,
and English spelling. The new edition includes an additional exercise on reading
phonetic transcription.
■ How do we make up new slang? Chapter 4 (“English Morphology”) covers impor-
tant morphological categories, and it explains how frequency, systematicity, and cre-
ativity play into the stability of parts of the lexicon and the striking creativity that
accounts for slang, new technical terms, and the annual Words of the Year (all updated
in the third edition). The third edition features a new box on clitics in English.
■ What does it mean that all speakers “know grammar”? Chapters 5 (“English Syn-
tax: The Grammar of Words”) and 6 (“English Syntax: Phrases, Clauses, and Sen-
tences”), in recognition of the challenge grammar poses to many students, provide
extended coverage to parts of speech before discussing the structure of phrases
and clauses; the chapters also discuss the origins of prescriptive usage rules in
relation to descriptive grammar. Examples in both chapters include both standard
and nonstandard varieties of English.
■ How do we all agree on what dog means? Chapter 7 (“Semantics”) connects tech-
nical semantics to more philosophical approaches to meaning and to issues such
as politically correct language, the relationship of language and thought, and the
sensical nonsense of “Jabberwocky.”
■ Dude, what is going on with dude? Chapter 8 (“Spoken Discourse”) explains how
conversations work, from implied meanings to turn-taking to those “meaningless”
words like like, you know, and dude; it also provides students the tools to pursue
their own (critical) discourse analysis of spoken text. The third edition provides
an improved discussion of performative speech acts and felicity conditions.
■ Can linguistics really help us “close read” better? Chapter 9 (“Stylistics”) pro-
vides students with an extensive set of tools and frameworks for detailed linguis-
tic analysis of written text, both literary and nonliterary. The third edition includes
new sections on speech acts and literature, which show students how they can
exploit what they learned in Chapter 8 to analyze literature. The special focus on
what makes good writing has also been significantly revised to include corpus-
based studies that compare expert and novice academic writing.
■ How do kids learn language so easily while their parents struggle? Chapter 10 (“Lan-
guage Acquisition”) covers not only the stages of children’s language acquisition
xxvi Preface to Instructors
but also the implications of cognitive linguistic research for language education.
In addition, the chapter includes recent research on language learning for speakers
in isolation and speakers with brain damage.
■ Why don’t all speakers of English sound the same? Chapter 11 (“Language Vari-
ation”) gives students a general framework for thinking about a range of sociolin-
guistic factors (e.g., gender, age, race and ethnicity, class, region) in the study of
language variation. The third edition provides a more streamlined discussion of
sociolinguistic methodologies. Chapter 12 (“American Dialects”) then focuses
specifically on the history and present status of dialect variation in the United
States, including the implications for language attitudes and education. Case stud-
ies of regional and social variation in the United States include Appalachian Eng-
lish, California English, African American English, and Chicano English.
■ Just how much has English changed? Chapters 13 (“History of English: Old to
Early Modern English”) and 14 (“History of English: Modern and Future Eng-
lish”) provide an overview of major linguistic events in the history of the English
language, with a final section that examines the future status of English as a world
language and the implications of electronically mediated communication, from
e-mail to Instant Messenger to texting. Will emoticons and acronyms take over
the written language? What will English of the twenty-fifth century look like?
A new exercise allows students to investigate the etiquette of Instant Messaging.
Pedagogical Approach
The pedagogical approach used in How English Works reflects our respect for students’
ability to contribute new knowledge to ongoing conversations about language, which
involves acknowledging where linguistic knowledge comes from and posing questions
for students that will help them participate in the conversation. Throughout the text we
use the following pedagogical tools to help students see English linguistics as relevant
to their lives, concerns, and curiosities:
■ Chapter Opener Vignettes: Each chapter begins with an engaging scenario that
opens the door for students to make the material relevant to their own experience.
■ Special Interest Boxes: In the special interest boxes, we use questions and facts
about English as a way to make connections to students’ experience with actual
language in use and to introduce more technical material.
Discussion boxes pose provocative questions that instructors can use as prompts
for in-class discussion or for short written assignments.
Language Change at Work and Language Variation at Work boxes show
students how the technical material connects to diversity and change in English.
Language Acquisition at Work boxes provide students with insights about the
relationship between language acquisition and, for example, facial imitation and
hand gestures.
Scholar profile boxes introduce students to major figures in the field and help
students put faces and histories to theories and facts.
