,»*-

A

*.-•*>.

137

A 

M

E

T

H

F

OR 

P
OD 
D I A C H R O N IC 

P

R

E

A

I

NG 

R
C O M P A R I S ON

TS 

T

E

X

F

OR

WITH  AN  EXAMPLE  —  A  CRITICAL  EDITION  OF  C.  SCH/iNNING's

G\A  C A T E C H I SM
OF  18 0 5 •

I. A  METHOD  FOR  RESEARCH

over  the  years  I have  attempted  to apply  certain  'philologi-

strategies  to  the  study  of  the Ga  language, and  now  that  the re-

cal1 
sults  are  beginning  to  appear  in  print 
an  account  of  this  aspect  of my  work.

the  time  has  come  to present

It was  begun  when  my  bibliographical  research  on writings  in

and  on  the  language  brought  to  light  an  amount  of  diachronic  documen-
tation  (from  the  sixteenth  century  down  to  the  present)  that  made  this
particular  approach  desirable,  and  indeed  imperative.  I am  convinced
that  similar  research  strategies  are  applicable  to other  well-document-
ed  African  languages,  and  to  facilitate  such developments  I shall  try
to  present  a  concise.account  of  my  approach.

After  establishing  the  existence  of  an  interesting  sequence

of  documents,  including  a chain  of grammatical  writings  on Ga  (start-
ing  with  C.  Protten's  work  of  1764),  I decided  to  edit  these,  in or-
der  to make  them  more  readily  accessible  to the  community  of  scholars.

The  systems  of  graphic  representation  of  Ga material  employed

were  generally  based  on  the  then  current  ortho-

in  these  old  sources 
graphic  conventions  of  a number  of West  European  languages  (predomin-
antly  Dutch  and  Danish,  but  also  German  and  English),  and  only  in
the  latter  half  of  the  nineteenth  century  on  ideas  of  a  'universal  al-
phabet'  and/or  on  phonetic  principles  of  any  consistency.  They  were
furthermore  frequently  inconsistent  even  within  one  and  the  same do-
cumentary  source,  so  that  the most  important  task  proved  to be  that of
devising  a means  by  which  every  document  could  be  re-transcribed  in a
consistent  fashion  that  would  a*  the  same  time  prepare  the ground  for
later  comparison.

in  the  total  absence  of  diachronic  studies  it was  considered

most  worth-while  to  base  the  re-transcription  on  the present-day  sound-
patterns  of  the  language,  while  at  the  same  time  reprinting  the  docu-
ment  as  it  stood  (with  emendations  where  necessary  reversible by pro-
viding  the  original  readings  in  footnotes)  to  facilitate  the  interpreta-
tion  of  its  individual  characteristics.  As most  sources had  text  in
European  languages  other  than  English  accompanying  the  Ga material,  this

138

was most  usefully  achieved  by providing  (on facing  pages) the source-
text  and  an English  translation-key  to it, which  could  easily be made
to  incorporate  the  re-transcribed  Ga material.

whenever  the old  Ga words can be readily  identified  with con-

temporary  ones of  the  same morphemic  makeup  no  further  difficulties
arise.  when  words, phrases, and  constructions  no  longer  in use  in
modern  Ga  are encountered,  the meaning  which  is usually  recoverable
from  the  European  language  'versions', glosses, and/or explanations,
together  with  the  sound-sequence  as roughly  indicated  by the old spel-
ling,  will  generally  permit  the eventual  identification  of the morphe-
mes  involved.  Usually,  though,- this cannot  be obtained  in the first
run  through  the text, but  has to be arrived  at by  successive  stages of
approximation,  a process  that may  literally  take years to yield  a com-
pletely  satisfactory  reconstruction.  Evidence  from older word-lists  —
as these  are  cumulatively  integrated  into my Ga Dictionary  Project fil-
es —  is proving  ah  indispensable  aid  in  such  reconstruction.

At  the  and  of  this process  of reconstructive  re-transcription

stands  a consistently  transcribed  text,  in a sound-pattern  belonging  to
modern  Ga.  Syntactically  and  lexically  it may often  appear  a little i-
diosyncratic  still, because  of our deliberate  retention of the morpho-
logical  and  syntactic  characteristic** of  the original document.  To go
further  and  substitute modern  usage  as well  would  exceed  the  Intentions
and  limitations  Of  scholarship,  though  it might  be of some  interest to
the  contemporary  native  Bpeaker  of  the  language, and  if such a  popular
version  were  desired  it could  be produced  from  our  text without  too
much  effort.*

My  new text  (as defined  above)  I shall  call  a text-analogue.

