The two negatives mo and poo, are o f great ufe in the fpokeft
language. The firft is generally ufed with the verb you to
have, and always implies a want or deficiency, as, mo yen nai,
there is no m ilk ; mo yen tcha, you can have no tea, I have no
tea, there is no tea, & c . Poo is generally ufed to exprefs qualities
o f an oppofite nature, as, bau, good ; poo bau, bad ; je ,
h o t ; p oo je, cold ; ta, great; poo ta, little. T he ufual faluta-
tion between friends is haii-poo^hau, well, or not well ?
The limits I have prefcribed for the prefent work will not allow
me to enter into a more detailed account o f this lingular language.
What has been faid may ferve to convey a general idea
of the written eharadter, and the fimple conftrudtion o f the
fpoken language. I ihall now endeavour, in a few words, to
explain the nature and conftrudtion o f the Man-tchoo Tartar
eharadter,, which, if the prefent family continue on the throne
for a century longer, will, in all probability, fupplant the
Chinefe, or will at leaft become the court language. In the
enunciation it is full, fonorous, and far from being difagreeable,
more like the Greek than any o f the oriental languages; and
it abounds with all thofe letters which the Chinefe have rejedted,
particularly with the letters 13 and R, It is alphabetic, or, niore
properly fpeaking, fyllabic, and the different parts o f fpeech
are fufceptible o f exprefiing number, cafe, gender, time, modes
o f adtion, paifion, and other accidents, fimilar to thofe o f European
languages. This is effedted either by change o f termination,
prepofition, or i’nterpofition: The charadler is extremely
beautiful, and it is written, like the Chinefe, in perpendicular
columns,
columns, but beginning on the left fide o f the paper inftead o f
the right, as is the cafe jn writing the former language,
The elements o f the language are comprized in twelve claffes
o f fimple founds or monofyllables, from the different combinations
o f Which all the words o f the Mantchoo language are
formed.
Thefe claffes are diftinguifhed by the terminations.
The firft clafs ends in, a, e, i, o, u, pronounced exadtly
as the Italian.
The fecond, in ai, ei, iei, oi, ui.
The third, in ar, er, ir, or, ur, air, & c .
The fourth, in an, en, in, & c .
The fifth, in ang, eng, ing, & c .
The fixtb, in ak, ek, ik, & c .
The feventh, in as, es, is, & c .
The eighth* in at, et, it, & c .
The ninth, in ap, ep, ip, & c .
The tenth, in au, eu, iu, ou.
T h e elventh, in al, el, il, & c.
The twelfth, in am, em, im, & c .
The initials are, A. E, F. H . I. K.. L . JVt. N. O. P, R.
S. T , U . Y .
T o give fome idea o f the eharadter, I ftibjoin the written
elements.
. I I 1 1 ■ n 1 ft.