Preface to Instructors xxvii
■ End-of-Chapter Exercises: Exercises at the end of each chapter cover the range
of the material, sometimes asking students to apply this information to discrete
problems and sometimes asking students to go out into the world, collect infor-
mation (e.g., from observation or interviews), and analyze it in relation to the
information presented in the chapter.
■ Figures and Photos: Throughout the book, figures and photos liven the text, pro-
viding not only visual representations of information presented in the prose but
also memorable images, from Panbanisha communicating with her keyboard to
Andrew Meltzoff’s imitation experiments to a T-shirt advertising /r/-less pronun-
ciations in Boston.
■ Tone: The book presents a host of current examples, from modern slang to cur-
rent popular culture, and is written in a narrative, colloquial style that draws stu-
dents into the interest of the material without simplifying it.
■ Glossary: The extensive glossary provides not only clear, concise definitions, but
also examples whenever possible and critical cross-references to other terms, so
that students can use it to study material as well as to look up terms about which
they are unsure.
Instructor’s Manual
The Instructor’s Manual (0-205-03231-1/978-0-205-03231-0) provides practical, tried-
and-true advice and class activities for the material in each chapter. For each chapter, we
provide learning objectives and an explicit statement of where students may find chal-
lenges with the material and where they will be particularly engaged. We then detail spe-
cific in-class and out-of-class activities that instructors can use to review and complement
material provided in the book with related exercises and information (e.g., events from
the news, data collected by students, material on the Web). We specify for each chapter
which discussion boxes and which homework problems can be used effectively for class-
room activities. We also provide additional resources, such as helpful Web sites and ref-
erence books.
The manual provides full answer keys for the relevant exercises in each chapter in
a form that instructors can copy should they want to provide answer keys to students.
Acknowledgments
We cannot possibly thank here all the many people who have helped and supported us
at every step of the process of writing this book and then revising it for this third edition,
but to all of you, please know that we are grateful beyond words. We would like to start
by acknowledging our students, who have taught us much of what we know about how
to teach this material successfully and who have shown us how to hone the book for the
third edition. We are especially grateful to Bethany Davila, James Beitler, Katie Glup-
ker, Jessica Grieser, Stephanie LaGrasso, Zak Lancaster, Lauren Puccio, Joseph Ruple,
and Amber Shewalter for their notable contributions. In addition, we have had many won-
derful colleagues who have generously shared their material, experiences, and advice
over the years and who, we hope, will be pleased to see all the ways that it has shaped
xxviii Preface to Instructors
this book. We would like to thank specifically: Richard W. Bailey, Alicia Beckford
Wassink, George Dillon, Kimberly Emmons, Robin Queen, Gail Stygall, Thomas E.
Toon, and Walt Wolfram.
To the many instructors from around the United States and around the world who
have shared their feedback on the first and second editions, we want to extend our appre-
ciation; we hope our revisions respond effectively to your very helpful questions and
suggestions.
This book has also benefited enormously from the detailed, constructive critiques
and suggestions from numerous reviewers, including:
Rebecca Day Babcock, University of Texas–Permian Basin
Richard W. Bailey, University of Michigan
Dennis Baron, University of Illinois–Urbana
Naomi S. Baron, American University
Rusty Barrett, University of Kentucky
Mary Bucholtz, University of California–Santa Barbara
Neal Bruss, University of Massachusetts at Boston
Mark Canada, University of North Carolina–Pembroke
Andrew Carnie, University of Arizona
Sarah K. Crowder, University of North Texas
Deborah Crusan, Wright State University
Anthony DeFazio, New York University
Dorothy Disterheft, University of South Carolina
Andrew Elfenbein, University of Minnesota
Carmen Fought, Pitzer College, Claremont Colleges
Therese Gallegos, University of Texas at Brownsville
Joseph Galasso, California State University–Fullerton
Shadi Ganjavi, Mount Saint Mary’s College
Barbara Gleason, City College of New York, City University of New York
Arthur Wayne Glowka, Georgia College and State University
Matthew Gordon, University of Missouri–Columbia
Michael Hancher, University of Minnesota–Twin Cities
Karon Harden, University of Kentucky
Kirk Hazen, West Virginia University
Michael Hegarty, Louisiana State University
Eric Hyman, Fayetteville State University
Paul A. Johnston Jr., Western Michigan University
Barbara Johnstone, Carnegie Mellon University
Susan Major, Croft Institute, University of Mississippi
Alice Moorehead, University of Minnesota–St. Paul
Preface to Instructors xxix
Dear Students:
Do you use friend as a verb? Can you use Coke to refer to all pop/soda? Did you realize
these are questions we legitimately ask in English linguistics? As you read How English
Works, you will have the chance to connect more technical linguistic information to your
own daily experience with language, whether it is slang or American dialects or blog-
ging or writing a formal essay or watching a child learn language.