From  each  analogue  text of  this kind  Word-  and  morpheme-inventories,
based  on  the  fully consistent  transcription,  can now be made,  such in-
ventories  (or indexes)  permit  the identification  of inconsistencies of
spelling  within  the  individual  source-document  itself, and often  render
recognizable  printer's  errors or  similar  corruptions of texts, suggest-
ing  emendations  and  improved  readings, and  eventually  leading  to a well-
established  text  of  the original  document.

* The  need  for  such  a fully modernized  text may be  felt by the compi-

ler of  school-books,  literature  courses  and  anthologies  who wants to
present  the common reader with a fully modernized  version which may be
useful  to convey  the  feeling  of a literacy  tradition.

•if1-.

139

The Ga texts in my edition of Christian Protten{'Ga Dictionary

Project, Documents & Studies1 no. 1, London.-  Luxac 1971), as well as the
critical edition of Schjtfnning's Ga Catechism of 18o5 presented below,
will serve to illustrate my approach.  Work on other documents is in
hand,  in particular on Rask'8,18 28 grammar, the 1853  Zimmermann/Christ-
aller Ga grammar manuscript, and the Christaller/Bohner grammar of 1893.
All resulting word-indexes are of course fed.back  into the G.D.P. files
in order to facilitate  future work.

Once a sufficiently  large quantity of sources fairly evenly dis-
tributed  over time  has been processed  in the manner described, it will
then become  feasible to proceed! to the setting-up of development-sequen-
ces for particular  sounds and combinations  of sounds.  This will have

i  "

great  significance  for the validation of reconstructive hypotheses ar-
rived  at by other techniques.  Also one hopes to be able to make  well-
founded  statements  about the speed of sound-change  for an African Ian-'
guage which until around  a century ago had neither schools nor an acces-
sible written  literature to slow down such change.
II. PREFACE  TO  THE  TEXT  (Schjftfnning 1805)

Early in the nineteenth century Denmark still possessed a num-
ber of forts on the Gold Coast  with Danes resident there.  Ecclesias-
tically  these forts belonged  to the diooese of Sealand  [DAS.  Sjelland],
and the bishop of that diocese was responsible  (among other things) for
the schools established  there, which were intended mainly for mulatto**,
though  some negro children were also admitted.  From time to time ef-
forts had been made to use the Ga language, considered  to be the most
widely  understood  one  in the region of Danish Influence, for spread-
ing Christianity,  and  some attempts at producing Ga versions of Christ-
ian documents of faith were supported  by the Danish authorities —  the
first  instance on record was of course the book by Protten of 1764 men-
tioned  abovet  see in this connection especially  its dedicatory preface I

In the first decades of the nineteenth  century the then Bishop
of Sealand,  Frederik Munter, was responsible  for having printed at Co-
penhagen  first  (in 18o5) the translation  into Ga of parts of the Cate-
chism  made by C. Schj^nning,  Interims-Governor  (and former Captain),
and  later  (in 1826) supported  the publication of Major von Wrisberg's
Ga translation of the Sermon on the Mount, according  to Matthew.  Munter
mentions  that the edition of Schjtfnning  (;the only one that was ever pro-
duced) consisted  of as few as one hundred  copies; and  it is difficult

.Sir

140

to ascertain  whether  indeed  it was ever  actually  used  in Danish  schools
on  the Gold  Coast, as had been  intended.

The Royal  Library  at Copenhagen  preserves  (among  others) a u-

nique  copy of this  rare  printed  edition  with what on internal  evidence
appear  to be the author's own manuscript  corrections.  The edition  that
follows  takes  account  of these  changes.  I express my special  gratitude
to the librarian,  Birgitte  Hvidt,  for bringing  this annotated  copy to my
attention,  and also  for her assistance  in verifying  certain doubtful rea-
dings.

My  text  preserves  the form of the original  as far as possible

[paginatim  et  llneatim].

