Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly vol. 1.djvu/330

318 in the throat than we pronounce them. This brings into use an almost entirely different set of tones, or more exactly, it brings the various vocal sounds produced by the vocal chords to a point at a different, and to us an unused position of the throat or mouth at a point where we can scarcely catch and arrest the sound. This makes the vowel sounds in general pectoral or ventral, arid the consonant sounds guttural or palatal. As to the consonants, also, it often gives them a clucking or rasping sound not found in our language, unless in certain exclamations.

2. As a consequence of the above, the vowel sounds are not very fully distinguished from the subvowels. There is no "r vl sound; if that is ever seen in an Indian name it has been interpolated there by some white maltransliterator. "L" easily runs into "a," and "m" into "b." Names that upon first pronunciation seem to have an "1" turn out upon clearer sound to have a short Italian "a," or those having an "m' to be more exactly represented by "b.' Probably the fact as to "r': is that it is identical in the aboriginal throat with long Italian "a," or the ah sound, as it still is with Easterners and Southerners.

3. Many of the most common aboriginal consonants, or atonic sounds, while simple to them, can be represented in English only by compounds. Such are the almost universal "ch" which can be as accurately rendered "ts," (?) and the very common final syllable "lth." "T" is also produced so far back in the throat as to be almost indistinguishable from "k.' It seems to be a principle to slip a short "e" sound before an initial "k," and many names begin with a short introductory "n" sound, which is nearly a pure vowel. Of the vowels, "a": pronounced as ah is the most common, though long "a," properly a diphthong, and long "i" a a diphthong, and long "e" are very frequent. While 'it is true that the sounds as a rule