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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/36646-0.txt b/36646-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..12ef0c0 --- /dev/null +++ b/36646-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,3095 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Philosophic Grammar of American +Languages, as Set Forth by Wilhelm , by Daniel G. Brinton + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Philosophic Grammar of American Languages, as Set Forth by Wilhelm von Humboldt + With the Translation of an Unpublished Memoir by Him on + the American Verb + +Author: Daniel G. Brinton + +Release Date: July 7, 2011 [EBook #36646] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: UTF-8 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PHILOSOPHIC GRAMMAR--AMERICAN LANGUAGES *** + + + + +Produced by Julia Miller and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was +produced from images generously made available by The +Internet Archive) + + + + + +Transcriber’s Note + +A number of typographical errors have been maintained in this version +of this book. They have been marked with a [TN-#], which refers to a +description in the complete list found at the end of the text. + +The following codes for less common characters were used: + + ā a with macron + ū u with macron + † dagger + ‡ double dagger + ‖ double vertical line + + + + THE + + PHILOSOPHIC GRAMMAR + + --OF-- + + AMERICAN LANGUAGES, + + As Set Forth by Wilhelm von Humboldt; + + WITH THE TRANSLATION OF AN UNPUBLISHED MEMOIR BY + HIM ON THE AMERICAN VERB. + + --BY-- + + DANIEL G. BRINTON, A.M., M.D., + + PROFESSOR OF ETHNOLOGY AND ARCHÆOLOGY AT THE ACADEMY OF NATURAL SCIENCES, + PHILADELPHIA. + + President of the Numismatic and Antiquarian Society of Philadelphia; + Member of the American Philosophical Society, the American Antiquarian + Society, the Pennsylvania Historical Society, etc.; Membre de la + Société Royale des Antiquaires du Nord; de la Société Américaine + de France; Délégué Général de l'Institution Ethnographique; + Vice-Président du Congrès International des Américanistes; + Corresponding Member of the Anthropological + Society of Washington, etc. + + (_Read before the American Philosophical Society, March 20, 1885._) + + PHILADELPHIA: + PRESS OF MCCALLA & STAVELY, 237-9 DOCK STREET. + 1885. + + + + +CONTENTS. + + +_The Philosophic Grammar of American Languages._ + + + §1. Introduction, p. 3. §2. Humboldt’s Studies in American Languages, + p. 4. §3. The Final Purpose of the Philosophy of Language, p. 7. + §4. Historical, Comparative and Philosophic Grammar, p. 9. §5. + Definition and Psychological Origin of Language, p. 10. §6. + Primitive Roots and Grammatical Categories, p. 11. §7. Formal and + Material Elements of Language, p. 13. §8. The Development of + Languages, p. 14. §9. Internal Form of Languages, p. 16. §10. + Criteria of Rank in Languages, p. 17. §11. Classification of + Languages, p. 21. §12. Nature of Incorporation, p. 22. §13. + Psychological Origin of Incorporation, p. 24. §14. Effect of + Incorporation on Compound Sentences, p. 25. §15. The Dual in + American Languages, p. 27. §16. Humboldt’s Essay on the American + Verb, p. 28. + + +_On the Verb in American Languages. By Wilhelm von Humboldt, p. 29._ + +Verbal forms classified as they indicate the notion of Being: + +I. When the notion of Being is expressed independently, p. 31. + + 1. When the notion of Being is understood, p. 32. 2. When the notion + of Being is expressed by a special word, but without a phonetic + radical, p. 35. + +II. The notion of Being is incorporated with the verb as an auxiliary, +p. 37. + + Analysis of the Maya Verb, p. 38. Other Examples. The idea of past + time as related to death and negation, p. 40. + +III. The notion of Being is present in the verbal form only in idea, +p. 41. + + Case 1st. When the person, tense and mode signs are separable, p. 41. + Case 2d. When either the person, or the tense and mode signs, are + attached to the verb, p. 41. Case 3d. When both person and tense + and mode signs are attached to the verb. 1. Approach toward a Fixed + Form, p. 44. 2. Divisibility of Verbal Forms to allow the insertion + of governed parts of speech, p. 47. General Conclusions on the + organism of American Languages, p. 48. + + Notes (by the Translator) on the various American Tribes and + Languages mentioned by Humboldt in the preceding Memoir, p. 49. + + + + +The Philosophic Grammar of American Languages. + + +§ 1. INTRODUCTORY. + +The foundations of the Philosophy of Language were laid by Wilhelm von +Humboldt (b. June 22, 1767, d. April 8, 1835). The principles he +advocated have frequently been misunderstood, and some of them have +been modified, or even controverted, by more extended research; but a +careful survey of the tendencies of modern thought in this field will +show that the philosophic scheme of the nature and growth of +languages, which he set forth, is gradually reasserting its sway, +after having been neglected and denied through the preponderance of +the so-called naturalistic school during the last quarter of a +century. + +The time seems ripe, therefore, to bring the general principles of his +philosophy to the knowledge of American scholars, especially as +applied by himself to the analysis of American languages. + +Any one at all acquainted with Humboldt’s writings, and the literature +to which they have given rise, will recognize that this is a serious +task. I have felt it such, and have prepared myself for it not only by +a careful perusal of his own published writings, but also by a +comparison of the conflicting interpretations put upon them by Dr. Max +Schasler,[3-*] Prof. H. Steinthal,[3-†] Prof. C. J. Adler,[3-‡] and +others, as well as by obtaining a copy of an entirely unpublished +memoir by Humboldt on the “American Verb,” a translation of which +accompanies this paper. But my chief reliance in solving the +obscurities of Humboldt’s presentation of his doctrines has been a +close comparison of allied passages in his various essays, memoirs and +letters. Of these I need scarcely say that I have attached the +greatest weight to his latest and monumental work sometimes referred +to as his “Introduction to the Kawi Language,” but whose proper title +is “On Differences in Linguistic Structure, and their Influence on the +Mental Development of the Human Race.”[4-*] + +I would not have it understood that I am presenting a complete +analysis of Humboldt’s linguistic philosophy. This is far beyond the +scope of the present paper. It aims to set forth merely enough of his +general theories to explain his applications of them to the languages +of the American race. + +What I have to present can best be characterized as a series of notes +on Humboldt’s writings, indicating their bearing on the problems of +American philology, introducing his theories to students of this +branch, and serving as a preface to the hitherto unpublished essay by +him on the American Verb, to which I have referred. + + +§ 2. HUMBOLDT’S STUDIES IN AMERICAN LANGUAGES. + +The American languages occupied Humboldt’s attention earnestly and for +many years. He was first led to their study by his brother Alexander, +who presented him with the large linguistic collection he had amassed +during his travels in South and North America. + +While Prussian Minister in Rome (1802-08), he ransacked the library of +the _Collegio Romano_ for rare or unpublished works on American +tongues; he obtained from the ex-Jesuit Forneri all the information +the latter could give about the Yurari, a tongue spoken on the Meta +river, New Granada;[4-†] and he secured accurate copies of all the +manuscript material on these idioms left by the diligent collector +and linguist, the Abbé Hervas. + +A few years later, in 1812, we find him writing to his friend Baron +Alexander von Rennenkampff, then in St. Petersburg: “I have selected +the American languages as the special subject of my investigations. +They have the closest relationship of any with the tongues of +north-eastern Asia; and I beg you therefore to obtain for me all the +dictionaries and grammars of the latter which you can.”[5-*] + +It is probable from this extract that Humboldt was then studying these +languages from that limited, ethnographic point of view, from which he +wrote his essay on the Basque tongue, the announcement of which +appeared, indeed, in that year, 1812, although the work itself was not +issued until 1821. + +Ten years more of study and reflection taught him a far loftier +flight. He came to look upon each language as an organism, all its +parts bearing harmonious relations to each other, and standing in a +definite connection with the intellectual and emotional development of +the nation speaking it. Each language again bears the relation to +language in general that the species does to the genus, or the genus +to the order, and by a comprehensive process of analysis he hoped to +arrive at those fundamental laws of articulate speech which form the +Philosophy of Language, and which, as they are also the laws of human +thought, at a certain point coincide, he believed, with those of the +Philosophy of History. + +In the completion of this vast scheme, he continued to attach the +utmost importance to the American languages. His illustrations were +constantly drawn from them, and they were ever the subject of his +earnest studies. He prized them as in certain respects the most +valuable of all to the philosophic student of human speech. + +Thus, in 1826, he announced before the Berlin Academy that he was +preparing an exhaustive work on the “Organism of Language,” for which +he had selected the American languages exclusively, as best suited for +this purpose. “The languages of a great continent,” he writes, +“peopled by numerous nationalities, probably never subject to foreign +influence, offer for this branch of linguistic study specially +favorable material. There are in America as many as thirty little +known languages for which we have means of study, each of which is +like a new natural species, besides many others whose data are less +ample.”[6-*] + +In his memoir, read two years later, “On the Origin of Grammatical +Forms, and their Influence on the Development of Ideas,” he chose most +of his examples from the idioms of the New World;[6-†] and the year +following, he read the monograph on the Verb in American languages, +which is printed for the first time with the present essay. + +In a later paper, he announced his special study of this group as +still in preparation. It was, however, never completed. His earnest +desire to reach the fundamental laws of language led him first into a +long series of investigations into the systems of recorded speech, +phonetic hieroglyphics and alphabetic writing, on which he read +memoirs of great acuteness. + +In one of these he again mentions his studies of the American tongues, +and takes occasion to vindicate them from the current charge of being +of a low grade in the linguistic scale. “It is certainly unjust,” he +writes, “to call the American languages rude or savage, although their +structure is widely different from those perfectly formed.”[6-‡] + +In 1828, there is a published letter from him making an appointment +with the Abbé Thavenet, missionary to the Canadian Algonkins, then in +Paris, “to enjoy the pleasure of conversing with him on his +interesting studies of the Algonkin language.”[6-‖] And a private +letter tells us that in 1831 he applied himself with new zeal to +mastering the intricacies of Mexican grammar.[6-§] + +About 1827, he found it indispensable to subject to a critical +scrutiny the languages of the great island world of the Pacific and +Indian oceans. This resulted at last in his selecting the Kawi +language, a learned idiom of the island of Java, Malayan in origin but +with marked traces of Hindu influence, as the point of departure for +his generalizations. His conclusions were set forth in the +introductory essay above referred to. + +The avowed purpose of this essay was to demonstrate the thesis that +the _diversity of structure in languages is the necessary condition of +the evolution of the human mind_.[7-*] + +In the establishment of this thesis he begins with a profound analysis +of the nature of speech in general, and then proceeds to define the +reciprocal influences which thought exerts upon it, it upon thought. + +Portions of this work are extremely obscure even to those who are most +familiar with his theories and style. This arises partly from the +difficulty of the subject; partly because his anxiety to avoid +dogmatic statements led him into vagueness of expression; and partly +because in some cases he was uncertain of his ground. In spite of +these blemishes, this essay remains the most suggestive work ever +written on the philosophy of language. + + +§ 3. THE FINAL PURPOSE OF THE PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. + +Humboldt has been accused of being a metaphysician, and a scientific +idealist. + +It is true that he believed in an ideal perfection of language, to +wit: that form of expression which would correspond throughout to the +highest and clearest thinking. But it is evident from this simple +statement that he did not expect to find it in any known or possible +tongue. He distinctly says, that this ideal is too hypothetical to be +used otherwise than as a stimulus to investigation; but as such it is +indispensable to the linguist in the pursuit of his loftiest task--the +estimate of the efforts of man to realize perfection of +expression.[7-†] + +There is nothing teleological in his philosophy; he even declines to +admit that either the historian or the linguist has a right to set up +a theory of progress or evolution; the duty of both is confined to +deriving the completed meaning from the facts before them.[8-*] He +merely insists that as the object of language is the expression of +thought, certain forms of language are better adapted to this than +others. What these are, why they are so, and how they react on the +minds of the nations speaking them, are the questions he undertakes to +answer, and which constitute the subject-matter with which the +philosophy of language has to do. + +Humboldt taught that in its highest sense this philosophy of language +is one with the philosophy of history. The science of language misses +its purpose unless it seeks its chief end in explaining the +intellectual growth of the race.[8-†] + +Each separate tongue is “a thought-world in tones” established between +the minds of those who speak it and the objective world without.[8-‡] +Each mirrors in itself the spirit of the nation to which it belongs. +But it has also an earlier and independent origin; it is the product +of the conceptions of antecedent generations, and thus exerts a +formative and directive influence on the national mind, an influence, +not slight, but more potent than that which the national mind exerts +upon it.[8-‖] + +So also every word has a double character, the one derived from its +origin, the other from its history. The former is single, the latter +is manifold.[8-§] + +Were the gigantic task possible to gather from every language the full +record of every word and the complete explanation of each grammatical +peculiarity, we should have an infallible, the only infallible and +exhaustive, picture of human progress. + + +§ 4. HISTORICAL, COMPARATIVE AND PHILOSOPHIC GRAMMAR. + +The Science of Grammar has three branches, which differ more in the +methods they pursue than in the ends at which they aim. These are +Historic, Comparative and Philosophic Grammar. Historic Grammar +occupies itself with tracing the forms of a language back in time to +their earlier expression, and exhibits their development through the +archaic specimens of the tongue. Comparative Grammar extends this +investigation by including in the survey the similar development of a +number of dialects of the same stock or character, and explains the +laws of speech, which account for the similarities and diversities +observed. + +Both of these, it will be observed, begin with the language and its +forms, and are confined to these. Philosophic Grammar, on the other +hand, proceeds from the universal constructive principles of language, +from the abstract formulæ of grammatical relations, and investigates +their application in various languages. It looks upon articulate +speech as the more or less faithful expression of certain logical +procedures, and analyzes tongues in order to exhibit the success, be +it greater or less, which attends this effort. The grammatical +principles with which it deals are universals, they exist in all +minds, although it often happens that they are not portrayed with +corresponding clearness in language.[9-*] + +Philosophic Grammar, therefore, includes in its horizon all languages +spoken by men; it essays to analyze their inmost nature with reference +to the laws of thought; it weighs the relations they bear to the +character and destiny of those who speak them; and it ascends to the +psychological needs and impulses which first gave them existence. + +It was grammar in this highest sense, it was the study of languages +for such lofty purposes as these, with which Humboldt occupied himself +with untiring zeal for the last fifteen years of his life, when he had +laid aside the cares of the elevated and responsible political +positions which he had long filled with distinguished credit. + + +§ 5. DEFINITION AND PSYCHOLOGICAL ORIGIN OF LANGUAGE. + +Humboldt remarks that the first hundred pages or so of his celebrated +“Introduction” are little more than an expansion of his definition of +language. He gives this definition in its most condensed form as +follows: “Language is the ever-recurring effort of the mind to make +the articulate sound capable of expressing thought.”[10-*] + +According to this definition, language is not a dead thing, a completed +product, but it is an ever-living, active function, an energy of the +soul, which will perish only when intelligence itself, in its highest +sense, is extinguished. As he expresses it, language is not an εργον, +but an ενεργεια. It is the proof and the product of a mind _consciously_ +working to a definite end. + +Hence, in Humboldt’s theory the psychological element of +_self-consciousness_ lies at the root of all linguistic expression. No +mere physical difference between the lower animals and man explains +the latter’s possession of articulate speech. His self-consciousness +alone is that trait which has rendered such a possession +possible.[10-†] + +The idea of Self necessarily implies the idea of Other. A thought is +never separate, never isolated, but ever in relation to another +thought, suggested by one, leading on to another. Hence, Humboldt +says: “The mind can only be conceived as in action, and _as action_.” + +As Prof. Adler, in his comments on Humboldt’s philosophy, admirably +observes: “Man does not possess any such thing as an absolutely +isolated individuality; the ‘I’ and the ‘thou’ are the essential +complements of each other, and would, in their last analysis, be found +identical.”[11-*] + +On these two fundamental conceptions, those of Identity and Relation, +or, as they may be expressed more correctly, those of Being and +Action, Humboldt builds his doctrines concerning the primitive +radicals of language and the fundamental categories of grammar. + + +§ 6. PRIMITIVE ROOTS AND GRAMMATICAL CATEGORIES. + +The roots of a language are classified by Humboldt as either +_objective_ or _subjective_, although he considers this far from an +exhaustive scheme.[11-†] + +The objective roots are usually descriptive, and indicate an origin +from a process of mental analysis. They bear the impress of those two +attributes which characterize every thought, Being and Action. Every +complete objective word must express these two notions. Upon them are +founded the fundamental grammatical categories of the Noun and the +Verb; or to speak more accurately, they lead to the distinction of +nominal and verbal themes. + +The characteristic of the Noun is that it expresses Being; of the Verb +that it expresses Action. This distinction is far from absolute in the +word itself; in many languages, especially in Chinese and some +American languages, there is in the word no discrimination between its +verbal and nominal forms; but the verbal or nominal _value_ of the +word is clearly fixed by other means.[11-‡] + +Another class of objective root-words are the adjective words, or +Determinatives. They are a later accession to the list, and by their +addition bring the three chief grammatical categories, the Noun, the +Verb and the Adjective, into correlation with the three logical +categories of Substance, Action and Quality. + +By the subjective roots, Humboldt meant the personal pronouns. To +these he attributed great importance in the development of language, +and especially of American languages. They carry with them the mark of +sharp individuality, and express in its highest reality the notion of +Being. + +It is not easy to understand Humboldt’s theory of the evolution of the +personal pronouns. In his various essays he seems to offer conflicting +statements. In one of his later papers, he argues that the origin of +such subjective nominals is often, perhaps generally, locative. By +comparing the personal pronouns with the adverbs of place in a series +of languages, he showed that their demonstrative antedated their +personal meaning.[12-*] With regard to their relative development, he +says, in his celebrated “Introduction”: + +“The first person expresses the individuality of the speaker, who is +in immediate contact with external nature, and must distinguish +himself from it in his speech. But in the ‘I’ the ‘Thou’ is assumed; +and from the antithesis thus formed is developed the third +person.”[12-†] + +But in his “Notice of the Japanese Grammar of Father Oyanguren,” +published in 1826, he points out that infants begin by speaking of +themselves in the third person, showing that this comes first in the +order of knowledge. It is followed by the second person, which +separates one object from others; but as it does so by putting it in +conscious antithesis to the speaker, it finally develops the +“I.”[12-‡] + +The latter is unquestionably the correct statement so far as the +history of language is concerned and the progress of knowledge. I can +know myself only through knowing others. + +The explanation which reconciles these theories is that the one refers +to the order of thought, or logical precedence, the other to the order +of expression. Professor Ferrier, in his “Institutes of Metaphysics,” +has established with much acuteness the thesis that, “What is first in +the order of nature is last in the order of knowledge,” and this is an +instance of that philosophical principle. + + +§ 7. FORMAL AND MATERIAL ELEMENTS OF LANGUAGE. + +A fundamental distinction in philosophic grammar is that which divides +the _formal_ from the _material_ element of speech. This division +arises from the original double nature of each radical, as expressing +both Being and Action. + +On the one hand, Action involves Relation; it assumes an object and a +subject, an agent, a direction of effort, a result of effort; usually +also limitations of effort, time and space, and qualifications as to +the manner of the effort. In other words, Action is capable of +increase or decrease both in extension and intension. + +On the other hand, Being is a conception of fixed conditions, and is +capable of few or no modifications. + +The _formal_ elements of a language are those which express Action, or +the relation of the ideas; they make up the affixes of conjugations +and declensions, the inflections of words; they indicate the parts of +speech, the so-called “grammatical categories,” found in developed +tongues. The _material_ elements are the roots or stems expressing the +naked ideas, the conceptions of existence apart from relation. + +Using the terms in this sense, Humboldt presents the following terse +formula, as his definition of Inflection: “_Inflection is the +expression of the category in contrast to the definition of the +idea._”[13-*] Nothing could be more definitive and lucid than this +concise phrase. + +The inflectional or formal elements of language are usually derived +from words expressing accessory ideas. Generally, they are worn down +to single letters or a single syllable, and they usually may be traced +back to auxiliary verbs and pronouns. + +Often various accessories are found which are not required by the main +proposition. This is a common fault in the narratives of ignorant men +and in languages and dialects of a lower grade. It is seen in the +multiplication of auxiliaries and qualifying particles observed in +many American languages, where a vast number of needless accessories +are brought into every sentence. + +The nature of the relations expressed by inflections may be manifold, +and it is one of the tasks of philosophic grammar to analyze and +classify them with reference to the direction of mental action they +imply. + +It is evident that where these relations are varied and numerous, the +language gains greatly in picturesqueness and force, and thus reacts +with a more stimulating effect on the mind. + + +§ 8. THE DEVELOPMENT OF LANGUAGES. + +Humboldt believed that in this respect languages could be divided into +three classes, each representing a stage in progressive development. + +In the first and lowest stage all the elements are material and +significant, and there are no true formal parts of speech. + +Next above this is where the elements of relation lose their +independent significance _where so used_, but retain it elsewhere. The +words are not yet fixed in grammatical categories. There is no +distinction between verbs and nouns except in use. The plural conveys +the idea of many, but the singular not strictly that of unity. + +Highest of all is that condition of language where every word is +subject to grammatical law and shows by its form what category it +comes under; and where the relational or formal elements convey no +hint of anything but this relation. Here, only, does language attain +to that specialization of parts where each element subserves its own +purpose and no other, and here only does it correspond with clear and +connected thinking. + +These expressions, however, must not be understood in a genetic sense, +as if historically one linguistic class had preceded the other, and +led up to it. Humboldt entertained no such view. He distinctly +repudiated it. He did not believe in the evolution of languages. The +differences of these classes are far more radical than that of sounds +and signs; they reach down to the fundamental notions of things. His +teaching was that a language without a passive voice, or without a +grammatical gender can never acquire one, and consequently it can +never perfectly express the conceptions corresponding to these +features.[14-*] + +In defining and appraising these inherent and inalienable qualities of +languages lies the highest end and aim of linguistic science. This is +its true philosophic character, its mission which lifts it above the +mere collecting of words and formulating of rules. + +If the higher languages did not develop from the lower, how did they +arise? Humboldt answered this question fairly, so far as he was +concerned. He said, he did not know. Individuals vary exceedingly in +their talent for language, and so do nations. He was willing to call +it an innate creative genius which endowed our Aryan forefathers with +a richly inflected speech; but it was so contrary to the results of +his prolonged and profound study of languages to believe, for +instance, that a tongue like the Sanscrit could ever be developed from +one like the Chinese, that he frankly said that he would rather accept +at once the doctrine of those who attribute the different idioms of +men to an immediate revelation from God.[15-*] + +He fully recognized, however, a progress, an organic growth, in human +speech, and he expressly names this as a special branch of linguistic +investigation.[15-†] He lays down that this growth may be from two +sources, one the cultivation of a tongue within the nation by +enriching its vocabulary, separating and classifying its elements, +fixing its expressions, and thus adapting it to wider uses; the +second, by forcible amalgamation with another tongue. + +The latter exerts always a more profound and often a more beneficial +influence. The organism of both tongues may be destroyed, but the +dissolvent force is also an organic and vital one, and from the ruins +of both constructs a speech of grander plans and with wider views. +“The seemingly aimless and confused interminglings of primitive tribes +sowed the seed for the flowers of speech and song which flourished in +centuries long posterior.” + +The immediate causes of the improvement of a language through forcible +admixture with another, are: that it is obliged to drop all +unneccessary[TN-1] accessory elements in a proposition; that the +relations of ideas must be expressed by conventional and not +significant syllables; and that the limitations of thought imposed by +the genius of the language are violently broken down, and the mind is +thus given wider play for its faculties. + +Such influences, however, do not act in accordance with fixed laws of +growth. There are no such laws, which are of universal application. +The development of the Mongolian or Aryan tongues is not at all that +of the American. The goal is one and the same, but the paths to it are +infinite. For this reason each group or class of languages must be +studied by itself, and its own peculiar developmental laws be +ascertained by searching its history.[16-*] + +With reference to the growth of American languages, it was Humboldt’s +view that they manifest the utmost refractoriness both to external +influence and to internal modifications. They reveal a marvellous +tenacity of traditional words and forms, not only in dialects, but +even in particular classes of the community, men having different +expressions from women, the old from the young, the higher from the +lower classes. These are maintained with scrupulous exactitude through +generations, and except by the introduction of words, three centuries +of daily commingling with the white race, have not at all altered the +grammer[TN-2] and scarcely the phonetics of many of their languages. + +Nor is this referable to the contrast between an Aryan and an American +language. The same immiscibility is shown between themselves. “Even +where many radically different languages are located closely together, +as in Mexico, I have not found a single example where one exercised a +constructive or formative influence on the other. But it is by the +encounter of great and contrasted differences that languages gain +strength, riches, and completeness. Only thus are the perceptive +powers, the imagination and the feelings impelled to enrich and extend +the means of expression, which, if left to the labors of the +understanding alone, are liable to be but meagre and arid.”[16-†] + + +§ 9. INTERNAL FORM OF LANGUAGES. + +Besides the grammatical form of a language, Humboldt recognized +another which he called its _internal form_. This is that subtle +something not expressed in words, which even more than the formal +parts of speech, reveals the linguistic genius of a nation. It may be +defined as the impression which the language bears of the clearness of +the conceptions of those speaking it, and of their native gift of +speech. He illustrates it by instancing the absence of a developed +mode in Sanscrit, and maintains that in the creators of that tongue +the conception of modality was never truly felt and distinguished from +tense. In this respect its inner form was greatly inferior to the +Greek, in the mind of which nation the ideally perfect construction of +the verb unfolded itself with far more clearness. + +The study of this inner form of a language belongs to the highest +realm of linguistic investigation, and is that which throws the most +light on the national character and capacities.[17-*] + + +§ 10. CRITERIA OF RANK IN LANGUAGES. + +Humboldt’s one criterion of a language was its tendncy[TN-3] to +_quicken and stimulate mental action_. He maintained that this is +secured just in proportion as the grammatical structure favors clear +definition of the individual idea apart from its relations, in other +words, as it separates the material from the inflectional elements of +speech. Clear thinking, he argued, means progressive thinking. +Therefore he assigned a lower position both to those tongues which +inseparably connect the idea with its relations, as the American +languages, and to those which, like the Chinese and in a less degree +the modern English, have scarcely any formal elements at all, but +depend upon the position of words (placement) to signify their +relations. + +But he greatly modified this unfavorable judgment by several +extenuating considerations. + +Thus he warns us that it is of importance to recognize fully “that +grammatical principles dwell rather in the mind of the speaker than in +the material and mechanism of his language.”[17-†] + +This led him to establish a distinction between _explicit_ grammar, +where the relations are fully expressed in speech, and _implicit_ +grammar, where they are wholly or in part left to be understood by the +mind. + +He expressly and repeatedly states that an intelligent thinker, +trained in the grammatical distinctions of a higher language, can +express any thought he has in the grammar of any other tongue which he +masters, no matter how rude it is. This adaptability lies in the +nature of speech in general. A language is an instrument, the use of +which depends entirely on the skill of him who handles it. It is +doubtful whether such imported forms and thoughts appeal in any direct +sense to those who are native to the tongue. But the fact remains that +the forms of the most barbarous languages are such that they may be +developed to admit the expression of any kind of idea. + +But the meaning of this must not be misconstrued. If languages were +merely dead instruments which we use to work with, then one would be +as good as another to him who had learned it. But this is not the +case. Speech is a living, physiological function, and, like any other +function, is most invigorating and vitalizing when it works in the +utmost harmony with the other functions. Its special relationship is +to that brain-action which we call thinking; and entire harmony +between the two is only present when the form, structure and sounds of +speech correspond accurately to the logical procedure of thought. This +he considered “an undeniable fact.” + +The measure of the excellence of a language, therefore, is the +clearness, definiteness and energy of the ideas which it awakes in the +nation. Does it inspire and incite their mind? Has it positive and +clear tones, and do these define sharply the ideas they represent, +without needless accessories? Does its structure present the leading +elements of the proposition in their simplicity, and permit the +secondary elements to be grouped around them in subordinate positions, +with a correct sense of linguistic perspective? The answers to these +queries decide its position in the hierarchy of tongues.[18-*] + +As its capacity for expression is no criterion of a language, still +less is the abundance or regularity of its forms. For this very +multiplicity, this excessive superfluity, is a burden and a drawback, +and obscures the integration of the thought by attaching to it a +quantity of needless qualifications. Thus, in the language of the +Abipones, the pronoun is different as the person spoken of is +conceived as present, absent, sitting, walking, lying, or running, all +quite unnecessary specifications.[19-*] + +In some languages much appears as form which, on close scrutiny, is +nothing of the kind. + +This misunderstanding has reigned almost universally in the treatment +of American tongues. The grammars which have been written upon them +proceed generally on the principles of Latin, and apply a series of +grammatical names to the forms explained, entirely inappropriate to +them and misleading. Our first duty in taking up such a grammar as, +for instance, that of an American language, is to dismiss the whole of +the arrangement of the “parts of speech,” and, by an analysis of words +and phrases, to ascertain by what arrangement of elements they express +logical, significant relations.[19-†] + +For example, in the Carib tongue, the grammars give _aveiridaco_ as +the second person singular, subjunctive imperfect, “if thou wert.” +Analyze this, and we discover that _a_ is the possessive pronoun +“thy;” _veiri_ is “to be” or “being” (in a place); and _daco_ is a +particle of definite time. Hence, the literal rendering is “on the day +of thy being.” The so-called imperfect subjunctive turns out to be a +verbal noun with a preposition. In many American languages the +hypothetical supposition expressed in the Latin subjunctive is +indicated by the same circumlocution. + +Again, the infinitive, in its classical sense, is unknown in most, +probably in all, American languages. In the Tupi of Brazil and +frequently elsewhere it is simply a noun; _caru_ is both “to eat” and +“food;” _che caru ai-pota_, “I wish to eat,” literally “my food I +wish.” + +In the Mexican, the infinitive is incorporated in the verb as an +accusative, and the verb is put in the future of the person spoken of. + +Many writers continue to maintain that a criterion of rank of a +language is its lexicographical richness--the number of words it +possesses. Even very recently, Prof. Max Müller has applied such a +test to American languages, and, finding that one of the Fuegian +dialects is reported to have nearly thirty thousand words, he +maintains that this is a proof that these savages are a degenerate +remnant of some much more highly developed ancestry. Founding his +opinion largely on similar facts, Alexander von Humboldt applied the +expression to the American nations that they are “des débris échappés +à un naufrage commun.” + +Such, however, was not the opinion of his brother Wilhelm. He sounded +the depths of linguistic philosophy far more deeply than to accept +mere abundance of words as proof of richness in a language. Many +savage languages have twenty words signifying to eat particular +things, but no word meaning “to eat” in general; the Eskimo language +has different words for fishing for each kind of fish, but no word “to +fish,” in a general sense. Such apparent richness is, in fact, actual +poverty. + +Humboldt taught that the quality, not merely the quantity, of words +was the decisive measure of verbal wealth. Such quality depends on the +relations of concrete words, on the one hand, to the primitive +objective perceptions at their root, and, on the other, to the +abstract general ideas of which they are particular representatives; +and besides this, on the relations which the spoken word, the +articulate sound, bears to the philosophic laws of the formation of +language in general.[20-*] + +In his letter to Abel-Remusat he discusses the theory that the +American languages point to a once higher condition of civilization, +and are the corrupted idioms of deteriorated races. He denies that +there is linguistic evidence of any such theory. These languages, he +says, possess a remarkable regularity of structure, and very few +anomalies. Their grammar does not present any visible traces of +corrupting intermixtures.[21-*] + +In a later work he returns to the subject when speaking of the Lenape +(Algonkin Delaware) dialect, and asks whether the rich imaginative +power, of which it bears the evident impress, does not point to some +youthful, supple and vigorous era in the life of language in +general?