III.  CRITICAL  EDITION,  WITH  ENGLISH  TRANSLATION  AND

GA  TEXT  ANALOGUE

a p o a t o l i s ke 

D  e  t 1  B u d,
d et 
0 g
F a d er 
o v e r s a t te

V o r,

S y m b o l um

1 

d et 

A c c r a i s ke 

S p r o g,

a £
C. 
[ C a p i t a in 

S  c  h  j  0  n  n  i  n  g ,1

e .2]

Kiffbenhavn, 
Trykt 
af  C.  F. 

i  dfet  Kongl.  Vaisenhuses  Bogtrykkerie

18o5.

Schubart.3

•*»„•*

<•*%,

1  Printed:  "sch^nning".
2  Printed:  "Capitaine";  MS correction  says:  delete.
3  The following  verso  of the titlepage  ([ 2 ]) is blank.

^

141

Mr"

•

•

•*

-e-r

C . o m m a n d m e n t s,

ic 

F a t h e r1 

S y m b o l u m1
[ i . e.  the  Lord's 

Prayer],

[i.e.  Ga] 

l a n g u a g e,

T en 
a p o s t o l
' O ur 

T he 
t he 
a nd 
t r a n s l a t ed
i n to 
by
C. 
[ C a p t a i n .]

S c h j ^ n n i n g,

t he 

A c c ra 

Copenhagen,  18o5.
P r i n t ed  at  t he  p r i n t - s h op  of  t he  Royal  Orphanage
by  C.  F. 

Schubart.

1  The word  is clearly  used here  (and again below, on page 5)
in the original  sense of  the Greek o\Sp&oXov  'signum  ex quo
aqd.  cognoscitur•.

142

13]

D  e 

ti 

B ud

1. 0 ka  fmo  Jongma  klokko  aka  mi^ 'kome.

Du  ikke  tien  Gud  en  anden  end  mig  allene.

'koine pro  ekoml.

2.  0 ka  t^a1  Aula-Jongma  Mbe"2  o  f&t1

Du  ikke  forkaste  Herren  Guds  Befaling  foragtelig:
Jongma"  ng_Shs  nokko  ekehe  monaeh e_
Gud  tager  ikke  noget,  eftergivey  ikke  den  som
tja' (B dbele7  e_ f4.
foragter  hans  Befaling.

Kerb,  tja' e_ fj., at  kaste  fra  sig, at  ringeagte,

at  begegne  med  Ligegyldighed.  Det  akilles

ad  saaledes  at  Substantivet  scttes  i  Midten,
s.s.  tja9  talle  o ft 

Ot Kast  Stenen  fra  dig.

3.  Dbi  'djyno10  o hihe  ahino  o ba  djalle1 1.

Dage  hrfitidelige  din  Hu  lad  staae  til, at  du  dyrker.

ldjyno:12  god,  hfiitidelig, h«tire.  Shino,  imperativ
af  verb,  hihai, at  aidde.  Hihe, Ansigt,  For-

aiden  af  en  Ting,  Sind,  Agtpaagivenhed.

4.  0 hihe  a bo  o JJai13 k« o

Dit  Aaayn  lad  nedslaaes  for  din  Fader  og  din

ahje;

1  Printed:  "tia".
2  printed!  "dbi".
3  Printedt  "fa"; MS  correction  waa  cut off  when  the  binders

cropped  the margins  of  the copy, but  there  ia no  room  tor  doubt,

as  "fa" is  the  form  used  four  and  again  aix  lines  further  down

the  page.
k  Printed:  "Jongma".
5  Printed.-  "ngah".
6  Printed:  "tia".
7  Printed*  "dbile".
8  Printed?  "tia",
9  Printed;  "tia".
10  Printed:  "diyno"•
11  Printed:  "dialle".
12  Printed:  "fdiyno".
13  Printed.-  "Tie".

143

T he 

T en 

C o m m a n d m e n ts

1. (> ka aumo nyonmo  krokoo'. ake' mi 'koine.
Do not  serve  another God but me alone,
'kome  for ekome.

2.  0_ k_a tse  owula nyonmo  gbee of 5:

Do not reject  the Lord  God's  command  contemptuously:
nyonmo  enoo noko eke he_ motil «_-'
God  does not  let pass anything,  does not pardon those who
tse  egbele  ef o.
treat with  contempt  his  command.

The verb tse  ef5, to throw away,  to think  little of,
to meet with  indifference.  This  is broken up in this
in this way*  that  a noun  is placed  in the middles*
e.g. tse  te  l£ of5, on  throw the stone  away.

