Page:Archæologia Americana—volume 2, 1836.djvu/262

 236 A SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRLbES. [iNTKOD. It appears from the last example, that there is no distinction between the singular and the plural of the nouns of the animate gender in their combination with the third person of the posses- sive pronoun. Os-un is equally used for his father and his fathers: and os-iwan for their father and their fathers. And the same observation applies to the combination of the third person of personal pronouns with the verb. In other respects the first two examples of the animate and inanimate forms differ only in the additional termination un to the third person of animate nouns ; which termination is the same as that of the plural of inanimate nouns in their simple form. The same variations are found in the vocal sounds which precede the characteristic m of the possessive pronoun, as in those which precede the characteristics g or n of the plural of nouns. The consonant d is prefixed to the substantive when it begins with a vowel and is preceded by the possessive pronoun ; (unless this should appear, as in nos, ' my father, ' in an abbreviated form.) Mr. Schoolcraft seems to indicate a kind of objective or ac- cusative case in animate nouns. Ogima ogi nissa?i mukwun, literally, " Chief he has killed him, bear him." Yet this may be but a superfluous accordance and applicable only to the third person. But there is no doubt about the verb. The Indian always indicates by an in- flection of the verb the object of the action. He does not say ' I love,' but, ' I love him or her.' (Schoolcraft, p. 195). The personal forms, called transitions, are perpetually substituted, in the third person, for the simple form of the verb. A large class of compound descriptive terms, such as of country, place of dwelling, or employment, field of battle, &c. use no pronominal prefixes, but only suffixes, as may be seen in the following pronominal declension of aindad, ' home,' or e place of dwelling.' Singula?: Plural. my home, ainda-yan, thy " ainda-yun, his " ainda-d, our " (excl.) ainda-yang, our " (indef.) ainda-yung, your " ainda-yaig, their " ainda-wad, my homes, ainda-yan-in, thy " ainda-yun-in, his " ainda-jin, our " (excl.) ainda-yang-in, our lt (indef.) ainda-yung-in, your " ainda-yaig-in, their " ainda-wadjin. The terminations ing, oong, he. denote * in,' l at,' ' on ' ; but there are also other prepositions denoting ' on.' Example :