[21-†] But he leaves the question unanswered. + + +§ 11. CLASSIFICATION OF LANGUAGES. + +The lower unit of language is the Word; the higher is the Sentence. +The plans on which languages combine words into sentences are a basic +character of their structure, and divide them into classes as distinct +and as decisive of their future, as those of vertebrate and +invertebrate animals in natural history. + +These plans are four in number: + +1. By Isolation. + +The words are placed in juxtaposition, without change. Their relations +are expressed by their location only (placement). The typical example +of this is the Chinese. + +2. By Agglutination. + +The sentence is formed by suffixing to the word expressive of the main +idea a number of others, more or less altered, expressing the +relations. Examples of this are the Eskimo of North America, and the +Northern Asiatic dialects. + +3. By Incorporation. + +The leading word of the sentence is divided and the accessory words +either included in it or attached to it with abbreviated forms, so +that the whole sentence assumes the form and sound of one word. + +4. By Inflection. + +Each word of the sentence indicates by its own form the character and +relation to the main proposition of the idea it represents. Sanscrit, +Greek and Latin are familiar examples of inflected tongues. + +It is possible to suppose that all four of these forms were developed +from some primitive condition of utterance unknown to us, just as +naturalists believe that all organic species were developed out of a +homogeneous protoplasmic mass; but it is as hard to see how any one of +them in its present form could pass over into another, as to +understand how a radiate could change into a mollusk. + + +§ 12. NATURE OF INCORPORATION. + +Of the four plans mentioned, Incorporation is that characteristic of, +though not confined to, American tongues. + +It may appear in a higher or a lower grade, but its intention is +everywhere the effort to convey in one word the whole proposition. The +Verb, as that part of speech which especially conveys the synthetic +action of the mental operation, is that which is selected as the stem +of this word-sentence; all the other parts are subordinate +accessories, devoid of syntactic value. + +The higher grade of incorporation includes both subject, object and +verb in one word, and if for any reason the object is not included, +the scheme of the sentence is still maintained in the verb, and the +object is placed outside, as in apposition, without case ending, and +under a form different from its original and simple one. + +This will readily be understood from the following examples from the +Mexican language. + +The sentence _ni-naca-qua_, is one word and means “I, flesh, eat.” If +it is desired to express the object independently, the expression +becomes _ni-c-qua-in-nacatl_, “I it eat, the flesh.” The termination +_tl_ does not belong to the root of the noun, but is added to show +that it is in an external, and, as it were, unnatural position. Both +the direct and remote object can thus be incorporated, and if they are +not, but separately appended, the scheme of the sentence is still +preserved; as _ni-te-tla-maca_, literally, “I, something, to somebody, +give.” How closely these accessories are incorporated is illustrated +by the fact that the tense augments are not added to the stem, but to +the whole word; _o-ni-c-te-maca-e_, “I have given it to somebody;” +when the _o_ is the prefix of the perfect. + +In these languages, every element in the sentence, which is not +incorporated in the verb, has, in fact, no syntax at all. The verbal +exhausts all the formal portion of the language. The relations of the +other words are intimated by their position. Thus _ni-tlagotlaz-nequia_, +I wished to love, is literally “I, I shall love, I wished.” _Tlagotlaz_, +is the first person singular of the future, _ni-nequia_, I wished, which +is divided, and the future form inserted. The same expression may stand +thus: _ni-c-nequia-tlagotlaz_, where the _c_ is an intercalated relative +pronoun, and the literal rendering is, “I it wished, I shall love.” + +In the Lule language the construction with an infinitive is simply +that the two verbs follow each other in the same person, as _caic +tucuec_, “I am accustomed to eat,” literally, “I am acustomed,[TN-4] I +eat.” + +None of these devices fullfils[TN-5] all the uses of the infinitive, +and hence they are all inferior to it. + +In languages which lack formal elements, the deficiency must be +supplied by the mind. Words are merely placed in juxtaposition, and +their relationship guessed at. Thus, when a language constructs its +cases merely by prefixing prepositions to the unaltered noun, there is +no grammatical form; in the Mbaya language _e-tiboa_ is translated +“through me,” but it is really “I, through;” _l’emani_, is rendered +“he wishes,” but it is strictly “he, wish.” + +In such languages the same collocation of words often corresponds to +quite different meanings, as the precise relation of the thoughts is +not defined by any formal elements. This is well illustrated in the +Tupi tongue. The word _uba_ is “father;” with the pronoun of the third +person prefixed it is _tuba_, literally “he, father.” This may mean +either “his father,” or “he is a father,” or “he has a father,” just +as the sense of the rest of the sentence requires. + +Certainly a language which thus leaves confounded together ideas so +distinct as these, is inferior to one which discriminates them; and +this is why the formal elements of a tongue are so important to +intellectual growth. The Tupis may be an energetic and skillful +people, but with their language they can never take a position as +masters in the realm of ideas. + +The absence of the passive in most, if not all, American tongues is +supplied by similar inadequate collocations of words. In Huasteca, for +example, _nana tanin tahjal_, is translated “I am treated by him;” +actually it is, “I, me, treats he.” This is not a passive, but simply +the idea of the Ego connected with the idea of another acting upon it. + +This is vastly below the level of inflected speech; for it cannot be +too strenuously maintained that the grammatical relations of spoken +language are the more perfect and favorable to intellectual growth, +the more closely they correspond to the logical relations of thought. + +Sometimes what appears as inflection turns out on examination to be +merely adjunction. Thus in the Mbaya tongue there are such verbal +forms as _daladi_, thou wilt throw, _nilabuite_, he has spun, when the +_d_ is the sign of the future, and the _n_ of the perfect. These look +like inflections; but in fact _d_, is simply a relic of _quide_, +hereafter, later, and _n_ stands in the same relation to _quine_, +which means “and also.” + +To become true formal elements, all such adjuncts must have completely +lost their independent signification; because if they retain it, their +material content requires qualification and relation just as any other +stem word. + +A few American languages may have reached this stage. In the Mexican +there are the terminals _ya_ or _a_ in the imperfect, the augment _o_ +in the preterit, and others in the future. In the Tamanaca the present +ends in _a_, the preterit in _e_, the future in _c_. “There is nothing +in either of these tongues to show that these tense signs have +independent meaning, and therefore there is no reason why they should +not be classed with those of the Greek and Sanscrit as true +inflectional elements.”[24-*] + + +§ 13. PSYCHOLOGICAL ORIGIN OF INCORPORATION. + +This Incorporative plan, which may be considered as distinctive of the +American stock of languages, is explained in its psychological origin +by Humboldt, as the result of an _exaltation of the imaginative over +the intellectual elements of mind_. By this method, the linguistic +faculty strives to present to the understanding the whole thought in +the most compact form possible, thus to facilitate its comprehension; +and this it does, because a thought presented in one word is more +vivid and stimulating to the imagination, more individual and +picturesque, than when narrated in a number of words.[25-*] + +But the mistake must not be made of supposing that Incorporation is a +_creative act_ of the language-sense, or that its products, the +compounds that it builds, are real words. Humboldt was careful to +impress this distinction, and calls such incorporated compounds +examples of _collocation_ (Zusammensetzung), not of _synthesis_ +(Zusammenfassung). On this ground, he doubted, and with justice, the +assertion of Duponceau, that the long words of the Lenape (Delaware) +dialect are formed by an arbitrary selection of the phonetic parts of +a number of words, without reference to the radical syllables.[25-†] +He insisted, as is really the case, that in all instances the +significant syllable or syllables are retained. + + +§ 14. EFFECT OF INCORPORATION ON COMPOUND SENTENCES. + +As has been seen, the theory of Incorporation is to express the whole +proposition, as nearly as possible, in one word; and what part of it +cannot be thus expressed, is left without any syntax whatever. Not +only does this apply to individual words in a sentence, but it extends +to the various clauses of a compound sentence, such as in Aryan +languages show their relation to the leading clauses by means of +prepositions, conjunctions and relative pronouns. + +When the methods are analyzed by which the major and minor clauses are +assigned their respective values in these tongues, it is very plain +what difficulties of expression the system of Incorporation involves. +Few of them have any true connecting word of either of the three +classes above mentioned. They depend on scarcely veiled material +words, simply placed in juxtaposition. + +It is probable that the prepositions and conjunctions of all +languages were at first significant words, and the degree to which +they have lost their primary significations and have become purely +formal elements expressing relation, is one of the measures of the +grammatical evolution of a tongue. In most American idioms their +origin from substantives is readily recognizable. Frequently these +substantives refer to parts of the body, and this, in passing, +suggests the antiquity of this class of words and their value in +comparison. + +In Maya _tan_ means in, toward, among; but it is also the breast or +front of the body. The Mexican has three classes of prepositions--the +first, whose origin from a substantive cannot be detected; the second, +where an unknown and a known element are combined; the third, where +the substantive is perfectly clear. An example of the last mentioned +is _itic_, in, compounded of _ite_, belly, and the locative particle +_c_; the phrase _ilhuicatl itic_, in heaven, is literally “in the +belly of heaven.” Precisely the same is the Cakchiquel _pamcah_, +literally, “belly, heaven”=in heaven. In Mexican, _notepotzco_ is +“behind me,” literally, “my back, at;” this corresponds again to the +Cakchiquel _chuih_, behind me, from _chi_, at, _u_, my, _vih_, +shoulder-blades. The Mixteca prepositions present the crude nature of +their origin without disguise, _chisi huahi_, belly, house--that is, +in front of the house; _sata huahi_, back, house--behind the house. + +The conjunctions are equally transparent. “And” in Maya is _yetel_, in +Mexican _ihuan_. One would suppose that such an indispensable +connective would long since have been worn down to an insoluble +entity. On the contrary, both these words retain their perfect +material meaning. _Yetel_ is a compound of _y_, his, _et_, companion, +and _el_, the definite termination of nouns. _Ihuan_ is the +possessive, _i_, and _huan_, associate, companion, used also as a +termination to form a certain class of plurals. + +The deficiency in true conjunctions and relative pronouns is met in +many American languages by a reversal of the plan of expression with +us. The relative clause becomes the principal one. There is a certain +logical justice in this; for, if we reflect, it will appear evident +that the major proposition is, in our construction, presented as one +of the conditions of the minor. “I shall drown, if I fall in the +water,” means that, of the various results of my falling in the water, +one of them will be that I shall drown. “I followed the road which +you described,” means that you described a road, and one of the +results of this act of yours was that I followed it. + +This explains the plan of constructing compound sentences in Qquichua. +Instead of saying “I shall follow the road which you describe,” the +construction is “You describe, this road I shall follow;” and instead +of “I shall drown if I fall in the water,” it would be, “I fall in the +water, I shall drown.” + +The Mexican language introduces the relative clause by the word _in_, +which is an article and demonstrative pronoun, or, if the proposition +is a conditional one, by _intla_, which really signifies “within +this,” and conveys the sense that the major is included within the +conditions of the minor clause. The Cakchiquel conditional particle is +_vue_, if, which appears to be simply the particle of affirmation +“yes,” employed to give extension to the minor clause, which, as a +rule, is placed first. + +Or a conventional arrangement of words may be adopted which will +convey the idea of certain dependent clauses, as those expressing +similitude, as is often the case in Mexican. + + +§ 15. THE DUAL IN AMERICAN LANGUAGES. + +In his admirable philosophical examination of the dual number in +language, Humboldt laid the foundation of a linguistic theory of +numerals which has not yet received the development it merits. Here he +brings into view the dual and plural endings of a list of American +languages, and explains the motives on which they base the inclusive +and exclusive plurals so common among them. It is, in fact, a species +of pronominal dual confined to the first person in the plural. + +This, he goes on to say, is by no means the only dual in these +tongues. Some of them express both the other classes of duals which he +names. Thus, the Totonaca has duals for all objects which appear as +pairs in nature, as the eyes, the ears, the hands, etc.; while the +Araucanian equals the Sanscrit in extending the grammatical expression +of the dual through all parts of speech where it can find proper +application.[27-*] + + +§ 16. HUMBOLDT’S ESSAY ON THE AMERICAN VERB. + +The essay on the American verb translated in the following pages has +never previously appeared in print, either in German or English. The +original MS. is in the Royal Library at Berlin, whence I obtained a +transcript. The author alludes to this essay in several passages of +his printed works, most fully in his “Letter to M. Abel-Remusat” +(1826), in which he says: + +“A few years ago, I read before the Berlin Academy a memoir, which has +not been printed, in which I compared a number of American languages +with each other, solely with regard to the manner in which they +express the verb as uniting the subject with the attribute in the +proposition, and from this point of view I assigned them to various +classes. As this trait proves to what degree a language possesses +grammatical forms, or is near to possessing them, it is decisive of +the whole grammar of a tongue.” + +On reading the memoir, I was so much impressed with the acuteness and +justness of its analysis of American verbal forms that I prepared the +translation which I now submit. + +In the more recent studies of the American verb which have appeared +from the pens of Friedrich Müller, J. Hammond Trumbull and Lucien +Adam, we have the same central element of speech subjected to critical +investigation at able hands. But it seems to me that none of them has +approached the topic with the broad, philosophic conceptions which +impress the reader in this essay of Humboldt’s. Although sixty years +and more have elapsed since it was written, I am confident that it +will provide ample food for thought to the earnest student of +language. + + + + +_On the Verb in American Languages. By Wilhelm von Humboldt[TN-6] +Translated from the unpublished original. By D. G. Brinton, M.D._ + + +You recently had the goodness to give an appreciative hearing to my +essay on The Origin of Grammatical Forms. + +I desire to-day to apply the principles which I then stated in general +to a particular grammatical point through a series of languages. I +choose those of America as best suited to such a purpose, and select +the Verb as the most important part of speech, and the central point +of every language. Without entering into an analysis of the different +parts of the verb, I shall confine myself to that which constitutes +its peculiar verbal character--the union of the subject and predicate +of the sentence by means of the notion of Being. This alone forms the +essence of the verb; all other relations, as of persons, tenses, modes +and classes, are merely secondary properties. + +The question to be answered is therefore:-- + +Through what form of grammatical notation do the languages under +consideration indicate that subject and predicate are to be united by +means of the notion of Being? + +I believe I have shown with sufficient clearness that a language may +have a great diversity of apparent forms, and may express all +grammatical relations with definiteness, and yet when taken as a whole +it may lack true grammatical form. From this arises an essential and +real graduated difference between languages. This difference, however, +has nothing to do with the question whether particular languages +employ exclusively agglutination or inflection, as all began with +agglutination; but in the languages of the higher class, it became in +its effects on the mind, identical with inflection. + +As languages of the higher class, one has but to name the cultivated +idioms of Asia and Europe, Sanscrit, Greek and Latin, in order to +apply to them the above statement. It is still more necessary, +however, to understand thoroughly the structure of those languages +which are on a lower plane, partly because this will convince us of +the correctness of the classification, partly because these tongues +are less generally known. + +It is enough to take up some single leading grammatical relation. I +select for this purpose the verb as the most important part of speech, +with which most of the others come into relation, and which completes +the formation of the sentence, the grammatical purpose of all +language--and often embraces it wholly in itself. But I shall confine +myself solely to that which makes the verb a verb, the characteristic +notation of its peculiar verbal nature. In every language this point +is the most important and the most difficult, and cannot be made too +clear to throw light upon the whole of the language. Linguistic +character can be ascertained through this point in the shortest and +most certain manner. + +The verb is the union of the subject and predicate of the sentence by +means of the notion of Being; yet not of every predicate. The +attribute which is united to the substance by the verb must be an +energic one, a participial. The substance is represented in the verb +as in motion, as connecting the Being with the energic attribute. By +means of this representation, and the peculiar nature of the +attribute, the verb is distinguished from the mere logical copula, +with which it is liable to be confounded if these ideas are not +understood. If the verb is explained merely as a synthesis of Being +with any other attribute, then the origin of the tenses cannot be +wholly derived from one idea, for the idea of time alone would allow +only a three-fold distinction. Moreover, in such case the true and +efficient nature of the verb is misunderstood. In the sentence, “The +man is good,” the verb is not a synthesis of the adjective “good” with +the substantive, but it is a participial of the energic attribute “to +be good,” which contains a condition, having beginning, middle and +end, and consequently resembles an action. Fully analyzed, the +sentence would be, “He is being good.” Where the substantive verb +stands without a visible predicate, as in the sentence, “I am,” then +the verb “to be” has itself as the object of a synthesis, “I am +being.” But as rude nations would find this difficult to comprehend, +the verb “to be” is either entirely lacking, as in many American +languages, or else it has an original material sense, and is +confounded with “to stand,” “to give,” “to eat,” etc., and thus +indicates Being as identical with the most familiar occupations. + +The subject, the substance represented as in action, may be one +independent of the speakers, or it may be identical with one of them, +and this identity is expressed by the pronouns. From this arises the +persons. The energic attribute may exert its action in various manners +in the substance or between two substances; this gives rise to the +forms or classes of verbs. Their action must be confined to a given +point or period of time. The Being may be understood as definite or +indefinite, etc., and in this is the origin of modes. Being is +inseparably connected with the notation of time. This, united with the +fixation of the point or period of time of an action, forms the +tenses. No verb, therefore, can be conceived as without persons and +tenses, modes and classes; yet these qualities do not constitute its +essence, but arise from the latter, which itself is the synthesis +brought about by the notion of Being. The signs of these qualities +must be made to appear in the grammatical notation of the verb, but in +such a manner that they appear dependent on its nature, making one +with it. + +The energic attribute, which aids in forming the verb, may be a real +movement or action, as going, coming, living, working, etc., or merely +a qualitative Being, as a being beautiful, good, mortal, or immortal. +In the former case, we have a real attributive verb, in the latter a +substantive verb, in which an attribute is considered as at rest, +hence as an adjective. Although in both cases the nature of the verb +is the same, yet in many languages this difference leads to a +corresponding variety in grammatical notation. + +In accordance with these ideas culled from universal grammar, the +forms of the conjugations in the various languages will now be +considered. + +I have taken as a basis for this investigation as many American +languages as I thought sufficient for the purpose, and as would not make +the survey oppressive by their number; but as I do not name all of them, +and pay still less attention to pointing out in what other groups of +languages the peculiarities named occur, it must be understood that what +is here said is not intended as a characterization of American +languages. This is reserved for another study. + +In order to judge how closely these languages approach grammatical +perfection in this point, we must take as our criterion that condition +of speech where there is a class of words, which possess verbal power, +and are at the same time separated by a definite form from all other +parts of speech. With reference to this condition as the highest, we +must arrange in various grades all other structural forms or +paraphrases of the verb. + +The notion of Being, which constitutes the basis and the essence of +the verb, can be indicated either, + +1. As expressed independently. + +2. As incorporated in the verbal form as an auxiliary verb. + +3. As included in the verbal form merely as an idea. + +The differences of the languages under comparison can be appreciated +most correctly by means of these three headings; but it must not be +forgotten that any language may use the first and one of the last two +methods, and that in languages which have a substantive verb +conjugated with and without auxiliary verbs, all three may be +employed. + + +I. + +WHEN THE NOTION OF BEING IS EXPRESSED INDEPENDENTLY. + +I must except from this class all instances where the substantive verb +is formed from a radical, inasmuch as this root, like any other, must +assume the verbal form, and thus come under one of the two other +divisions. In such case it expresses the notion of Being, either by an +auxiliary, as in the German _Ich bin gewesen_, or simply in the form, +as, _I am_. When it is remembered that the substantive verbs of all +languages are derived from concrete conceptions and impart to these +merely the general notion of Being, the above becomes still more +obvious. + +Now if there is no root-form for the substantive verb, and yet it is +expressed independently, and not by another verbal form, this can only +be done either by the position of the governing and governed words, or +by linguistic elements which are not properly verbs, but only become +so by this use. In the former case the substantive verb is merely +understood, in the latter it appears in a definite word, but without a +fixed radical. + +1. _When the notion of Being is understood._ + +One of the most common forms of sentences in American languages is to +bring together an adjective and a substantive, the substantive verb +being omitted. + +Mexican: _in Pedro qualli_, the Peter (is) good. + +Totonaca: _aquit chixco_, I (am) a man. + +Huasteca: _naxe uxum ibaua tzichniel_, this woman (is) not thy +servant. + +In the Mixteca language such expressions have a peculiar arrangement. +The adjective must precede the substantive, or rather the predicate +must precede the subject, as in the reverse case the words are +understood separately, and are not connected into a sentence: _quadza +ñaha_, the woman is bad; _ñaha quadza_, the bad woman. + +In the language of the Mbayas, a sentence can be made with any verb by +dropping the verbal affixes, by transposing a letter characterizing +the nouns as such, appending an adjective suffix, and uniting this +with an independent pronoun. The grammars of this language call this +form a passive, but it is just as much a neuter, and is not a verb but +a phrase. From _iigaichini_, to teach, we have _n-iigaichin-igi_, +taught, and as first person _e n-iigaichin-igi_, I am taught. The +initial _n_ which accompanies all nouns in this language, is merely +the possessive pronoun of the third person, added according to the +usage of many of these tongues to leave no noun without a possessive; +the termination _igi_ is a particle which indicates the place where +anything remains. Literally, therefore, _eniigaichinigi_ means, I (am) +the stopping-place of his teaching, _i. e._, one who is taught. All +affixes of mode and tense, however, may be united to this phrase, so +that thus it approaches a verb. + +Regarded apart from the changes through tenses and modes, the union of +the subject and predicate with the substantive verb omitted, is +admirably adapted to express the conjunction of two words in one idea, +and as the languages which make use of it also possess the ordinary +forms of conjugation, they thus possess a special expression for both +the forms of verbs above referred to. We shall note this particularly +in the Beto language. + +When the subject is not an independent part of speech, but an affixed +pronoun, the analogy of this method of notation to a verbal form +increases. For this is present even when no characteristic of a tense +is added, simply by the union of an attribute and a pronoun. It should +be remarked once for all, however, that too much weight must not be +attached to whether these elements form one word or not, as this is +not an infallible criterion. + +The verb cannot be considered to be present as a separate part of +speech, when a verb can thus be made out of any word, not merely those +stamped as verbs, but also out of those which bear the express +characteristics of nouns; and therefore I include all these cases in +the class under consideration. For in all these languages there is in +fact no verb, but only separate elements of speech with the verb +omitted. Such cases are, however, interesting, as showing the gradual +approach to the verb, and the effort of the instinct of language to +arrive at grammatical form. + + The independent personal pronoun rarely makes an element of verbal + form, as in speaking it is generally worn down to an affix. When it is + used to form a verbal expression, the difference of the elements is + + 1 3 3 1 + + apparent. Thus, in the Carib, _anaiaca puin au_--I (am) not a divider. + In that tongue, however, this placement is not applicable to every noun, + but only after certain definite verbal forms, especially in negative + expressions. + + The Lule language confines this notation to participials, and expresses + by it the condition of the action and also its time; [TN-7]_mil quis + 1 2 3 + amaiciton_, you (are) me loving. + +The affixed pronouns are either special, confined to these +expressions, or if elsewhere in the tongue, are not employed with +verbs, or not in this manner; or they are the pronominal affixes of +the verb itself. + +The Maya or Yucatecan language has a special pronoun which added to +any noun forms a sentence with it, and possesses the power to add the +idea of the verb; _Pedro en_, I am Pedro. But when it stands alone, +without a predicate, it loses this power, as _en_ alone does not mean, +“I am.” + +In the Beto language there is, indeed, no special pronoun of this +kind, as the one used is also a possessive. Its position, however, +makes the difference. When it is prefixed, it is the possessive, but +when suffixed it carries with it the power of the verb: _humani rru_, +man I (am); _fofei rru_, bad I (am). In a similar manner this tongue +forms a substantive verb, _ajoi rru_. The meaning of the root is not +given, but it seems to mean something present, at hand. It is +suggestive that in these phrases the accent is always on the pronoun, +as if to signify that that is the important element. + +It is very common in American languages to find the noun and the verb +using the same pronouns, with the former to indicate possession, with +the latter the subject. This might be explained by supposing that the +action is regarded as the possession of the agent. But it is simpler +to suppose that in each case the connection of the person with the +noun and the verb is in the thoughts, and this relation is recognized +in expression. + +In this way the Mbaya language has a sort of descriptive conjugation; +connecting the participles with possessive pronouns; _i-iligodi_, I +(am) explaining; but no doubt less definitely, “my explaining,” “I to +explain.” + +The language of the Abipones slightly alters the possessive pronouns +in some persons and uses them in a similar manner: _ri-aal_, I am +lazy; _yo-amkata_, he is good. + +When the verbal pronoun is used in such expressions, it is entirely +identical with the verb. + +This is the case with the Mexican, where the verbal pronoun united to +the participle forms a sentence: _ni-tlaçotlani_, I (am) a lover. This +expression differs from the present indicative only in the form of the +root-word, _ni-tlaçotla_; but it cannot form another tense or mode. +The grammarians call such an expression a tense indicating habit. +This, however, would not be a tense but a mode, and, in fact, the term +rests on a misunderstanding. That such expressions indicate habit is +shown by the fact that they do not apply, like the present of the +verb, to the temporary action, but convey that it is a custom, or a +business; not that I am loving just now, but that I am habitually a +lover. + +An entirely similar instance occurs in the North Guaranay language, +which also permits, besides the regular conjugation, a union of the +root of the verb with a pronoun, the verb being omitted. The +grammarians of that tongue say that this adds extension and emphasis +to the sense of the verb. The real difference, however, is that this +procedure treats the verb as a noun, and the extension comes from +considering the action expressed by the verb to have become a +permanent quality; _a poro iuca_, I kill men (ordinary conjugation); +_xe poro iuca_, I (am) a man-killer (form with the possessive +pronoun); I kill men as my business. + +In both these languages, therefore, what have been represented as +peculiar and separated forms, tenses indicating habit, or forms of +extension, are simply erroneous explanations of quite simple +constructions. In Mexican the correctness of this explanation is +confirmed by the forms of the vocative, which are identical with this +supposed tense, _in ti tlatlacoani_, O thou sinner; literally, thou +who (art) a sinner. + +In the above examples the verbal power lies in the pronouns. But the +Mbaya language constructs verbal sentences by adding the sign of the +future to any adjective without a pronoun. This sign is _de_, or +before a vowel _d_: _de liidi_, it will be pleasant to the taste; _d +otiya_, he will be fat. I do not find other examples, and am uncertain +whether other tenses and modes are thus formed. In that case the +pronouns would have to be added, and the expression would lose its +peculiarity, which is that the tense sign alone carries with it the +notion of Being. + +The Othomi language makes use in such expressions not only of the +pronouns but of all the affixes of the verb, and conjugates a noun +together with its article, treating it as a verbal radical: +_qui-no-munti-maha_, Thou wert the enriched. Here _no-munti_ is “the +enriched,” and all the remaining syllables are verbal inflections. +Sandoval, who wrote a grammar of the language, explains _no_ as an +auxiliary verb; but with the noun he calls it an article, as it is, +and he evidently misunderstood the expression. It is wholly a verbal, +but as this procedure can be applied to any noun whatever, such an +expression is far removed from a real, well-defined verbal form. + +The same language has another peculiar form with the possessive, which +can only be explained by supplying an omitted verb. _Na nuhti_ means +“my property;” but if to this is added the abbreviated pronoun used as +a verbal affix, _na-nuhti-gā_, the words mean, “this property +belongs to me,” or, “my property is it, mine.” + +In the grammatically obscure consciousness of these people, the ideas +of verbal and merely pronominal expression are confounded, as also in +the Brazilian language, where “my father” and “I have a father” are +expressed by the same word. + +The advantages which these languages derive from the formation of +sentences with the verb omitted are two. + +They can change any noun into a verb, or at least they can treat it as +such. It is true that this can also be done by a substantive verb when +one is found, but as the languages in question unite the noun to the +verbal flexions, their freedom is much greater. + +The second advantage is, that when it is desirable to discriminate +clearly between the two kinds of verbs, the one which has at base an +energic attribute, the other which merely expresses the relation of +predicate to subject, a thing to its qualities, this end can be much +better reached by the process described than even by the substantive +verb, which, by its full verbal form, always recalls the action of an +energic attribute. + +Many of the languages named include in these expressions particles of +time, thereby obscuring the distinction referred to. But in others +this is not the case. Thus in the Maya and Beto there are two +conjugations, one with the pronoun without time particles, and one +with them; and as in both these tongues the present of the true +conjugation has a characteristic tense sign, a separate aorist of the +present is formed by the other conjugation, which our cultivated +tongues cannot express so conveniently. + +2. _When the notion of Being is expressed by a special word, but +without a phonetic radical._ + +Although the assumption here expressed sounds at first rather +enigmatical, yet one can soon see that if the notion of Being is to be +conveyed without a phonetic radical, it can only be done through the +sign of the person, that is, in the pronoun, with or without a tense +sign. This is actually the case in two languages, the Maya and the +Yaruri. + +We have already seen that in the Maya there is a special pronoun +which unites a predicate to the idea of person into one sentence. +There is also another which by itself conveys the idea of the verb, +and of which each person has the signification both of the pronoun and +the substantive verb, “I” and “I am,” “thou” and “thou art,” etc. Not +only is it so used in the present, but it can take the signs of the +tenses. It is distinguished from the pronouns previously referred to +in the first and second persons of both numbers only by a prefixed +_t_, as follows: + + Pronouns which, with a predicate, Pronouns which, by themselves, + convey a verbal idea. possess verbal power. + + Singular. + 1. en ten + 2. ech tech + 3. lai lo lai + + Plural. + 1. on toon + 2. ex teex + 3. ob loob + +This similarity leads to the thought that a true phonetic radical may +exist in this _t_, and may induce us to consider this word not as a +pronoun but as a substantive verb. But this makes no difference. The +fact remains that the word is used both as a simple pronoun and also +as a substantive verb. In the translation of the Lord’s Prayer, the +word _toon_ is a simple pronoun. If _t_ is a radical, it may just as +well come from the pronoun. Some languages offer clear examples of +this. In the Maipure the expression for the third person singular +recurs with all the other persons, as if this sound meant the person, +the man generally, and the first and second persons were denoted as +the “I-person,” “thou-person,” etc. In the Achagua language the same +radical occurs in all the pronouns, but does not, as in the Maipure, +stand alone for the third person singular, but in it, as in the other +persons, appears as an affix. + +At any rate, this pronoun answers, in the Maya, all the purposes of +the substantive verb, and there is no other in the language. + +It is quite intelligible that in the conceptions of rude nations the +idea of an object, and especially of a person, cannot be separated +from the idea of his existence. This may be applied to the forms of +expression above mentioned. What seems a violent and ungrammatical +omission of the verb, is probably in those people an obscure +association of thoughts, a non-separation of the object from its +being. Probably it is from the same source that in some American +languages every adjective is so considered that it includes not the +idea alone, but the expression, “it is thus, and thus constituted.” + +In the Yaruri language the absence of a phonetic radical meaning “to +be” is yet more apparent. Each person of the pronoun is a different +word, and they have no single letter in common. The pronoun which has +verbal power is almost identical with the independent personal +pronoun. The tense signs are prefixed to it. Thus, _que_, I am; _ri +que_, I was, &c. This _ri_, however, is merely a particle which +expresses that something is remote, and corresponds with our “from.” +_Ui-ri-di_, there was water there, literally “water far is” (from us +is). The subjunctive of this substantive verb is given as _ri_, “if I +were.” This means, however, “in,” and is a particle. The notion of +Being is added, as in the pronoun; and the ideas, “in the being,” and +“if I were,” pass into each other. + +Strictly speaking, both the verbal notations here expressed are +identical with those already mentioned. Here also the verb is supplied +by the mind. The difference is that in the latter case the pronouns +alone signify being, and contain this notion in themselves, whereas in +the other cases this notion arises from the conjunction of subject and +predicate. Then also in the Maya language there is a special pronoun for +this sole purpose. As far as the forms go, they entirely resemble those +of a true verb, and if _que_ and _ten_ are regarded as mere verbs +substantive, one who did not examine their elements would take them to +be true verbs like the Sanscrit _bhū_, the Greek ειμι, and the Latin +_sum_. The example of these languages thus teaches that in the analysis +of the substantive verbs of other tongues it is not necessary that a +common phonetic radical need be employed. + +In the Huasteca language the substantive verb is replaced by affixing +a tense sign to the independent pronouns; _naua itz_, I was, _tata +itz_, thou wert, etc. But the case is not the same. The pronoun +receives the verbal power by the suffix _itz_, and this appears only +in later times to have become a sign of the preterit, and in an +earlier period to have had a general sense. The mountaineers who seem +to have retained the older forms of the tongue use the _itz_, not only +in the preterit, but in the present and future. It was doubtless the +expression of some general verbal idea, as, to be, to do, etc. + + +II. + +THE NOTION OF BEING IS INCORPORATED WITH THE VERB AS AN AUXILIARY. + +Auxiliary verbs are used only for certain tenses, or form the entire +conjugation. The former arises from accidental causes having relation +only to these tenses, not to the verb in general. The latter readily +arises when a substantive verb offers an easy means of conjugation by +uniting with another verb. Sometimes the conjugation by means of an +auxiliary shows that the linguistic sense of a notion sought something +beyond the person and tense signs to express the verbal power itself, +and therefore had recourse to a general verb. This can, indeed, only +be constituted of those elements and a radical; but the want in the +language is thus supplied, once for all, and does not return with +every verb. + +An excellent example of this is furnished by the Maya conjugation. In +an analysis of it we find an element that neither belongs to the root, +nor is a person, tense or mode sign, and when their varieties and +changes are compared, there is evident throughout a marked anxiety to +express the peculiar verbal power in the form of the verb. + +The conjugation in the Maya language is formed by affixing the +pronouns and mode and tense signs to the stem. The pronoun is, +according to a distinction to be noted hereafter, either the +possessive pronoun or that one which, without verbal power in itself, +yet receives it when a predicate is attached to it to form a sentence. + +Besides this, the suffix _cah_ accompanies all verbs in the present +and imperfect; and the suffix _ah_ accompanies all transitive verbs +through the remaining tenses, except the future. Present, 1st person, +sing., _canan-in-cah_, I guard; imperf. 