3. Gbl dzuro  ohle  ahl no  [ni] oba dza le.

On  solemn days/festival  days 

let your mind  be set on worshipping.

edzuro: good,  solemn,  right  (hand).  ahl no, imperative

of  the verb hLi /I, to be  (at).  hle_, face, front
(-side) of a thing;  mind,  attention.

4.  Ohle  abu otse kc o-

nye

Let  your  countenance  be cast down before your  father and your

mother

144

nhje;  fi o  fehle,1  o ba  aje  {diyno,
Moder;  dersotn du  gi0r  det, du vil nyde  godt,
o  ba  Itqas2 tuhtu  e  djln.3
du  vil  v.  skal  aides  lWhge  i Verden.

0_ nine  a boj  &c.  Hav  Undaeelse' for £rb«-

dighed  for,1* saaledes  at  du  nedslaaer  0ynene  i
dine  Foraldres  Narvarelse.

Verb,  €tja,5  at  vare  lange, "gielder  om  levende

og  dcde  Ting.

5. 0 ka  db|h  mokko!

Du  ikke  drebnogen.

6.  £  k_a_ ££  adjatnang.

Du  ikke  var  l^sagtig  e.6hoeragtig.

Verb.  f£,  at  glare,  b l i v e,  vise  Big  son.

7-  2  3i*  dJLlL>  mokko  £ i.

Du  ikke  stial  nogens  Ting.

8. £  kai dje  daaaf6  fong.

Du  ikke  udgiv  Vidnesbyrd  falsk.

daaaf6  er  baade  aubat.  I  adjectiv.

9.  0  ka  tSo moklokko  v e8  [.)

Du  ikke  efteratrabe  en  andens  Huus.

t8o,  verb,  at  0nske  med  Heftighed,  at  hige  ef-

ter. 

Moklokko,  pro mokko  klokko,  nogen

anden. 

Ve,9  subst.  3; H um  og  Hiem,,|huuBlig

Eyendom,  Born,  Slaver  4c.  inclusive.

10.0 ka  tao  moklokko  nga, e1

,-U

D u12  ikke  forlang  en  andeno  Kone, bans  Slave-

nuhn,13

1  Prlntedt  "fehli".

2  Printedt  "atj»".
3  Printed:  "djiun".
"• Printed:  "for £rb»-/dighed",  with  second  "for"  omitted.

5  Printed.-  "etjae".
6  Printed:  "e."  t = eller.'or1]:  in conformity  with  other  instan-

ces  it  ought  to have  been  printed  in  Roman  type.

7  Printed.-  "diu".

1 45

nye;  /i  [ke] ofee  le, obaaye  edzuro,

motheri  if  you  do  that,  you  will  receive  good,

obaatse  tuutu  ye  dzen . •,  '

you  will, or  shall,  live  long  in  the  world.

ohle  abuI  8c. Have  modesty  before,  re-

spect  for,  so that  you  lower  your  eyes  in

the  presence  of  your  parents.

The  verb  tse,  to  be/last  long,  applies  to  living

and  dead  things.

5.  Okagbe  moko.

Do  not  kill  anybody.

6.  Okafee  adzwaman. •

Do  not  be  loose,  or  adulterous.

7.  Okadzu  moko  nil.

Do  not  steal  anybody's  things.

8.  Okadze  odasefo  fon  [better  G&:  Okaye  odase fon].

Do  not  give  false  testimony.

odaaefo  is both  substantive  and  adjective  [SICl].

9.  Okatao  mokroko  we.

Do  not  strive  after  another's  house.

tao,  verb,  to  desire  intensely,  to  crave

for.  mokroko,  for moko  kroko,  somebody

else.  we_, substantive:  house  and  home,  domestic

property,  children,  slaves,  etc.  included.

ID.  Okatao  mokroko  na,  enyan-

nuu

Do not  desire/demand  another's  wife, his  alave-

8  Printed.-  "veh".
9  Printed."  "Veh".
10  Printed.-  "ng& £".
11  Printed;  "ngiong".
12  Correction;  printed:  "du".
13  correction  for  conformity.  cfA  and1* on  the  following  page;

printed:  "nuku".

146

nuhn,'  <e ngjong-jo,2  £  king,  e_
Mand,  hans  Slave-Qvlnde,  hans  Oxe,  hans
t6h,  aloh  mokko  nil,  rt3  'fai3  nl.
Faar,  e l l er  nogens  noget,  noget  ethvert  noget.

