[Footnote 209: Killem Abimalick signifies the Language of Abimalick; this is evidently an error of Marmol, the Shelluh language is denominated _Amazirk_; the Berebber Language is denominated _Killem Brebber_.]
In addition to these languages, there is another spoken at the Oasis of Ammon, or Siwah, called in Arabic [Arabic:] El Wah El Grarbie, which appears to be a mixture of Berebber and Shelluh, as will appear from the list of Siwahan words given by Mr. 370 Horneman[210], in his Journal, page 19, part of which I have here transcribed, to show the similitude between those two languages, whereby it will appear that the language of Siwah and that of the Shelluhs of South Atlas, are one and the same language.
ENGLISH. SIWAHAN. SHELLUH. Sun Itfuckt Atfuct. Head Achfé Akfie Camel Lgum Arume Sheep Jelibb Jelibb Cow Tfunest Tafunest Mountain Iddrarn Iddra[211] Have you a horse? Goreck Ackmar Is derk Achmar?[212] Milk Achi Akfie Bread Tagor Tagora[213] Dates Tena Tenia (sing.)Tena (plural.)
South of the Desert we find other languages spoken by the blacks; and are told by Arabs, who have frequently performed the journey from Jinnie to Cairo, and the Red Sea, that thirty-three different 371 Negro languages are met with in the course of that route, but that the Arabic is spoken by the intelligent part of the people, and the Muhamedan religion is known and followed by many; their writings are uniformly in Arabic.
[Footnote 210: In reading Mr. William Marsden's observations on the language of Siwah, at the end of Horneman's Journal, in page 190, I perceive that the short vocabulary inserted corresponds with a vocabulary of the Shelluh language, which I presented to that gentleman some years past.] [Footnote 211: Plural Iddrarn.]
[Footnote 213: This is applied to bread when baked in a pan, or over the embers of charcoal, or other fire; but when baked in an oven it is called Agarom (g guttural.)]
It may not be improper in this place, seeing the many errors and mutilated translations which appear from time to time, of Arabic, Turkish and Persian papers, to give a list of the Muhamedan moons or lunar months, used by all those nations, which begin with the first appearance of the new moon, that is, the day following, or sometimes two days after the change, and continue till they see the next new moon; these have been mutilated to such a degree in all our English translations, that I shall give them, in the original Arabic character, and as they ought to be spelt and pronounced in the English character, as a clue whereby to calculate the correspondence between our year and theirs. They divide the year into 12 months, which contain 29 or 30 days, according as they see the new moon; the first day of the month Muharam is termed [arabic] Ras Elame, i.e. the beginning of the year.