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A cursory glance at the foregoing ^[[table]] will be sufficient to determine, so far as the comparison of words alone can be relied upon, the general affinity of all these languages. ^[[But]] It is [[strikethrough]] a [[/strikethrough]] also important to show th[[?]] the same similarity or at least analogy exists in their grammatical characteristics. The short space of time in which these vocabularies were collected [[strikethrough]] precluded the idea of making [[/strikethrough]] rendered it impossible to pay ^[[so]] much attention to this point as was to be desired. The remarkable peculiarity, however, was noted as running ^[[pervading]] through this entire class of languages, & may serve to distinguish it from every other. The [[underline]]plural[[/underline]] of nouns is formed by the inflection of the [[underline]]initial[[/underline]] instead of the [[underline]]final[[/underline]] syllable of the word. [[strikethrough]] Examples [[/strikethrough]] The ^[[particular]] inflexions vary in many of the dialects, but the ^[[principle]] [[mode?]] remains constantly the same.
[[strikethrough]]I. In the Congo family of dialects, including the Congo, Angola, & Kambinda. The following appear to be the most common inflections - [[/strikethrough]]
I. In the Kambinda, the plural is formed from the singular
(1) by the chance of [[underline]]dī[[/underline]] to [[underline]]mē[[/underline]], as

Eye dīsu, eyes mēsu
Tooth dīnu, teeth mēnu
[[strikethrough]] eyes mēsu [[/strikethrough]]

(2) by the change of kū to mɑ:, as
Ear kūta, plu. mɑ:tu
Foot kūlu, plu. mɑ:lu

(3) of k to m, as kōko, arm mōko
(4) by [[strikethrough]] the addition [[/strikethrough]] preficing mī, as
Lembo, finger, plu. milembo

II In the Congo,
(1) by changing dī to mē, as
Eye dīsu, plu. mēsu
Tooth dīnu, plu. mēnu
(2) by changing di to m, as
Egg diɑ'χi, plu. maχi
(3) by changing u to mi, as
finger ule'mbo, plu. mile'mbo
(4) - [[underline]]k[[/underline]] to [[underline]]m[[/underline]], as
arm kōko, arms mōko