1st pers. sing., _canan-in cah +cuchi_; perf., 1st pers. sing., _in canan-t-ah_. _In_ is the +possessive pronoun, _cuchi_ the sign of the imperfect, _t_ in the +perfect is a euphonic letter. + +The idea of transitive verbs is here taken somewhat narrower than usual. +Only those are included which govern a word outside of themselves. All +others are considered intransitive, even those which of themselves are +active, but either have no expressed object (as, I love, I hate, etc.), +or the word which they govern is in the verb itself, as in the Greek +οικοδομεο, οικουρεω. As these can govern a second accusative, the object +incorporated in the verb is included in the idea they express. + +The tenses of the intransitive verbs, except the present and +imperfect, while they drop _ah_ and the possessive pronoun, are formed +with that pronoun which forms sentences with a predicate. + +There are cases where not only the present omits _cah_, but where the +stem, if it ends in _ah_ as is often the case, drops it, and +substitutes _ic_. The signification then alters, and indicates an +habitual action or quality. As _ic_ is the sign of the gerund, this +change appears to be the transformation of the verb into a verbal, and +to effect this, it must be united to that pronoun which serves as the +substantive verb; _ten yacunic_, I love, properly, I am loving +(habitually). + +What _cah_ and _ah_ mean by themselves, we are not informed. Where +_cah_ is attached to the stem of some verbs it signifies intensity. +_Ah_ is as a prefix the sign of the male sex, of the inhabitant of a +place, and of names derived from active verbs. Hence it seems to have +meant at first person, man, and later to have become a pronoun, and +finally an affix. It is noteworthy that the same difference exists +between _ah_ and _cah_, as between _en_ and _ten_. The _c_ may +therefore be a radical sound. In the conjugation, _cah_ is treated +wholly as a verb. For in this the possessive pronoun is always +prefixed; and as in the present and imperfect it is placed after the +stem of the verb and before _cah_, it is evident from the difference +between the two forms _canan-in-cah_ and _in-canan-t-ah_, that in the +former _cah_, and in the latter _canan_, are regarded as the verbs. +_Canan-in-cah_ is precisely as the English “I do guard.” + +_Cah_ is consequently a true auxiliary verb; _ten_, when it appears in +conjunction with _en_ must have the notion of Being understood: _ah_ +appears to be of similar nature, but as it appears only in the +conjugation of transitive verbs, it is a verbal sign, and thus +receives its verbal power. That _cah_ and _ah_ do really possess this +powever[TN-8] is evident from the fact that they are never used +whenever either of the pronouns which are always associated with the +notion of Being is present. + +Except in the future of transitive verbs, there is no instance in the +conjugation where the stem of the verb is not accompanied by one of +these four syllables, all of which indicate Being, and all of which +have the force of auxiliary verbs. + +The future of transitive verbs not only does not take any of these +syllables, but even rejects _ah_ when it is the terminal syllable of +the stem. In this case no other termination replaces it. On the +contrary, all other verbs receive a new suffix in their future, +varying as they are of one or many syllables. The nature of these +suffixes has not been explained. + +The definite results of this analysis are as follows: + +1. The Maya language possesses in its conjugation, besides the +inflection syllables of the persons and tenses, another element, +which, except in the simple future of transitive verbs, distinctly +carries with it the notion of Being; in the future of most verbs there +is such an element, but of unknown origin, and it only fails in the +future of one class of verbs. + +2. This language displays an effort to express, besides the other +purposes of the verb, particularly its synthetic power, which is all +the more apparent as it uses different means in different cases, but +all designed to accomplish the same purpose. + +The Yaruri language constructs the whole of its conjugation in a yet +simpler manner by means of an auxiliary verb. + +The union of the pronoun and the tense sign which, as we have already +seen, forms the substantive verb, affixed to the stem, completes the +inflections of the one and only conjugation of attributive verbs, +except that the independent pronouns are prefixed. Neither the stem +nor the auxiliary words suffer any changes, except the insertion of an +_n_ in one person. The union remains, however, a loose one, and when +person and tense are manifest by the connection, the auxiliary verb is +omitted. This happens in certain verbs ending in _pa_. These, contrary +to the usual rule, change in the perfect this termination to _pea_, by +which the tense is made apparent, and as the person is evident from +the prefixed personal pronoun, the auxiliary can be dropped without +danger of obscurity. + +The formation of certain tenses by means of auxiliaries is also +frequent in American languages. + +An optative of this nature in the Lule language has already been +mentioned. + +In the Mixteca tongue the imperfect is thus formed from the present, +which carries with it the personal sign, and the perfect without its +personal sign, a proceeding which, however rude and awkward it may be, +shows a just appreciation of the peculiarity of this past tense, which +expresses an action as going on, and therefore present in past time. +The expression of continuous action is placed first, “I sin,” then +this is more precisely defined by the mark of past time, “this was +so;” _Yo-dzatevain-di-ni-cuvui_. _Yo_ is the sign of the present, _ni_ +of the preterit, _di_ is the pronoun; the other two words, _to sin_ +and _to be_: “I was sinning.” + +The sign of the present, _yo_, is probably an abbreviation of the verb +_yodzo_, I stand upon or over something, and so there is a second +auxiliary in the sentence. This may often be a means of discovering +the origin of tense signs, as, especially in American tongues, tenses +are often formed by the union of verbs, as also occurs in Sanscrit and +Greek. + +The Othomi distinguishes certain past tenses, which, however, are +separated by other characteristics, by a prefixed _xa_, which is +called the third person singular of a substantive verb. As these +tenses are precisely those in which the action must be completed, the +perfect, pluperfect and future perfect, not, however, the imperfect +and past aorist, such a connection is very suitable. Of this verb we +have only _xa_, and there is another substantive verb _gui_, which +itself takes _oca_ in its conjugation. + +The Totonaca language unites the perfect, in the person spoken of, +with the third person singular of the future of the substantive verb, +to form a future perfect. This is no completed form, but only an +awkward sequence of two verbs; _yc-paxquilh-na-huan_, literally, “I +have loved, it will be,”=“I shall have loved.” + +In similar manner the substantive verb is used to form a tense of the +subjunctive. + +The sign of both the perfects in this tongue is the syllable _nit_, +and _niy_ means “to die.” It is not improbable that this affix is +derived from this verb. Death and destruction are suitable ideas to +express the past, and some languages employ negative particles as +signs of the preterit. In the Tamanaca this is not exactly the case, +but the negative particle _puni_ added to a word which signifies an +animate thing, intimates that it has died; _papa puni_, the deceased +father, literally, “father not.” In the Omagua tongue the same word +signifies old, dead, and not present. + +In the Maipure and Carib tongues the negative particles _ma_ and _spa_ +are also the signs of the preterit. Bopp’s suggestion that the Sanscrit +augment was originally _a_ privative finds support in this analogy. Yet +I would not speak conclusively on this point, as probably that, the +Greek augment ε, and the Mexican _o_, are only lengthened sounds, +intended to represent concretely the length of the past time. At any +rate one must regard the negation as an actual destruction, a “been, and +no longer being,” not as simply a negation of the present. + + +III. + +THE NOTION OF BEING IS PRESENT IN THE VERBAL FORM ONLY IN IDEA. + +In this case the verb consists only of the stem, and the person, +tense, and mode signs. The former are originally pronouns, the latter +particles. Before they are worn down by use to mere affixes, the three +following cases may arise: + +1. That all three of these elements are equally separable and loosely +connected. + +2. That one of the two, the person or the tense and mode signs, +obtains a closer connection with the stem, and becomes formal, while +the other remains loosely attached. + +3. That both these are incorporated with the stem, and the whole +approaches a true grammatical form, although it does not fully +represent it. + +_Case 1st._ + +The only language I can instance here is that of the Omaguas, as I +know no other with such a decided absence of all true grammatical +forms in the verb. The independent pronouns, the stem words of the +verbs, and the particles of tense and mode are merely placed together +without any change, without internal connection, and apparently +without fixed order; _usu_, to go; 1st pers. sing. pres. _ta usu_; 2d +pers. sing. perf. _avi ene usu_ (_ene_ is the pronoun, _avi_ the sign +of the perfect). Subjunctive, 1st pers. sing. pres. _ta usu mia_; 2d +pers. sing. perf. _avi epe usu mia_. + +Sometimes, when a misunderstanding is not feared, the verbal stem is +employed without these qualifying particles, and cannot then be +distinguished from a noun. _Paolo amai amano_. The last word means “to +die,” but grammatically the sentence can as well be rendered, “Paul +only die” (_i. e._ has died), as “Paul only dead.” + +It is true that the suffix _ta_ changes nouns to verbs: _zhiru_, +clothes, _zhiru-ta_, to clothe; but it also changes verbs to nouns, +_yasai_, to cover, _yasai-ta_, a cover. This may be explained by the +theory that this suffix conveys the idea _to make_, which is taken +sometimes actively, sometimes passively. + +According to the above, the Omagua conjugation falls in the class +where an attributive is united to a pronoun and the verb is omitted; +only that here definite tense syllables appear, and this brings the +construction nearer to the idea of a conjugation. + +_Case 2d._ + +1. The Maipure, Abipone, Mbaya and Mocobi languages place only the +personal sign in intimate connection with the verb, and allow the tense +and mode signs to be loosely attached. They have therefore but one type +of personal forms to be applied in every tense and mode by means of the +particles or the affixes formed from them. This type, taken alone, +usually forms the present; but, accurately speaking, this name cannot be +assigned it; because the signs of the other tenses are also dropped when +this can be done without obscurity. _Ya-chaguani-me-yaladi._ Here the +first word is in the indefinite form, though it is not the present but +the perfect. The _me_ is really the preposition “in;” but usage has +adopted it for the subjunctive sign, and so the Spanish grammarians call +it; or rather, the verb is considered to be introduced by a conjunction, +“if,” “as,” so that it is usually not in the present but a past tense. +If this is the case with the last verb, the first one must have the same +tense, and so the whole phrase, without any tense sign, means, “I had +helped him when I said it.” + +One would scarcely expect to find anything like this in cultivated +languages. Yet it does occur in both Sanscrit and Greek. The now +meaningless particle _sma_ in Sanscrit when it follows the present +changes it into a past, and in Greek αν alters the indicative into a +subjunctive. + +To form this general type, the Maipure makes use of the unchanged +possessive pronoun, and treats nouns and verbs in the same manner. The +noun must always be united to a possessive pronoun, a trait common to +all the Orinoco tongues and many other American languages. In the 3d +person sing., however, neither the verb nor the noun has such a +pronoun, but it is to be understood; _nuani_, my son; _ani_, alone, +not son, but “his son.” The 3d pers. sing. of the verb is often the +mere stem, without a personal sign, but that this peculiarity should +also extend to the noun I have met only in this tongue. It is evident +that a pronoun is considered as essential to a noun as to a verb, and +although a similar usage is found in many tongues, yet it appears in +none so binding. There are, indeed, some nouns which are free from the +necessity of thinking them in connection with a person, but these have +the suffix _ti_, which is dropped when the possessive pronoun is +added; _java ti_, a hatchet, _nu java_, my hatchet. From this it is +evident that _ti_ does not belong to the stem, and is incompatible +with the use of a possessive, hence it is the sign of the substantive, +in its independent condition. The same occurs in Mexican, and the +chief termination of substantives, _tli_, is almost identical in sound +with that in the Maipure. + +In this respect the verbal, conjugated with the personal signs, +differs nothing from the noun united to its possessive pronouns. +Grammatically, the form first becomes a verbal one by the added +particles of tense and mode. The signification of these can generally +be clearly ascertained, and thus are united closely to the stem. + +The particles which the language of the Abipones uses to form the +general verbal type are quite different from the possessives. The +tense and mode particles have elsewhere in the tongue independent +meanings. Thus _kan_, the sign of the perfect, means a thing which has +been, time that has past. + +In the language of the Mocobis the personal signs consist merely in +letters, prefixed and suffixed, and have no apparent relationship to +the pronouns. By affixing these letters, phonetic changes take place +so that the stem is combined with them into one form. + +Among the tense signs, a prefixed _l_ indicates a past time, a +suffixed _o_, the future; but the others are independent particles, +loosely attached to the stem. + +I have already shown how the Mbaya language conjugates adjectives with +the independent pronoun, and participles with the possessive pronoun. +The signs used in the conjugation proper of the attributive verb, do +not appear elsewhere in the tongue, and must have descended from an +older period of its existence. + +In the tense and mode signs it is easily perceived how descriptive +phrases pass into true forms. For the imperfect and pluperfect the +speaker can choose among a number of particles, all of which indicate +past time. The modes have definite signs, but these are merely +appended, and some have separate significations. The future and +perfect have not merely fixed particles, but these are worn down to +one letter, so that the stem is actually incorporated with them. + +2. In the languages heretofore considered the personal signs added to +the word make up the conjugation, and the other signs are attached +loosely and externally. The reverse of this, though not perfectly so, +appears in the Lule language. The tense and mode signs, often of but +one letter, are immediately and firmly attached to the stem, and the +pronouns are affixed to this to complete the conjugation. These +pronouns are, however, the ordinary possessives, so that noun and verb +become in a measure identical; thus, _camc_ means both “I eat” and “my +food;” _cumuee_, “I marry” and “my wife;” only in a few examples are +the verbal pronouns distinct from the possessives. + +In this case, therefore, the personal signs are independent elements, +occurring elsewhere in the language, while the tense and mode signs +are true affixes. + +The inflection-syllables form with the stem real verbal forms, and so +far the conjugation of this language belongs to the third case. But +each of the elements has its fixed position, and as soon as one has +the key to the combination, he can recognize and separate them at +once. + +Reasons which it would require too much space to set forth render it +probable that all the tense signs are really auxiliary verbs or come +from them. This is evident of the optative, as has already been shown. +The present only is simple, as it has no tense sign. + +Slight differences are found between the personal signs of some +tenses, so that these tenses can be distinguished by them, a trait +usually seen only in tongues so far cultivated that the grammatical +forms have undergone such changes as no longer to present simple and +uniform combinations. Equally curious is the regular omission of the +tense sign of past time in the third person plural only. Although, +except in this case and that of the present, each tense has its +definite sign, inserted between the stem and the personal sign, yet +there are, besides these, various particles expressing past time, +which can accompany the usual tense form, so that there is a double +sign of time, one in the word itself and one loosely attached to it. + +The languages of the Mbayas, Abipones, Mocobis and Lules are closely +allied both in words and in some grammatical forms. It is all the more +extraordinary, therefore, to find the last-mentioned pursuing a method +in the structure of its verb which is almost totally opposed to that +in the other three tongues. + +_Case 3d._ + +The languages of this class approach in their conjugations those of +the more cultivated tongues, in which each verbal inflection has a +fixed and independent form. Both the person, the tense and the mode +signs are united to the stem, in such a manner that none of the three +can be said to be either less or more loosely attached than the +others. + +All the conjugations about to be discussed lack, however, that fixity +of form which grammatically satisfies the mind. + +The elements are placed definitely and regularly one by the other, but +are not incorporated into each other, and are therefore readily +recognizable. + +They are found, moreover, outside of the verb elsewhere in the +language either without any change or with slight differences of +sound; the personal signs as pronouns, the other affixes as particles. + +The composition of the verb is separable, and may receive into itself +other parts of speech. + +No American language is free from these drawbacks to perfection of +form in the conjugations. In some all three are found; in most the +first and last. In really grammatically developed tongues, as in the +Sanscrit, Greek, Latin and German, none of these imperfections exists. +The verb includes in itself no part of its object, the affixes +modifying the stem have lost all independent life, and the analysis of +the formal elements becomes a difficult philological task, which often +fails and only rarely can be fully proved. + +I shall discriminate in regard to the conjugations about to be +considered that which is an approach toward a fixed form from the +intentional separation of the form to insert a governed word. + +_1. Approach toward a Fixed Form._ + +In the Mixteca language, the personal sign is the unchanged possessive +pronoun. If the verb is governed by a noun in the third person, the +possessive is dropped. It is left to the speaker to choose whether he +designates the person, either by prefixing the personal pronoun or +suffixing the possessive. The tense signs are prefixed syllables, but +the perfect and future signs are altogether different from those of +the present, and materially alter the verbal stem. + +The Beto language prefixes the personal signs and also the possessive +pronouns to the nouns. As the latter are not fully known, we cannot +judge of their identity with the verbal pronouns. The latter do not +seem to differ much from the personal pronouns. The tense signs are +easily recognized suffixes. + +Another conjugation of the same language, by the suffixed pronoun +without tense signs, and with the verb omitted, has been mentioned +above (I, 1), as forming a substantive verb. + +A second substantive verb arises from the conjugation above explained, +with the tense signs. + +These two forms may also be combined, and this illustrates with what +superfluous fullness grammatical forms spring up even among rude +nations. The conjugation with the tense sign is changed by a +participial suffix into a verbal, and then the pronoun is suffixed, as +in the conjugation without the tense sign. The latter, therefore, +stands twice in the form. The pronoun used in the conjugation with +tense signs may also be prefixed to a simple adjective, and the +pronoun used in the conjugation without tense sign is suffixed to +this, and the participial ending is then added. This is treated as a +verb with the substantive verb understood. But sometimes the verb “to +be” in the form without tense signs is added, and then the whole form +contains the pronoun three times, without gaining thereby any +additional meaning. + +The Carib conjugation seems to have arisen from the forms of many +dialects or epochs, and is therefore more complicated and formal, and +less easy to analyze. + +The personal signs are prefixed. In the substantive verb there are two +classes, of which only one is also common to attributive verbs. The +other indicates in the verb “to be” also the connection of persons +with the infinitive and gerund, and is therefore of the nature of a +possessive. It may also be that when it is combined with other tenses, +the notion among these nations is altogether a substantial one, as we +have already seen with the subjunctive. + +The stem often receives the addition _r_ or _ri_, the meaning of which +is not known. + +The structure of the Tamanaca conjugation also reveals a combination +of at least two separate structures. Some tenses use as their personal +signs entire pronouns, almost identical with the personals. Other +tenses merely change the initial letter of the verb, while there is +little similarity between these affixes and the pronouns. In the +plural some of the persons insert a syllable between the verb and the +tense sign. + +The tense signs are suffixed, and consist merely of terminal letters +or syllables, except two true particles, which distinguish the +continued present from the present aorist. + +There are an initial _y_ and a _t_ occasionally appearing in all +persons, of which we can only say that they are not radicals. + +The conjugation of this language, therefore, consists of elements not +readily analyzed. + +The Huasteca language prefixes the possessive pronouns as personal +signs. It may also drop them, and use in their stead the independent +pronouns; or may combine both; or may use abbreviated personals; so +that there is a prevailing arbitrariness in this part of the verbal +form. + +The tense signs are usually suffixes; but in the future they are +prefixes, which are incorporated with the personal sign placed between +them and the stem. They consist of simple sounds, of no independent +signification. But the particles of the imperative are so separable +that when this mode is preceded by an adverb, they attach themselves +to it. + +The Othomi language does not make use of the possessive pronouns in +the conjugation, but suffixes abbreviated forms of the personals, or +else prefixes others of special form, but identical in many letters +and syllables with the personals. In the present condition of the +language the suffixes are used only with the substantive verb; in the +attributive verb, however, they may have been driven forward by the +governed pronouns suffixed. Every verbal inflection may also take, +besides its pronominal prefix, also the unabreviated[TN-9] personal +pronoun in front, or the abbreviated one after it. + +The tense signs consist principally of single vowels, by means of +which the pronominal prefixes are attached to the stem. The imperfect +and pluperfect alone have besides this a loosely attached particle. +The past tenses possess a prefix, which we have already seen appears +to have been derived from an auxiliary verb. + +In the third person of some tenses in certain verbs the stem undergoes +a change of its initial letters, which appears to transform these +inflections into verbal adjectives, an instance of the confusion of +the ideas of noun and verb common in all these languages. + +The Mexican language possesses a peculiar class of verbal pronouns +which form the personal signs. This pronoun is similar to the personal +in its consonants, but has a vowel of its own. It is a prefix. The +plural is marked by the accent, or by a special termination. This +personal sign is inseparable from the verb, but the speaker may also +prefix the independent personal pronoun. + +The tense signs are all without signification, being single letters or +syllables. The perfect is marked not so much by an affix, as by +changing, the termination of the verb in various ways, but chiefly by +shortening and strengthening the sound. All tense designations are +placed at the end of the word, except the augment for past time. If by +augment we mean a vowel sound prefixed to the verb in certain tenses +in addition to their usual signs, then the Mexican is the only +American language which possesses one. + +The modes are designated by loosely attached particles, also by a +different structure of the tenses, and in the second person a peculiar +pronoun. + +Thus the Mexican conjugation consists of true verbal forms, not of +separate parts of speech of independent significance; but the elements +of these forms are easily recognizable, and can be reached without +difficulty. + +The most difficult to analyze, and hence the most nearly approaching +our conjugations, is that of the Totonaca language. + +The personal signs differ from the pronouns. That of the 2d pers. +sing. is not easily recognized, and several forms of it must be +assumed. Its position as a prefix or suffix differs, and it is +variously located with reference to the other verbal signs. Still more +difficult is it to distinguish the tense signs. There are three +different systems of prefixes and suffixes in the conjugation, and the +plan on which these are combined with each other serves to distinguish +the tense. But only a few of these affixes really appear to designate +tense; of the others this may be suspected at best, and of others +again it is improbable. + +Thus there are verbal affixes which cannot be considered to designate +either persons, modes or tenses. + +The stem undergoes little change, but the attaching of the affixes to +it renders it impossible to apply the same scheme to all verbs, and +hence leads to a division of them into three conjugations. + +Some tenses have two different forms, without any change in +signification. + +_2. Divisibility of Verbal Forms to allow the insertion of governed +parts of speech._ + +Of the Mixteca tongue it cannot exactly be said that it divides the +essential parts of the verbal form to allow the insertion of the +governed object. As a rule, the object is merely appended, and where +it appears in the form itself, it is inserted between the stem and the +suffixed pronoun. The latter is, however, no necessary part of the +form, as it is dropped when the verb is governed by a noun, and can +always be replaced by prefixing the indefinite pronoun. + +Nor is it mentioned that the Beto language includes the object in the +verb. + +The Carib tongue unites the governed pronoun with the verbal form, and +in some cases the personal sign is thus displaced. But here the object +is not inserted in the middle, but is prefixed or suffixed. + +Our information about the Tamanaca language discloses nothing on this +point. + +In the Huasteca, the governed pronoun separates sometimes the last, +sometimes the first syllable of the inflectional form from the stem. + +The Othomi merely attaches the governed words closely to the verbal +form, in this resembling the Mixteca. + +The Mexican language is that which has developed this peculiarity to +the greatest degree. The governed noun is placed in the middle of the +verb; or, if this is not done, a pronoun representing it is inserted. +If there are two objects, an accusative and a dative, then two +corresponding pronouns are inserted; and if no object is named, but +the verb is of that class which is followed by an immediate or remote +object, or both, then two indefinite pronouns appear in the verb. The +Mexican verb therefore, expresses either a complete sentence, or else +a complete scheme of one, which merely requires to be filled out. It +says, in one word, “I give something to somebody,” _nititlamaca_, and +then defines what it is and to whom. + +It follows necessarily that a part of the verbal form is fluctuating +according to the sense and connection of the sentence, and that the +governing pronoun stands sometimes immediately before the verb, and +sometimes is separated from it by indefinite pronouns or even nouns. + +In the Totonaca language, the prefixes and suffixes make room for the +governed words between themselves and the stem. + +This examination of the languages whose conjugations approach a fixed +form, shows clearly that this fixedness is seriously shaken precisely +where it is most important, through this insertion of the governed +words. + + ------ + +Now if we reflect on the structure of the various verbal forms here +analyzed, certain general conclusions are reached, which are +calculated to throw light upon the whole organism of these languages. + +The leading and governing part of speech in them is the Pronoun; every +subject of discourse is connected with the idea of Personality. + +Noun and Verb are not separated; they first become so through the +pronouns attached to them. + +The employment of the Pronoun is two-fold, one applying to the Noun, +the second to the Verb. Both, however, convey the idea of belonging to +a person; in the noun appearing as Possession, in the verb as Energy. +But it is on this point, on whether these ideas are confused and +obscure, or whether they are defined and clear, that the grammatical +perfection of a language depends. The just discrimination of the kinds +of pronouns is therefore conclusive, and in this respect we must yield +the decided pre-eminence to the Mexican. + +It follows that the speaker must constantly make up his verbs, instead +of using those already on hand; and also that the structure of the +verb must be identical throughout the language, that there must be +only one conjugation, and that the verbs, except a few irregular ones, +can possess no peculiarities. + +This is different in the Greek, Latin and ancient Indian. In those +tongues many verbs must be studied separately, as they have numerous +exceptions, phonetic changes, deficiencies, etc., and in other +respects carry with them a marked individuality. + +The difference between these cultivated and those rude languages is +chiefly merely one of time, and of the more or less fortunate mixture +of dialects; though it certainly also depends in a measure on the +original mental powers of the nations. + +Those whose languages we have here analyzed are, in speaking, +constantly putting together elementary parts; they connect nothing +firmly, because they follow the changing requirements of the moment, +joining together only what these requirements demand, and often leave +connected through habit, that which clear thinking would necessarily +divide. + +Hence no just division of words can arise, such as is demanded by +accurate and appropriate thought, which requires that each word must +have a fixed and certain content and a defined grammatical form, and +as is also demanded by the highest phonetic laws. + +Nations richly endowed in mind and sense will have an instinct for +such correct divisions; the incessant moving to and fro of elementary +parts of speech will be distasteful to them; they will seek true +individuality in the words they use; therefore they will connect them +firmly, they will not accumulate too much in one, and they will only +leave that connected which is so in thought, and not merely in usage +or habit. + + ------------ + +_Notes (by the translator) on the various American Tribes and +Languages mentioned by Humboldt in the preceding Memoir._ + +_Abipones._--A tribe formerly residing on the broad grassy plains +known as _El Gran Chaco_, west of the Parana river and on the right +bank of the Rio Vermejo. They are a nomadic, hunting people, and are +related by language closely to the Mocobis and Tobas, more remotely to +the Mbayas. The Jesuit, Father Jose Brigniel, wrote an _Arte y +Vocabulario de la Lengua Abipona_, which has not been published. + +_Achaguas._--A small tribe formerly living in Venezuela, between the +Apure and Meta rivers. They are mentioned by Piedrahita as an +intelligent people. Aristides Rojas says they are now extinct +(_Estudios Indigenas_, p. 214. Caracas, 1878). + +_Beto._--Usually spelled _Betoi or Betoya_. They live on the upper +waters of the Meta river in Colombia and are related to the Yaruris. + +_Caribs._--This widely extended stock occupied much of the northern +coast of South America and had planted colonies on many of the +Antilles. It is believed that they are distantly connected with the +Tupis and Guaranis. + +_Guaranis._--The name of a number of affiliated tribes in Southern +Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and the Argentine Republic. The Tupis of +Brazil are a branch of the Guaranis. + +_Huastecas._--A northern colony of the great Maya stock of Yucatan, +dwelling in the province of Tampico on the river Panuco. At the time +of the discovery they were an important and cultured nation. + +_Lule._--One of the nations of _El Gran Chaco_, west of the Parana +river. The _Arte y Vocabulario de la Lengua Lule y Tonocote_, by +Father Antonio Machoni de Cerdeña (Madrid, 1732), was republished with +a careful ethnographic introduction by J. M. Larsen, at Buenos Ayres, +1877. + +_Maipures._--Tribes of various dialects who live on both sides of the +Orinoco river where it forms the boundary between Venezuela and New +Granada, about 5° N. lat. + +_Mayas._--Natives of Yucatan, and the most highly developed of any of +the American nations. Related dialects are spoken in Guatemala, in +Tabasco, and by the Huastecas. + +_Mbayas._--A people of the _Gran Chaco_ in the northern part of the +Argentine Republic, and distantly related to the Abipones. + +_Mexican._--Otherwise called the Nahuatl or Aztec language. Spoken in +the greatest purity in the valley of Mexico, it extended from the Gulf +of Mexico to the Pacific, and along the latter from Sonora to +Guatemala, with few interruptions. + +_Mixtecas._--A tribe speaking several dialects living in the State of +Oaxaca, Mexico. + +_Mocobis._--One of the four principal nations who formerly occupied +_El Gran Chaco_, west of the Parana river. By some the name is spelled +_Mbocoby_. + +_Omaguas._--Once a nation of considerable extent and culture between +the Marañon and the Orinoco. + +_Othomis._--A tribe resident near San Louis Potosi, Mexico, and +neighboring parts. Their proper name is said to be _Hiā-hiū_. +Their language is monosyllabic and nasal. + +_Tamanacas._--These dwell on the right bank of the Upper Orinoco, and +are connected by dialect with the Carib stock on the one hand and the +Guaranay on the other. + +_Totonacas._--A nation asserted by Pimentel to speak a mixed language +(Nahuatl and Maya) dwelling in the southern portion of the Province of +Vera Cruz, Mexico, and parts adjacent. + +_Tupis._--The natives of the eastern area of Brazil, related to the +Guaranis of the south and perhaps to the Caribs of the north. The +_Lingoa Geral_ of Brazil is a corrupt Tupi. + +_Yaruris._--Residents on the upper streams of the Meta river in New +Granada, related to the Betoi. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[3-*] _Die Elemente der Philosophischen Sprachwissenschaft Wilhelm von +Humboldt’s. In systematischer Entwicklung dargestellt und kritisch +erläutert_, von Dr. Max Schasler, Berlin, 1847. + +[3-†] _Die Sprachwissenschaft Wilhelm von Humboldt’s und die Hegel’sche +Philosophie_, von H. Steinthal, Dr., Berlin, 1848. The same eminent +linguist treats especially of Humboldt’s teachings in _Grammatik, Logik +und Psychologie, ihre Principien und ihr Verhältniss zu einander_, pp. +123-135 (Berlin, 1855); in his well-known volume _Characteristik[TN-10] +der Hauptsächlichsten Typen des Sprachbaues_, pp. 20-70 (Berlin, 1860); +in his recent oration _Ueber Wilhelm von Humboldt_ (Berlin, 1883); and +elsewhere. + +[3-‡] _Wilhelm von Humboldt’s Linguistical Studies._ By C. J. Adler, +A.M. (New York, 1866). This is the only attempt, so far as I know, to +present Humboldt’s philosophy of language to English readers. It is +meritorious, but certainly in some passages Prof. Adler failed to catch +Humboldt’s meaning. + +[4-*] _Ueber die Verschiedenheit des menschlichen Sprachbaues und ihren +Einfluss auf die geistige Entwickelung des Menschengeschlechts._ Prof. +Adler translates this “The Structural Differences of Human Speech and +their Influence on the Intellectual Development of the Human Race.” The +word _geistige_, however, includes emotional as well as intellectual +things. + +[4-†] _Ueber die Verschiedenheit_, etc., Bd. vi, s. 271, note. I may +say, once for all, that my references, unless otherwise stated, are to +the edition of Humboldt’s _Gesammelte Werke_, edited by his brother, +Berlin, 1841-1852. + +[5-*] _Aus Wilhelm von Humboldt’s letzien Lebensjahren. Eine Mütheilung +bisher unbekannter Briefe._ Von Theodor Distel, p. 19 (Leipzig, 1883). + +[6-*] From his memoir _Ueber das vergleichende Sprachtstudium[TN-11] in +Beziehung auf die verschiedenen Epochen der Sprachentwicklung_, Bd. iii, +s. 249. + +[6-†] He draws examples from the Carib, Lule, Tupi, Mbaya, Huasteca, +Nahuatl, Tamanaca, Abipone, and Mixteca; _Ueber das Entstehen der +grammatischen Formen, und ihren Einfluss auf die Ideenentwicklung_, Bd. +iii, ss. 269-306. + +[6-‡] _Ueber die Buchstabenschrift und ihren Zusummenhang[TN-12] mit dem +Sprachbau_, Bd. vi, s. 526 + +[6-‖] This letter is printed in the memoir of Prof. E. Teza, _Intorno +agli Studi del Thavenet sulla Lingua Algonchina_, in the _Annali delle +Università toscane_, Tomo xviii (Pisa, 1880). + +[6-§] Compare Prof. Adler’s Essay, above mentioned, p. 11. + +[7-*] This is found expressed nowhere else so clearly as at the +beginning of § 13, where the author writes: “Der Zweck dieser +Einleitung, die Sprachen, in der Verschiedenartigkeit ihres Baues, als +die nothwendige Grundlage der Fortbildung des menschlichen Geistes +darzustellen, und den wechsel seitigen Einfluss des Einen auf das Andre +zu erörtern, hat mich genöthigt, in die Natur der Sprache überhaupt +einzugehen.” Bd. vi, s. 106. + +[7-†] “Der Idee der Sprachvollendung Dasein in der Wirklichkeit zu +gewinnen.” _Ueber die Verschiedenheit_, ss. 10 and 11. The objection +which may be urged that a true philosophy of language must deal in +universals and not confine itself to mere differentiations (particulars) +is neatly met by Dr. Schasler, _Die Elemente der Philosophischen +Sprachwissenschaft_, etc., p. 21, note. + +[8-*] In his remarkable essay “On the Mission of the Historian,” which +Prof. Adler justly describes as “scarcely anything more than a +preliminary to his linguistical researches,” Humboldt writes: “Die +Philosophie schreibt den Begebenheiten ein Ziel vor: dies Suchen nach +Endursachen, man mag sie auch aus dem Wesen des Menschen und der Natur +selbst ableiten wollen, stört und verfalscht alle freie Ansicht des +eigenthümlichen Wirkens der Kräfte.” _Ueber die Aufgabe des +Geschichtschreibers_, Bd. i, s. 13. + +[8-†] “Das Studium der verschiedenen Sprachen des Erdbodens verfehlt +seine Bestimmung, wenn es nicht immer den Gang der geistigen Bildung im +Auge behält, und darin seinen eigentlichen Zweck sucht.” _Ueber den +Zusammenhang der Schrift mit der Sprache_, Bd. vi, s. 428. + +[8-‡] “Eine Gedankenwelt an Töne geheftet.” _Ueber die Buchstabenschrift +und ihre Zusammenhang mit dem Sprachbau_, Bd. vi, s. 530. + +[8-‖] This cardinal point in Humboldt’s philosophy is very clearly set +forth in his essay, “_Ueber die Aufgabe des Geschichtschreibers_,” Bd. +i, s. 23, and elsewhere. + +[8-§] See _Ueber die Buchstabenschrift_, etc., Bd. vi, s. 530. + +[9-*] “Les notions grammaticales resident bien plutôt dans l’esprit de +celui qui parle que dans le matériel du language.” Humboldt, _Lettre à +M. Abel-Remusat Werke_, Bd. vii, s. 396. On the realms of the three +varieties of grammar, see also Dr. M. Schasler, _Die Elemente der +Philosophischen Sprachwissenschaft_, etc., s. 35, 36, and Friedrich +Müller, _Grundriss der Sprachwissenschaft_, Band 1, ss. 8-10 (Wien, +1876). Schasler observes that a main object in philosophic grammar is an +investigation of “die genetisch-qualitativen Unterschiede der +Redetheile,” that is, of the fundamental psychological differences of +the parts of speech, as, what is the ultimate distinction between noun +and adjective, etc.? + +[10-*] Steinthal does not like Humboldt’s expression “to make capable” +(fähig zu machen). He objects that the “capacity” to express thought is +already in the articulate sounds. But what Humboldt wishes to convey is +precisely that this capacity is only derived from the ceaseless, +energizing effort of the intellect. Steinthal, _Die Sprachwissenschaft +Wilhelm von Humboldt’s_, s. 91, note. The words in the original are: +“Die sich ewig wiederholende Arbeit des Geistes, den articulirten Laut +zum Ausdruck des Gedanken fähig zu machen.” + +[10-†] “Nur die Stärke des Selbstbewusstseins nöthigt der körperlichen +Natur die scharfe Theilung und feste Begrenzung der Laute ab, die wir +Artikulation nennen.” _Ueber das Vergleichende Sprachstudium in +Beziehung auf die Verschiedenen Epochen der Sprachentwicklung_, Bd. iii, +s. 244. + +[11-*] Ubi suprá, p. 17. Compare Humboldt’s words, “Im Ich aber ist von +selbst auch das Du gegeben.” _Ueber die Verschiedenheit_, etc., Bd. vi, +s. 115. + +[11-†] _Ueber die Verschiedenheit_, etc., Bd. vi, s. 116; and compare +Dr. Schasler’s discussion of this subject (which is one of the best +parts of his book), _Die Elemente der Phil. Sprachwissenschaft_, etc., +ss. 202-14. + +[11-‡] Expressed in detail by Humboldt in his _Lettre à M. Abel-Remusat +sur la nature des formes grammaticules_, etc., Bd. vii, ss. 300-303. + +[12-*] _Ueber die Verwandtschaft der Ortsadverbia mit dem Pronomen in +einigen Sprachen_, in the _Abhandlungen der hist.