Please join in . . .
The linguistic study of the English language continues to evolve from conversations
among scholars. There remain complex questions to be answered. And you can be an
active participant in the conversation about the English language. You have the ability to
make new and interesting observations about the English language that inform the ques-
tions raised throughout the book, and we hope you will do so.
But first . . .
In this book, we question and probe every part of language. Along the way, the book is
going to ask you to question some of your commonsense beliefs about language. As
native speakers of language, we all come to the study of language with strong prior under-
standings, some of which are accurate and some of which are not. Sometimes it can be
difficult to accept the findings of linguists, particularly if these findings, presented as
“facts” about language, run counter to what we think we already know about language.
For example, here are a few questions about English that may or may not challenge
what you’ve heard or thought about the language: Did you know the English language
is always changing? This does not mean (no matter what you have been told!) that it is
being ruined by “lazy” or “sloppy” speakers. Nor does it mean that it is improving as
speakers become ever more technologically sophisticated. But how could the rules of
“standard written English” have changed so much over time that, for example, the dou-
ble negative (e.g., I can’t give no more) used to be standard? And if the contraction ain’t
is just as old and logical and grammatical as other English contractions such as won’t
and can’t, then why do some speakers consider it “wrong”? As you’ll discover, “right”
and “wrong” are very complicated concepts when it comes to language use.
We encourage you to think about, question, argue, and try to make sense of these
and similar concepts that you will meet throughout the book. After you finish reading
How English Works, we hope that you may exclaim, as have some of our past students:
“It’s so distracting: I just can’t stop noticing language everywhere I go!”
We have enjoyed writing this book. We hope you enjoy reading it.
Anne Curzan and Michael Adams
xxxi
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Chapter 1
A Language Like English
The sixth line of this excerpt from “The Physician’s Tale” illustrates
Chaucer’s occasional use of axe for ask in The Canterbury Tales.
Surprised? Turn the page to read more about the history of ask/aks.
E very day we use things whose inner workings we do not fully understand: the
toaster, the washing machine, the laptop computer, the gas pump, a lightbulb, the
English language.
Wait a minute, you might say: the English language is not a machine like the others.
True. English is clearly not a machine. And English, like any other language, was
not “invented,” like these other everyday objects. But the English language is systemat-
ically structured, much like these other everyday objects. It follows predictable rules
and patterns. There may even be a blueprint, but that’s a complicated question that we’ll
return to later in the text. The point is that English is a complex, rule-governed system
that we use every day without having to think about its intricacies. For example, do we
consciously group sounds together to make a word or methodically think through word
order to make a grammatical sentence? Do we wonder how the words I am sorry uttered
together function as an apology? And when do we ever reflect on how we learned to use
language in the first place?
This book provides you with the tools to think about how English works. If you
were to take apart your watch, you would need the appropriate tools to pull out each
part. If you ever wanted to reassemble the watch, you would need not only these tools
but also an understanding of how each part functions. You would need to understand the
broader framework of how each part relates to the whole. Here, we will open up English
1
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
DANCE ON STILTS AT THE GIRLS’ UNYAGO, NIUCHI
I see increasing reason to believe that the view formed some time
back as to the origin of the Makonde bush is the correct one. I have
no doubt that it is not a natural product, but the result of human
occupation. Those parts of the high country where man—as a very
slight amount of practice enables the eye to perceive at once—has not
yet penetrated with axe and hoe, are still occupied by a splendid
timber forest quite able to sustain a comparison with our mixed
forests in Germany. But wherever man has once built his hut or tilled
his field, this horrible bush springs up. Every phase of this process
may be seen in the course of a couple of hours’ walk along the main
road. From the bush to right or left, one hears the sound of the axe—
not from one spot only, but from several directions at once. A few
steps further on, we can see what is taking place. The brush has been
cut down and piled up in heaps to the height of a yard or more,
between which the trunks of the large trees stand up like the last
pillars of a magnificent ruined building. These, too, present a
melancholy spectacle: the destructive Makonde have ringed them—
cut a broad strip of bark all round to ensure their dying off—and also
piled up pyramids of brush round them. Father and son, mother and
son-in-law, are chopping away perseveringly in the background—too
busy, almost, to look round at the white stranger, who usually excites
so much interest. If you pass by the same place a week later, the piles
of brushwood have disappeared and a thick layer of ashes has taken
the place of the green forest. The large trees stretch their
smouldering trunks and branches in dumb accusation to heaven—if
they have not already fallen and been more or less reduced to ashes,
perhaps only showing as a white stripe on the dark ground.
