n the English language, complete
as our language is--such as down-stream, and up- or against-stream--like
the French _en aval_ and _en amont_. The Bororo used _tche begki_,
down-stream, and _tcheo bugkii_, up-stream.

The Bororo language was rudimentary in a way, yet most
complete--extremely laconic, with innumerable contractions. The
construction of sentences and the position of the verb were not unlike
those of Latin languages.

The chief wealth of the Bororo language consisted in its nouns. Like all
savage languages, it was wonderfully rich in botanical and zoological
terms. The gender was formed by a suffix, the masculine differing from
the feminine.

There were in the Bororo language three genders, masculine, feminine and
neuter. The masculine was formed by adding the words _chireu_, _curi_, or
_curireu_, to the noun; the feminine by the suffixes _chireuda_ and
_curireuda_. There were many words which were used unaltered for either
gender. In the case of animals, the additional words _medo_, male, or
_aredo_, female, clearly defined the sex in specific cases where the
names would otherwise be ambiguous. Inanimate objects had no sex, and
were therefore neuter.

Most nouns had a plural as well as a singular, but there were exceptions
to this rule, such as names of certain plants and animals, the sky, the
wind, etc.; not to count things which were generally taken collectively,
such as flies--_ruque_; macaw or macaws, _nabure_, etc.

The plural was made by the suffixes _doghe_ or _maghe_--the _maghe_ being
used principally in possessive cases, such as _tori-doghe_, stones;
_padje-maghe_, our mothers. Exceptions to this rule were the words ending
in _bo_, _co_, _go_, or _mo_, to which the suffix _e_ was sufficient to
form the plural; whereas in those terminating in _do_ or _no_, _ro_, or
other consonants, the _o_ was suppressed and an _e_ placed in its stead.
Example: _jomo_, otter, _jomoe_, otters; _cuno_, parrot, _cune_, parrots;
_apodo_, or tucan (a bird), _apode_, tucans, etc.

There were a number of irregular exceptions, such as _aredo_, wife;
_areme_, wives; _medo_, man, _ime_, men. Perhaps the most curious of
plurals was _ore_, sons, the singular of which was _anareghedo_ (son).

The words ending in _go_ generally formed the plural with an
interchangeable _ghe_.

The pronouns were:

_imi_ = I
_aki_ = thou
_ema_ = he or she
_sheghi_ or _paghi_ = we
_taghi_