Page:Archæologia Americana—volume 2, 1836.djvu/206

 170 A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES. [iNTROD. either omitted altogether, or the same for the animate and inan- imate genders. Nice distinctions may, in a purely oral language, escape the notice of the inquirer, if their application should happen to be limited to a few particular cases; and of this at least one instance in point may be given. We have, in order to institute a useful comparison, inserted, amongst the grammatical notices, an extract of Father Febre's Grammar of the language of Chili. * The distinction between animate and inanimate, which was not adverted to by Molina, is there pointed out, but incidentally and only in a single case. The particle pu, prefixed to nouns, is the common sign of the plural, and is properly applicable to animate, though sometimes used for inanimate objects. But the proper designation of the plural for the inanimate class, is the termination ica, substituted for the pu prefixed. The plural number of the nouns is in most Indian languages designated by the addition of a particle prefixed, inserted, or affixed. It is affixed, or an inflection of the termination in the following: Eskimau, et, it, ut ; innulc, ' man ' ; innuit, * men ' ; iglo, ' a house ' ; iglut, ' houses.' Sioux, pee; weetshashtah, 'man'; weetshashtahpee, 'men'; wahtah, ' a canoe' ; ivahtapee, 'canoes.' Algonkin, as already stated, g, k for the animate ; sh, n, 11 for the inanimate : Massachusetts ; nunksqau, ' a girl ' ; nunsqauog, ' girls ' ; hussun, ' a stone ' ; hussunash, ' stones ' : Delaware; okhqua, 'a woman' ; okhquewak, 'women' ; akhsin, ' a stone ' ; akhsinall, ' stones ' : Chippeway ; pinai, ' a partridge ' ; pinaiwug, 'partridges ' ; ossin, ' a stone ' ; ossinecn, ' stones.' Cheppeyan (Athapasca), tlilang dinne, 'a man'; dinnethlang , ' men ' ; tsakhulley, ' a hat ' ; tsakhulkythlang, ' hats.' In the Cherokee the plural is designated by the prefixed particles t, ts, generally though not universally used for inani- mate, and ni for animate nouns. In the language of Chili, by pu prefixed, or ica affixed, as above stated. In the Iroquois languages by particles generally affixed, out that excellent grammar, and loaned to me the only copy, I believe, in the United States.
 * I am indebted to Judge Davis of Massachusetts for having pointed