Page:Archæologia Americana—volume 2, 1836.djvu/314

 278 SYNOPSIS OF THE INDIAN TRIBES. [iNTROD, E. DAHCOTA (SIOUX) TRANSITIONS OF THE PRESENT INDICATIVE. / love thou " he " tsheeng, to love. wah tsheeng yah tsheeeng tsheeng love ye they oan tsheeng pee yah tsheeng pee weetshah tsheeng pee him. them. he tsheeng weetsha tsheeng pee they tsheeng pee weetsha tsheeng pee I wah tsheeng weetsha wah tsheeng pee we ah tscheeng pee weetsha oan tsheeng pee thou yah tsheeng weetsh yah tsheeng pee ye weetsh yah tsheeng thee. pee weetsh yah you. tsheeng pee he nee tsheeng nee tsheeng pee they nee tsheeng pee nee tsheeng pee 1 tsheen tsheeng tsh een tsheeng pee we oanee tsheeng mc. mah tsheeng pee oa nee tsheeng pee he oan tsheeng pee they mah tsheeng pee oan tsheeng pee thou myah tsheeng oan yah tsheeng pee ye myah tsheeng pee oan yah tsheeng pee The rules to be deduced from this example are very simple. 1. The termination pee is affixed, whenever either or both pronouns are plural. 2. The pronouns are prefixed ; that in the objective case preceding that in the nominative. 3. The pronoun in the third person singular is omitted, except c we — him,' weetsh yah ; 4. That in the third person plural omitted in the nominative case is weetsha (abbreviation of ' men '), in the objective. 5. In the transitions between the third and the first or second person, the pronouns are ; ,wah, me, mah; we, us, oan. Thou, ye, yah; thee, you, nee. 6. In the transitions from first to second person ; from singular tsheen ; from plural oanee. 7. In those from second to first person ; to singular myah ; to plural oan- yah ; of which, oanee, myah, oanyak, are obviously compound of oan, mah, yah, nee. But having no other paradigm, we cannot draw any general conclusion.