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"Testimony of Professor Josiah W. Gibbs, January
8, 1840, U.S. District Court, Connecticut"
Prof. Josiah W. Gibbs. The terms Ladino and Bozal as defined in the Spanish Dictionary
differ to the capacity or in capacity of speaking the language of the country. Ladino,
literally means "word in the idiom" speaking the language fluently."
Bozal is the opposite of the other term. As defined it denotes "[?]"
and is applied in the colonies to negroes lately imported from Africa, and in Madrid,
to persons from the provinces, in which a rude language is spoken. The term Ladino
I understand to denote as said in Cuba, those Africans who have resided there long
enough to speak the language fluently.
I have spent a good deal of time in investigating the principles of language. From
the language and manners of the negroes I have formed a decided opinion that they
are native Africans and recently from Africa. My knowledge of the Mende language
I have acquired from James Covey in first instance, in the same manner as I derived
my knowledge of the English language from my parents. I have evidence that it is
the English language from my intercourse with others. I made out a vocabulary of
the Mende language from James Covey, and I am now able by means of it to converse
with twenty or thirty of the Africans. They cannot speak the Spanish language. There
are among them several different dialects. One speaks the Ballou. Three the [Tinnani].
The language they speak agrees with the vocabulary of the [Tininani], as given in
the books. I find that these Africans speak of rivers some of which I can identify
as the rivers of the region in Africa from which they claim to have come.