Nuhn ,**  substant. 

en  Mand,  ethvert  mascullrium.

£o,  en  Qvinde,  ethvert 

faemenin.*

NB.  Accraeren  kiender  ikke  et  Asen,  Mange-
len  er  substitueret  roed  toh,  et  Faar.'

D et 

a p o s t o l

i s ke 

S y m b o l u m.

1.  |H  tro  Tj«  Jongroa,  monash  fe_

Jeg  troer  paa  Fader  Gud,  han  som  skabte
nghol  k«  ripong-ffi.6
Himmel  og  Jordens  Stav.

Troe  er  ikke  Accraiak  men  Danak,  aom  iblandt

de  ellerfleste  Danske  Kegre  er  adopteret  og

bruges  1 aamme  Meening  aom  de  Danske  ta-

ger  det.  Accra-Sproget  har  intet  Ord,  som
udtrykker  Troe  eller  troer.  Vetbxxm djalle7
betyder:  «rer,  dyrker,  venerarer,  men  bliver

det  Meeningen  her?  Hghoi, aubst.  Himme-

len,  enhver  Ting,  som  er meget  h0$, Torden,

Luften.

2.  Mi

1  Printed:  "nuVu";  this  correction  should  also  apply  to  the  last

word  on  the  preceding  page.

2  Printed*  "ngiong-jo".
3  Printed!  "f«i".
*• Printed:  "Nuhu";  cf.*  above.
5  Printed:  "femenin.".
6  Printed:  "fipong ffi"•
7  Printed.-  "dialle".

147

nuu,  enyon-yoo. etslna, e_-
man,  hia  slave-woman, |iis bjt, hi«
too»  aloo  moko  no, nofeeno.
sheep,  or  anything  of  [belonging  to] anybody,  something  all  something1

nuu,  substantive,  a man,;anything  masculine.

"  Y O O»  » woman,  anything- feminine.

•W.fl.  Gas  do  not  know  the  ass,2  the  lack

of  which  is  substituted  for  by  too, a  sheep  [/goat].

The Apostolic  Symboluin  [i.e. Apostles'' Creed].

1.  Ili 'tro'  [n6wi  mlheo  miyeo] tse-nyonnto, moni  fee

I  believe  in God-Father,  (him) who  created

nwel  kc  /ikpon-au.

heaven  and  the  dust  of  the  earth.

Troe  [tro]  is not  Ga,  but  Danish, which,  among

most  of  the  Danish  negroes' has  been  adopted  and

is used  in  the  same  meaning  as  the Danish  use

it.  The  Ga  language  has  no word  which

expresses  belief  or  believe.  The  verb dza  lc

signifies  esteem,worship,veneratei  but  does

that  meaning  arise  here?  nwei. substantive, hea-

ven,  anything  which  is very  high,  thurtder,

sky.

2. Mi

1  An  absurdly  literal  translation  of  the  Ga  idiomatic  construct-

ion  which  means  'anything/everything'.

2  "Tigi"  (nows  tedzi)  'donkey'  is on  record  as  early  as 1764  in

Christian  Protten's  grammar,  page  [27], ct.  my  edition  {'Oa Dic-

tionary  Project:  Documents ft Sfctiflies' no. 1, Londoni  Lusac  1971,

page  21.  Schj^nning  was  evidently  misinformed.

3  That  isi  OMU  (OX  Christianaborgi.

(,

148

Ml tro Jefua Chrlftus.* Tj« Jongm*.
Jag troer paa Jeaua Chrietua, Fader Quda
bi  'koine*, vo  'uladS,l obUjo*  Mart a a
Sin eenaete, vor Herre, Jomfra Maria hun
f6lle. a dj,a3 Helllnaand** a
ffdte ham, ban kommer  fra den Helligaand, man
20. & hfi. .Bievthemo1*  Pontiga- Pllatfls5
tilf«rta hana Krop Pinsler t Pont'ii Pilati6
jlnnot a fangle, £ b6, a fulla,7
Tid; Jhan. blev korafaatet, ban d«de, man bagrov ham,
1  Pltkkaal kija abonsam8  a yeh» db^l ette
han nedsteg til Diavlenaa  Boelig.  Daga tre
etSafin9  kadjl bdndjaje, Ite nghoi. a taafi10
opatod  han fra Graven, han gik i Luften, han a.idder
Tj« Aula Jongma a ntnda  'djynt.11  la aba .
Fader Herre Guda hana Haand heire, han akal
adje j«i ekko hung, ne fe e ha***
komme  fra der eengang endnu, for at afgiere for
hecahloj12 k« bfihi.
levende og d0de.