This work of destruction is carried out by the Makonde alike on the
virgin forest and on the bush which has sprung up on sites already
cultivated and deserted. In the second case they are saved the trouble
of burning the large trees, these being entirely absent in the
secondary bush.
After burning this piece of forest ground and loosening it with the
hoe, the native sows his corn and plants his vegetables. All over the
country, he goes in for bed-culture, which requires, and, in fact,
receives, the most careful attention. Weeds are nowhere tolerated in
the south of German East Africa. The crops may fail on the plains,
where droughts are frequent, but never on the plateau with its
abundant rains and heavy dews. Its fortunate inhabitants even have
the satisfaction of seeing the proud Wayao and Wamakua working
for them as labourers, driven by hunger to serve where they were
accustomed to rule.
But the light, sandy soil is soon exhausted, and would yield no
harvest the second year if cultivated twice running. This fact has
been familiar to the native for ages; consequently he provides in
time, and, while his crop is growing, prepares the next plot with axe
and firebrand. Next year he plants this with his various crops and
lets the first piece lie fallow. For a short time it remains waste and
desolate; then nature steps in to repair the destruction wrought by
man; a thousand new growths spring out of the exhausted soil, and
even the old stumps put forth fresh shoots. Next year the new growth
is up to one’s knees, and in a few years more it is that terrible,
impenetrable bush, which maintains its position till the black
occupier of the land has made the round of all the available sites and
come back to his starting point.
The Makonde are, body and soul, so to speak, one with this bush.
According to my Yao informants, indeed, their name means nothing
else but “bush people.” Their own tradition says that they have been
settled up here for a very long time, but to my surprise they laid great
stress on an original immigration. Their old homes were in the
south-east, near Mikindani and the mouth of the Rovuma, whence
their peaceful forefathers were driven by the continual raids of the
Sakalavas from Madagascar and the warlike Shirazis[47] of the coast,
to take refuge on the almost inaccessible plateau. I have studied
African ethnology for twenty years, but the fact that changes of
population in this apparently quiet and peaceable corner of the earth
could have been occasioned by outside enterprises taking place on
the high seas, was completely new to me. It is, no doubt, however,
correct.
The charming tribal legend of the Makonde—besides informing us
of other interesting matters—explains why they have to live in the
thickest of the bush and a long way from the edge of the plateau,
instead of making their permanent homes beside the purling brooks
and springs of the low country.
“The place where the tribe originated is Mahuta, on the southern
side of the plateau towards the Rovuma, where of old time there was
nothing but thick bush. Out of this bush came a man who never
washed himself or shaved his head, and who ate and drank but little.
He went out and made a human figure from the wood of a tree
growing in the open country, which he took home to his abode in the
bush and there set it upright. In the night this image came to life and
was a woman. The man and woman went down together to the
Rovuma to wash themselves. Here the woman gave birth to a still-
born child. They left that place and passed over the high land into the
valley of the Mbemkuru, where the woman had another child, which
was also born dead. Then they returned to the high bush country of
Mahuta, where the third child was born, which lived and grew up. In
course of time, the couple had many more children, and called
themselves Wamatanda. These were the ancestral stock of the
Makonde, also called Wamakonde,[48] i.e., aborigines. Their
forefather, the man from the bush, gave his children the command to
bury their dead upright, in memory of the mother of their race who
was cut out of wood and awoke to life when standing upright. He also
warned them against settling in the valleys and near large streams,
for sickness and death dwelt there. They were to make it a rule to
have their huts at least an hour’s walk from the nearest watering-
place; then their children would thrive and escape illness.”
The explanation of the name Makonde given by my informants is
somewhat different from that contained in the above legend, which I
extract from a little book (small, but packed with information), by
Pater Adams, entitled Lindi und sein Hinterland. Otherwise, my
results agree exactly with the statements of the legend. Washing?