-phil. Classe der +Berliner Akad. der Wiss._ 1829. + +[12-†] _Ueber die Verschiedenheit_, etc., Bd. vi, s. 115. + +[12-‡] _Gesammelte Werke_, Bd. vii, ss. 392-6. + +[13-*] His explanation of inflection is most fully given in his +Introductory Essay, _Ueber die Verschiedenheit_, etc., § 14, _Gesammelte +Werke_, s. 121, sqq. A sharp, but friendly criticism of this central +point of his linguistic philosophy may be found in Steinthal, +_Charakteristik der Hauptsächlichsten Typen des Sprachbones_,[TN-13] ss. +58-61. Humboldt certainly appears not only obscure in parts but +contradictory. + +[14-*] See these teachings clearly set forth in his Essay, _Ueber das +vergleichende Sprachstudium in Beziehung auf die verschiedenen Epochen +der Sprachentwicklung, Werke_, Bd. iii, especially, s. 255 and s. 262. + +[15-*] The eloquent and extraordinary passage in which these opinions +are expressed is in his _Lettre à M. Abel-Remusat, Gesammelte Werke_, +Bd. vii, ss. 336-7. + +[15-†] _Gesammelte Werke_, Bd. iii, ss. 248, 257. + +[16-*] This reasoning is developed in the essay, _Ueber das +Vergleichende Sprachstudium_, etc., _Gesammelte Werke_, Bd. iii, ss. +241-268; and see ibid, s. 270. + +[16-†] See the essay _Ueber die Buchstabenschrift und ihren Zusammenhang +mit dem Sprachbau, Ges. Werke_, Bd. vi, ss. 551-2. + +[17-*] On this subtle point, which has been by no means the least +difficult to his commentators, see Humboldt’s Introduction _Ueber die +Verschiedenheit_, etc., _Ges. Werke_, Bd. vi, ss. 45-6, 92-5, 254-5, by +a careful comparison of which passages his real intent will become +apparent. + +[17-†] _Lettre à M. Abbe-Remusat,[TN-14] Ges. Werke_, Bd. vii, s. 396. + +[18-*] “Nicht was in einer Sprache ausgedrückt zu werden vermag, sondern +das, wozu sie aus eigner, innerer Kraft anfeuert und begeistert, +entscheidet über ihre Vorzüge oder Mängel.” _Ueber das Entstehen der +Grammatischen Formen_, etc[TN-15], _Werke_, Bd. iii, s. 272. Compare with +this the expression in his celebrated _Einleitung_: “Die Sprache ist das +bildende Organ des Gedanken,” _Werke_, Bd. vi, s. 51. A perfected +language will “allseitig und harmonisch durch sich selbst auf den Geist +einwirken.” Ibid, s. 311. + +[19-*] [TN-16]_Ueber das Entstehen der grammatischen Formen_,“ etc., +_Werke_, Bd. iii, s. 292. + +[19-†] Speaking of such “imperfect” languages, he gives the following +wise suggestion for their study: “Ihr einfaches Geheimniss, welches den +Weg anzeigt, auf welchem man sie, mit gänzlicher Vergessenheit unserer +Grammatik, immer zuerst zu enträthseln versuchen muss, ist, das in sich +Bedeutende unmittelbar an einander zu reihen.” _Ueber das Vergleichende +Sprachstudium_, etc., _Werke_, Bd. iii, s. 255; and for a practical +illustration of his method, see the essay, _Ueber das Entstehen der +grammatischen Formen_, etc., Bd. iii, s. 274. + +[20-*] His teachings on this point, of which I give the barest outline, +are developed in sections 12 and 13 of his Introduction, _Ueber die +Verschiedenheit_, etc. Steinthal’s critical remarks on these sections +(in his _Charakteristik der haupt. Typen des Sprachbaues_) seem to me +unsatisfactory, and he even does not appear to grasp the chain of +Humboldt’s reasoning. + +[21-*] _Lettre à M. Abel-Remusat, Werke_, Bd. vii, ss. 353-4. + +[21-†] _Ueber die Verschiedenheit_, etc., Sec. 23, _Werke_, Bd. vi, s. +329. + +[24-*] “Der Mexikanischen kann man am Verbum, in welchem die Zeiten +durch einzelne Endbuchstaben und zum Theil offenbar symbolisch +bezeichnet werden, Flexionen und ein gewisses Streben nach +Sanskritischer Worteinheit nicht absprechen.” _Ueber die +Verschiedenheit_, etc., _Werke_, Bd. vi, s. 176. + +[25-*] “Daher ist das Einschliessen in Ein Wort mehr Sache der +Einbildungskraft, die Trennung mehr die des Verstandes.” _Ueber die +Verschiedenheit_, etc., s. 327. Compare also, s. 326 and 166. Steinthal +points out the disadvantages of the incorporative plan and puts it lower +than the isolating system of the Chinese; but fails to recognize its +many and striking advantages. See his remarks, “Ueber das Wesen und +Werth der Einverleibungsmethode,” in his _Charakteristik der haupt. +Typen des Sprachbaues_, s. 214. + +[25-†] _Ueber die Verschiedenheit_, etc., in _Werke_, Bd. vi, ss. 323 +sqq. + +[27-*] See the essay, _Ueber den Dualis, Gesammelte Werke_, Bd. vi, ss. +562-596. + + + + +LIBRARY OF ABORIGINAL AMERICAN LITERATURE. + +GENERAL EDITOR AND PUBLISHER: D. G. BRINTON, M.D. + + +The aim of this series of publications is to put within the reach of +scholars authentic materials for the study of the languages and +culture of the native races of America. Each work is the production of +the native mind, and is printed in the original tongue, with a +translation and notes, and only such are selected as have some +intrinsic historical or ethnological importance. The volumes of the +series are sold separately, at the prices named. + +_NOW READY._ + +=No. I. THE CHRONICLES OF THE MAYAS.= + +=Edited by DANIEL G. BRINTON, M.D. 279 pages. Cloth, uncut, $5.00. +($3.00 when a complete set is ordered.)= + +This volume contains five brief chronicles in the Maya language of +Yucatan, written shortly after the Conquest, and carrying the history +of that people back many centuries. To these is added a history of the +Conquest, written in his native tongue, by a Maya Chief, in 1562. The +texts are preceded by an introduction on the history of the Mayas; +their language, calendar, numeral system, etc.; and a vocabulary is +added at the close. + +=No. II. THE IROQUOIS BOOK OF RITES.= + +=Edited by HORATIO HALE. 222 pages. Cloth, uncut, $3.00=. + +This work contains, in the Mohawk and Onondaga languages, the +speeches, songs and rituals with which a deceased chief was lamented +and his successor installed in office. It may be said to throw a +distinct light on the authentic history of Northern America to a +period fifty years earlier than the era of Columbus. The Introduction +treats of the ethnology and history of the Huron-Iroquois. A map, +notes and a glossary complete the work. + +=No. III. THE COMEDY-BALLET OF GÜEGÜENCE.= + +=Edited by DANIEL G. BRINTON, M.D. 146 pages. Cloth, uncut, $2.50.= + +A curious and unique specimen of the native comic dances, with +dialogues, called _bailes_, formerly common in Central America. It is +in the mixed Nahuatl-Spanish jargon of Nicaragua, and shows +distinctive features of native authorship. The Introduction treats of +the ethnology of Nicaragua, and the local dialects, musical +instruments, and dramatic representations. A map and a number of +illustrations are added. + +=No. IV. A MIGRATION LEGEND OF THE CREEK INDIANS.= + +=By A. S. GATSCHET. 251 pages. Cloth, uncut, $3.00.= + +This learned work offers a complete survey of the ethnology of the +native tribes of the Gulf States. The strange myth or legend told to +Gov. Oglethorpe, in 1732, by the Creeks, is given in the original, +with an Introduction and Commentary. + +=No. V. THE LENÂPÉ AND THEIR LEGENDS.= + +=By Dr. DANIEL G. BRINTON. Cloth, uncut, $3.00.= + +Contains the complete text and symbols, 184 in number, of the WALAM +OLUM OR RED SCORE of the Delaware Indians, with the full original +text, and a new translation, notes and vocabulary. A lengthy +introduction treats of the Lenâpé or Delawares, their history, +customs, myths, language, etc., with numerous references to other +tribes of the great Algonkin stock. + +_IN PREPARATION_: + +=THE ANNALS OF THE CAKCHIQUELS.= By Francisco Arana Ernantez Xahila. + With a translation and notes by Dr. D. G. Brinton. + +=ABORIGINAL AMERICAN ANTHOLOGY.= Chiefly original material, furnished + by various collaborators. + + + + +RECENT PUBLICATIONS ON AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY. + + +_AMERICAN HERO-MYTHS._ + +A Study in the Native Religions of the Western Continent. By Daniel G. +Brinton, A.M., M.D., etc. 1 vol., 8vo, pp. 251. (Philad’a, 1882.) +Cloth, Price, $1.75. + +=NOTICES OF THE PRESS.= + +“Dr. Brinton writes from a minute and extended knowledge of the +original sources. * * His work renders a signal service to the cause +of comparative mythology in our country.”--_The Literary World_ +(Boston). + +“This study of certain of the most remarkable stories of American +mythology is exceedingly interesting.”--_The Saturday Review_ +(London). + + +_ABORIGINAL AMERICAN AUTHORS_, And Their Productions. Especially those +in the Native Languages. A Contribution to the History of Literature. +By Daniel G. Brinton, A.M., M.D., etc. 1 vol., 8vo, pp. 63. Boards, +Price, $1.00. + +An essay founded on an address presented to the Congress of +Americanists, at Copenhagen, in 1883. It is an extended review of the +literary efforts of the red race, in their own tongues, and in +English, Latin and Spanish (both manuscript and printed). + + +_A GRAMMAR OF THE CAKCHIQUEL LANGUAGE_ of Guatemala. Translated with +an Introduction and Additions by Daniel G. Brinton, M.D. Map, pp. 72. +Price, boards, $1.00. + + +_THE NAMES OF THE GODS IN THE QUICHE MYTHS_, of Central America. By D. +G. Brinton, M.D., 8vo, pp. 38, paper, 50c. + + +_THE LINEAL MEASURES OF THE SEMI-CIVILIZED NATIONS_ of Mexico and +Central America. By D. G. Brinton, M.D., pp. 14, paper, 25c. + + + +Transcriber’s Note + + +The following typographical errors were maintained in this version of the +book. + + Page Error + TN-1 15 unneccessary should read unnecessary + TN-2 16 grammer should read grammar + TN-3 17 tendncy should read tendency + TN-4 23 acustomed, should read accustomed + TN-5 23 fullfils should read fulfils + TN-6 29 Humboldt should read Humboldt. + TN-7 33 _mil quis amaiciton_, should have numbers over the words + in to match numbers on the next line + TN-8 39 powever should read power + TN-9 46 unabreviated should read unabbreviated + TN-10 fn 3-† Characteristik should read Charakteristik + TN-11 fn 6-* Sprachtstudium should read Sprachstudium + TN-12 fn 6-‡ Zusummenhang should read Zusammenhang + TN-13 fn 13-* _Sprachbones_, should read Sprachbaues + TN-14 fn 17-† Abbe-Remusat, should read Abel-Remusat + TN-15 fn 18-* etc should read etc. + TN-16 fn 19-* _Ueber_ should read “_Ueber_ + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Philosophic Grammar of American +Languages, as Set Forth by Wilhelm , by Daniel G. 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Thus, we do not necessarily +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + + +Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: + + https://www.gutenberg.org + +This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, +including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to +subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. diff --git a/36646-0.zip b/36646-0.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..3259d6c --- /dev/null +++ b/36646-0.zip diff --git a/36646-8.txt b/36646-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..f978889 --- /dev/null +++ b/36646-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,3102 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Philosophic Grammar of American +Languages, as Set Forth by Wilhelm von Humboldt, by Daniel G. Brinton + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Philosophic Grammar of American Languages, as Set Forth by Wilhelm von Humboldt + With the Translation of an Unpublished Memoir by Him on + the American Verb + +Author: Daniel G. Brinton + +Release Date: July 7, 2011 [EBook #36646] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PHILOSOPHIC GRAMMAR--AMERICAN LANGUAGES *** + + + + +Produced by Julia Miller and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was +produced from images generously made available by The +Internet Archive) + + + + + +Transcriber's Note + +A number of typographical errors have been maintained in this version +of this book. They have been marked with a [TN-#], which refers to a +description in the complete list found at the end of the text. + +Text surrounded with ~ was originally printed in Greek. + +The following codes for less common characters were used: + + [=a] a with macron + [=u] u with macron + + dagger + ++ double dagger + || double vertical line + + + + + THE + + PHILOSOPHIC GRAMMAR + + --OF-- + + AMERICAN LANGUAGES, + + As Set Forth by Wilhelm von Humboldt; + + WITH THE TRANSLATION OF AN UNPUBLISHED MEMOIR BY + HIM ON THE AMERICAN VERB. + + --BY-- + + DANIEL G. BRINTON, A.M., M.D., + + PROFESSOR OF ETHNOLOGY AND ARCHOLOGY AT THE ACADEMY OF NATURAL SCIENCES, + PHILADELPHIA. + + President of the Numismatic and Antiquarian Society of Philadelphia; + Member of the American Philosophical Society, the American Antiquarian + Society, the Pennsylvania Historical Society, etc.; Membre de la + Socit Royale des Antiquaires du Nord; de la Socit Amricaine + de France; Dlgu Gnral de l'Institution Ethnographique; + Vice-Prsident du Congrs International des Amricanistes; + Corresponding Member of the Anthropological + Society of Washington, etc. + + (_Read before the American Philosophical Society, March 20, 1885._) + + PHILADELPHIA: + PRESS OF MCCALLA & STAVELY, 237-9 DOCK STREET. + 1885. + + + + +CONTENTS. + + +_The Philosophic Grammar of American Languages._ + + + 1. Introduction, p. 3. 2. Humboldt's Studies in American Languages, + p. 4. 3. The Final Purpose of the Philosophy of Language, p. 7. + 4. Historical, Comparative and Philosophic Grammar, p. 9. 5. + Definition and Psychological Origin of Language, p. 10. 6. + Primitive Roots and Grammatical Categories, p. 11. 7. Formal and + Material Elements of Language, p. 13. 8. The Development of + Languages, p. 14. 9. Internal Form of Languages, p. 16. 10. + Criteria of Rank in Languages, p. 17. 11. Classification of + Languages, p. 21. 12. Nature of Incorporation, p. 22. 13. + Psychological Origin of Incorporation, p. 24. 14. Effect of + Incorporation on Compound Sentences, p. 25. 15. The Dual in + American Languages, p. 27. 16. Humboldt's Essay on the American + Verb, p. 28. + + +_On the Verb in American Languages. By Wilhelm von Humboldt, p. 29._ + +Verbal forms classified as they indicate the notion of Being: + +I. When the notion of Being is expressed independently, p. 31. + + 1. When the notion of Being is understood, p. 32. 2. When the notion + of Being is expressed by a special word, but without a phonetic + radical, p. 35. + +II. The notion of Being is incorporated with the verb as an auxiliary, +p. 37. + + Analysis of the Maya Verb, p. 38. Other Examples. The idea of past + time as related to death and negation, p. 40. + +III. The notion of Being is present in the verbal form only in idea, +p. 41. + + Case 1st. When the person, tense and mode signs are separable, p. 41. + Case 2d. When either the person, or the tense and mode signs, are + attached to the verb, p. 41. Case 3d. When both person and tense + and mode signs are attached to the verb. 1. Approach toward a Fixed + Form, p. 44. 2. Divisibility of Verbal Forms to allow the insertion + of governed parts of speech, p. 47. General Conclusions on the + organism of American Languages, p. 48. + + Notes (by the Translator) on the various American Tribes and + Languages mentioned by Humboldt in the preceding Memoir, p. 49. + + + + +The Philosophic Grammar of American Languages. + + + 1. INTRODUCTORY. + +The foundations of the Philosophy of Language were laid by Wilhelm von +Humboldt (b. June 22, 1767, d. April 8, 1835). The principles he +advocated have frequently been misunderstood, and some of them have +been modified, or even controverted, by more extended research; but a +careful survey of the tendencies of modern thought in this field will +show that the philosophic scheme of the nature and growth of +languages, which he set forth, is gradually reasserting its sway, +after having been neglected and denied through the preponderance of +the so-called naturalistic school during the last quarter of a +century. + +The time seems ripe, therefore, to bring the general principles of his +philosophy to the knowledge of American scholars, especially as +applied by himself to the analysis of American languages. + +Any one at all acquainted with Humboldt's writings, and the literature +to which they have given rise, will recognize that this is a serious +task. I have felt it such, and have prepared myself for it not only by +a careful perusal of his own published writings, but also by a +comparison of the conflicting interpretations put upon them by Dr. Max +Schasler,[3-*] Prof. H. Steinthal,[3-+] Prof. C. J. Adler,[3-++] and +others, as well as by obtaining a copy of an entirely unpublished +memoir by Humboldt on the "American Verb," a translation of which +accompanies this paper. But my chief reliance in solving the +obscurities of Humboldt's presentation of his doctrines has been a +close comparison of allied passages in his various essays, memoirs and +letters. Of these I need scarcely say that I have attached the +greatest weight to his latest and monumental work sometimes referred +to as his "Introduction to the Kawi Language," but whose proper title +is "On Differences in Linguistic Structure, and their Influence on the +Mental Development of the Human Race."[4-*] + +I would not have it understood that I am presenting a complete +analysis of Humboldt's linguistic philosophy. This is far beyond the +scope of the present paper. It aims to set forth merely enough of his +general theories to explain his applications of them to the languages +of the American race. + +What I have to present can best be characterized as a series of notes +on Humboldt's writings, indicating their bearing on the problems of +American philology, introducing his theories to students of this +branch, and serving as a preface to the hitherto unpublished essay by +him on the American Verb, to which I have referred. + + + 2. HUMBOLDT'S STUDIES IN AMERICAN LANGUAGES. + +The American languages occupied Humboldt's attention earnestly and for +many years. He was first led to their study by his brother Alexander, +who presented him with the large linguistic collection he had amassed +during his travels in South and North America. + +While Prussian Minister in Rome (1802-08), he ransacked the library of +the _Collegio Romano_ for rare or unpublished works on American +tongues; he obtained from the ex-Jesuit Forneri all the information +the latter could give about the Yurari, a tongue spoken on the Meta +river, New Granada;[4-+] and he secured accurate copies of all the +manuscript material on these idioms left by the diligent collector +and linguist, the Abb Hervas. + +A few years later, in 1812, we find him writing to his friend Baron +Alexander von Rennenkampff, then in St. Petersburg: "I have selected +the American languages as the special subject of my investigations. +They have the closest relationship of any with the tongues of +north-eastern Asia; and I beg you therefore to obtain for me all the +dictionaries and grammars of the latter which you can."[5-*] + +It is probable from this extract that Humboldt was then studying these +languages from that limited, ethnographic point of view, from which he +wrote his essay on the Basque tongue, the announcement of which +appeared, indeed, in that year, 1812, although the work itself was not +issued until 1821. + +Ten years more of study and reflection taught him a far loftier +flight. He came to look upon each language as an organism, all its +parts bearing harmonious relations to each other, and standing in a +definite connection with the intellectual and emotional development of +the nation speaking it. Each language again bears the relation to +language in general that the species does to the genus, or the genus +to the order, and by a comprehensive process of analysis he hoped to +arrive at those fundamental laws of articulate speech which form the +Philosophy of Language, and which, as they are also the laws of human +thought, at a certain point coincide, he believed, with those of the +Philosophy of History. + +In the completion of this vast scheme, he continued to attach the +utmost importance to the American languages. His illustrations were +constantly drawn from them, and they were ever the subject of his +earnest studies. He prized them as in certain respects the most +valuable of all to the philosophic student of human speech. + +Thus, in 1826, he announced before the Berlin Academy that he was +preparing an exhaustive work on the "Organism of Language," for which +he had selected the American languages exclusively, as best suited for +this purpose. "The languages of a great continent," he writes, +"peopled by numerous nationalities, probably never subject to foreign +influence, offer for this branch of linguistic study specially +favorable material. There are in America as many as thirty little +known languages for which we have means of study, each of which is +like a new natural species, besides many others whose data are less +ample."[6-*] + +In his memoir, read two years later, "On the Origin of Grammatical +Forms, and their Influence on the Development of Ideas," he chose most +of his examples from the idioms of the New World;[6-+] and the year +following, he read the monograph on the Verb in American languages, +which is printed for the first time with the present essay. + +In a later paper, he announced his special study of this group as +still in preparation. It was, however, never completed. His earnest +desire to reach the fundamental laws of language led him first into a +long series of investigations into the systems of recorded speech, +phonetic hieroglyphics and alphabetic writing, on which he read +memoirs of great acuteness. + +In one of these he again mentions his studies of the American tongues, +and takes occasion to vindicate them from the current charge of being +of a low grade in the linguistic scale. "It is certainly unjust," he +writes, "to call the American languages rude or savage, although their +structure is widely different from those perfectly formed."[6-++] + +In 1828, there is a published letter from him making an appointment +with the Abb Thavenet, missionary to the Canadian Algonkins, then in +Paris, "to enjoy the pleasure of conversing with him on his +interesting studies of the Algonkin language."[6-||] And a private +letter tells us that in 1831 he applied himself with new zeal to +mastering the intricacies of Mexican grammar.[6-] + +About 1827, he found it indispensable to subject to a critical +scrutiny the languages of the great island world of the Pacific and +Indian oceans. This resulted at last in his selecting the Kawi +language, a learned idiom of the island of Java, Malayan in origin but +with marked traces of Hindu influence, as the point of departure for +his generalizations. His conclusions were set forth in the +introductory essay above referred to. + +The avowed purpose of this essay was to demonstrate the thesis that +the _diversity of structure in languages is the necessary condition of +the evolution of the human mind_.[7-*] + +In the establishment of this thesis he begins with a profound analysis +of the nature of speech in general, and then proceeds to define the +reciprocal influences which thought exerts upon it, it upon thought. + +Portions of this work are extremely obscure even to those who are most +familiar with his theories and style. This arises partly from the +difficulty of the subject; partly because his anxiety to avoid +dogmatic statements led him into vagueness of expression; and partly +because in some cases he was uncertain of his ground. In spite of +these blemishes, this essay remains the most suggestive work ever +written on the philosophy of language. + + + 3. THE FINAL PURPOSE OF THE PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. + +Humboldt has been accused of being a metaphysician, and a scientific +idealist. + +It is true that he believed in an ideal perfection of language, to +wit: that form of expression which would correspond throughout to the +highest and clearest thinking. But it is evident from this simple +statement that he did not expect to find it in any known or possible +tongue. He distinctly says, that this ideal is too hypothetical to be +used otherwise than as a stimulus to investigation; but as such it is +indispensable to the linguist in the pursuit of his loftiest task--the +estimate of the efforts of man to realize perfection of +expression.[7-+] + +There is nothing teleological in his philosophy; he even declines to +admit that either the historian or the linguist has a right to set up +a theory of progress or evolution; the duty of both is confined to +deriving the completed meaning from the facts before them.[8-*] He +merely insists that as the object of language is the expression of +thought, certain forms of language are better adapted to this than +others. What these are, why they are so, and how they react on the +minds of the nations speaking them, are the questions he undertakes to +answer, and which constitute the subject-matter with which the +philosophy of language has to do. + +Humboldt taught that in its highest sense this philosophy of language +is one with the philosophy of history. The science of language misses +its purpose unless it seeks its chief end in explaining the +intellectual growth of the race.[8-+] + +Each separate tongue is "a thought-world in tones" established between +the minds of those who speak it and the objective world without.[8-++] +Each mirrors in itself the spirit of the nation to which it belongs. +But it has also an earlier and independent origin; it is the product +of the conceptions of antecedent generations, and thus exerts a +formative and directive influence on the national mind, an influence, +not slight, but more potent than that which the national mind exerts +upon it.[8-||] + +So also every word has a double character, the one derived from its +origin, the other from its history. The former is single, the latter +is manifold.[8-] + +Were the gigantic task possible to gather from every language the full +record of every word and the complete explanation of each grammatical +peculiarity, we should have an infallible, the only infallible and +exhaustive, picture of human progress. + + + 4. HISTORICAL, COMPARATIVE AND PHILOSOPHIC GRAMMAR. + +The Science of Grammar has three branches, which differ more in the +methods they pursue than in the ends at which they aim. These are +Historic, Comparative and Philosophic Grammar. Historic Grammar +occupies itself with tracing the forms of a language back in time to +their earlier expression, and exhibits their development through the +archaic specimens of the tongue. Comparative Grammar extends this +investigation by including in the survey the similar development of a +number of dialects of the same stock or character, and explains the +laws of speech, which account for the similarities and diversities +observed. + +Both of these, it will be observed, begin with the language and its +forms, and are confined to these. Philosophic Grammar, on the other +hand, proceeds from the universal constructive principles of language, +from the abstract formul of grammatical relations, and investigates +their application in various languages. It looks upon articulate +speech as the more or less faithful expression of certain logical +procedures, and analyzes tongues in order to exhibit the success, be +it greater or less, which attends this effort. The grammatical +principles with which it deals are universals, they exist in all +minds, although it often happens that they are not portrayed with +corresponding clearness in language.[9-*] + +Philosophic Grammar, therefore, includes in its horizon all languages +spoken by men; it essays to analyze their inmost nature with reference +to the laws of thought; it weighs the relations they bear to the +character and destiny of those who speak them; and it ascends to the +psychological needs and impulses which first gave them existence. + +It was grammar in this highest sense, it was the study of languages +for such lofty purposes as these, with which Humboldt occupied himself +with untiring zeal for the last fifteen years of his life, when he had +laid aside the cares of the elevated and responsible political +positions which he had long filled with distinguished credit. + + + 5. DEFINITION AND PSYCHOLOGICAL ORIGIN OF LANGUAGE. + +Humboldt remarks that the first hundred pages or so of his celebrated +"Introduction" are little more than an expansion of his definition of +language. He gives this definition in its most condensed form as +follows: "Language is the ever-recurring effort of the mind to make +the articulate sound capable of expressing thought."[10-*] + +According to this definition, language is not a dead thing, a +completed product, but it is an ever-living, active function, an +energy of the soul, which will perish only when intelligence itself, +in its highest sense, is extinguished. As he expresses it, language is +not an ~ergon~, but an ~energeia~. It is the proof and the product of +a mind _consciously_ working to a definite end. + +Hence, in Humboldt's theory the psychological element of +_self-consciousness_ lies at the root of all linguistic expression. No +mere physical difference between the lower animals and man explains +the latter's possession of articulate speech. His self-consciousness +alone is that trait which has rendered such a possession +possible.[10-+] + +The idea of Self necessarily implies the idea of Other. A thought is +never separate, never isolated, but ever in relation to another +thought, suggested by one, leading on to another. Hence, Humboldt +says: "The mind can only be conceived as in action, and _as action_." + +As Prof. Adler, in his comments on Humboldt's philosophy, admirably +observes: "Man does not possess any such thing as an absolutely +isolated individuality; the 'I' and the 'thou' are the essential +complements of each other, and would, in their last analysis, be found +identical."[11-*] + +On these two fundamental conceptions, those of Identity and Relation, +or, as they may be expressed more correctly, those of Being and +Action, Humboldt builds his doctrines concerning the primitive +radicals of language and the fundamental categories of grammar. + + + 6. PRIMITIVE ROOTS AND GRAMMATICAL CATEGORIES. + +The roots of a language are classified by Humboldt as either +_objective_ or _subjective_, although he considers this far from an +exhaustive scheme.[11-+] + +The objective roots are usually descriptive, and indicate an origin +from a process of mental analysis. They bear the impress of those two +attributes which characterize every thought, Being and Action. Every +complete objective word must express these two notions. Upon them are +founded the fundamental grammatical categories of the Noun and the +Verb; or to speak more accurately, they lead to the distinction of +nominal and verbal themes. + +The characteristic of the Noun is that it expresses Being; of the Verb +that it expresses Action. This distinction is far from absolute in the +word itself; in many languages, especially in Chinese and some +American languages, there is in the word no discrimination between its +verbal and nominal forms; but the verbal or nominal _value_ of the +word is clearly fixed by other means.[11-++] + +Another class of objective root-words are the adjective words, or +Determinatives. They are a later accession to the list, and by their +addition bring the three chief grammatical categories, the Noun, the +Verb and the Adjective, into correlation with the three logical +categories of Substance, Action and Quality. + +By the subjective roots, Humboldt meant the personal pronouns. To +these he attributed great importance in the development of language, +and especially of American languages. They carry with them the mark of +sharp individuality, and express in its highest reality the notion of +Being. + +It is not easy to understand Humboldt's theory of the evolution of the +personal pronouns. In his various essays he seems to offer conflicting +statements. In one of his later papers, he argues that the origin of +such subjective nominals is often, perhaps generally, locative. By +comparing the personal pronouns with the adverbs of place in a series +of languages, he showed that their demonstrative antedated their +personal meaning.[12-*] With regard to their relative development, he +says, in his celebrated "Introduction": + +"The first person expresses the individuality of the speaker, who is +in immediate contact with external nature, and must distinguish +himself from it in his speech. But in the 'I' the 'Thou' is assumed; +and from the antithesis thus formed is developed the third +person."[12-+] + +But in his "Notice of the Japanese Grammar of Father Oyanguren," +published in 1826, he points out that infants begin by speaking of +themselves in the third person, showing that this comes first in the +order of knowledge. It is followed by the second person, which +separates one object from others; but as it does so by putting it in +conscious antithesis to the speaker, it finally develops the +"I."[12-++] + +The latter is unquestionably the correct statement so far as the +history of language is concerned and the progress of knowledge. I can +know myself only through knowing others. + +The explanation which reconciles these theories is that the one refers +to the order of thought, or logical precedence, the other to the order +of expression. Professor Ferrier, in his "Institutes of Metaphysics," +has established with much acuteness the thesis that, "What is first in +the order of nature is last in the order of knowledge," and this is an +instance of that philosophical principle. + + + 7. FORMAL AND MATERIAL ELEMENTS OF LANGUAGE. + +A fundamental distinction in philosophic grammar is that which divides +the _formal_ from the _material_ element of speech. This division +arises from the original double nature of each radical, as expressing +both Being and Action. + +On the one hand, Action involves Relation; it assumes an object and a +subject, an agent, a direction of effort, a result of effort; usually +also limitations of effort, time and space, and qualifications as to +the manner of the effort. In other words, Action is capable of +increase or decrease both in extension and intension. + +On the other hand, Being is a conception of fixed conditions, and is +capable of few or no modifications. + +The _formal_ elements of a language are those which express Action, or +the relation of the ideas; they make up the affixes of conjugations +and declensions, the inflections of words; they indicate the parts of +speech, the so-called "grammatical categories," found in developed +tongues. The _material_ elements are the roots or stems expressing the +naked ideas, the conceptions of existence apart from relation. + +Using the terms in this sense, Humboldt presents the following terse +formula, as his definition of Inflection: "_Inflection is the +expression of the category in contrast to the definition of the +idea._"[13-*] Nothing could be more definitive and lucid than this +concise phrase. + +The inflectional or formal elements of language are usually derived +from words expressing accessory ideas. Generally, they are worn down +to single letters or a single syllable, and they usually may be traced +back to auxiliary verbs and pronouns. + +Often various accessories are found which are not required by the main +proposition. This is a common fault in the narratives of ignorant men +and in languages and dialects of a lower grade. It is seen in the +multiplication of auxiliaries and qualifying particles observed in +many American languages, where a vast number of needless accessories +are brought into every sentence. + +The nature of the relations expressed by inflections may be manifold, +and it is one of the tasks of philosophic grammar to analyze and +classify them with reference to the direction of mental action they +imply. + +It is evident that where these relations are varied and numerous, the +language gains greatly in picturesqueness and force, and thus reacts +with a more stimulating effect on the mind. + + + 8. THE DEVELOPMENT OF LANGUAGES. + +Humboldt believed that in this respect languages could be divided into +three classes, each representing a stage in progressive development. + +In the first and lowest stage all the elements are material and +significant, and there are no true formal parts of speech. + +Next above this is where the elements of relation lose their +independent significance _where so used_, but retain it elsewhere. The +words are not yet fixed in grammatical categories. There is no +distinction between verbs and nouns except in use. The plural conveys +the idea of many, but the singular not strictly that of unity. + +Highest of all is that condition of language where every word is +subject to grammatical law and shows by its form what category it +comes under; and where the relational or formal elements convey no +hint of anything but this relation. Here, only, does language attain +to that specialization of parts where each element subserves its own +purpose and no other, and here only does it correspond with clear and +connected thinking. + +These expressions, however, must not be understood in a genetic sense, +as if historically one linguistic class had preceded the other, and +led up to it. Humboldt entertained no such view. He distinctly +repudiated it. He did not believe in the evolution of languages. The +differences of these classes are far more radical than that of sounds +and signs; they reach down to the fundamental notions of things. His +teaching was that a language without a passive voice, or without a +grammatical gender can never acquire one, and consequently it can +never perfectly express the conceptions corresponding to these +features.[14-*] + +In defining and appraising these inherent and inalienable qualities of +languages lies the highest end and aim of linguistic science. This is +its true philosophic character, its mission which lifts it above the +mere collecting of words and formulating of rules. + +If the higher languages did not develop from the lower, how did they +arise? Humboldt answered this question fairly, so far as he was +concerned. He said, he did not know. Individuals vary exceedingly in +their talent for language, and so do nations. He was willing to call +it an innate creative genius which endowed our Aryan forefathers with +a richly inflected speech; but it was so contrary to the results of +his prolonged and profound study of languages to believe, for +instance, that a tongue like the Sanscrit could ever be developed from +one like the Chinese, that he frankly said that he would rather accept +at once the doctrine of those who attribute the different idioms of +men to an immediate revelation from God.[15-*] + +He fully recognized, however, a progress, an organic growth, in human +speech, and he expressly names this as a special branch of linguistic +investigation.[15-+] He lays down that this growth may be from two +sources, one the cultivation of a tongue within the nation by +enriching its vocabulary, separating and classifying its elements, +fixing its expressions, and thus adapting it to wider uses; the +second, by forcible amalgamation with another tongue. + +The latter exerts always a more profound and often a more beneficial +influence. The organism of both tongues may be destroyed, but the +dissolvent force is also an organic and vital one, and from the ruins +of both constructs a speech of grander plans and with wider views. +"The seemingly aimless and confused interminglings of primitive tribes +sowed the seed for the flowers of speech and song which flourished in +centuries long posterior." + +The immediate causes of the improvement of a language through forcible +admixture with another, are: that it is obliged to drop all +unneccessary[TN-1] accessory elements in a proposition; that the +relations of ideas must be expressed by conventional and not +significant syllables; and that the limitations of thought imposed by +the genius of the language are violently broken down, and the mind is +thus given wider play for its faculties. + +Such influences, however, do not act in accordance with fixed laws of +growth. There are no such laws, which are of universal application. +The development of the Mongolian or Aryan tongues is not at all that +of the American. The goal is one and the same, but the paths to it are +infinite. For this reason each group or class of languages must be +studied by itself, and its own peculiar developmental laws be +ascertained by searching its history.[16-*] + +With reference to the growth of American languages, it was Humboldt's +view that they manifest the utmost refractoriness both to external +influence and to internal modifications. They reveal a marvellous +tenacity of traditional words and forms, not only in dialects, but +even in particular classes of the community, men having different +expressions from women, the old from the young, the higher from the +lower classes. These are maintained with scrupulous exactitude through +generations, and except by the introduction of words, three centuries +of daily commingling with the white race, have not at all altered the +grammer[TN-2] and scarcely the phonetics of many of their languages. + +Nor is this referable to the contrast between an Aryan and an American +language. The same immiscibility is shown between themselves. "Even +where many radically different languages are located closely together, +as in Mexico, I have not found a single example where one exercised a +constructive or formative influence on the other. But it is by the +encounter of great and contrasted differences that languages gain +strength, riches, and completeness. Only thus are the perceptive +powers, the imagination and the feelings impelled to enrich and extend +the means of expression, which, if left to the labors of the +understanding alone, are liable to be but meagre and arid."[16-+] + + + 9. INTERNAL FORM OF LANGUAGES. + +Besides the grammatical form of a language, Humboldt recognized +another which he called its _internal form_. This is that subtle +something not expressed in words, which even more than the formal +parts of speech, reveals the linguistic genius of a nation. It may be +defined as the impression which the language bears of the clearness of +the conceptions of those speaking it, and of their native gift of +speech. He illustrates it by instancing the absence of a developed +mode in Sanscrit, and maintains that in the creators of that tongue +the conception of modality was never truly felt and distinguished from +tense. In this respect its inner form was greatly inferior to the +Greek, in the mind of which nation the ideally perfect construction of +the verb unfolded itself with far more clearness. + +The study of this inner form of a language belongs to the highest +realm of linguistic investigation, and is that which throws the most +light on the national character and capacities.