3. Mi

* AOladfee, subpt. fsrata og •verate Befalinga-

Mand. Oblajo,13 aubst. en Mae.

** Om Coneeptionen har Accraeren  intet Be-

greb, fslgelig  intet Udtryk, aaavidt mig er be-
kiendt,

•** verb, fe e ha, at glare npget for, at akiel-

ne imellem, at fuldende.

1 Printedt "*uladj|ew.
2  printed; "oblSio".
3  Printed! "girghemo".
k  Printed! "Pontiua  Pilatua".
s  Printed! "Pontiua Pilatua11.
6  Printed! "fulle/".

.• printedt "abonvim".
9  Printed*  "eteVfin".
10  Printed! "tarfi".
»» Printed»  "nlnd< 'djyno".
12  Printed: "hecahloi".
13  Printed? "Oblalo".

•f-

149

2.  (U  'tro' Jesus  ChpistU8»*t8e-nyonmo

I believe  in Jesus  Christ,  God-father's
bi  koine, wo  owulade, qblayoo  Maria e_-
only  son, our  Lord,  the Virgin  Mary  has

£2. l£»  edze  'helligaand'**  a-
born  him,  he  comes  from  the Holy  Ghost,  one
H£ Slil 155. IS. hemo  [y^J Pontius  Pilatus
supplied(provided  for)  tortures  of  his body  in Pontius  Pilate's
yinoi  asen  le., egbo, afu  l£,
timei  he was  crucified,  he died,  one buried  him,

eple Jkc//i k£ j£ abonsam  awe.  Gbl  etc
he  went  down  to  the  residence  of  the devil.  Three days  [later]
ete  /I kedze  gbohli  adzen. etee  nwel, eta  /i
he  rose  up  from  the grave,, rose  into  the  sky,  he  sits

[ye] tse  owula  nyonmo  (e)nine  dzuro, le  ebaa-
at  the  Lord  God-father's  higher  hand,1  he  shall
dze  dzel  ekonn  hu, n^ efee  eha***
come  from  there  again  one  day,  in order  to decide  on

h(i)ckalol  jk£ gbohli.
[the]  living  and  [the]dead.

3. Mi

*  Owulade, subs tantive,  first  and  highest  commanding  officer/

governor.  oblayoo, substantive,  a maid,  virgin.

**  Of  this  concept  the Gas  have  no notion,  [and]

consequently  no  expression,  as  far  as is

known  to me.

***  T he  v # rb  fee  eha,  to do  something  for, to distin-

guish/discriminate  between,  to  finish.

1 

The  Ga  means  literallyi  "right  hand'.

'  f • *

150

3.  Mi tro Helligaand,*  m_i tro akae

Jeg troer paa den  Helligaand.  jeg troer, at
bdjommel*  papal f orre ame he <s djin
Mennesker  gode helligholde  deres Person  i Verd«n
plan, ke £ £e  fong, ml t'go aka Jongma
ganake, naar du giflr ilde, jeg troer at Qud
2. S lii2 £» "i tP.q aka bohi ba iteffin,
han vil eftergive dig, jeg troer at dode  skal opstaae,
aboni blee  fah** raokko booh 'dong.
saa og at  Daden  efter  ikke nogen  d»er  ikke aldeles.

* Om den  Mellig  Aand kan Accraeren  ikke dan*

ne noget  Begreb.  Jeg veed  ikke at udtrykke
Ordet  og har derfor beholdt  det.  Papal, adject.
plur. gode, redelige. Sorre? verb, at helligholde,
at vare  andagtig, at holde  Andagts-0velser.°

** »KA«* bleefah1*  Jc. at efter D«den skal in-

gen d0e mere.

P a d e r.  V o r

V4 Tj«, monih  o jive5 nghoi, o dbai  £
Vor  Fader, som du er  i Himmelen, dit Mavn lad
tja.6  t  0 luwmo jell a ba v&  'tin,
aides.  Dit  Herredemme  lad komme  os iblanjb,

nonne

+  Verb, etja, at vare lange, at hadre, at

venarere.

1  Printed:  "bdiommel".
2  printed> "ken".
3  As this word  is Ga, it should
have been printed  in roman,
not  in italic  type.

