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PREFACE
After a lapse of nearly twenty years, a new edition of the
Secwana vocabulary ought to be larger and more correct
than the first edition. It will, I think, be found that this
is the case, though there will still be defects. In such
a work, mistakes and omissions are not easily avoided.
In some respects the Secwana language is very rich in
words, and different words have but a very slight differ-
ence in meaning. Look, for instance, at the list of words
under the headings Break, Cut, Take, and Turn.
On the other hand, there are some respocts in which the
language is decidedly poor; and it is no easy matter for
an enquirer to avoid being led astray as he seeks for
words to express ideas which experience and use have
made familiar to him, but which are indistinct, if not
foreign, in the mind of his native helper.
No doubt variations in spelling will still be found in
the vocabulary and other books. Some of these are
owTing to varying opinions, and others to a difficulty in
deciding upon the proper letters to use. Even in books
printed at Kuruman, words will be found which are spelt
in more ways than one. In some cases the variations are
owing to differences in tribal use in the north and south.
These differences are found especially in words written
with o and e and ts and tsh, lo and le.
When the learner meets with such variations which he
is able to test by ear, he must not conclude that mistakes
have been made. Neither let the learner conclude when
he meets with a word not known in the part where he
lives, that this word must be wrong. Some words are in
use in one part of the country which are not even known
to the natives of other parts.
I have met with some words in books, and received
others from missionaries, which my Motlhapifi helper
knew nothing about. These words I have indicated
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