[17-*] + + + 10. CRITERIA OF RANK IN LANGUAGES. + +Humboldt's one criterion of a language was its tendncy[TN-3] to +_quicken and stimulate mental action_. He maintained that this is +secured just in proportion as the grammatical structure favors clear +definition of the individual idea apart from its relations, in other +words, as it separates the material from the inflectional elements of +speech. Clear thinking, he argued, means progressive thinking. +Therefore he assigned a lower position both to those tongues which +inseparably connect the idea with its relations, as the American +languages, and to those which, like the Chinese and in a less degree +the modern English, have scarcely any formal elements at all, but +depend upon the position of words (placement) to signify their +relations. + +But he greatly modified this unfavorable judgment by several +extenuating considerations. + +Thus he warns us that it is of importance to recognize fully "that +grammatical principles dwell rather in the mind of the speaker than in +the material and mechanism of his language."[17-+] + +This led him to establish a distinction between _explicit_ grammar, +where the relations are fully expressed in speech, and _implicit_ +grammar, where they are wholly or in part left to be understood by the +mind. + +He expressly and repeatedly states that an intelligent thinker, +trained in the grammatical distinctions of a higher language, can +express any thought he has in the grammar of any other tongue which he +masters, no matter how rude it is. This adaptability lies in the +nature of speech in general. A language is an instrument, the use of +which depends entirely on the skill of him who handles it. It is +doubtful whether such imported forms and thoughts appeal in any direct +sense to those who are native to the tongue. But the fact remains that +the forms of the most barbarous languages are such that they may be +developed to admit the expression of any kind of idea. + +But the meaning of this must not be misconstrued. If languages were +merely dead instruments which we use to work with, then one would be +as good as another to him who had learned it. But this is not the +case. Speech is a living, physiological function, and, like any other +function, is most invigorating and vitalizing when it works in the +utmost harmony with the other functions. Its special relationship is +to that brain-action which we call thinking; and entire harmony +between the two is only present when the form, structure and sounds of +speech correspond accurately to the logical procedure of thought. This +he considered "an undeniable fact." + +The measure of the excellence of a language, therefore, is the +clearness, definiteness and energy of the ideas which it awakes in the +nation. Does it inspire and incite their mind? Has it positive and +clear tones, and do these define sharply the ideas they represent, +without needless accessories? Does its structure present the leading +elements of the proposition in their simplicity, and permit the +secondary elements to be grouped around them in subordinate positions, +with a correct sense of linguistic perspective? The answers to these +queries decide its position in the hierarchy of tongues.[18-*] + +As its capacity for expression is no criterion of a language, still +less is the abundance or regularity of its forms. For this very +multiplicity, this excessive superfluity, is a burden and a drawback, +and obscures the integration of the thought by attaching to it a +quantity of needless qualifications. Thus, in the language of the +Abipones, the pronoun is different as the person spoken of is +conceived as present, absent, sitting, walking, lying, or running, all +quite unnecessary specifications.[19-*] + +In some languages much appears as form which, on close scrutiny, is +nothing of the kind. + +This misunderstanding has reigned almost universally in the treatment +of American tongues. The grammars which have been written upon them +proceed generally on the principles of Latin, and apply a series of +grammatical names to the forms explained, entirely inappropriate to +them and misleading. Our first duty in taking up such a grammar as, +for instance, that of an American language, is to dismiss the whole of +the arrangement of the "parts of speech," and, by an analysis of words +and phrases, to ascertain by what arrangement of elements they express +logical, significant relations.[19-+] + +For example, in the Carib tongue, the grammars give _aveiridaco_ as +the second person singular, subjunctive imperfect, "if thou wert." +Analyze this, and we discover that _a_ is the possessive pronoun +"thy;" _veiri_ is "to be" or "being" (in a place); and _daco_ is a +particle of definite time. Hence, the literal rendering is "on the day +of thy being." The so-called imperfect subjunctive turns out to be a +verbal noun with a preposition. In many American languages the +hypothetical supposition expressed in the Latin subjunctive is +indicated by the same circumlocution. + +Again, the infinitive, in its classical sense, is unknown in most, +probably in all, American languages. In the Tupi of Brazil and +frequently elsewhere it is simply a noun; _caru_ is both "to eat" and +"food;" _che caru ai-pota_, "I wish to eat," literally "my food I +wish." + +In the Mexican, the infinitive is incorporated in the verb as an +accusative, and the verb is put in the future of the person spoken of. + +Many writers continue to maintain that a criterion of rank of a +language is its lexicographical richness--the number of words it +possesses. Even very recently, Prof. Max Mller has applied such a +test to American languages, and, finding that one of the Fuegian +dialects is reported to have nearly thirty thousand words, he +maintains that this is a proof that these savages are a degenerate +remnant of some much more highly developed ancestry. Founding his +opinion largely on similar facts, Alexander von Humboldt applied the +expression to the American nations that they are "des dbris chapps + un naufrage commun." + +Such, however, was not the opinion of his brother Wilhelm. He sounded +the depths of linguistic philosophy far more deeply than to accept +mere abundance of words as proof of richness in a language. Many +savage languages have twenty words signifying to eat particular +things, but no word meaning "to eat" in general; the Eskimo language +has different words for fishing for each kind of fish, but no word "to +fish," in a general sense. Such apparent richness is, in fact, actual +poverty. + +Humboldt taught that the quality, not merely the quantity, of words +was the decisive measure of verbal wealth. Such quality depends on the +relations of concrete words, on the one hand, to the primitive +objective perceptions at their root, and, on the other, to the +abstract general ideas of which they are particular representatives; +and besides this, on the relations which the spoken word, the +articulate sound, bears to the philosophic laws of the formation of +language in general.[20-*] + +In his letter to Abel-Remusat he discusses the theory that the +American languages point to a once higher condition of civilization, +and are the corrupted idioms of deteriorated races. He denies that +there is linguistic evidence of any such theory. These languages, he +says, possess a remarkable regularity of structure, and very few +anomalies. Their grammar does not present any visible traces of +corrupting intermixtures.[21-*] + +In a later work he returns to the subject when speaking of the Lenape +(Algonkin Delaware) dialect, and asks whether the rich imaginative +power, of which it bears the evident impress, does not point to some +youthful, supple and vigorous era in the life of language in +general?[21-+] But he leaves the question unanswered. + + + 11. CLASSIFICATION OF LANGUAGES. + +The lower unit of language is the Word; the higher is the Sentence. +The plans on which languages combine words into sentences are a basic +character of their structure, and divide them into classes as distinct +and as decisive of their future, as those of vertebrate and +invertebrate animals in natural history. + +These plans are four in number: + +1. By Isolation. + +The words are placed in juxtaposition, without change. Their relations +are expressed by their location only (placement). The typical example +of this is the Chinese. + +2. By Agglutination. + +The sentence is formed by suffixing to the word expressive of the main +idea a number of others, more or less altered, expressing the +relations. Examples of this are the Eskimo of North America, and the +Northern Asiatic dialects. + +3. By Incorporation. + +The leading word of the sentence is divided and the accessory words +either included in it or attached to it with abbreviated forms, so +that the whole sentence assumes the form and sound of one word. + +4. By Inflection. + +Each word of the sentence indicates by its own form the character and +relation to the main proposition of the idea it represents. Sanscrit, +Greek and Latin are familiar examples of inflected tongues. + +It is possible to suppose that all four of these forms were developed +from some primitive condition of utterance unknown to us, just as +naturalists believe that all organic species were developed out of a +homogeneous protoplasmic mass; but it is as hard to see how any one of +them in its present form could pass over into another, as to +understand how a radiate could change into a mollusk. + + + 12. NATURE OF INCORPORATION. + +Of the four plans mentioned, Incorporation is that characteristic of, +though not confined to, American tongues. + +It may appear in a higher or a lower grade, but its intention is +everywhere the effort to convey in one word the whole proposition. The +Verb, as that part of speech which especially conveys the synthetic +action of the mental operation, is that which is selected as the stem +of this word-sentence; all the other parts are subordinate +accessories, devoid of syntactic value. + +The higher grade of incorporation includes both subject, object and +verb in one word, and if for any reason the object is not included, +the scheme of the sentence is still maintained in the verb, and the +object is placed outside, as in apposition, without case ending, and +under a form different from its original and simple one. + +This will readily be understood from the following examples from the +Mexican language. + +The sentence _ni-naca-qua_, is one word and means "I, flesh, eat." If +it is desired to express the object independently, the expression +becomes _ni-c-qua-in-nacatl_, "I it eat, the flesh." The termination +_tl_ does not belong to the root of the noun, but is added to show +that it is in an external, and, as it were, unnatural position. Both +the direct and remote object can thus be incorporated, and if they are +not, but separately appended, the scheme of the sentence is still +preserved; as _ni-te-tla-maca_, literally, "I, something, to somebody, +give." How closely these accessories are incorporated is illustrated +by the fact that the tense augments are not added to the stem, but to +the whole word; _o-ni-c-te-maca-e_, "I have given it to somebody;" +when the _o_ is the prefix of the perfect. + +In these languages, every element in the sentence, which is not +incorporated in the verb, has, in fact, no syntax at all. The verbal +exhausts all the formal portion of the language. The relations of the +other words are intimated by their position. Thus _ni-tlagotlaz-nequia_, +I wished to love, is literally "I, I shall love, I wished." _Tlagotlaz_, +is the first person singular of the future, _ni-nequia_, I wished, which +is divided, and the future form inserted. The same expression may stand +thus: _ni-c-nequia-tlagotlaz_, where the _c_ is an intercalated relative +pronoun, and the literal rendering is, "I it wished, I shall love." + +In the Lule language the construction with an infinitive is simply +that the two verbs follow each other in the same person, as _caic +tucuec_, "I am accustomed to eat," literally, "I am acustomed,[TN-4] I +eat." + +None of these devices fullfils[TN-5] all the uses of the infinitive, +and hence they are all inferior to it. + +In languages which lack formal elements, the deficiency must be +supplied by the mind. Words are merely placed in juxtaposition, and +their relationship guessed at. Thus, when a language constructs its +cases merely by prefixing prepositions to the unaltered noun, there is +no grammatical form; in the Mbaya language _e-tiboa_ is translated +"through me," but it is really "I, through;" _l'emani_, is rendered +"he wishes," but it is strictly "he, wish." + +In such languages the same collocation of words often corresponds to +quite different meanings, as the precise relation of the thoughts is +not defined by any formal elements. This is well illustrated in the +Tupi tongue. The word _uba_ is "father;" with the pronoun of the third +person prefixed it is _tuba_, literally "he, father." This may mean +either "his father," or "he is a father," or "he has a father," just +as the sense of the rest of the sentence requires. + +Certainly a language which thus leaves confounded together ideas so +distinct as these, is inferior to one which discriminates them; and +this is why the formal elements of a tongue are so important to +intellectual growth. The Tupis may be an energetic and skillful +people, but with their language they can never take a position as +masters in the realm of ideas. + +The absence of the passive in most, if not all, American tongues is +supplied by similar inadequate collocations of words. In Huasteca, for +example, _nana tanin tahjal_, is translated "I am treated by him;" +actually it is, "I, me, treats he." This is not a passive, but simply +the idea of the Ego connected with the idea of another acting upon it. + +This is vastly below the level of inflected speech; for it cannot be +too strenuously maintained that the grammatical relations of spoken +language are the more perfect and favorable to intellectual growth, +the more closely they correspond to the logical relations of thought. + +Sometimes what appears as inflection turns out on examination to be +merely adjunction. Thus in the Mbaya tongue there are such verbal +forms as _daladi_, thou wilt throw, _nilabuite_, he has spun, when the +_d_ is the sign of the future, and the _n_ of the perfect. These look +like inflections; but in fact _d_, is simply a relic of _quide_, +hereafter, later, and _n_ stands in the same relation to _quine_, +which means "and also." + +To become true formal elements, all such adjuncts must have completely +lost their independent signification; because if they retain it, their +material content requires qualification and relation just as any other +stem word. + +A few American languages may have reached this stage. In the Mexican +there are the terminals _ya_ or _a_ in the imperfect, the augment _o_ +in the preterit, and others in the future. In the Tamanaca the present +ends in _a_, the preterit in _e_, the future in _c_. "There is nothing +in either of these tongues to show that these tense signs have +independent meaning, and therefore there is no reason why they should +not be classed with those of the Greek and Sanscrit as true +inflectional elements."[24-*] + + + 13. PSYCHOLOGICAL ORIGIN OF INCORPORATION. + +This Incorporative plan, which may be considered as distinctive of the +American stock of languages, is explained in its psychological origin +by Humboldt, as the result of an _exaltation of the imaginative over +the intellectual elements of mind_. By this method, the linguistic +faculty strives to present to the understanding the whole thought in +the most compact form possible, thus to facilitate its comprehension; +and this it does, because a thought presented in one word is more +vivid and stimulating to the imagination, more individual and +picturesque, than when narrated in a number of words.[25-*] + +But the mistake must not be made of supposing that Incorporation is a +_creative act_ of the language-sense, or that its products, the +compounds that it builds, are real words. Humboldt was careful to +impress this distinction, and calls such incorporated compounds +examples of _collocation_ (Zusammensetzung), not of _synthesis_ +(Zusammenfassung). On this ground, he doubted, and with justice, the +assertion of Duponceau, that the long words of the Lenape (Delaware) +dialect are formed by an arbitrary selection of the phonetic parts of +a number of words, without reference to the radical syllables.[25-+] +He insisted, as is really the case, that in all instances the +significant syllable or syllables are retained. + + + 14. EFFECT OF INCORPORATION ON COMPOUND SENTENCES. + +As has been seen, the theory of Incorporation is to express the whole +proposition, as nearly as possible, in one word; and what part of it +cannot be thus expressed, is left without any syntax whatever. Not +only does this apply to individual words in a sentence, but it extends +to the various clauses of a compound sentence, such as in Aryan +languages show their relation to the leading clauses by means of +prepositions, conjunctions and relative pronouns. + +When the methods are analyzed by which the major and minor clauses are +assigned their respective values in these tongues, it is very plain +what difficulties of expression the system of Incorporation involves. +Few of them have any true connecting word of either of the three +classes above mentioned. They depend on scarcely veiled material +words, simply placed in juxtaposition. + +It is probable that the prepositions and conjunctions of all +languages were at first significant words, and the degree to which +they have lost their primary significations and have become purely +formal elements expressing relation, is one of the measures of the +grammatical evolution of a tongue. In most American idioms their +origin from substantives is readily recognizable. Frequently these +substantives refer to parts of the body, and this, in passing, +suggests the antiquity of this class of words and their value in +comparison. + +In Maya _tan_ means in, toward, among; but it is also the breast or +front of the body. The Mexican has three classes of prepositions--the +first, whose origin from a substantive cannot be detected; the second, +where an unknown and a known element are combined; the third, where +the substantive is perfectly clear. An example of the last mentioned +is _itic_, in, compounded of _ite_, belly, and the locative particle +_c_; the phrase _ilhuicatl itic_, in heaven, is literally "in the +belly of heaven." Precisely the same is the Cakchiquel _pamcah_, +literally, "belly, heaven"=in heaven. In Mexican, _notepotzco_ is +"behind me," literally, "my back, at;" this corresponds again to the +Cakchiquel _chuih_, behind me, from _chi_, at, _u_, my, _vih_, +shoulder-blades. The Mixteca prepositions present the crude nature of +their origin without disguise, _chisi huahi_, belly, house--that is, +in front of the house; _sata huahi_, back, house--behind the house. + +The conjunctions are equally transparent. "And" in Maya is _yetel_, in +Mexican _ihuan_. One would suppose that such an indispensable +connective would long since have been worn down to an insoluble +entity. On the contrary, both these words retain their perfect +material meaning. _Yetel_ is a compound of _y_, his, _et_, companion, +and _el_, the definite termination of nouns. _Ihuan_ is the +possessive, _i_, and _huan_, associate, companion, used also as a +termination to form a certain class of plurals. + +The deficiency in true conjunctions and relative pronouns is met in +many American languages by a reversal of the plan of expression with +us. The relative clause becomes the principal one. There is a certain +logical justice in this; for, if we reflect, it will appear evident +that the major proposition is, in our construction, presented as one +of the conditions of the minor. "I shall drown, if I fall in the +water," means that, of the various results of my falling in the water, +one of them will be that I shall drown. "I followed the road which +you described," means that you described a road, and one of the +results of this act of yours was that I followed it. + +This explains the plan of constructing compound sentences in Qquichua. +Instead of saying "I shall follow the road which you describe," the +construction is "You describe, this road I shall follow;" and instead +of "I shall drown if I fall in the water," it would be, "I fall in the +water, I shall drown." + +The Mexican language introduces the relative clause by the word _in_, +which is an article and demonstrative pronoun, or, if the proposition +is a conditional one, by _intla_, which really signifies "within +this," and conveys the sense that the major is included within the +conditions of the minor clause. The Cakchiquel conditional particle is +_vue_, if, which appears to be simply the particle of affirmation +"yes," employed to give extension to the minor clause, which, as a +rule, is placed first. + +Or a conventional arrangement of words may be adopted which will +convey the idea of certain dependent clauses, as those expressing +similitude, as is often the case in Mexican. + + + 15. THE DUAL IN AMERICAN LANGUAGES. + +In his admirable philosophical examination of the dual number in +language, Humboldt laid the foundation of a linguistic theory of +numerals which has not yet received the development it merits. Here he +brings into view the dual and plural endings of a list of American +languages, and explains the motives on which they base the inclusive +and exclusive plurals so common among them. It is, in fact, a species +of pronominal dual confined to the first person in the plural. + +This, he goes on to say, is by no means the only dual in these +tongues. Some of them express both the other classes of duals which he +names. Thus, the Totonaca has duals for all objects which appear as +pairs in nature, as the eyes, the ears, the hands, etc.; while the +Araucanian equals the Sanscrit in extending the grammatical expression +of the dual through all parts of speech where it can find proper +application.[27-*] + + + 16. HUMBOLDT'S ESSAY ON THE AMERICAN VERB. + +The essay on the American verb translated in the following pages has +never previously appeared in print, either in German or English. The +original MS. is in the Royal Library at Berlin, whence I obtained a +transcript. The author alludes to this essay in several passages of +his printed works, most fully in his "Letter to M. Abel-Remusat" +(1826), in which he says: + +"A few years ago, I read before the Berlin Academy a memoir, which has +not been printed, in which I compared a number of American languages +with each other, solely with regard to the manner in which they +express the verb as uniting the subject with the attribute in the +proposition, and from this point of view I assigned them to various +classes. As this trait proves to what degree a language possesses +grammatical forms, or is near to possessing them, it is decisive of +the whole grammar of a tongue." + +On reading the memoir, I was so much impressed with the acuteness and +justness of its analysis of American verbal forms that I prepared the +translation which I now submit. + +In the more recent studies of the American verb which have appeared +from the pens of Friedrich Mller, J. Hammond Trumbull and Lucien +Adam, we have the same central element of speech subjected to critical +investigation at able hands. But it seems to me that none of them has +approached the topic with the broad, philosophic conceptions which +impress the reader in this essay of Humboldt's. Although sixty years +and more have elapsed since it was written, I am confident that it +will provide ample food for thought to the earnest student of +language. + + + + +_On the Verb in American Languages. By Wilhelm von Humboldt[TN-6] +Translated from the unpublished original. By D. G. Brinton, M.D._ + + +You recently had the goodness to give an appreciative hearing to my +essay on The Origin of Grammatical Forms. + +I desire to-day to apply the principles which I then stated in general +to a particular grammatical point through a series of languages. I +choose those of America as best suited to such a purpose, and select +the Verb as the most important part of speech, and the central point +of every language. Without entering into an analysis of the different +parts of the verb, I shall confine myself to that which constitutes +its peculiar verbal character--the union of the subject and predicate +of the sentence by means of the notion of Being. This alone forms the +essence of the verb; all other relations, as of persons, tenses, modes +and classes, are merely secondary properties. + +The question to be answered is therefore:-- + +Through what form of grammatical notation do the languages under +consideration indicate that subject and predicate are to be united by +means of the notion of Being? + +I believe I have shown with sufficient clearness that a language may +have a great diversity of apparent forms, and may express all +grammatical relations with definiteness, and yet when taken as a whole +it may lack true grammatical form. From this arises an essential and +real graduated difference between languages. This difference, however, +has nothing to do with the question whether particular languages +employ exclusively agglutination or inflection, as all began with +agglutination; but in the languages of the higher class, it became in +its effects on the mind, identical with inflection. + +As languages of the higher class, one has but to name the cultivated +idioms of Asia and Europe, Sanscrit, Greek and Latin, in order to +apply to them the above statement. It is still more necessary, +however, to understand thoroughly the structure of those languages +which are on a lower plane, partly because this will convince us of +the correctness of the classification, partly because these tongues +are less generally known. + +It is enough to take up some single leading grammatical relation. I +select for this purpose the verb as the most important part of speech, +with which most of the others come into relation, and which completes +the formation of the sentence, the grammatical purpose of all +language--and often embraces it wholly in itself. But I shall confine +myself solely to that which makes the verb a verb, the characteristic +notation of its peculiar verbal nature. In every language this point +is the most important and the most difficult, and cannot be made too +clear to throw light upon the whole of the language. Linguistic +character can be ascertained through this point in the shortest and +most certain manner. + +The verb is the union of the subject and predicate of the sentence by +means of the notion of Being; yet not of every predicate. The +attribute which is united to the substance by the verb must be an +energic one, a participial. The substance is represented in the verb +as in motion, as connecting the Being with the energic attribute. By +means of this representation, and the peculiar nature of the +attribute, the verb is distinguished from the mere logical copula, +with which it is liable to be confounded if these ideas are not +understood. If the verb is explained merely as a synthesis of Being +with any other attribute, then the origin of the tenses cannot be +wholly derived from one idea, for the idea of time alone would allow +only a three-fold distinction. Moreover, in such case the true and +efficient nature of the verb is misunderstood. In the sentence, "The +man is good," the verb is not a synthesis of the adjective "good" with +the substantive, but it is a participial of the energic attribute "to +be good," which contains a condition, having beginning, middle and +end, and consequently resembles an action. Fully analyzed, the +sentence would be, "He is being good." Where the substantive verb +stands without a visible predicate, as in the sentence, "I am," then +the verb "to be" has itself as the object of a synthesis, "I am +being." But as rude nations would find this difficult to comprehend, +the verb "to be" is either entirely lacking, as in many American +languages, or else it has an original material sense, and is +confounded with "to stand," "to give," "to eat," etc., and thus +indicates Being as identical with the most familiar occupations. + +The subject, the substance represented as in action, may be one +independent of the speakers, or it may be identical with one of them, +and this identity is expressed by the pronouns. From this arises the +persons. The energic attribute may exert its action in various manners +in the substance or between two substances; this gives rise to the +forms or classes of verbs. Their action must be confined to a given +point or period of time. The Being may be understood as definite or +indefinite, etc., and in this is the origin of modes. Being is +inseparably connected with the notation of time. This, united with the +fixation of the point or period of time of an action, forms the +tenses. No verb, therefore, can be conceived as without persons and +tenses, modes and classes; yet these qualities do not constitute its +essence, but arise from the latter, which itself is the synthesis +brought about by the notion of Being. The signs of these qualities +must be made to appear in the grammatical notation of the verb, but in +such a manner that they appear dependent on its nature, making one +with it. + +The energic attribute, which aids in forming the verb, may be a real +movement or action, as going, coming, living, working, etc., or merely +a qualitative Being, as a being beautiful, good, mortal, or immortal. +In the former case, we have a real attributive verb, in the latter a +substantive verb, in which an attribute is considered as at rest, +hence as an adjective. Although in both cases the nature of the verb +is the same, yet in many languages this difference leads to a +corresponding variety in grammatical notation. + +In accordance with these ideas culled from universal grammar, the +forms of the conjugations in the various languages will now be +considered. + +I have taken as a basis for this investigation as many American +languages as I thought sufficient for the purpose, and as would not make +the survey oppressive by their number; but as I do not name all of them, +and pay still less attention to pointing out in what other groups of +languages the peculiarities named occur, it must be understood that what +is here said is not intended as a characterization of American +languages. This is reserved for another study. + +In order to judge how closely these languages approach grammatical +perfection in this point, we must take as our criterion that condition +of speech where there is a class of words, which possess verbal power, +and are at the same time separated by a definite form from all other +parts of speech. With reference to this condition as the highest, we +must arrange in various grades all other structural forms or +paraphrases of the verb. + +The notion of Being, which constitutes the basis and the essence of +the verb, can be indicated either, + +1. As expressed independently. + +2. As incorporated in the verbal form as an auxiliary verb. + +3. As included in the verbal form merely as an idea. + +The differences of the languages under comparison can be appreciated +most correctly by means of these three headings; but it must not be +forgotten that any language may use the first and one of the last two +methods, and that in languages which have a substantive verb +conjugated with and without auxiliary verbs, all three may be +employed. + + +I. + +WHEN THE NOTION OF BEING IS EXPRESSED INDEPENDENTLY. + +I must except from this class all instances where the substantive verb +is formed from a radical, inasmuch as this root, like any other, must +assume the verbal form, and thus come under one of the two other +divisions. In such case it expresses the notion of Being, either by an +auxiliary, as in the German _Ich bin gewesen_, or simply in the form, +as, _I am_. When it is remembered that the substantive verbs of all +languages are derived from concrete conceptions and impart to these +merely the general notion of Being, the above becomes still more +obvious. + +Now if there is no root-form for the substantive verb, and yet it is +expressed independently, and not by another verbal form, this can only +be done either by the position of the governing and governed words, or +by linguistic elements which are not properly verbs, but only become +so by this use. In the former case the substantive verb is merely +understood, in the latter it appears in a definite word, but without a +fixed radical. + +1. _When the notion of Being is understood._ + +One of the most common forms of sentences in American languages is to +bring together an adjective and a substantive, the substantive verb +being omitted. + +Mexican: _in Pedro qualli_, the Peter (is) good. + +Totonaca: _aquit chixco_, I (am) a man. + +Huasteca: _naxe uxum ibaua tzichniel_, this woman (is) not thy +servant. + +In the Mixteca language such expressions have a peculiar arrangement. +The adjective must precede the substantive, or rather the predicate +must precede the subject, as in the reverse case the words are +understood separately, and are not connected into a sentence: _quadza +aha_, the woman is bad; _aha quadza_, the bad woman. + +In the language of the Mbayas, a sentence can be made with any verb by +dropping the verbal affixes, by transposing a letter characterizing +the nouns as such, appending an adjective suffix, and uniting this +with an independent pronoun. The grammars of this language call this +form a passive, but it is just as much a neuter, and is not a verb but +a phrase. From _iigaichini_, to teach, we have _n-iigaichin-igi_, +taught, and as first person _e n-iigaichin-igi_, I am taught. The +initial _n_ which accompanies all nouns in this language, is merely +the possessive pronoun of the third person, added according to the +usage of many of these tongues to leave no noun without a possessive; +the termination _igi_ is a particle which indicates the place where +anything remains. Literally, therefore, _eniigaichinigi_ means, I (am) +the stopping-place of his teaching, _i. e._, one who is taught. All +affixes of mode and tense, however, may be united to this phrase, so +that thus it approaches a verb. + +Regarded apart from the changes through tenses and modes, the union of +the subject and predicate with the substantive verb omitted, is +admirably adapted to express the conjunction of two words in one idea, +and as the languages which make use of it also possess the ordinary +forms of conjugation, they thus possess a special expression for both +the forms of verbs above referred to. We shall note this particularly +in the Beto language. + +When the subject is not an independent part of speech, but an affixed +pronoun, the analogy of this method of notation to a verbal form +increases. For this is present even when no characteristic of a tense +is added, simply by the union of an attribute and a pronoun. It should +be remarked once for all, however, that too much weight must not be +attached to whether these elements form one word or not, as this is +not an infallible criterion. + +The verb cannot be considered to be present as a separate part of +speech, when a verb can thus be made out of any word, not merely those +stamped as verbs, but also out of those which bear the express +characteristics of nouns; and therefore I include all these cases in +the class under consideration. For in all these languages there is in +fact no verb, but only separate elements of speech with the verb +omitted. Such cases are, however, interesting, as showing the gradual +approach to the verb, and the effort of the instinct of language to +arrive at grammatical form. + + The independent personal pronoun rarely makes an element of verbal + form, as in speaking it is generally worn down to an affix. When it is + used to form a verbal expression, the difference of the elements is + 1 3 3 1 + apparent. Thus, in the Carib, _anaiaca puin au_--I (am) not a divider. + In that tongue, however, this placement is not applicable to every noun, + but only after certain definite verbal forms, especially in negative + expressions. + + The Lule language confines this notation to participials, and expresses + by it the condition of the action and also its time; [TN-7]_mil quis + 1 2 3 + amaiciton_, you (are) me loving. + +The affixed pronouns are either special, confined to these +expressions, or if elsewhere in the tongue, are not employed with +verbs, or not in this manner; or they are the pronominal affixes of +the verb itself. + +The Maya or Yucatecan language has a special pronoun which added to +any noun forms a sentence with it, and possesses the power to add the +idea of the verb; _Pedro en_, I am Pedro. But when it stands alone, +without a predicate, it loses this power, as _en_ alone does not mean, +"I am." + +In the Beto language there is, indeed, no special pronoun of this +kind, as the one used is also a possessive. Its position, however, +makes the difference. When it is prefixed, it is the possessive, but +when suffixed it carries with it the power of the verb: _humani rru_, +man I (am); _fofei rru_, bad I (am). In a similar manner this tongue +forms a substantive verb, _ajoi rru_. The meaning of the root is not +given, but it seems to mean something present, at hand. It is +suggestive that in these phrases the accent is always on the pronoun, +as if to signify that that is the important element. + +It is very common in American languages to find the noun and the verb +using the same pronouns, with the former to indicate possession, with +the latter the subject. This might be explained by supposing that the +action is regarded as the possession of the agent. But it is simpler +to suppose that in each case the connection of the person with the +noun and the verb is in the thoughts, and this relation is recognized +in expression. + +In this way the Mbaya language has a sort of descriptive conjugation; +connecting the participles with possessive pronouns; _i-iligodi_, I +(am) explaining; but no doubt less definitely, "my explaining," "I to +explain." + +The language of the Abipones slightly alters the possessive pronouns +in some persons and uses them in a similar manner: _ri-aal_, I am +lazy; _yo-amkata_, he is good. + +When the verbal pronoun is used in such expressions, it is entirely +identical with the verb. + +This is the case with the Mexican, where the verbal pronoun united to +the participle forms a sentence: _ni-tlaotlani_, I (am) a lover. This +expression differs from the present indicative only in the form of the +root-word, _ni-tlaotla_; but it cannot form another tense or mode. +The grammarians call such an expression a tense indicating habit. +This, however, would not be a tense but a mode, and, in fact, the term +rests on a misunderstanding. That such expressions indicate habit is +shown by the fact that they do not apply, like the present of the +verb, to the temporary action, but convey that it is a custom, or a +business; not that I am loving just now, but that I am habitually a +lover. + +An entirely similar instance occurs in the North Guaranay language, +which also permits, besides the regular conjugation, a union of the +root of the verb with a pronoun, the verb being omitted. The +grammarians of that tongue say that this adds extension and emphasis +to the sense of the verb. The real difference, however, is that this +procedure treats the verb as a noun, and the extension comes from +considering the action expressed by the verb to have become a +permanent quality; _a poro iuca_, I kill men (ordinary conjugation); +_xe poro iuca_, I (am) a man-killer (form with the possessive +pronoun); I kill men as my business. + +In both these languages, therefore, what have been represented as +peculiar and separated forms, tenses indicating habit, or forms of +extension, are simply erroneous explanations of quite simple +constructions. In Mexican the correctness of this explanation is +confirmed by the forms of the vocative, which are identical with this +supposed tense, _in ti tlatlacoani_, O thou sinner; literally, thou +who (art) a sinner. + +In the above examples the verbal power lies in the pronouns. But the +Mbaya language constructs verbal sentences by adding the sign of the +future to any adjective without a pronoun. This sign is _de_, or +before a vowel _d_: _de liidi_, it will be pleasant to the taste; _d +otiya_, he will be fat. I do not find other examples, and am uncertain +whether other tenses and modes are thus formed. In that case the +pronouns would have to be added, and the expression would lose its +peculiarity, which is that the tense sign alone carries with it the +notion of Being. + +The Othomi language makes use in such expressions not only of the +pronouns but of all the affixes of the verb, and conjugates a noun +together with its article, treating it as a verbal radical: +_qui-no-munti-maha_, Thou wert the enriched. Here _no-munti_ is "the +enriched," and all the remaining syllables are verbal inflections. +Sandoval, who wrote a grammar of the language, explains _no_ as an +auxiliary verb; but with the noun he calls it an article, as it is, +and he evidently misunderstood the expression. It is wholly a verbal, +but as this procedure can be applied to any noun whatever, such an +expression is far removed from a real, well-defined verbal form. + +The same language has another peculiar form with the possessive, which +can only be explained by supplying an omitted verb. _Na nuhti_ means +"my property;" but if to this is added the abbreviated pronoun used as +a verbal affix, _na-nuhti-g[=a]_, the words mean, "this property +belongs to me," or, "my property