*
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Hausa-English Dictionary and English-Hausa Vocabulary. In the case
*of Yoruba and Jekri, the tones are based on notes made by the author
*in London and Nigeria. References to other dialects or languages of
*the same group are not included, since no comparative study of the
*group is intended here.
* Word groups composed of verb＋object in which the vowel of the
*verbal stem is elided or contracted have been sparingly introduced as
*separate items. (But none of the verb＋object-groups the first element
*of which is gbe 1 [ ˥ ], ya 1 [ ˥ ], zɛ 1 [ ˥ ].) In these as well, the sign cf. is
*used in order to indicate the heading under which the word-group is
*treated.
* Words preceded by v. refer to synonyms, to expressions covered by
*the same general idea, or to generic terms covering the item to which
*the reference is attached.
* Both kinds of references, those indicated by cf. and those marked v.,
*are usually found at the end of each item if they concern the item as
*a whole. Words that have appeared in the item already (i.e. in de-
*scriptions, etc.) are not repeated as references.
* Furthermore, occasional reference is made to figures contained in
*Ling Roth, Great Benin (quoted as L.R.) and Read and Dalton, Antiquities
*from the City of Benin (quoted as R.D.).
* NOTE ON BINI SOUNDS AND ORTHOGRAPHY
* The orthography of the Bini words in this dictionary is not the one
*used in Bini publications at present, but follows the lines indicated in
*the Memorandum on a Practical Orthography for African Languages
*published by the International Institute of African Languages and
*Cultures.
* The Bini language has seven vowels : i, e, ɛ, a, ɔ, o, u; a is a forward
*variety; e and o rather close. Instead of ɛ and ɔ, ẹ and ọ are at present
*used in Bini books, in which, generally, the tradition of Yoruba writing
*is followed.
* With the exception of e and o, the vowels also occur nasalised, as the
*result of assimilation with preceding nasals, and also as separate
*phonemes. When a nasalised vowel in the context is elided in front of
*an e or o, only a nasalised glide shows its previous existence, the middle
*and end of the e or o vowel remain unnasalised, at least in slow speech.
*(In quick speech, e and o are possibly, nasalised throughout in such
*cases.) Nasalisation is marked with a tilde (～) above the letter repre-
*senting the vowel. In Bini books it is at present marked by an n
*following the vowel, as in Yoruba.
* Nasalised vowels are, however, left unmarked when they follow the
*nasal consonants, i.e. m, ʋ̃, n, ɽ̃, ny, nw, as their nasalisation is the
*result of assimilation.
*x