Hapana—there is no such thing. Why should they do so? As it is, the
supply of water scarcely suffices for cooking and drinking; other
people do not wash, so why should the Makonde distinguish himself
by such needless eccentricity? As for shaving the head, the short,
woolly crop scarcely needs it,[49] so the second ancestral precept is
likewise easy enough to follow. Beyond this, however, there is
nothing ridiculous in the ancestor’s advice. I have obtained from
various local artists a fairly large number of figures carved in wood,
ranging from fifteen to twenty-three inches in height, and
representing women belonging to the great group of the Mavia,
Makonde, and Matambwe tribes. The carving is remarkably well
done and renders the female type with great accuracy, especially the
keloid ornamentation, to be described later on. As to the object and
meaning of their works the sculptors either could or (more probably)
would tell me nothing, and I was forced to content myself with the
scanty information vouchsafed by one man, who said that the figures
were merely intended to represent the nembo—the artificial
deformations of pelele, ear-discs, and keloids. The legend recorded
by Pater Adams places these figures in a new light. They must surely
be more than mere dolls; and we may even venture to assume that
they are—though the majority of present-day Makonde are probably
unaware of the fact—representations of the tribal ancestress.
The references in the legend to the descent from Mahuta to the
Rovuma, and to a journey across the highlands into the Mbekuru
valley, undoubtedly indicate the previous history of the tribe, the
travels of the ancestral pair typifying the migrations of their
descendants. The descent to the neighbouring Rovuma valley, with
its extraordinary fertility and great abundance of game, is intelligible
at a glance—but the crossing of the Lukuledi depression, the ascent
to the Rondo Plateau and the descent to the Mbemkuru, also lie
within the bounds of probability, for all these districts have exactly
the same character as the extreme south. Now, however, comes a
point of especial interest for our bacteriological age. The primitive
Makonde did not enjoy their lives in the marshy river-valleys.
Disease raged among them, and many died. It was only after they
had returned to their original home near Mahuta, that the health
conditions of these people improved. We are very apt to think of the
African as a stupid person whose ignorance of nature is only equalled
by his fear of it, and who looks on all mishaps as caused by evil
spirits and malignant natural powers. It is much more correct to
assume in this case that the people very early learnt to distinguish
districts infested with malaria from those where it is absent.
This knowledge is crystallized in the
ancestral warning against settling in the
valleys and near the great waters, the
dwelling-places of disease and death. At the
same time, for security against the hostile
Mavia south of the Rovuma, it was enacted
that every settlement must be not less than a
certain distance from the southern edge of the
plateau. Such in fact is their mode of life at the
present day. It is not such a bad one, and
certainly they are both safer and more
comfortable than the Makua, the recent
intruders from the south, who have made USUAL METHOD OF
good their footing on the western edge of the CLOSING HUT-DOOR
plateau, extending over a fairly wide belt of
country. Neither Makua nor Makonde show in their dwellings
anything of the size and comeliness of the Yao houses in the plain,
especially at Masasi, Chingulungulu and Zuza’s. Jumbe Chauro, a
Makonde hamlet not far from Newala, on the road to Mahuta, is the
most important settlement of the tribe I have yet seen, and has fairly
spacious huts. But how slovenly is their construction compared with
the palatial residences of the elephant-hunters living in the plain.
The roofs are still more untidy than in the general run of huts during
the dry season, the walls show here and there the scanty beginnings
or the lamentable remains of the mud plastering, and the interior is a
veritable dog-kennel; dirt, dust and disorder everywhere. A few huts
only show any attempt at division into rooms, and this consists
merely of very roughly-made bamboo partitions. In one point alone
have I noticed any indication of progress—in the method of fastening
the door. Houses all over the south are secured in a simple but
ingenious manner. The door consists of a set of stout pieces of wood
or bamboo, tied with bark-string to two cross-pieces, and moving in
two grooves round one of the door-posts, so as to open inwards. If
the owner wishes to leave home, he takes two logs as thick as a man’s
upper arm and about a yard long. One of these is placed obliquely
against the middle of the door from the inside, so as to form an angle
of from 60° to 75° with the ground. He then places the second piece
horizontally across the first, pressing it downward with all his might.
It is kept in place by two strong posts planted in the ground a few
inches inside the door. This fastening is absolutely safe, but of course
cannot be applied to both doors at once, otherwise how could the
owner leave or enter his house? I have not yet succeeded in finding
out how the back door is fastened.