is it, mine." + +In the grammatically obscure consciousness of these people, the ideas +of verbal and merely pronominal expression are confounded, as also in +the Brazilian language, where "my father" and "I have a father" are +expressed by the same word. + +The advantages which these languages derive from the formation of +sentences with the verb omitted are two. + +They can change any noun into a verb, or at least they can treat it as +such. It is true that this can also be done by a substantive verb when +one is found, but as the languages in question unite the noun to the +verbal flexions, their freedom is much greater. + +The second advantage is, that when it is desirable to discriminate +clearly between the two kinds of verbs, the one which has at base an +energic attribute, the other which merely expresses the relation of +predicate to subject, a thing to its qualities, this end can be much +better reached by the process described than even by the substantive +verb, which, by its full verbal form, always recalls the action of an +energic attribute. + +Many of the languages named include in these expressions particles of +time, thereby obscuring the distinction referred to. But in others +this is not the case. Thus in the Maya and Beto there are two +conjugations, one with the pronoun without time particles, and one +with them; and as in both these tongues the present of the true +conjugation has a characteristic tense sign, a separate aorist of the +present is formed by the other conjugation, which our cultivated +tongues cannot express so conveniently. + +2. _When the notion of Being is expressed by a special word, but +without a phonetic radical._ + +Although the assumption here expressed sounds at first rather +enigmatical, yet one can soon see that if the notion of Being is to be +conveyed without a phonetic radical, it can only be done through the +sign of the person, that is, in the pronoun, with or without a tense +sign. This is actually the case in two languages, the Maya and the +Yaruri. + +We have already seen that in the Maya there is a special pronoun +which unites a predicate to the idea of person into one sentence. +There is also another which by itself conveys the idea of the verb, +and of which each person has the signification both of the pronoun and +the substantive verb, "I" and "I am," "thou" and "thou art," etc. Not +only is it so used in the present, but it can take the signs of the +tenses. It is distinguished from the pronouns previously referred to +in the first and second persons of both numbers only by a prefixed +_t_, as follows: + + Pronouns which, with a predicate, Pronouns which, by themselves, + convey a verbal idea. possess verbal power. + + Singular. + 1. en ten + 2. ech tech + 3. lai lo lai + + Plural. + 1. on toon + 2. ex teex + 3. ob loob + +This similarity leads to the thought that a true phonetic radical may +exist in this _t_, and may induce us to consider this word not as a +pronoun but as a substantive verb. But this makes no difference. The +fact remains that the word is used both as a simple pronoun and also +as a substantive verb. In the translation of the Lord's Prayer, the +word _toon_ is a simple pronoun. If _t_ is a radical, it may just as +well come from the pronoun. Some languages offer clear examples of +this. In the Maipure the expression for the third person singular +recurs with all the other persons, as if this sound meant the person, +the man generally, and the first and second persons were denoted as +the "I-person," "thou-person," etc. In the Achagua language the same +radical occurs in all the pronouns, but does not, as in the Maipure, +stand alone for the third person singular, but in it, as in the other +persons, appears as an affix. + +At any rate, this pronoun answers, in the Maya, all the purposes of +the substantive verb, and there is no other in the language. + +It is quite intelligible that in the conceptions of rude nations the +idea of an object, and especially of a person, cannot be separated +from the idea of his existence. This may be applied to the forms of +expression above mentioned. What seems a violent and ungrammatical +omission of the verb, is probably in those people an obscure +association of thoughts, a non-separation of the object from its +being. Probably it is from the same source that in some American +languages every adjective is so considered that it includes not the +idea alone, but the expression, "it is thus, and thus constituted." + +In the Yaruri language the absence of a phonetic radical meaning "to +be" is yet more apparent. Each person of the pronoun is a different +word, and they have no single letter in common. The pronoun which has +verbal power is almost identical with the independent personal +pronoun. The tense signs are prefixed to it. Thus, _que_, I am; _ri +que_, I was, &c. This _ri_, however, is merely a particle which +expresses that something is remote, and corresponds with our "from." +_Ui-ri-di_, there was water there, literally "water far is" (from us +is). The subjunctive of this substantive verb is given as _ri_, "if I +were." This means, however, "in," and is a particle. The notion of +Being is added, as in the pronoun; and the ideas, "in the being," and +"if I were," pass into each other. + +Strictly speaking, both the verbal notations here expressed are +identical with those already mentioned. Here also the verb is supplied +by the mind. The difference is that in the latter case the pronouns +alone signify being, and contain this notion in themselves, whereas in +the other cases this notion arises from the conjunction of subject and +predicate. Then also in the Maya language there is a special pronoun +for this sole purpose. As far as the forms go, they entirely resemble +those of a true verb, and if _que_ and _ten_ are regarded as mere +verbs substantive, one who did not examine their elements would take +them to be true verbs like the Sanscrit _bh[=u]_, the Greek ~eimi~, +and the Latin _sum_. The example of these languages thus teaches that +in the analysis of the substantive verbs of other tongues it is not +necessary that a common phonetic radical need be employed. + +In the Huasteca language the substantive verb is replaced by affixing +a tense sign to the independent pronouns; _naua itz_, I was, _tata +itz_, thou wert, etc. But the case is not the same. The pronoun +receives the verbal power by the suffix _itz_, and this appears only +in later times to have become a sign of the preterit, and in an +earlier period to have had a general sense. The mountaineers who seem +to have retained the older forms of the tongue use the _itz_, not only +in the preterit, but in the present and future. It was doubtless the +expression of some general verbal idea, as, to be, to do, etc. + + +II. + +THE NOTION OF BEING IS INCORPORATED WITH THE VERB AS AN AUXILIARY. + +Auxiliary verbs are used only for certain tenses, or form the entire +conjugation. The former arises from accidental causes having relation +only to these tenses, not to the verb in general. The latter readily +arises when a substantive verb offers an easy means of conjugation by +uniting with another verb. Sometimes the conjugation by means of an +auxiliary shows that the linguistic sense of a notion sought something +beyond the person and tense signs to express the verbal power itself, +and therefore had recourse to a general verb. This can, indeed, only +be constituted of those elements and a radical; but the want in the +language is thus supplied, once for all, and does not return with +every verb. + +An excellent example of this is furnished by the Maya conjugation. In +an analysis of it we find an element that neither belongs to the root, +nor is a person, tense or mode sign, and when their varieties and +changes are compared, there is evident throughout a marked anxiety to +express the peculiar verbal power in the form of the verb. + +The conjugation in the Maya language is formed by affixing the +pronouns and mode and tense signs to the stem. The pronoun is, +according to a distinction to be noted hereafter, either the +possessive pronoun or that one which, without verbal power in itself, +yet receives it when a predicate is attached to it to form a sentence. + +Besides this, the suffix _cah_ accompanies all verbs in the present +and imperfect; and the suffix _ah_ accompanies all transitive verbs +through the remaining tenses, except the future. Present, 1st person, +sing., _canan-in-cah_, I guard; imperf. 1st pers. sing., _canan-in cah +cuchi_; perf., 1st pers. sing., _in canan-t-ah_. _In_ is the +possessive pronoun, _cuchi_ the sign of the imperfect, _t_ in the +perfect is a euphonic letter. + +The idea of transitive verbs is here taken somewhat narrower than +usual. Only those are included which govern a word outside of +themselves. All others are considered intransitive, even those which +of themselves are active, but either have no expressed object (as, I +love, I hate, etc.), or the word which they govern is in the verb +itself, as in the Greek ~oikodomeo, oikoure~. As these can +govern a second accusative, the object incorporated in the verb is +included in the idea they express. + +The tenses of the intransitive verbs, except the present and +imperfect, while they drop _ah_ and the possessive pronoun, are formed +with that pronoun which forms sentences with a predicate. + +There are cases where not only the present omits _cah_, but where the +stem, if it ends in _ah_ as is often the case, drops it, and +substitutes _ic_. The signification then alters, and indicates an +habitual action or quality. As _ic_ is the sign of the gerund, this +change appears to be the transformation of the verb into a verbal, and +to effect this, it must be united to that pronoun which serves as the +substantive verb; _ten yacunic_, I love, properly, I am loving +(habitually). + +What _cah_ and _ah_ mean by themselves, we are not informed. Where +_cah_ is attached to the stem of some verbs it signifies intensity. +_Ah_ is as a prefix the sign of the male sex, of the inhabitant of a +place, and of names derived from active verbs. Hence it seems to have +meant at first person, man, and later to have become a pronoun, and +finally an affix. It is noteworthy that the same difference exists +between _ah_ and _cah_, as between _en_ and _ten_. The _c_ may +therefore be a radical sound. In the conjugation, _cah_ is treated +wholly as a verb. For in this the possessive pronoun is always +prefixed; and as in the present and imperfect it is placed after the +stem of the verb and before _cah_, it is evident from the difference +between the two forms _canan-in-cah_ and _in-canan-t-ah_, that in the +former _cah_, and in the latter _canan_, are regarded as the verbs. +_Canan-in-cah_ is precisely as the English "I do guard." + +_Cah_ is consequently a true auxiliary verb; _ten_, when it appears in +conjunction with _en_ must have the notion of Being understood: _ah_ +appears to be of similar nature, but as it appears only in the +conjugation of transitive verbs, it is a verbal sign, and thus +receives its verbal power. That _cah_ and _ah_ do really possess this +powever[TN-8] is evident from the fact that they are never used +whenever either of the pronouns which are always associated with the +notion of Being is present. + +Except in the future of transitive verbs, there is no instance in the +conjugation where the stem of the verb is not accompanied by one of +these four syllables, all of which indicate Being, and all of which +have the force of auxiliary verbs. + +The future of transitive verbs not only does not take any of these +syllables, but even rejects _ah_ when it is the terminal syllable of +the stem. In this case no other termination replaces it. On the +contrary, all other verbs receive a new suffix in their future, +varying as they are of one or many syllables. The nature of these +suffixes has not been explained. + +The definite results of this analysis are as follows: + +1. The Maya language possesses in its conjugation, besides the +inflection syllables of the persons and tenses, another element, +which, except in the simple future of transitive verbs, distinctly +carries with it the notion of Being; in the future of most verbs there +is such an element, but of unknown origin, and it only fails in the +future of one class of verbs. + +2. This language displays an effort to express, besides the other +purposes of the verb, particularly its synthetic power, which is all +the more apparent as it uses different means in different cases, but +all designed to accomplish the same purpose. + +The Yaruri language constructs the whole of its conjugation in a yet +simpler manner by means of an auxiliary verb. + +The union of the pronoun and the tense sign which, as we have already +seen, forms the substantive verb, affixed to the stem, completes the +inflections of the one and only conjugation of attributive verbs, +except that the independent pronouns are prefixed. Neither the stem +nor the auxiliary words suffer any changes, except the insertion of an +_n_ in one person. The union remains, however, a loose one, and when +person and tense are manifest by the connection, the auxiliary verb is +omitted. This happens in certain verbs ending in _pa_. These, contrary +to the usual rule, change in the perfect this termination to _pea_, by +which the tense is made apparent, and as the person is evident from +the prefixed personal pronoun, the auxiliary can be dropped without +danger of obscurity. + +The formation of certain tenses by means of auxiliaries is also +frequent in American languages. + +An optative of this nature in the Lule language has already been +mentioned. + +In the Mixteca tongue the imperfect is thus formed from the present, +which carries with it the personal sign, and the perfect without its +personal sign, a proceeding which, however rude and awkward it may be, +shows a just appreciation of the peculiarity of this past tense, which +expresses an action as going on, and therefore present in past time. +The expression of continuous action is placed first, "I sin," then +this is more precisely defined by the mark of past time, "this was +so;" _Yo-dzatevain-di-ni-cuvui_. _Yo_ is the sign of the present, _ni_ +of the preterit, _di_ is the pronoun; the other two words, _to sin_ +and _to be_: "I was sinning." + +The sign of the present, _yo_, is probably an abbreviation of the verb +_yodzo_, I stand upon or over something, and so there is a second +auxiliary in the sentence. This may often be a means of discovering +the origin of tense signs, as, especially in American tongues, tenses +are often formed by the union of verbs, as also occurs in Sanscrit and +Greek. + +The Othomi distinguishes certain past tenses, which, however, are +separated by other characteristics, by a prefixed _xa_, which is +called the third person singular of a substantive verb. As these +tenses are precisely those in which the action must be completed, the +perfect, pluperfect and future perfect, not, however, the imperfect +and past aorist, such a connection is very suitable. Of this verb we +have only _xa_, and there is another substantive verb _gui_, which +itself takes _oca_ in its conjugation. + +The Totonaca language unites the perfect, in the person spoken of, +with the third person singular of the future of the substantive verb, +to form a future perfect. This is no completed form, but only an +awkward sequence of two verbs; _yc-paxquilh-na-huan_, literally, "I +have loved, it will be,"="I shall have loved." + +In similar manner the substantive verb is used to form a tense of the +subjunctive. + +The sign of both the perfects in this tongue is the syllable _nit_, +and _niy_ means "to die." It is not improbable that this affix is +derived from this verb. Death and destruction are suitable ideas to +express the past, and some languages employ negative particles as +signs of the preterit. In the Tamanaca this is not exactly the case, +but the negative particle _puni_ added to a word which signifies an +animate thing, intimates that it has died; _papa puni_, the deceased +father, literally, "father not." In the Omagua tongue the same word +signifies old, dead, and not present. + +In the Maipure and Carib tongues the negative particles _ma_ and _spa_ +are also the signs of the preterit. Bopp's suggestion that the +Sanscrit augment was originally _a_ privative finds support in this +analogy. Yet I would not speak conclusively on this point, as probably +that, the Greek augment ~e~, and the Mexican _o_, are only +lengthened sounds, intended to represent concretely the length of the +past time. At any rate one must regard the negation as an actual +destruction, a "been, and no longer being," not as simply a negation +of the present. + + +III. + +THE NOTION OF BEING IS PRESENT IN THE VERBAL FORM ONLY IN IDEA. + +In this case the verb consists only of the stem, and the person, +tense, and mode signs. The former are originally pronouns, the latter +particles. Before they are worn down by use to mere affixes, the three +following cases may arise: + +1. That all three of these elements are equally separable and loosely +connected. + +2. That one of the two, the person or the tense and mode signs, +obtains a closer connection with the stem, and becomes formal, while +the other remains loosely attached. + +3. That both these are incorporated with the stem, and the whole +approaches a true grammatical form, although it does not fully +represent it. + +_Case 1st._ + +The only language I can instance here is that of the Omaguas, as I +know no other with such a decided absence of all true grammatical +forms in the verb. The independent pronouns, the stem words of the +verbs, and the particles of tense and mode are merely placed together +without any change, without internal connection, and apparently +without fixed order; _usu_, to go; 1st pers. sing. pres. _ta usu_; 2d +pers. sing. perf. _avi ene usu_ (_ene_ is the pronoun, _avi_ the sign +of the perfect). Subjunctive, 1st pers. sing. pres. _ta usu mia_; 2d +pers. sing. perf. _avi epe usu mia_. + +Sometimes, when a misunderstanding is not feared, the verbal stem is +employed without these qualifying particles, and cannot then be +distinguished from a noun. _Paolo amai amano_. The last word means "to +die," but grammatically the sentence can as well be rendered, "Paul +only die" (_i. e._ has died), as "Paul only dead." + +It is true that the suffix _ta_ changes nouns to verbs: _zhiru_, +clothes, _zhiru-ta_, to clothe; but it also changes verbs to nouns, +_yasai_, to cover, _yasai-ta_, a cover. This may be explained by the +theory that this suffix conveys the idea _to make_, which is taken +sometimes actively, sometimes passively. + +According to the above, the Omagua conjugation falls in the class +where an attributive is united to a pronoun and the verb is omitted; +only that here definite tense syllables appear, and this brings the +construction nearer to the idea of a conjugation. + +_Case 2d._ + +1. The Maipure, Abipone, Mbaya and Mocobi languages place only the +personal sign in intimate connection with the verb, and allow the +tense and mode signs to be loosely attached. They have therefore but +one type of personal forms to be applied in every tense and mode by +means of the particles or the affixes formed from them. This type, +taken alone, usually forms the present; but, accurately speaking, this +name cannot be assigned it; because the signs of the other tenses are +also dropped when this can be done without obscurity. +_Ya-chaguani-me-yaladi._ Here the first word is in the indefinite +form, though it is not the present but the perfect. The _me_ is really +the preposition "in;" but usage has adopted it for the subjunctive +sign, and so the Spanish grammarians call it; or rather, the verb is +considered to be introduced by a conjunction, "if," "as," so that it +is usually not in the present but a past tense. If this is the case +with the last verb, the first one must have the same tense, and so the +whole phrase, without any tense sign, means, "I had helped him when I +said it." + +One would scarcely expect to find anything like this in cultivated +languages. Yet it does occur in both Sanscrit and Greek. The now +meaningless particle _sma_ in Sanscrit when it follows the present +changes it into a past, and in Greek ~an~ alters the indicative +into a subjunctive. + +To form this general type, the Maipure makes use of the unchanged +possessive pronoun, and treats nouns and verbs in the same manner. The +noun must always be united to a possessive pronoun, a trait common to +all the Orinoco tongues and many other American languages. In the 3d +person sing., however, neither the verb nor the noun has such a +pronoun, but it is to be understood; _nuani_, my son; _ani_, alone, +not son, but "his son." The 3d pers. sing. of the verb is often the +mere stem, without a personal sign, but that this peculiarity should +also extend to the noun I have met only in this tongue. It is evident +that a pronoun is considered as essential to a noun as to a verb, and +although a similar usage is found in many tongues, yet it appears in +none so binding. There are, indeed, some nouns which are free from the +necessity of thinking them in connection with a person, but these have +the suffix _ti_, which is dropped when the possessive pronoun is +added; _java ti_, a hatchet, _nu java_, my hatchet. From this it is +evident that _ti_ does not belong to the stem, and is incompatible +with the use of a possessive, hence it is the sign of the substantive, +in its independent condition. The same occurs in Mexican, and the +chief termination of substantives, _tli_, is almost identical in sound +with that in the Maipure. + +In this respect the verbal, conjugated with the personal signs, +differs nothing from the noun united to its possessive pronouns. +Grammatically, the form first becomes a verbal one by the added +particles of tense and mode. The signification of these can generally +be clearly ascertained, and thus are united closely to the stem. + +The particles which the language of the Abipones uses to form the +general verbal type are quite different from the possessives. The +tense and mode particles have elsewhere in the tongue independent +meanings. Thus _kan_, the sign of the perfect, means a thing which has +been, time that has past. + +In the language of the Mocobis the personal signs consist merely in +letters, prefixed and suffixed, and have no apparent relationship to +the pronouns. By affixing these letters, phonetic changes take place +so that the stem is combined with them into one form. + +Among the tense signs, a prefixed _l_ indicates a past time, a +suffixed _o_, the future; but the others are independent particles, +loosely attached to the stem. + +I have already shown how the Mbaya language conjugates adjectives with +the independent pronoun, and participles with the possessive pronoun. +The signs used in the conjugation proper of the attributive verb, do +not appear elsewhere in the tongue, and must have descended from an +older period of its existence. + +In the tense and mode signs it is easily perceived how descriptive +phrases pass into true forms. For the imperfect and pluperfect the +speaker can choose among a number of particles, all of which indicate +past time. The modes have definite signs, but these are merely +appended, and some have separate significations. The future and +perfect have not merely fixed particles, but these are worn down to +one letter, so that the stem is actually incorporated with them. + +2. In the languages heretofore considered the personal signs added to +the word make up the conjugation, and the other signs are attached +loosely and externally. The reverse of this, though not perfectly so, +appears in the Lule language. The tense and mode signs, often of but +one letter, are immediately and firmly attached to the stem, and the +pronouns are affixed to this to complete the conjugation. These +pronouns are, however, the ordinary possessives, so that noun and verb +become in a measure identical; thus, _camc_ means both "I eat" and "my +food;" _cumuee_, "I marry" and "my wife;" only in a few examples are +the verbal pronouns distinct from the possessives. + +In this case, therefore, the personal signs are independent elements, +occurring elsewhere in the language, while the tense and mode signs +are true affixes. + +The inflection-syllables form with the stem real verbal forms, and so +far the conjugation of this language belongs to the third case. But +each of the elements has its fixed position, and as soon as one has +the key to the combination, he can recognize and separate them at +once. + +Reasons which it would require too much space to set forth render it +probable that all the tense signs are really auxiliary verbs or come +from them. This is evident of the optative, as has already been shown. +The present only is simple, as it has no tense sign. + +Slight differences are found between the personal signs of some +tenses, so that these tenses can be distinguished by them, a trait +usually seen only in tongues so far cultivated that the grammatical +forms have undergone such changes as no longer to present simple and +uniform combinations. Equally curious is the regular omission of the +tense sign of past time in the third person plural only. Although, +except in this case and that of the present, each tense has its +definite sign, inserted between the stem and the personal sign, yet +there are, besides these, various particles expressing past time, +which can accompany the usual tense form, so that there is a double +sign of time, one in the word itself and one loosely attached to it. + +The languages of the Mbayas, Abipones, Mocobis and Lules are closely +allied both in words and in some grammatical forms. It is all the more +extraordinary, therefore, to find the last-mentioned pursuing a method +in the structure of its verb which is almost totally opposed to that +in the other three tongues. + +_Case 3d._ + +The languages of this class approach in their conjugations those of +the more cultivated tongues, in which each verbal inflection has a +fixed and independent form. Both the person, the tense and the mode +signs are united to the stem, in such a manner that none of the three +can be said to be either less or more loosely attached than the +others. + +All the conjugations about to be discussed lack, however, that fixity +of form which grammatically satisfies the mind. + +The elements are placed definitely and regularly one by the other, but +are not incorporated into each other, and are therefore readily +recognizable. + +They are found, moreover, outside of the verb elsewhere in the +language either without any change or with slight differences of +sound; the personal signs as pronouns, the other affixes as particles. + +The composition of the verb is separable, and may receive into itself +other parts of speech. + +No American language is free from these drawbacks to perfection of +form in the conjugations. In some all three are found; in most the +first and last. In really grammatically developed tongues, as in the +Sanscrit, Greek, Latin and German, none of these imperfections exists. +The verb includes in itself no part of its object, the affixes +modifying the stem have lost all independent life, and the analysis of +the formal elements becomes a difficult philological task, which often +fails and only rarely can be fully proved. + +I shall discriminate in regard to the conjugations about to be +considered that which is an approach toward a fixed form from the +intentional separation of the form to insert a governed word. + +_1. Approach toward a Fixed Form._ + +In the Mixteca language, the personal sign is the unchanged possessive +pronoun. If the verb is governed by a noun in the third person, the +possessive is dropped. It is left to the speaker to choose whether he +designates the person, either by prefixing the personal pronoun or +suffixing the possessive. The tense signs are prefixed syllables, but +the perfect and future signs are altogether different from those of +the present, and materially alter the verbal stem. + +The Beto language prefixes the personal signs and also the possessive +pronouns to the nouns. As the latter are not fully known, we cannot +judge of their identity with the verbal pronouns. The latter do not +seem to differ much from the personal pronouns. The tense signs are +easily recognized suffixes. + +Another conjugation of the same language, by the suffixed pronoun +without tense signs, and with the verb omitted, has been mentioned +above (I, 1), as forming a substantive verb. + +A second substantive verb arises from the conjugation above explained, +with the tense signs. + +These two forms may also be combined, and this illustrates with what +superfluous fullness grammatical forms spring up even among rude +nations. The conjugation with the tense sign is changed by a +participial suffix into a verbal, and then the pronoun is suffixed, as +in the conjugation without the tense sign. The latter, therefore, +stands twice in the form. The pronoun used in the conjugation with +tense signs may also be prefixed to a simple adjective, and the +pronoun used in the conjugation without tense sign is suffixed to +this, and the participial ending is then added. This is treated as a +verb with the substantive verb understood. But sometimes the verb "to +be" in the form without tense signs is added, and then the whole form +contains the pronoun three times, without gaining thereby any +additional meaning. + +The Carib conjugation seems to have arisen from the forms of many +dialects or epochs, and is therefore more complicated and formal, and +less easy to analyze. + +The personal signs are prefixed. In the substantive verb there are two +classes, of which only one is also common to attributive verbs. The +other indicates in the verb "to be" also the connection of persons +with the infinitive and gerund, and is therefore of the nature of a +possessive. It may also be that when it is combined with other tenses, +the notion among these nations is altogether a substantial one, as we +have already seen with the subjunctive. + +The stem often receives the addition _r_ or _ri_, the meaning of which +is not known. + +The structure of the Tamanaca conjugation also reveals a combination +of at least two separate structures. Some tenses use as their personal +signs entire pronouns, almost identical with the personals. Other +tenses merely change the initial letter of the verb, while there is +little similarity between these affixes and the pronouns. In the +plural some of the persons insert a syllable between the verb and the +tense sign. + +The tense signs are suffixed, and consist merely of terminal letters +or syllables, except two true particles, which distinguish the +continued present from the present aorist. + +There are an initial _y_ and a _t_ occasionally appearing in all +persons, of which we can only say that they are not radicals. + +The conjugation of this language, therefore, consists of elements not +readily analyzed. + +The Huasteca language prefixes the possessive pronouns as personal +signs. It may also drop them, and use in their stead the independent +pronouns; or may combine both; or may use abbreviated personals; so +that there is a prevailing arbitrariness in this part of the verbal +form. + +The tense signs are usually suffixes; but in the future they are +prefixes, which are incorporated with the personal sign placed between +them and the stem. They consist of simple sounds, of no independent +signification. But the particles of the imperative are so separable +that when this mode is preceded by an adverb, they attach themselves +to it. + +The Othomi language does not make use of the possessive pronouns in +the conjugation, but suffixes abbreviated forms of the personals, or +else prefixes others of special form, but identical in many letters +and syllables with the personals. In the present condition of the +language the suffixes are used only with the substantive verb; in the +attributive verb, however, they may have been driven forward by the +governed pronouns suffixed. Every verbal inflection may also take, +besides its pronominal prefix, also the unabreviated[TN-9] personal +pronoun in front, or the abbreviated one after it. + +The tense signs consist principally of single vowels, by means of +which the pronominal prefixes are attached to the stem. The imperfect +and pluperfect alone have besides this a loosely attached particle. +The past tenses possess a prefix, which we have already seen appears +to have been derived from an auxiliary verb. + +In the third person of some tenses in certain verbs the stem undergoes +a change of its initial letters, which appears to transform these +inflections into verbal adjectives, an instance of the confusion of +the ideas of noun and verb common in all these languages. + +The Mexican language possesses a peculiar class of verbal pronouns +which form the personal signs. This pronoun is similar to the personal +in its consonants, but has a vowel of its own. It is a prefix. The +plural is marked by the accent, or by a special termination. This +personal sign is inseparable from the verb, but the speaker may also +prefix the independent personal pronoun. + +The tense signs are all without signification, being single letters or +syllables. The perfect is marked not so much by an affix, as by +changing, the termination of the verb in various ways, but chiefly by +shortening and strengthening the sound. All tense designations are +placed at the end of the word, except the augment for past time. If by +augment we mean a vowel sound prefixed to the verb in certain tenses +in addition to their usual signs, then the Mexican is the only +American language which possesses one. + +The modes are designated by loosely attached particles, also by a +different structure of the tenses, and in the second person a peculiar +pronoun. + +Thus the Mexican conjugation consists of true verbal forms, not of +separate parts of speech of independent significance; but the elements +of these forms are easily recognizable, and can be reached without +difficulty. + +The most difficult to analyze, and hence the most nearly approaching +our conjugations, is that of the Totonaca language. + +The personal signs differ from the pronouns. That of the 2d pers. +sing. is not easily recognized, and several forms of it must be +assumed. Its position as a prefix or suffix differs, and it is +variously located with reference to the other verbal signs. Still more +difficult is it to distinguish the tense signs. There are three +different systems of prefixes and suffixes in the conjugation, and the +plan on which these are combined with each other serves to distinguish +the tense. But only a few of these affixes really appear to designate +tense; of the others this may be suspected at best, and of others +again it is improbable. + +Thus there are verbal affixes which cannot be considered to designate +either persons, modes or tenses. + +The stem undergoes little change, but the attaching of the affixes to +it renders it impossible to apply the same scheme to all verbs, and +hence leads to a division of them into three conjugations. + +Some tenses have two different forms, without any change in +signification. + +_2. Divisibility of Verbal Forms to allow the insertion of governed +parts of speech._ + +Of the Mixteca tongue it cannot exactly be said that it divides the +essential parts of the verbal form to allow the insertion of the +governed object. As a rule, the object is merely appended, and where +it appears in the form itself, it is inserted between the stem and the +suffixed pronoun. The latter is, however, no necessary part of the +form, as it is dropped when the verb is governed by a noun, and can +always be replaced by prefixing the indefinite pronoun. + +Nor is it mentioned that the Beto language includes the object in the +verb. + +The Carib tongue unites the governed pronoun with the verbal form, and +in some cases the personal sign is thus displaced. But here the object +is not inserted in the middle, but is prefixed or suffixed. + +Our information about the Tamanaca language discloses nothing on this +point. + +In the Huasteca, the governed pronoun separates sometimes the last, +sometimes the first syllable of the inflectional form from the stem. + +The Othomi merely attaches the governed words closely to the verbal +form, in this resembling the Mixteca. + +The Mexican language is that which has developed this peculiarity to +the greatest degree. The governed noun is placed in the middle of the +verb; or, if this is not done, a pronoun representing it is inserted. +If there are two objects, an accusative and a dative, then two +corresponding pronouns are inserted; and if no object is named, but +the verb is of that class which is followed by an immediate or remote +object, or both, then two indefinite pronouns appear in the verb. The +Mexican verb therefore, expresses either a complete sentence, or else +a complete scheme of one, which merely requires to be filled out. It +says, in one word, "I give something to somebody," _nititlamaca_, and +then defines what it is and to whom. + +It follows necessarily that a part of the verbal form is fluctuating +according to the sense and connection of the sentence, and that the +governing pronoun stands sometimes immediately before the verb, and +sometimes is separated from it by indefinite pronouns or even nouns. + +In the Totonaca language, the prefixes and suffixes make room for the +governed words between themselves and the stem. + +This examination of the languages whose conjugations approach a fixed +form, shows clearly that this fixedness is seriously shaken precisely +where it is most important, through this insertion of the governed +words. + + ------ + +Now if we reflect on the structure of the various verbal forms here +analyzed, certain general conclusions are reached, which are +calculated to throw light upon the whole organism of these languages. + +The leading and governing part of speech in them is the Pronoun; every +subject of discourse is connected with the idea of Personality. + +Noun and Verb are not separated; they first become so through the +pronouns attached to them. + +The employment of the Pronoun is two-fold, one applying to the Noun, +the second to the Verb. Both, however, convey the idea of belonging to +a person; in the noun appearing as Possession, in the verb as Energy. +But it is on this point, on whether these ideas are confused and +obscure, or whether they are defined and clear, that the grammatical +perfection of a language depends. The just discrimination of the kinds +of pronouns is therefore conclusive, and in this respect we must yield +the decided pre-eminence to the Mexican. + +It follows that the speaker must constantly make up his verbs, instead +of using those already on hand; and also that the structure of the +verb must be identical throughout the language, that there must be +only one conjugation, and that the verbs, except a few irregular ones, +can possess no peculiarities. + +This is different in the Greek, Latin and ancient Indian. In those +tongues many verbs must be studied separately, as they have numerous +exceptions, phonetic changes, deficiencies, etc., and in other +respects carry with them a marked individuality. + +The difference between these cultivated and those rude languages is +chiefly merely one of time, and of the more or less fortunate mixture +of dialects; though it certainly also depends in a measure on the +original mental powers of the nations. + +Those whose languages we have here analyzed are, in speaking, +constantly putting together elementary parts; they connect nothing +firmly, because they follow the changing requirements of the moment, +joining together only what these requirements demand, and often leave +connected through habit, that which clear thinking would necessarily +divide. + +Hence no just division of words can arise, such as is demanded by +accurate and appropriate thought, which requires that each word must +have a fixed and certain content and a defined grammatical form, and +as is also demanded by the highest phonetic laws. + +Nations richly endowed in mind and sense will have an instinct for +such correct divisions; the incessant moving to and fro of elementary +parts of speech will be distasteful to them; they will seek true +individuality in the words they use; therefore they will connect them +firmly, they will not accumulate too much in one, and they will only +leave that connected which is so in thought, and not merely in usage +or habit. + + ------------ + +_Notes (by the translator) on the various American Tribes and +Languages mentioned by Humboldt in the preceding Memoir._ + +_Abipones._--A tribe formerly residing on the broad grassy plains +known as _El Gran Chaco_, west of the Parana river and on the right +bank of the Rio Vermejo. They are a nomadic, hunting people, and are +related by language closely to the Mocobis and Tobas, more remotely to +the Mbayas. The Jesuit, Father Jose Brigniel, wrote an _Arte y +Vocabulario de la Lengua Abipona_, which has not been published. + +_Achaguas._--A small tribe formerly living in Venezuela, between the +Apure and Meta rivers. They are mentioned by Piedrahita as an +intelligent people. Aristides Rojas says they are now extinct +(_Estudios Indigenas_, p. 214. Caracas, 1878). + +_Beto._--Usually spelled _Betoi or Betoya_. They live on the upper +waters of the Meta river in Colombia and are related to the Yaruris. + +_Caribs._--This widely extended stock occupied much of the northern +coast of South America and had planted colonies on many of the +Antilles. It is believed that they are distantly connected with the +Tupis and Guaranis. + +_Guaranis._--The name of a number of affiliated tribes in Southern +Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and the Argentine Republic. The Tupis of +Brazil are a branch of the Guaranis. + +_Huastecas._--A northern colony of the great Maya stock of Yucatan, +dwelling in the province of Tampico on the river Panuco. At the time +of the discovery they were an important and cultured nation. + +_Lule._--One of the nations of _El Gran Chaco_, west of the Parana +river. The _Arte y Vocabulario de la Lengua Lule y Tonocote_, by +Father Antonio Machoni de Cerdea (Madrid, 1732), was republished with +a careful ethnographic introduction by J. M. Larsen, at Buenos Ayres, +1877. + +_Maipures._--Tribes of various dialects who live on both sides of the +Orinoco river where it forms the boundary between Venezuela and New +Granada, about 5 N. lat. + +_Mayas._--Natives of Yucatan, and the most highly developed of any of +the American nations. Related dialects are spoken in Guatemala, in +Tabasco, and by the Huastecas. + +_Mbayas._--A people of the _Gran Chaco_ in the northern part of the +Argentine Republic, and distantly related to the Abipones. + +_Mexican._--Otherwise called the Nahuatl or Aztec language. Spoken in +the greatest purity in the valley of Mexico, it extended from the Gulf +of Mexico to the Pacific, and along the latter from Sonora to +Guatemala, with few interruptions. + +_Mixtecas._--A tribe speaking several dialects living in the State of +Oaxaca, Mexico. + +_Mocobis._--One of the four principal nations who formerly occupied +_El Gran Chaco_, west of the Parana river. By some the name is spelled +_Mbocoby_. + +_Omaguas._--Once a nation of considerable extent and culture between +the Maraon and the Orinoco. + +_Othomis._--A tribe resident near San Louis Potosi, Mexico, and +neighboring parts. Their proper name is said to be _Hi[=a]-hi[=u]_. +Their language is monosyllabic and nasal. + +_Tamanacas._--These dwell on the right bank of the Upper Orinoco, and +are connected by dialect with the Carib stock on the one hand and the +Guaranay on the other. + +_Totonacas._--A nation asserted by Pimentel to speak a mixed language +(Nahuatl and Maya) dwelling in the southern portion of the Province of +Vera Cruz, Mexico, and parts adjacent. + +_Tupis._--The natives of the eastern area of Brazil, related to the +Guaranis of the south and perhaps to the Caribs of the north. The +_Lingoa Geral_ of Brazil is a corrupt Tupi. + +_Yaruris._--Residents on the upper streams of the Meta river in New +Granada, related to the Betoi. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[3-*] _Die Elemente der Philosophischen Sprachwissenschaft Wilhelm von +Humboldt's. In systematischer Entwicklung dargestellt und kritisch +erlutert_, von Dr. Max Schasler, Berlin, 1847. + +[3-+] _Die Sprachwissenschaft Wilhelm von Humboldt's und die +Hegel'sche Philosophie_, von H. Steinthal, Dr., Berlin, 1848. The same +eminent linguist treats especially of Humboldt's teachings in +_Grammatik, Logik und Psychologie, ihre Principien und ihr Verhltniss +zu einander_, pp. 123-135 (Berlin, 1855); in his well-known volume +_Characteristik[TN-10] der Hauptschlichsten Typen des Sprachbaues_, +pp. 20-70 (Berlin, 1860); in his recent oration _Ueber Wilhelm von +Humboldt_ (Berlin, 1883); and elsewhere. + +[3-++] _Wilhelm von Humboldt's Linguistical Studies._ By C. J. Adler, +A.M. (New York, 1866). This is the only attempt, so far as I know, to +present Humboldt's philosophy of language to English readers. It is +meritorious, but certainly in some passages Prof. Adler failed to +catch Humboldt's meaning. + +[4-*] _Ueber die Verschiedenheit des menschlichen Sprachbaues und +ihren Einfluss auf die geistige Entwickelung des Menschengeschlechts._ +Prof. Adler translates this "The Structural Differences of Human +Speech and their Influence on the Intellectual Development of the +Human Race." The word _geistige_, however, includes emotional as well +as intellectual things. + +[4-+] _Ueber die Verschiedenheit_, etc., Bd. vi, s. 271, note. I may +say, once for all, that my references, unless otherwise stated, are to +the edition of Humboldt's _Gesammelte Werke_, edited by his brother, +Berlin, 1841-1852. + +[5-*] _Aus Wilhelm von Humboldt's letzien Lebensjahren. Eine +Mtheilung bisher unbekannter Briefe._ Von Theodor Distel, p. 19 +(Leipzig, 1883). + +[6-*] From his memoir _Ueber das vergleichende Sprachtstudium[TN-11] in +Beziehung auf die verschiedenen Epochen der Sprachentwicklung_, Bd. +iii, s. 249. + +[6-+] He draws examples from the Carib, Lule, Tupi, Mbaya, Huasteca, +Nahuatl, Tamanaca, Abipone, and Mixteca; _Ueber das Entstehen der +grammatischen Formen, und ihren Einfluss auf die Ideenentwicklung_, +Bd. iii, ss. 269-306. + +[6-++] _Ueber die Buchstabenschrift und ihren Zusummenhang[TN-12] mit +dem Sprachbau_, Bd. vi, s. 526 + +[6-||] This letter is printed in the memoir of Prof. E. Teza, _Intorno +agli Studi del Thavenet sulla Lingua Algonchina_, in the _Annali delle +Universit toscane_, Tomo xviii (Pisa, 1880). + +[6-] Compare Prof. Adler's Essay, above mentioned, p. 11. + +[7-*] This is found expressed nowhere else so clearly as at the +beginning of 13, where the author writes: "Der Zweck dieser +Einleitung, die Sprachen, in der Verschiedenartigkeit ihres Baues, als +die nothwendige Grundlage der Fortbildung des menschlichen Geistes +darzustellen, und den wechsel seitigen Einfluss des Einen auf das +Andre zu errtern, hat mich genthigt, in die Natur der Sprache +berhaupt einzugehen." Bd. vi, s. 106. + +[7-+] "Der Idee der Sprachvollendung Dasein in der Wirklichkeit zu +gewinnen." _Ueber die Verschiedenheit_, ss. 10 and 11. The objection +which may be urged that a true philosophy of language must deal in +universals and not confine itself to mere differentiations +(particulars) is neatly met by Dr. Schasler, _Die Elemente der +Philosophischen Sprachwissenschaft_, etc., p. 21, note. + +[8-*] In his remarkable essay "On the Mission of the Historian," which +Prof. Adler justly describes as "scarcely anything more than a +preliminary to his linguistical researches," Humboldt writes: "Die +Philosophie schreibt den Begebenheiten ein Ziel vor: dies Suchen nach +Endursachen, man mag sie auch aus dem Wesen des Menschen und der Natur +selbst ableiten wollen, strt und verfalscht alle freie Ansicht des +eigenthmlichen Wirkens der Krfte." _Ueber die Aufgabe des +Geschichtschreibers_, Bd. i, s. 13. + +[8-+] "Das Studium der verschiedenen Sprachen des Erdbodens verfehlt +seine Bestimmung, wenn es nicht immer den Gang der geistigen Bildung +im Auge behlt, und darin seinen eigentlichen Zweck sucht." _Ueber den +Zusammenhang der Schrift mit der Sprache_, Bd. vi, s. 428. + +[8-++] "Eine Gedankenwelt an Tne geheftet." _Ueber die +Buchstabenschrift und ihre Zusammenhang mit dem Sprachbau_, Bd. vi, s. +530. + +[8-||] This cardinal point in Humboldt's philosophy is very clearly +set forth in his essay, "_Ueber die Aufgabe des Geschichtschreibers_," +Bd. i, s. 23, and elsewhere. + +[8-] See _Ueber die Buchstabenschrift_, etc., Bd. vi, s. 530. + +[9-*] "Les notions grammaticales resident bien plutt dans l'esprit de +celui qui parle que dans le matriel du language." Humboldt, _Lettre +M. Abel-Remusat Werke_, Bd. vii, s. 396. On the realms of the three +varieties of grammar, see also Dr. M. Schasler, _Die Elemente der +Philosophischen Sprachwissenschaft_, etc., s. 35, 36, and Friedrich +Mller, _Grundriss der Sprachwissenschaft_, Band 1, ss. 8-10 (Wien, +1876). Schasler observes that a main object in philosophic grammar is +an investigation of "die genetisch-qualitativen Unterschiede der +Redetheile," that is, of the fundamental psychological differences of +the parts of speech, as, what is the ultimate distinction between noun +and adjective, etc.? + +[10-*] Steinthal does not like Humboldt's expression "to make capable" +(fhig zu machen). He objects that the "capacity" to express thought +is already in the articulate sounds. But what Humboldt wishes to +convey is precisely that this capacity is only derived from the +ceaseless, energizing effort of the intellect. Steinthal, _Die +Sprachwissenschaft Wilhelm von Humboldt's_, s. 91, note. The words in +the original are: "Die sich ewig wiederholende Arbeit des Geistes, den +articulirten Laut zum Ausdruck des Gedanken fhig zu machen." + +[10-+] "Nur die Strke des Selbstbewusstseins nthigt der krperlichen +Natur die scharfe Theilung und feste Begrenzung der Laute ab, die wir +Artikulation nennen." _Ueber das Vergleichende Sprachstudium in +Beziehung auf die Verschiedenen Epochen der Sprachentwicklung_, Bd. +iii, s. 244. + +[11-*] Ubi supr, p. 17. Compare Humboldt's words, "Im Ich aber ist +von selbst auch das Du gegeben." _Ueber die Verschiedenheit_, etc., +Bd. vi, s. 115. + +[11-+] _Ueber die Verschiedenheit_, etc., Bd. vi, s. 116; and compare +Dr. Schasler's discussion of this subject (which is one of the best +parts of his book), _Die Elemente der Phil. Sprachwissenschaft_, etc., +ss. 202-14. + +[11-++] Expressed in detail by Humboldt in his _Lettre M. +Abel-Remusat sur la nature des formes grammaticules_, etc., Bd. vii, +ss. 300-303. + +[12-*] _Ueber die Verwandtschaft der Ortsadverbia mit dem Pronomen in +einigen Sprachen_, in the _Abhandlungen der hist.-phil. Classe der +Berliner Akad. der Wiss._ 1829. + +[12-+] _Ueber die Verschiedenheit_, etc., Bd. vi, s. 115. + +[12-++] _Gesammelte Werke_, Bd. vii, ss. 392-6. + +[13-*] His explanation of inflection is most fully given in his +Introductory Essay, _Ueber die Verschiedenheit_, etc., 14, +_Gesammelte Werke_, s. 121, sqq. A sharp, but friendly criticism of +this central point of his linguistic philosophy may be found in +Steinthal, _Charakteristik der Hauptschlichsten Typen des +Sprachbones_,[TN-13] ss. 58-61. Humboldt certainly appears not only +obscure in parts but contradictory. + +[14-*] See these teachings clearly set forth in his Essay, _Ueber das +vergleichende Sprachstudium in Beziehung auf die verschiedenen Epochen +der Sprachentwicklung, Werke_, Bd. iii, especially, s. 255 and s. 262. + +[15-*] The eloquent and extraordinary passage in which these opinions +are expressed is in his _Lettre M. Abel-Remusat, Gesammelte Werke_, +Bd. vii, ss. 336-7. + +[15-+] _Gesammelte Werke_, Bd. iii, ss. 248, 257. + +[16-*] This reasoning is developed in the essay, _Ueber das +Vergleichende Sprachstudium_, etc., _Gesammelte Werke_, Bd. iii, ss. +241-268; and see ibid, s. 270. + +[16-+] See the essay _Ueber die Buchstabenschrift und ihren +Zusammenhang mit dem Sprachbau, Ges. Werke_, Bd. vi, ss. 551-2. + +[17-*] On this subtle point, which has been by no means the least +difficult to his commentators, see Humboldt's Introduction _Ueber die +Verschiedenheit_, etc., _Ges. Werke_, Bd. vi, ss. 45-6, 92-5, 254-5, +by a careful comparison of which passages his real intent will become +apparent. + +[17-+] _Lettre M. Abbe-Remusat,[TN-14] Ges. Werke_, Bd. vii, s. 396. + +[18-*] "Nicht was in einer Sprache ausgedrckt zu werden vermag, +sondern das, wozu sie aus eigner, innerer Kraft anfeuert und +begeistert, entscheidet ber ihre Vorzge oder Mngel." _Ueber das +Entstehen der Grammatischen Formen_, etc[TN-15], _Werke_, Bd. iii, s. +272. Compare with this the expression in his celebrated _Einleitung_: +"Die Sprache ist das bildende Organ des Gedanken," _Werke_, Bd. vi, s. +51. A perfected language will "allseitig und harmonisch durch sich +selbst auf den Geist einwirken." Ibid, s. 311. + +[19-*] [TN-16]_Ueber das Entstehen der grammatischen Formen_," etc., +_Werke_, Bd. iii, s. 292. + +[19-+] Speaking of such "imperfect" languages, he gives the following +wise suggestion for their study: "Ihr einfaches Geheimniss, welches +den Weg anzeigt, auf welchem man sie, mit gnzlicher Vergessenheit +unserer Grammatik, immer zuerst zu entrthseln versuchen muss, ist, +das in sich Bedeutende unmittelbar an einander zu reihen." _Ueber das +Vergleichende Sprachstudium_, etc., _Werke_, Bd. iii, s. 255; and for +a practical illustration of his method, see the essay, _Ueber das +Entstehen der grammatischen Formen_, etc., Bd. iii, s. 274. + +[20-*] His teachings on this point, of which I give the barest +outline, are developed in sections 12 and 13 of his Introduction, +_Ueber die Verschiedenheit_, etc. Steinthal's critical remarks on +these sections (in his _Charakteristik der haupt. Typen des +Sprachbaues_) seem to me unsatisfactory, and he even does not appear +to grasp the chain of Humboldt's reasoning. + +[21-*] _Lettre M. Abel-Remusat, Werke_, Bd. vii, ss. 353-4. + +[21-+] _Ueber die Verschiedenheit_, etc., Sec. 23, _Werke_, Bd. vi, s. +329. + +[24-*] "Der Mexikanischen kann man am Verbum, in welchem die Zeiten +durch einzelne Endbuchstaben und zum Theil offenbar symbolisch +bezeichnet werden, Flexionen und ein gewisses Streben nach +Sanskritischer Worteinheit nicht absprechen." _Ueber die +Verschiedenheit_, etc., _Werke_, Bd. vi, s. 176. + +[25-*] "Daher ist das Einschliessen in Ein Wort mehr Sache der +Einbildungskraft, die Trennung mehr die des Verstandes." _Ueber die +Verschiedenheit_, etc., s. 327. Compare also, s. 326 and 166. +Steinthal points out the disadvantages of the incorporative plan and +puts it lower than the isolating system of the Chinese; but fails to +recognize its many and striking advantages. See his remarks, "Ueber +das Wesen und Werth der Einverleibungsmethode," in his _Charakteristik +der haupt. Typen des Sprachbaues_, s. 214. + +[25-+] _Ueber die Verschiedenheit_, etc., in _Werke_, Bd. vi, ss. 323 +sqq. + +[27-*] See the essay, _Ueber den Dualis, Gesammelte Werke_, Bd. vi, +ss. 562-596. + + + + +LIBRARY OF ABORIGINAL AMERICAN LITERATURE. + +GENERAL EDITOR AND PUBLISHER: D. G. BRINTON, M.D. + + +The aim of this series of publications is to put within the reach of +scholars authentic materials for the study of the languages and +culture of the native races of America. Each work is the production of +the native mind, and is printed in the original tongue, with a +translation and notes, and only such are selected as have some +intrinsic historical or ethnological importance. The volumes of the +series are sold separately, at the prices named. + +_NOW READY._ + +=No. I. THE CHRONICLES OF THE MAYAS.= + +=Edited by DANIEL G. BRINTON, M.D. 279 pages. Cloth, uncut, $5.00. +($3.00 when a complete set is ordered.)= + +This volume contains five brief chronicles in the Maya language of +Yucatan, written shortly after the Conquest, and carrying the history +of that people back many centuries. To these is added a history of the +Conquest, written in his native tongue, by a Maya Chief, in 1562. The +texts are preceded by an introduction on the history of the Mayas; +their language, calendar, numeral system, etc.; and a vocabulary is +added at the close. + +=No. II. THE IROQUOIS BOOK OF RITES.= + +=Edited by HORATIO HALE. 222 pages. Cloth, uncut, $3.00.= + +This work contains, in the Mohawk and Onondaga languages, the +speeches, songs and rituals with which a deceased chief was lamented +and his successor installed in office. It may be said to throw a +distinct light on the authentic history of Northern America to a +period fifty years earlier than the era of Columbus. The Introduction +treats of the ethnology and history of the Huron-Iroquois. A map, +notes and a glossary complete the work. + +=No. III. THE COMEDY-BALLET OF GEGENCE.= + +=Edited by DANIEL G. BRINTON, M.D. 146 pages. Cloth, uncut, $2.50.= + +A curious and unique specimen of the native comic dances, with +dialogues, called _bailes_, formerly common in Central America. It is +in the mixed Nahuatl-Spanish jargon of Nicaragua, and shows +distinctive features of native authorship. The Introduction treats of +the ethnology of Nicaragua, and the local dialects, musical +instruments, and dramatic representations. A map and a number of +illustrations are added. + +=No. IV. A MIGRATION LEGEND OF THE CREEK INDIANS.= + +=By A. S. GATSCHET. 251 pages. Cloth, uncut, $3.00.= + +This learned work offers a complete survey of the ethnology of the +native tribes of the Gulf States. The strange myth or legend told to +Gov. Oglethorpe, in 1732, by the Creeks, is given in the original, +with an Introduction and Commentary. + +=No. V. THE LENP AND THEIR LEGENDS.= + +=By Dr. DANIEL G. BRINTON. Cloth, uncut, $3.00.= + +Contains the complete text and symbols, 184 in number, of the WALAM +OLUM OR RED SCORE of the Delaware Indians, with the full original +text, and a new translation, notes and vocabulary. A lengthy +introduction treats of the Lenp or Delawares, their history, +customs, myths, language, etc., with numerous references to other +tribes of the great Algonkin stock. + +_IN PREPARATION_: + +=THE ANNALS OF THE CAKCHIQUELS.= By Francisco Arana Ernantez Xahila. + With a translation and notes by Dr. D. G. Brinton. + +=ABORIGINAL AMERICAN ANTHOLOGY.= Chiefly original material, furnished + by various collaborators. + + + + +RECENT PUBLICATIONS ON AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY. + + +_AMERICAN HERO-MYTHS._ + +A Study in the Native Religions of the Western Continent. By Daniel G. +Brinton, A.M., M.D., etc. 1 vol., 8vo, pp. 251. (Philad'a, 1882.) +Cloth, Price, $1.75. + +=NOTICES OF THE PRESS.= + +"Dr. Brinton writes from a minute and extended knowledge of the +original sources. * * His work renders a signal service to the cause +of comparative mythology in our country."--_The Literary World_ +(Boston). + +"This study of certain of the most remarkable stories of American +mythology is exceedingly interesting."--_The Saturday Review_ +(London). + + +_ABORIGINAL AMERICAN AUTHORS_, And Their Productions. Especially those +in the Native Languages. A Contribution to the History of Literature. +By Daniel G. Brinton, A.M., M.D., etc. 1 vol., 8vo, pp. 63. Boards, +Price, $1.00. + +An essay founded on an address presented to the Congress of +Americanists, at Copenhagen, in 1883. It is an extended review of the +literary efforts of the red race, in their own tongues, and in +English, Latin and Spanish (both manuscript and printed). + + +_A GRAMMAR OF THE CAKCHIQUEL LANGUAGE_ of Guatemala. Translated with +an Introduction and Additions by Daniel G. Brinton, M.D. Map, pp. 72. +Price, boards, $1.00. + + +_THE NAMES OF THE GODS IN THE QUICHE MYTHS_, of Central America. By D. +G. Brinton, M.D., 8vo, pp. 38, paper, 50c. + + +_THE LINEAL MEASURES OF THE SEMI-CIVILIZED NATIONS_ of Mexico and +Central America. By D. G. Brinton, M.D., pp. 14, paper, 25c. + + + +Transcriber's Note + + +The following typographical errors were maintained in this version of the +book. + + Page Error + TN-1 15 unneccessary should read unnecessary + TN-2 16 grammer should read grammar + TN-3 17 tendncy should read tendency + TN-4 23 acustomed, should read accustomed + TN-5 23 fullfils should read fulfils + TN-6 29 Humboldt should read Humboldt. + TN-7 33 _mil quis amaiciton_, should have numbers over the words + to match numbers on the next line + TN-8 39 powever should read power + TN-9 46 unabreviated should read unabbreviated + TN-10 fn 3-+ Characteristik should read Charakteristik + TN-11 fn 6-* Sprachtstudium should read Sprachstudium + TN-12 fn 6-++ Zusummenhang should read Zusammenhang + TN-13 fn 13-* _Sprachbones_, should read Sprachbaues + TN-14 fn 17-+ Abbe-Remusat, should read Abel-Remusat + TN-15 fn 18-* etc should read etc. + TN-16 fn 19-* _Ueber_ should read "_Ueber_ + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Philosophic Grammar of American +Languages, as Set Forth by Wilhelm von Humboldt, by Daniel G. 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Brinton + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Philosophic Grammar of American Languages, as Set Forth by Wilhelm von Humboldt + With the Translation of an Unpublished Memoir by Him on + the American Verb + +Author: Daniel G. Brinton + +Release Date: July 7, 2011 [EBook #36646] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: UTF-8 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PHILOSOPHIC GRAMMAR--AMERICAN LANGUAGES *** + + + + +Produced by Julia Miller and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was +produced from images generously made available by The +Internet Archive) + + + + + + +</pre> + + +<div class="tn"> +<p class="titlepage"><b>Transcriber’s Note</b></p> + +<p class="noindent">A number of typographical errors have been maintained in this version of +this book. They are <ins class="correction" title="correction">marked</ins> and the corrected text is shown in the popup. +A description of the errors is found in the <a href="#trans_note">list</a> at the end of the text.</p> + +<p class="noindent">The following codes for less common characters were used:</p> + +<ul class="ix"> + <li>ā a with macron</li> + <li>ū u with macron</li> + <li>† dagger</li> + <li>‡ double dagger</li> + <li>‖ double vertical line</li> +</ul> +</div> + +<hr class="chapbreak" /> + +<h1 class="sectionhead"><span class="size70per">THE</span><br /> +PHILOSOPHIC GRAMMAR<br /> +<span class="size50per">—OF—</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;"><span class="smcap">American Languages</span>,</span><br /> +<span class="size50per"><b>As Set Forth by Wilhelm von Humboldt;</b></span><br /> +<span class="size50per">WITH THE TRANSLATION OF AN UNPUBLISHED MEMOIR BY<br /> +HIM ON THE AMERICAN VERB.</span></h1> + +<hr class="declong" /> + +<p class="titlepage"><span class="size70per">—BY—</span><br /> + +DANIEL G. BRINTON, A.M., M.D.,<br /> +<br /> +<span class="size70per smcap">Professor of Ethnology and Archæology at the Academy of Natural Sciences,<br /> +Philadelphia.</span></p> + +<p class="titlepage size70per">President of the Numismatic and Antiquarian Society of Philadelphia; Member of the<br /> +American Philosophical Society, the American Antiquarian Society, the Pennsylvania<br /> +Historical Society, etc.; Membre de la Société Royale des Antiquaires<br /> +du Nord; de la Société Américaine de France; Délégué<br /> +Général de l’Institution Ethnographique; Vice-Président<br /> +du Congrès International des Américanistes; Corresponding<br /> +Member of the Anthropological<br /> +Society of Washington, etc.</p> + +<hr class="declong" /> + +<p class="titlepage">(<i>Read before the American Philosophical Society, March 20, 1885.</i>)</p> + +<hr class="declong" /> + +<p class="titlepage">PHILADELPHIA:<br /> +<span class="smcap">Press of McCalla & Stavely, 237-9 Dock Street.</span><br /> +1885.</p> + +<hr class="chapbreak" /> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[1]</a></span></p> + + +<h2 class="chapterhead">CONTENTS.</h2> + + + +<p class="centertop2"><a href="#The_Philosophic_Grammar_of_American_Languages"><i>The Philosophic Grammar of American Languages.</i></a></p> + + +<p class="hanging">§1. Introduction, <a href="#sect1">p. 3</a>. §2. Humboldt’s Studies in American Languages, +<a href="#sect2">p. 4</a>. §3. The Final Purpose of the Philosophy of Language, <a href="#sect3">p. 7</a>. +§4. Historical, Comparative and Philosophic Grammar, <a href="#sect4">p. 9</a>. §5. +Definition and Psychological Origin of Language, <a href="#sect5">p. 10</a>. §6. +Primitive Roots and Grammatical Categories, <a href="#sect6">p. 11</a>. §7. Formal and +Material Elements of Language, <a href="#sect7">p. 13</a>. §8. The Development of +Languages, <a href="#sect8">p. 14</a>. §9. Internal Form of Languages, <a href="#sect9">p. 16</a>. §10. +Criteria of Rank in Languages, <a href="#sect10">p. 17</a>. §11. Classification of +Languages, <a href="#sect11">p. 21</a>. §12. Nature of Incorporation, <a href="#sect12">p. 22</a>. §13. +Psychological Origin of Incorporation, <a href="#sect13">p. 24</a>. §14. Effect of +Incorporation on Compound Sentences, <a href="#sect14">p. 25</a>. §15. The Dual in +American Languages, <a href="#sect15">p. 27</a>. §16. Humboldt’s Essay on the American +Verb, <a href="#sect16">p. 28</a>.</p> + + +<p class="centertop2"><a href="#On_the_Verb_in_American_Languages"><i>On the Verb in American Languages. By Wilhelm von Humboldt, p. 29.</i></a></p> + +<p>Verbal forms classified as they indicate the notion of Being:</p> + +<p>I. When the notion of Being is expressed independently, <a href="#sectI">p. 31</a>.</p> + +<p class="hanging">1. When the notion of Being is understood, <a href="#sectI-1">p. 32</a>. 2. When the notion +of Being is expressed by a special word, but without a phonetic +radical, <a href="#sectI-2">p. 35</a>.</p> + +<p>II. The notion of Being is incorporated with the verb as an auxiliary, +<a href="#sectII">p. 37</a>.</p> + +<p class="hanging">Analysis of the Maya Verb, <a href="#Maya">p. 38</a>. Other Examples. The idea of past +time as related to death and negation, <a href="#past">p. 40</a>.</p> + +<p>III. The notion of Being is present in the verbal form only in idea, +<a href="#sectIII">p. 41</a>.</p> + +<p class="hanging">Case 1st. When the person, tense and mode signs are separable, <a href="#sectIII-1">p. 41</a>. +Case 2d. When either the person, or the tense and mode signs, are +attached to the verb, <a href="#sectIII-2">p. 41</a>. <a href="#sectIII-3">Case 3d.</a> When both person and tense +and mode signs are attached to the verb. 1. Approach toward a Fixed +Form, <a href="#sectIII-1-2">p. 44</a>. 2. Divisibility of Verbal Forms to allow the insertion +of governed parts of speech, <a href="#sectIII-2-2">p. 47</a>. General Conclusions on the +organism of American Languages, <a href="#sectIII-conclusions">p. 48</a>.</p> + +<p class="hanging">Notes (by the Translator) on the various American Tribes and +Languages mentioned by Humboldt in the preceding Memoir, <a href="#Notes">p. 49</a>.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">[2]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr class="chapbreak" /> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[3]</a></span></p> + +<h2 class="chapterhead"><a name="The_Philosophic_Grammar_of_American_Languages" id="The_Philosophic_Grammar_of_American_Languages"></a>The Philosophic Grammar of American Languages.</h2> + + +<h3 class="sectionhead"><a name="sect1" id="sect1"></a>§ 1. <span class="smcap">Introductory.</span></h3> + +<p>The foundations of the Philosophy of Language were laid by Wilhelm von +Humboldt (b. June 22, 1767, d. April 8, 1835). The principles he +advocated have frequently been misunderstood, and some of them have +been modified, or even controverted, by more extended research; but a +careful survey of the tendencies of modern thought in this field will +show that the philosophic scheme of the nature and growth of +languages, which he set forth, is gradually reasserting its sway, +after having been neglected and denied through the preponderance of +the so-called naturalistic school during the last quarter of a +century.</p> + +<p>The time seems ripe, therefore, to bring the general principles of his +philosophy to the knowledge of American scholars, especially as +applied by himself to the analysis of American languages.</p> + +<p>Any one at all acquainted with Humboldt’s writings, and the literature +to which they have given rise, will recognize that this is a serious +task. I have felt it such, and have prepared myself for it not only by +a careful perusal of his own published writings, but also by a +comparison of the conflicting interpretations put upon them by Dr. Max +Schasler,<a name="FNanchor_3-1_1" id="FNanchor_3-1_1" href="#Footnote_3-1_1" class="fnanchor">3-*</a> Prof. H. Steinthal,<a name="FNanchor_3-2_2" id="FNanchor_3-2_2" href="#Footnote_3-2_2" class="fnanchor">3-†</a> Prof. C. J. Adler,<a name="FNanchor_3-3_3" id="FNanchor_3-3_3" href="#Footnote_3-3_3" class="fnanchor">3-‡</a> and +others, as well as by obtaining a copy of an entirely unpublished +memoir by Humboldt on the “American<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[4]</a></span> Verb,” a translation of which +accompanies this paper. But my chief reliance in solving the +obscurities of Humboldt’s presentation of his doctrines has been a +close comparison of allied passages in his various essays, memoirs and +letters. Of these I need scarcely say that I have attached the +greatest weight to his latest and monumental work sometimes referred +to as his “Introduction to the Kawi Language,” but whose proper title +is “On Differences in Linguistic Structure, and their Influence on the +Mental Development of the Human Race.”<a name="FNanchor_4-1_4" id="FNanchor_4-1_4" href="#Footnote_4-1_4" class="fnanchor">4-*</a></p> + +<p>I would not have it understood that I am presenting a complete +analysis of Humboldt’s linguistic philosophy. This is far beyond the +scope of the present paper. It aims to set forth merely enough of his +general theories to explain his applications of them to the languages +of the American race.</p> + +<p>What I have to present can best be characterized as a series of notes +on Humboldt’s writings, indicating their bearing on the problems of +American philology, introducing his theories to students of this +branch, and serving as a preface to the hitherto unpublished essay by +him on the American Verb, to which I have referred.</p> + + +<h3 class="sectionhead"><a name="sect2" id="sect2"></a>§ 2. <span class="smcap">Humboldt’s Studies in American Languages.</span></h3> + +<p>The American languages occupied Humboldt’s attention earnestly and for +many years. He was first led to their study by his brother Alexander, +who presented him with the large linguistic collection he had amassed +during his travels in South and North America.</p> + +<p>While Prussian Minister in Rome (1802-08), he ransacked the library of +the <i>Collegio Romano</i> for rare or unpublished works on American +tongues; he obtained from the ex-Jesuit Forneri all the information +the latter could give about the Yurari, a tongue spoken on the Meta +river, New Granada;<a name="FNanchor_4-2_5" id="FNanchor_4-2_5" href="#Footnote_4-2_5" class="fnanchor">4-†</a> and he secured accurate copies of all the +manuscript material on these<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[5]</a></span> idioms left by the diligent collector +and linguist, the Abbé Hervas.</p> + +<p>A few years later, in 1812, we find him writing to his friend Baron +Alexander von Rennenkampff, then in St. Petersburg: “I have selected +the American languages as the special subject of my investigations. +They have the closest relationship of any with the tongues of +north-eastern Asia; and I beg you therefore to obtain for me all the +dictionaries and grammars of the latter which you can.”<a name="FNanchor_5-1_6" id="FNanchor_5-1_6" href="#Footnote_5-1_6" class="fnanchor">5-*</a></p> + +<p>It is probable from this extract that Humboldt was then studying these +languages from that limited, ethnographic point of view, from which he +wrote his essay on the Basque tongue, the announcement of which +appeared, indeed, in that year, 1812, although the work itself was not +issued until 1821.</p> + +<p>Ten years more of study and reflection taught him a far loftier +flight. He came to look upon each language as an organism, all its +parts bearing harmonious relations to each other, and standing in a +definite connection with the intellectual and emotional development of +the nation speaking it. Each language again bears the relation to +language in general that the species does to the genus, or the genus +to the order, and by a comprehensive process of analysis he hoped to +arrive at those fundamental laws of articulate speech which form the +Philosophy of Language, and which, as they are also the laws of human +thought, at a certain point coincide, he believed, with those of the +Philosophy of History.</p> + +<p>In the completion of this vast scheme, he continued to attach the +utmost importance to the American languages. His illustrations were +constantly drawn from them, and they were ever the subject of his +earnest studies. He prized them as in certain respects the most +valuable of all to the philosophic student of human speech.</p> + +<p>Thus, in 1826, he announced before the Berlin Academy that he was +preparing an exhaustive work on the “Organism of Language,” for which +he had selected the American languages exclusively, as best suited for +this purpose. “The languages of a great continent,” he writes, +“peopled by numerous <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[6]</a></span>nationalities, probably never subject to foreign +influence, offer for this branch of linguistic study specially +favorable material. There are in America as many as thirty little +known languages for which we have means of study, each of which is +like a new natural species, besides many others whose data are less +ample.”<a name="FNanchor_6-1_7" id="FNanchor_6-1_7" href="#Footnote_6-1_7" class="fnanchor">6-*</a></p> + +<p>In his memoir, read two years later, “On the Origin of Grammatical +Forms, and their Influence on the Development of Ideas,” he chose most +of his examples from the idioms of the New World;<a name="FNanchor_6-2_8" id="FNanchor_6-2_8" href="#Footnote_6-2_8" class="fnanchor">6-†</a> and the year +following, he read the monograph on the Verb in American languages, +which is printed for the first time with the present essay.</p> + +<p>In a later paper, he announced his special study of this group as +still in preparation. It was, however, never completed. His earnest +desire to reach the fundamental laws of language led him first into a +long series of investigations into the systems of recorded speech, +phonetic hieroglyphics and alphabetic writing, on which he read +memoirs of great acuteness.</p> + +<p>In one of these he again mentions his studies of the American tongues, +and takes occasion to vindicate them from the current charge of being +of a low grade in the linguistic scale. “It is certainly unjust,” he +writes, “to call the American languages rude or savage, although their +structure is widely different from those perfectly formed.”<a name="FNanchor_6-3_9" id="FNanchor_6-3_9" href="#Footnote_6-3_9" class="fnanchor">6-‡</a></p> + +<p>In 1828, there is a published letter from him making an appointment +with the Abbé Thavenet, missionary to the Canadian Algonkins, then in +Paris, “to enjoy the pleasure of conversing with him on his +interesting studies of the Algonkin language.”<a name="FNanchor_6-4_10" id="FNanchor_6-4_10" href="#Footnote_6-4_10" class="fnanchor">6-‖</a> And a private +letter tells us that in 1831 he applied himself with new zeal to +mastering the intricacies of Mexican grammar.<a name="FNanchor_6-5_11" id="FNanchor_6-5_11" href="#Footnote_6-5_11" class="fnanchor">6-§</a></p> + +<p>About 1827, he found it indispensable to subject to a critical +scrutiny the languages of the great island world of the Pacific<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[7]</a></span> and +Indian oceans. This resulted at last in his selecting the Kawi +language, a learned idiom of the island of Java, Malayan in origin but +with marked traces of Hindu influence, as the point of departure for +his generalizations. His conclusions were set forth in the +introductory essay above referred to.</p> + +<p>The avowed purpose of this essay was to demonstrate the thesis that +the <i>diversity of structure in languages is the necessary condition of +the evolution of the human mind</i>.<a name="FNanchor_7-1_12" id="FNanchor_7-1_12" href="#Footnote_7-1_12" class="fnanchor">7-*</a></p> + +<p>In the establishment of this thesis he begins with a profound analysis +of the nature of speech in general, and then proceeds to define the +reciprocal influences which thought exerts upon it, it upon thought.</p> + +<p>Portions of this work are extremely obscure even to those who are most +familiar with his theories and style. This arises partly from the +difficulty of the subject; partly because his anxiety to avoid +dogmatic statements led him into vagueness of expression; and partly +because in some cases he was uncertain of his ground. In spite of +these blemishes, this essay remains the most suggestive work ever +written on the philosophy of language.</p> + + +<h3 class="sectionhead"><a name="sect3" id="sect3"></a>§ 3. <span class="smcap">The Final Purpose of the Philosophy of Language.</span></h3> + +<p>Humboldt has been accused of being a metaphysician, and a scientific +idealist.</p> + +<p>It is true that he believed in an ideal perfection of language, to +wit: that form of expression which would correspond throughout to the +highest and clearest thinking. But it is evident from this simple +statement that he did not expect to find it in any known or possible +tongue. He distinctly says, that this ideal is too hypothetical to be +used otherwise than as a stimulus to investigation; but as such it is +indispensable to the linguist in the pursuit of his loftiest task—the +estimate of the efforts of man to realize perfection of +expression.<a name="FNanchor_7-2_13" id="FNanchor_7-2_13" href="#Footnote_7-2_13" class="fnanchor">7-†</a></p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[8]</a></span>There is nothing teleological in his philosophy; he even declines to +admit that either the historian or the linguist has a right to set up +a theory of progress or evolution; the duty of both is confined to +deriving the completed meaning from the facts before them.<a name="FNanchor_8-1_14" id="FNanchor_8-1_14" href="#Footnote_8-1_14" class="fnanchor">8-*</a> He +merely insists that as the object of language is the expression of +thought, certain forms of language are better adapted to this than +others. What these are, why they are so, and how they react on the +minds of the nations speaking them, are the questions he undertakes to +answer, and which constitute the subject-matter with which the +philosophy of language has to do.</p> + +<p>Humboldt taught that in its highest sense this philosophy of language +is one with the philosophy of history. The science of language misses +its purpose unless it seeks its chief end in explaining the +intellectual growth of the race.<a name="FNanchor_8-2_15" id="FNanchor_8-2_15" href="#Footnote_8-2_15" class="fnanchor">8-†</a></p> + +<p>Each separate tongue is “a thought-world in tones” established between +the minds of those who speak it and the objective world without.<a name="FNanchor_8-3_16" id="FNanchor_8-3_16" href="#Footnote_8-3_16" class="fnanchor">8-‡</a> +Each mirrors in itself the spirit of the nation to which it belongs. +But it has also an earlier and independent origin; it is the product +of the conceptions of antecedent generations, and thus exerts a +formative and directive influence on the national mind, an influence, +not slight, but more potent than that which the national mind exerts +upon it.<a name="FNanchor_8-4_17" id="FNanchor_8-4_17" href="#Footnote_8-4_17" class="fnanchor">8-‖</a></p> + +<p>So also every word has a double character, the one derived from its +origin, the other from its history. The former is single, the latter +is manifold.<a name="FNanchor_8-5_18" id="FNanchor_8-5_18" href="#Footnote_8-5_18" class="fnanchor">8-§</a></p> + +<p>Were the gigantic task possible to gather from every language the full +record of every word and the complete explanation of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[9]</a></span> each grammatical +peculiarity, we should have an infallible, the only infallible and +exhaustive, picture of human progress.</p> + + +<h3 class="sectionhead"><a name="sect4" id="sect4"></a>§ 4. <span class="smcap">Historical, Comparative and Philosophic Grammar.</span></h3> + +<p>The Science of Grammar has three branches, which differ more in the +methods they pursue than in the ends at which they aim. These are +Historic, Comparative and Philosophic Grammar. Historic Grammar +occupies itself with tracing the forms of a language back in time to +their earlier expression, and exhibits their development through the +archaic specimens of the tongue. Comparative Grammar extends this +investigation by including in the survey the similar development of a +number of dialects of the same stock or character, and explains the +laws of speech, which account for the similarities and diversities +observed.</p> + +<p>Both of these, it will be observed, begin with the language and its +forms, and are confined to these. Philosophic Grammar, on the other +hand, proceeds from the universal constructive principles of language, +from the abstract formulæ of grammatical relations, and investigates +their application in various languages. It looks upon articulate +speech as the more or less faithful expression of certain logical +procedures, and analyzes tongues in order to exhibit the success, be +it greater or less, which attends this effort. The grammatical +principles with which it deals are universals, they exist in all +minds, although it often happens that they are not portrayed with +corresponding clearness in language.<a name="FNanchor_9-1_19" id="FNanchor_9-1_19" href="#Footnote_9-1_19" class="fnanchor">9-*</a></p> + +<p>Philosophic Grammar, therefore, includes in its horizon all languages +spoken by men; it essays to analyze their inmost nature with reference +to the laws of thought; it weighs the relations they bear to the +character and destiny of those who speak them; and it ascends to the +psychological needs and impulses which first gave them existence.</p> + +<p>It was grammar in this highest sense, it was the study of <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[10]</a></span>languages +for such lofty purposes as these, with which Humboldt occupied himself +with untiring zeal for the last fifteen years of his life, when he had +laid aside the cares of the elevated and responsible political +positions which he had long filled with distinguished credit.</p> + + +<h3 class="sectionhead"><a name="sect5" id="sect5"></a>§ 5. <span class="smcap">Definition and Psychological Origin of Language.</span></h3> + +<p>Humboldt remarks that the first hundred pages or so of his celebrated +“Introduction” are little more than an expansion of his definition of +language. He gives this definition in its most condensed form as +follows: “Language is the ever-recurring effort of the mind to make +the articulate sound capable of expressing thought.”