"» Printed?  "bleefah",

an obvious misprint,

5  Printedt "j&v e".
6  Printedt "tia".

151

Mi  'tro1  'helligaand' ,* mi  'tro.' ake
I beli«v«  in the Holy Ghoat. I believe that
gbomei kpakpal  soleo amehe y_£ dzen
good people keep holy/sanctify  their persona  in all the world,
piaa ['f ee] ke ofee'ef on» jni 'tro' ake nyonwo
when you do bad,  I believe that God,
ebaake bo, mi  'tro' ak  gbohli baate /i,
he will pardon you;  I believe  that the dead  shall arise,
agbene  gbee fee** moko gboo donn.,
and  then  that after death nobody  shall die, not absolutely.

* of the Holy Ghost  the Gas are not able to form

any  idea. I do not know how to express
the word  and have  therefore  retained  it. kjgakjjaj., adjective,
plurali  good, honest, sole, varb, to keep holy,
to be devout,  to hold devotional exercises.

** agbene  gbee  fee etc. that after death nobody shall

die any more.

O ur 

F a t h er 

[The  Lord's  Prayer]

*2, t s c»  w o"i  oyoo  nwei. ogbci a.-
Our Father, you who are in heaven, your name let
tse.t  Olumoyeli aba woten,
be honoured.  Your government  let come among us.

t The vrb  tae, to be/last  long, to hoaour, to

venerate.

1  The Ga means  llterallyi  'their bodies, thswselves1

[-•*»

152

nonna. o fino a fe nghol km fipong.
Det du behager lad skee i Himlen1  og Jordan.
Ha va wonna abullo nonce aTaja-2 vi
Oiv oa i Dag Brad det som jan v»re nok for
na.»»  Mgi vj aTajaVfa»ttb*** okaVvi. tank»
oa.  Tag vore onda Gierningertilgiv  oa, ligeaom
vi ngi eTajala8 vi keh welklokkowe. ka
vi tage det Onda og eftergive andre, ikke
ha mokko lakka vi.  dje»66 efaja7 e
lad nogan forfare oa.  Borttag det Onda fra
vi he.  Bo jl luramo,  Bo f£o ni****
vor P«raon.  Du er Herren,  du akaber Ting.
B_o j_i onupa * biana ka nahno.
Du er hadret nu og atedaa.

9  na, at vare tilatrak-

kelig for Munden.  Dat akillea ad og aattar
Peraonen  imellem.

»** <afja10  fewwo. aidata er Participiu« af

vrb.  f£h, at glare.

**** H ar  Magt at glare alt.

1  Printed/ "Himle".
2  Ptinted$ w<fai«".
9  Printed*  "efala".
• frintatfi  wokehw.
• Printed* "^faiala".
• Printmdt Hdla«6w.
7  Printedi wafaiaw.
• Printmdt waTalnw.
• Printed! w<afi«w.
.»• Printed! w<afiaw.

#1

-a-

153

nonl  OBumoo  afee  [ye] nwtl  k_e, /Ikpon.

That  which  pleases  you  let  happen  in heaven  and  on  earth.

Hi  ws> nmsne  aboloo  noni  aa/c  wo

Give  us  for  [the]  day  (thejbread  that  will  be  suftioient  for  our

naa,**  3oo  wo  e/afeemo***  oke  wo,  taake  ,

mouth.  Take  our  evil  deeds,  forgive  us,  just  as

wanoo  a/al  le  wokeo  mtlkrokomcl,  kaa

we  take  the  evil  and  forgive  others,  do  not

ha  moko  laka  wo.  Dalemo  e/al  ye

let  anyone  lead  us  astray.  Remove  the  evil  from

wo  he.  Bo  dzl  lumo, bo  ofeo  no.****

our  parson.  Vou  are  the  Lord,  you  create  [all]  things.

B£ del  onukpa  blanc  k_e naanu.

You  are  exalted  now  and  forever.

••  aa/e  wo  naa.  verb,  eft  Ce3naa,  to be  sufficient

for  the  mouth.  This  is  separated,  and  the  person

placed  in  the  middle.

*•• e_/a feemo,  the  last  [word,  i.e.]  is  the  participle  of

the  verb  fee,  to  do/make.

****  Has  power  to do/make  everything.

reserved,  H.  M.  J.  Trutenau.  1974