<a name="FNanchor_10-1_20" id="FNanchor_10-1_20" href="#Footnote_10-1_20" class="fnanchor">10-*</a></p> + +<p>According to this definition, language is not a dead thing, a completed +product, but it is an ever-living, active function, an energy of the +soul, which will perish only when intelligence itself, in its highest +sense, is extinguished. As he expresses it, language is not an εργον, +but an ενεργεια. It is the proof and the product of a mind <i>consciously</i> +working to a definite end.</p> + +<p>Hence, in Humboldt’s theory the psychological element of +<i>self-consciousness</i> lies at the root of all linguistic expression. No +mere physical difference between the lower animals and man explains +the latter’s possession of articulate speech. His self-consciousness +alone is that trait which has rendered such a possession +possible.<a name="FNanchor_10-2_21" id="FNanchor_10-2_21" href="#Footnote_10-2_21" class="fnanchor">10-†</a></p> + +<p>The idea of Self necessarily implies the idea of Other. A thought is +never separate, never isolated, but ever in relation to another +thought, suggested by one, leading on to another. Hence, Humboldt +says: “The mind can only be conceived as in action, and <i>as action</i>.”</p> + +<p>As Prof. Adler, in his comments on Humboldt’s philosophy,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[11]</a></span> admirably +observes: “Man does not possess any such thing as an absolutely +isolated individuality; the ‘I’ and the ‘thou’ are the essential +complements of each other, and would, in their last analysis, be found +identical.”<a name="FNanchor_11-1_22" id="FNanchor_11-1_22" href="#Footnote_11-1_22" class="fnanchor">11-*</a></p> + +<p>On these two fundamental conceptions, those of Identity and Relation, +or, as they may be expressed more correctly, those of Being and +Action, Humboldt builds his doctrines concerning the primitive +radicals of language and the fundamental categories of grammar.</p> + + +<h3 class="sectionhead"><a name="sect6" id="sect6"></a>§ 6. <span class="smcap">Primitive Roots and Grammatical Categories.</span></h3> + +<p>The roots of a language are classified by Humboldt as either +<i>objective</i> or <i>subjective</i>, although he considers this far from an +exhaustive scheme.<a name="FNanchor_11-2_23" id="FNanchor_11-2_23" href="#Footnote_11-2_23" class="fnanchor">11-†</a></p> + +<p>The objective roots are usually descriptive, and indicate an origin +from a process of mental analysis. They bear the impress of those two +attributes which characterize every thought, Being and Action. Every +complete objective word must express these two notions. Upon them are +founded the fundamental grammatical categories of the Noun and the +Verb; or to speak more accurately, they lead to the distinction of +nominal and verbal themes.</p> + +<p>The characteristic of the Noun is that it expresses Being; of the Verb +that it expresses Action. This distinction is far from absolute in the +word itself; in many languages, especially in Chinese and some +American languages, there is in the word no discrimination between its +verbal and nominal forms; but the verbal or nominal <i>value</i> of the +word is clearly fixed by other means.<a name="FNanchor_11-3_24" id="FNanchor_11-3_24" href="#Footnote_11-3_24" class="fnanchor">11-‡</a></p> + +<p>Another class of objective root-words are the adjective words, or +Determinatives. They are a later accession to the list, and by their +addition bring the three chief grammatical categories, the Noun, the +Verb and the Adjective, into correlation with the three logical +categories of Substance, Action and Quality.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[12]</a></span>By the subjective roots, Humboldt meant the personal pronouns. To +these he attributed great importance in the development of language, +and especially of American languages. They carry with them the mark of +sharp individuality, and express in its highest reality the notion of +Being.</p> + +<p>It is not easy to understand Humboldt’s theory of the evolution of the +personal pronouns. In his various essays he seems to offer conflicting +statements. In one of his later papers, he argues that the origin of +such subjective nominals is often, perhaps generally, locative. By +comparing the personal pronouns with the adverbs of place in a series +of languages, he showed that their demonstrative antedated their +personal meaning.<a name="FNanchor_12-1_25" id="FNanchor_12-1_25" href="#Footnote_12-1_25" class="fnanchor">12-*</a> With regard to their relative development, he +says, in his celebrated “Introduction”:</p> + +<p>“The first person expresses the individuality of the speaker, who is +in immediate contact with external nature, and must distinguish +himself from it in his speech. But in the ‘I’ the ‘Thou’ is assumed; +and from the antithesis thus formed is developed the third +person.”<a name="FNanchor_12-2_26" id="FNanchor_12-2_26" href="#Footnote_12-2_26" class="fnanchor">12-†</a></p> + +<p>But in his “Notice of the Japanese Grammar of Father Oyanguren,” +published in 1826, he points out that infants begin by speaking of +themselves in the third person, showing that this comes first in the +order of knowledge. It is followed by the second person, which +separates one object from others; but as it does so by putting it in +conscious antithesis to the speaker, it finally develops the +“I.”<a name="FNanchor_12-3_27" id="FNanchor_12-3_27" href="#Footnote_12-3_27" class="fnanchor">12-‡</a></p> + +<p>The latter is unquestionably the correct statement so far as the +history of language is concerned and the progress of knowledge. I can +know myself only through knowing others.</p> + +<p>The explanation which reconciles these theories is that the one refers +to the order of thought, or logical precedence, the other to the order +of expression. Professor Ferrier, in his “Institutes of Metaphysics,” +has established with much acuteness the thesis that, “What is first in +the order of nature is last in the order of knowledge,” and this is an +instance of that philosophical principle.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[13]</a></span></p> + + +<h3 class="sectionhead"><a name="sect7" id="sect7"></a>§ 7. <span class="smcap">Formal and Material Elements of Language.</span></h3> + +<p>A fundamental distinction in philosophic grammar is that which divides +the <i>formal</i> from the <i>material</i> element of speech. This division +arises from the original double nature of each radical, as expressing +both Being and Action.</p> + +<p>On the one hand, Action involves Relation; it assumes an object and a +subject, an agent, a direction of effort, a result of effort; usually +also limitations of effort, time and space, and qualifications as to +the manner of the effort. In other words, Action is capable of +increase or decrease both in extension and intension.</p> + +<p>On the other hand, Being is a conception of fixed conditions, and is +capable of few or no modifications.</p> + +<p>The <i>formal</i> elements of a language are those which express Action, or +the relation of the ideas; they make up the affixes of conjugations +and declensions, the inflections of words; they indicate the parts of +speech, the so-called “grammatical categories,” found in developed +tongues. The <i>material</i> elements are the roots or stems expressing the +naked ideas, the conceptions of existence apart from relation.</p> + +<p>Using the terms in this sense, Humboldt presents the following terse +formula, as his definition of Inflection: “<i>Inflection is the +expression of the category in contrast to the definition of the +idea.</i>”<a name="FNanchor_13-1_28" id="FNanchor_13-1_28" href="#Footnote_13-1_28" class="fnanchor">13-*</a> Nothing could be more definitive and lucid than this +concise phrase.</p> + +<p>The inflectional or formal elements of language are usually derived +from words expressing accessory ideas. Generally, they are worn down +to single letters or a single syllable, and they usually may be traced +back to auxiliary verbs and pronouns.</p> + +<p>Often various accessories are found which are not required by the main +proposition. This is a common fault in the narratives of ignorant men +and in languages and dialects of a lower grade. It is seen in the +multiplication of auxiliaries and qualifying particles observed in +many American languages, where a vast<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[14]</a></span> number of needless accessories +are brought into every sentence.</p> + +<p>The nature of the relations expressed by inflections may be manifold, +and it is one of the tasks of philosophic grammar to analyze and +classify them with reference to the direction of mental action they +imply.</p> + +<p>It is evident that where these relations are varied and numerous, the +language gains greatly in picturesqueness and force, and thus reacts +with a more stimulating effect on the mind.</p> + + +<h3 class="sectionhead"><a name="sect8" id="sect8"></a>§ 8. <span class="smcap">The Development of Languages.</span></h3> + +<p>Humboldt believed that in this respect languages could be divided into +three classes, each representing a stage in progressive development.</p> + +<p>In the first and lowest stage all the elements are material and +significant, and there are no true formal parts of speech.</p> + +<p>Next above this is where the elements of relation lose their +independent significance <i>where so used</i>, but retain it elsewhere. The +words are not yet fixed in grammatical categories. There is no +distinction between verbs and nouns except in use. The plural conveys +the idea of many, but the singular not strictly that of unity.</p> + +<p>Highest of all is that condition of language where every word is +subject to grammatical law and shows by its form what category it +comes under; and where the relational or formal elements convey no +hint of anything but this relation. Here, only, does language attain +to that specialization of parts where each element subserves its own +purpose and no other, and here only does it correspond with clear and +connected thinking.</p> + +<p>These expressions, however, must not be understood in a genetic sense, +as if historically one linguistic class had preceded the other, and +led up to it. Humboldt entertained no such view. He distinctly +repudiated it. He did not believe in the evolution of languages. The +differences of these classes are far more radical than that of sounds +and signs; they reach down to the fundamental notions of things. His +teaching was that a language without a passive voice, or without a +grammatical gender can never acquire one, and consequently it can +never perfectly express the conceptions corresponding to these +features.<a name="FNanchor_14-1_29" id="FNanchor_14-1_29" href="#Footnote_14-1_29" class="fnanchor">14-*</a></p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[15]</a></span>In defining and appraising these inherent and inalienable qualities of +languages lies the highest end and aim of linguistic science. This is +its true philosophic character, its mission which lifts it above the +mere collecting of words and formulating of rules.</p> + +<p>If the higher languages did not develop from the lower, how did they +arise? Humboldt answered this question fairly, so far as he was +concerned. He said, he did not know. Individuals vary exceedingly in +their talent for language, and so do nations. He was willing to call +it an innate creative genius which endowed our Aryan forefathers with +a richly inflected speech; but it was so contrary to the results of +his prolonged and profound study of languages to believe, for +instance, that a tongue like the Sanscrit could ever be developed from +one like the Chinese, that he frankly said that he would rather accept +at once the doctrine of those who attribute the different idioms of +men to an immediate revelation from God.<a name="FNanchor_15-1_30" id="FNanchor_15-1_30" href="#Footnote_15-1_30" class="fnanchor">15-*</a></p> + +<p>He fully recognized, however, a progress, an organic growth, in human +speech, and he expressly names this as a special branch of linguistic +investigation.<a name="FNanchor_15-2_31" id="FNanchor_15-2_31" href="#Footnote_15-2_31" class="fnanchor">15-†</a> He lays down that this growth may be from two +sources, one the cultivation of a tongue within the nation by +enriching its vocabulary, separating and classifying its elements, +fixing its expressions, and thus adapting it to wider uses; the +second, by forcible amalgamation with another tongue.</p> + +<p>The latter exerts always a more profound and often a more beneficial +influence. The organism of both tongues may be destroyed, but the +dissolvent force is also an organic and vital one, and from the ruins +of both constructs a speech of grander plans and with wider views. +“The seemingly aimless and confused interminglings of primitive tribes +sowed the seed for the flowers of speech and song which flourished in +centuries long posterior.”</p> + +<p>The immediate causes of the improvement of a language through forcible +admixture with another, are: that it is obliged to drop all +<a name="corr1" id="corr1"></a><ins class="correction" title="unnecessary">unneccessary</ins> accessory elements in a proposition; that the +relations of ideas must be expressed by conventional and not +significant syllables; and that the limitations of thought imposed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[16]</a></span> by +the genius of the language are violently broken down, and the mind is +thus given wider play for its faculties.</p> + +<p>Such influences, however, do not act in accordance with fixed laws of +growth. There are no such laws, which are of universal application. +The development of the Mongolian or Aryan tongues is not at all that +of the American. The goal is one and the same, but the paths to it are +infinite. For this reason each group or class of languages must be +studied by itself, and its own peculiar developmental laws be +ascertained by searching its history.<a name="FNanchor_16-1_32" id="FNanchor_16-1_32" href="#Footnote_16-1_32" class="fnanchor">16-*</a></p> + +<p>With reference to the growth of American languages, it was Humboldt’s +view that they manifest the utmost refractoriness both to external +influence and to internal modifications. They reveal a marvellous +tenacity of traditional words and forms, not only in dialects, but +even in particular classes of the community, men having different +expressions from women, the old from the young, the higher from the +lower classes. These are maintained with scrupulous exactitude through +generations, and except by the introduction of words, three centuries +of daily commingling with the white race, have not at all altered the +<a name="corr2" id="corr2"></a><ins class="correction" title="grammar">grammer</ins> and scarcely the phonetics of many of their languages.</p> + +<p>Nor is this referable to the contrast between an Aryan and an American +language. The same immiscibility is shown between themselves. “Even +where many radically different languages are located closely together, +as in Mexico, I have not found a single example where one exercised a +constructive or formative influence on the other. But it is by the +encounter of great and contrasted differences that languages gain +strength, riches, and completeness. Only thus are the perceptive +powers, the imagination and the feelings impelled to enrich and extend +the means of expression, which, if left to the labors of the +understanding alone, are liable to be but meagre and arid.”<a name="FNanchor_16-2_33" id="FNanchor_16-2_33" href="#Footnote_16-2_33" class="fnanchor">16-†</a></p> + + +<h3 class="sectionhead"><a name="sect9" id="sect9"></a>§ 9. <span class="smcap">Internal Form of Languages.</span></h3> + +<p>Besides the grammatical form of a language, Humboldt recognized +another which he called its <i>internal form</i>. This is that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[17]</a></span> subtle +something not expressed in words, which even more than the formal +parts of speech, reveals the linguistic genius of a nation. It may be +defined as the impression which the language bears of the clearness of +the conceptions of those speaking it, and of their native gift of +speech. He illustrates it by instancing the absence of a developed +mode in Sanscrit, and maintains that in the creators of that tongue +the conception of modality was never truly felt and distinguished from +tense. In this respect its inner form was greatly inferior to the +Greek, in the mind of which nation the ideally perfect construction of +the verb unfolded itself with far more clearness.</p> + +<p>The study of this inner form of a language belongs to the highest +realm of linguistic investigation, and is that which throws the most +light on the national character and capacities.<a name="FNanchor_17-1_34" id="FNanchor_17-1_34" href="#Footnote_17-1_34" class="fnanchor">17-*</a></p> + + +<h3 class="sectionhead"><a name="sect10" id="sect10"></a>§ 10. <span class="smcap">Criteria of Rank in Languages.</span></h3> + +<p>Humboldt’s one criterion of a language was its <a name="corr3" id="corr3"></a><ins class="correction" title="tendency">tendncy</ins> to +<i>quicken and stimulate mental action</i>. He maintained that this is +secured just in proportion as the grammatical structure favors clear +definition of the individual idea apart from its relations, in other +words, as it separates the material from the inflectional elements of +speech. Clear thinking, he argued, means progressive thinking. +Therefore he assigned a lower position both to those tongues which +inseparably connect the idea with its relations, as the American +languages, and to those which, like the Chinese and in a less degree +the modern English, have scarcely any formal elements at all, but +depend upon the position of words (placement) to signify their +relations.</p> + +<p>But he greatly modified this unfavorable judgment by several +extenuating considerations.</p> + +<p>Thus he warns us that it is of importance to recognize fully “that +grammatical principles dwell rather in the mind of the speaker than in +the material and mechanism of his language.”<a name="FNanchor_17-2_35" id="FNanchor_17-2_35" href="#Footnote_17-2_35" class="fnanchor">17-†</a></p> + +<p>This led him to establish a distinction between <i>explicit</i> grammar, +where the relations are fully expressed in speech, and <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[18]</a></span><i>implicit</i> +grammar, where they are wholly or in part left to be understood by the +mind.</p> + +<p>He expressly and repeatedly states that an intelligent thinker, +trained in the grammatical distinctions of a higher language, can +express any thought he has in the grammar of any other tongue which he +masters, no matter how rude it is. This adaptability lies in the +nature of speech in general. A language is an instrument, the use of +which depends entirely on the skill of him who handles it. It is +doubtful whether such imported forms and thoughts appeal in any direct +sense to those who are native to the tongue. But the fact remains that +the forms of the most barbarous languages are such that they may be +developed to admit the expression of any kind of idea.</p> + +<p>But the meaning of this must not be misconstrued. If languages were +merely dead instruments which we use to work with, then one would be +as good as another to him who had learned it. But this is not the +case. Speech is a living, physiological function, and, like any other +function, is most invigorating and vitalizing when it works in the +utmost harmony with the other functions. Its special relationship is +to that brain-action which we call thinking; and entire harmony +between the two is only present when the form, structure and sounds of +speech correspond accurately to the logical procedure of thought. This +he considered “an undeniable fact.”</p> + +<p>The measure of the excellence of a language, therefore, is the +clearness, definiteness and energy of the ideas which it awakes in the +nation. Does it inspire and incite their mind? Has it positive and +clear tones, and do these define sharply the ideas they represent, +without needless accessories? Does its structure present the leading +elements of the proposition in their simplicity, and permit the +secondary elements to be grouped around them in subordinate positions, +with a correct sense of linguistic perspective? The answers to these +queries decide its position in the hierarchy of tongues.<a name="FNanchor_18-1_36" id="FNanchor_18-1_36" href="#Footnote_18-1_36" class="fnanchor">18-*</a></p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[19]</a></span>As its capacity for expression is no criterion of a language, still +less is the abundance or regularity of its forms. For this very +multiplicity, this excessive superfluity, is a burden and a drawback, +and obscures the integration of the thought by attaching to it a +quantity of needless qualifications. Thus, in the language of the +Abipones, the pronoun is different as the person spoken of is +conceived as present, absent, sitting, walking, lying, or running, all +quite unnecessary specifications.<a name="FNanchor_19-1_37" id="FNanchor_19-1_37" href="#Footnote_19-1_37" class="fnanchor">19-*</a></p> + +<p>In some languages much appears as form which, on close scrutiny, is +nothing of the kind.</p> + +<p>This misunderstanding has reigned almost universally in the treatment +of American tongues. The grammars which have been written upon them +proceed generally on the principles of Latin, and apply a series of +grammatical names to the forms explained, entirely inappropriate to +them and misleading. Our first duty in taking up such a grammar as, +for instance, that of an American language, is to dismiss the whole of +the arrangement of the “parts of speech,” and, by an analysis of words +and phrases, to ascertain by what arrangement of elements they express +logical, significant relations.<a name="FNanchor_19-2_38" id="FNanchor_19-2_38" href="#Footnote_19-2_38" class="fnanchor">19-†</a></p> + +<p>For example, in the Carib tongue, the grammars give <i>aveiridaco</i> as +the second person singular, subjunctive imperfect, “if thou wert.” +Analyze this, and we discover that <i>a</i> is the possessive pronoun +“thy;” <i>veiri</i> is “to be” or “being” (in a place); and <i>daco</i> is a +particle of definite time. Hence, the literal rendering is “on the day +of thy being.” The so-called imperfect subjunctive turns out to be a +verbal noun with a preposition. In many American languages the +hypothetical supposition expressed in the Latin subjunctive is +indicated by the same circumlocution.</p> + +<p>Again, the infinitive, in its classical sense, is unknown in most, +probably in all, American languages. In the Tupi of Brazil and +frequently elsewhere it is simply a noun; <i>caru</i> is both “to eat<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[20]</a></span>” and +“food;” <i>che caru ai-pota</i>, “I wish to eat,” literally “my food I +wish.”</p> + +<p>In the Mexican, the infinitive is incorporated in the verb as an +accusative, and the verb is put in the future of the person spoken of.</p> + +<p>Many writers continue to maintain that a criterion of rank of a +language is its lexicographical richness—the number of words it +possesses. Even very recently, Prof. Max Müller has applied such a +test to American languages, and, finding that one of the Fuegian +dialects is reported to have nearly thirty thousand words, he +maintains that this is a proof that these savages are a degenerate +remnant of some much more highly developed ancestry. Founding his +opinion largely on similar facts, Alexander von Humboldt applied the +expression to the American nations that they are “des débris échappés +à un naufrage commun.”</p> + +<p>Such, however, was not the opinion of his brother Wilhelm. He sounded +the depths of linguistic philosophy far more deeply than to accept +mere abundance of words as proof of richness in a language. Many +savage languages have twenty words signifying to eat particular +things, but no word meaning “to eat” in general; the Eskimo language +has different words for fishing for each kind of fish, but no word “to +fish,” in a general sense. Such apparent richness is, in fact, actual +poverty.</p> + +<p>Humboldt taught that the quality, not merely the quantity, of words +was the decisive measure of verbal wealth. Such quality depends on the +relations of concrete words, on the one hand, to the primitive +objective perceptions at their root, and, on the other, to the +abstract general ideas of which they are particular representatives; +and besides this, on the relations which the spoken word, the +articulate sound, bears to the philosophic laws of the formation of +language in general.<a name="FNanchor_20-1_39" id="FNanchor_20-1_39" href="#Footnote_20-1_39" class="fnanchor">20-*</a></p> + +<p>In his letter to Abel-Remusat he discusses the theory that the +American languages point to a once higher condition of civilization, +and are the corrupted idioms of deteriorated races. He denies that +there is linguistic evidence of any such theory. These<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[21]</a></span> languages, he +says, possess a remarkable regularity of structure, and very few +anomalies. Their grammar does not present any visible traces of +corrupting intermixtures.<a name="FNanchor_21-1_40" id="FNanchor_21-1_40" href="#Footnote_21-1_40" class="fnanchor">21-*</a></p> + +<p>In a later work he returns to the subject when speaking of the Lenape +(Algonkin Delaware) dialect, and asks whether the rich imaginative +power, of which it bears the evident impress, does not point to some +youthful, supple and vigorous era in the life of language in +general?<a name="FNanchor_21-2_41" id="FNanchor_21-2_41" href="#Footnote_21-2_41" class="fnanchor">21-†</a> But he leaves the question unanswered.</p> + + +<h3 class="sectionhead"><a name="sect11" id="sect11"></a>§ 11. <span class="smcap">Classification of Languages.</span></h3> + +<p>The lower unit of language is the Word; the higher is the Sentence. +The plans on which languages combine words into sentences are a basic +character of their structure, and divide them into classes as distinct +and as decisive of their future, as those of vertebrate and +invertebrate animals in natural history.</p> + +<p>These plans are four in number:</p> + +<p>1. By Isolation.</p> + +<p>The words are placed in juxtaposition, without change. Their relations +are expressed by their location only (placement). The typical example +of this is the Chinese.</p> + +<p>2. By Agglutination.</p> + +<p>The sentence is formed by suffixing to the word expressive of the main +idea a number of others, more or less altered, expressing the +relations. Examples of this are the Eskimo of North America, and the +Northern Asiatic dialects.</p> + +<p>3. By Incorporation.</p> + +<p>The leading word of the sentence is divided and the accessory words +either included in it or attached to it with abbreviated forms, so +that the whole sentence assumes the form and sound of one word.</p> + +<p>4. By Inflection.</p> + +<p>Each word of the sentence indicates by its own form the character and +relation to the main proposition of the idea it represents. Sanscrit, +Greek and Latin are familiar examples of inflected tongues.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[22]</a></span>It is possible to suppose that all four of these forms were developed +from some primitive condition of utterance unknown to us, just as +naturalists believe that all organic species were developed out of a +homogeneous protoplasmic mass; but it is as hard to see how any one of +them in its present form could pass over into another, as to +understand how a radiate could change into a mollusk.</p> + + +<h3 class="sectionhead"><a name="sect12" id="sect12"></a>§ 12. <span class="smcap">Nature of Incorporation.</span></h3> + +<p>Of the four plans mentioned, Incorporation is that characteristic of, +though not confined to, American tongues.</p> + +<p>It may appear in a higher or a lower grade, but its intention is +everywhere the effort to convey in one word the whole proposition. The +Verb, as that part of speech which especially conveys the synthetic +action of the mental operation, is that which is selected as the stem +of this word-sentence; all the other parts are subordinate +accessories, devoid of syntactic value.</p> + +<p>The higher grade of incorporation includes both subject, object and +verb in one word, and if for any reason the object is not included, +the scheme of the sentence is still maintained in the verb, and the +object is placed outside, as in apposition, without case ending, and +under a form different from its original and simple one.</p> + +<p>This will readily be understood from the following examples from the +Mexican language.</p> + +<p>The sentence <i>ni-naca-qua</i>, is one word and means “I, flesh, eat.” If +it is desired to express the object independently, the expression +becomes <i>ni-c-qua-in-nacatl</i>, “I it eat, the flesh.” The termination +<i>tl</i> does not belong to the root of the noun, but is added to show +that it is in an external, and, as it were, unnatural position. Both +the direct and remote object can thus be incorporated, and if they are +not, but separately appended, the scheme of the sentence is still +preserved; as <i>ni-te-tla-maca</i>, literally, “I, something, to somebody, +give.” How closely these accessories are incorporated is illustrated +by the fact that the tense augments are not added to the stem, but to +the whole word; <i>o-ni-c-te-maca-e</i>, “I have given it to somebody;” +when the <i>o</i> is the prefix of the perfect.</p> + +<p>In these languages, every element in the sentence, which is not +incorporated in the verb, has, in fact, no syntax at all. The<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[23]</a></span> verbal +exhausts all the formal portion of the language. The relations of the +other words are intimated by their position. Thus +<i>ni-tlagotlaz-nequia</i>, I wished to love, is literally “I, I shall +love, I wished.” <i>Tlagotlaz</i>, is the first person singular of the +future, <i>ni-nequia</i>, I wished, which is divided, and the future form +inserted. The same expression may stand thus: <i>ni-c-nequia-tlagotlaz</i>, +where the <i>c</i> is an intercalated relative pronoun, and the literal +rendering is, “I it wished, I shall love.”</p> + +<p>In the Lule language the construction with an infinitive is simply +that the two verbs follow each other in the same person, as <i>caic +tucuec</i>, “I am accustomed to eat,” literally, “I am <a name="corr4" id="corr4"></a><ins class="correction" title="accustomed,">acustomed,</ins> I +eat.”</p> + +<p>None of these devices <a name="corr5" id="corr5"></a><ins class="correction" title="fulfills">fullfils</ins> all the uses of the infinitive, +and hence they are all inferior to it.</p> + +<p>In languages which lack formal elements, the deficiency must be +supplied by the mind. Words are merely placed in juxtaposition, and +their relationship guessed at. Thus, when a language constructs its +cases merely by prefixing prepositions to the unaltered noun, there is +no grammatical form; in the Mbaya language <i>e-tiboa</i> is translated +“through me,” but it is really “I, through;” <i>l’emani</i>, is rendered +“he wishes,” but it is strictly “he, wish.”</p> + +<p>In such languages the same collocation of words often corresponds to +quite different meanings, as the precise relation of the thoughts is +not defined by any formal elements. This is well illustrated in the +Tupi tongue. The word <i>uba</i> is “father;” with the pronoun of the third +person prefixed it is <i>tuba</i>, literally “he, father.” This may mean +either “his father,” or “he is a father,” or “he has a father,” just +as the sense of the rest of the sentence requires.</p> + +<p>Certainly a language which thus leaves confounded together ideas so +distinct as these, is inferior to one which discriminates them; and +this is why the formal elements of a tongue are so important to +intellectual growth. The Tupis may be an energetic and skillful +people, but with their language they can never take a position as +masters in the realm of ideas.</p> + +<p>The absence of the passive in most, if not all, American tongues is +supplied by similar inadequate collocations of words. In Huasteca, for +example, <i>nana tanin tahjal</i>, is translated “I<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[24]</a></span> am treated by him;” +actually it is, “I, me, treats he.” This is not a passive, but simply +the idea of the Ego connected with the idea of another acting upon it.</p> + +<p>This is vastly below the level of inflected speech; for it cannot be +too strenuously maintained that the grammatical relations of spoken +language are the more perfect and favorable to intellectual growth, +the more closely they correspond to the logical relations of thought.</p> + +<p>Sometimes what appears as inflection turns out on examination to be +merely adjunction. Thus in the Mbaya tongue there are such verbal +forms as <i>daladi</i>, thou wilt throw, <i>nilabuite</i>, he has spun, when the +<i>d</i> is the sign of the future, and the <i>n</i> of the perfect. These look +like inflections; but in fact <i>d</i>, is simply a relic of <i>quide</i>, +hereafter, later, and <i>n</i> stands in the same relation to <i>quine</i>, +which means “and also.”</p> + +<p>To become true formal elements, all such adjuncts must have completely +lost their independent signification; because if they retain it, their +material content requires qualification and relation just as any other +stem word.</p> + +<p>A few American languages may have reached this stage. In the Mexican +there are the terminals <i>ya</i> or <i>a</i> in the imperfect, the augment <i>o</i> +in the preterit, and others in the future. In the Tamanaca the present +ends in <i>a</i>, the preterit in <i>e</i>, the future in <i>c</i>. “There is nothing +in either of these tongues to show that these tense signs have +independent meaning, and therefore there is no reason why they should +not be classed with those of the Greek and Sanscrit as true +inflectional elements.”<a name="FNanchor_24-1_42" id="FNanchor_24-1_42" href="#Footnote_24-1_42" class="fnanchor">24-*</a></p> + + +<h3 class="sectionhead"><a name="sect13" id="sect13"></a>§ 13. <span class="smcap">Psychological Origin of Incorporation.</span></h3> + +<p>This Incorporative plan, which may be considered as distinctive of the +American stock of languages, is explained in its psychological origin +by Humboldt, as the result of an <i>exaltation of the imaginative over +the intellectual elements of mind</i>. By this method, the linguistic +faculty strives to present to the understanding the whole thought in +the most compact form possible, thus to facilitate its comprehension; +and this it does, because a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[25]</a></span> thought presented in one word is more +vivid and stimulating to the imagination, more individual and +picturesque, than when narrated in a number of words.<a name="FNanchor_25-1_43" id="FNanchor_25-1_43" href="#Footnote_25-1_43" class="fnanchor">25-*</a></p> + +<p>But the mistake must not be made of supposing that Incorporation is a +<i>creative act</i> of the language-sense, or that its products, the +compounds that it builds, are real words. Humboldt was careful to +impress this distinction, and calls such incorporated compounds +examples of <i>collocation</i> (Zusammensetzung), not of <i>synthesis</i> +(Zusammenfassung). On this ground, he doubted, and with justice, the +assertion of Duponceau, that the long words of the Lenape (Delaware) +dialect are formed by an arbitrary selection of the phonetic parts of +a number of words, without reference to the radical syllables.<a name="FNanchor_25-2_44" id="FNanchor_25-2_44" href="#Footnote_25-2_44" class="fnanchor">25-†</a> +He insisted, as is really the case, that in all instances the +significant syllable or syllables are retained.</p> + + +<h3 class="sectionhead"><a name="sect14" id="sect14"></a>§ 14. <span class="smcap">Effect of Incorporation on Compound Sentences.</span></h3> + +<p>As has been seen, the theory of Incorporation is to express the whole +proposition, as nearly as possible, in one word; and what part of it +cannot be thus expressed, is left without any syntax whatever. Not +only does this apply to individual words in a sentence, but it extends +to the various clauses of a compound sentence, such as in Aryan +languages show their relation to the leading clauses by means of +prepositions, conjunctions and relative pronouns.</p> + +<p>When the methods are analyzed by which the major and minor clauses are +assigned their respective values in these tongues, it is very plain +what difficulties of expression the system of Incorporation involves. +Few of them have any true connecting word of either of the three +classes above mentioned. They depend on scarcely veiled material +words, simply placed in juxtaposition.</p> + +<p>It is probable that the prepositions and conjunctions of all<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[26]</a></span> +languages were at first significant words, and the degree to which +they have lost their primary significations and have become purely +formal elements expressing relation, is one of the measures of the +grammatical evolution of a tongue. In most American idioms their +origin from substantives is readily recognizable. Frequently these +substantives refer to parts of the body, and this, in passing, +suggests the antiquity of this class of words and their value in +comparison.</p> + +<p>In Maya <i>tan</i> means in, toward, among; but it is also the breast or +front of the body. The Mexican has three classes of prepositions—the +first, whose origin from a substantive cannot be detected; the second, +where an unknown and a known element are combined; the third, where +the substantive is perfectly clear. An example of the last mentioned +is <i>itic</i>, in, compounded of <i>ite</i>, belly, and the locative particle +<i>c</i>; the phrase <i>ilhuicatl itic</i>, in heaven, is literally “in the +belly of heaven.” Precisely the same is the Cakchiquel <i>pamcah</i>, +literally, “belly, heaven”=in heaven. In Mexican, <i>notepotzco</i> is +“behind me,” literally, “my back, at;” this corresponds again to the +Cakchiquel <i>chuih</i>, behind me, from <i>chi</i>, at, <i>u</i>, my, <i>vih</i>, +shoulder-blades. The Mixteca prepositions present the crude nature of +their origin without disguise, <i>chisi huahi</i>, belly, house—that is, +in front of the house; <i>sata huahi</i>, back, house—behind the house.</p> + +<p>The conjunctions are equally transparent. “And” in Maya is <i>yetel</i>, in +Mexican <i>ihuan</i>. One would suppose that such an indispensable +connective would long since have been worn down to an insoluble +entity. On the contrary, both these words retain their perfect +material meaning. <i>Yetel</i> is a compound of <i>y</i>, his, <i>et</i>, companion, +and <i>el</i>, the definite termination of nouns. <i>Ihuan</i> is the +possessive, <i>i</i>, and <i>huan</i>, associate, companion, used also as a +termination to form a certain class of plurals.</p> + +<p>The deficiency in true conjunctions and relative pronouns is met in +many American languages by a reversal of the plan of expression with +us. The relative clause becomes the principal one. There is a certain +logical justice in this; for, if we reflect, it will appear evident +that the major proposition is, in our construction, presented as one +of the conditions of the minor. “I shall drown, if I fall in the +water,” means that, of the various results of my falling in the water, +one of them will be that I<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[27]</a></span> shall drown. “I followed the road which +you described,” means that you described a road, and one of the +results of this act of yours was that I followed it.</p> + +<p>This explains the plan of constructing compound sentences in Qquichua. +Instead of saying “I shall follow the road which you describe,” the +construction is “You describe, this road I shall follow;” and instead +of “I shall drown if I fall in the water,” it would be, “I fall in the +water, I shall drown.”</p> + +<p>The Mexican language introduces the relative clause by the word <i>in</i>, +which is an article and demonstrative pronoun, or, if the proposition +is a conditional one, by <i>intla</i>, which really signifies “within +this,” and conveys the sense that the major is included within the +conditions of the minor clause. The Cakchiquel conditional particle is +<i>vue</i>, if, which appears to be simply the particle of affirmation +“yes,” employed to give extension to the minor clause, which, as a +rule, is placed first.</p> + +<p>Or a conventional arrangement of words may be adopted which will +convey the idea of certain dependent clauses, as those expressing +similitude, as is often the case in Mexican.</p> + + +<h3 class="sectionhead"><a name="sect15" id="sect15"></a>§ 15. <span class="smcap">The Dual in American Languages.</span></h3> + +<p>In his admirable philosophical examination of the dual number in +language, Humboldt laid the foundation of a linguistic theory of +numerals which has not yet received the development it merits. Here he +brings into view the dual and plural endings of a list of American +languages, and explains the motives on which they base the inclusive +and exclusive plurals so common among them. It is, in fact, a species +of pronominal dual confined to the first person in the plural.</p> + +<p>This, he goes on to say, is by no means the only dual in these +tongues. Some of them express both the other classes of duals which he +names. Thus, the Totonaca has duals for all objects which appear as +pairs in nature, as the eyes, the ears, the hands, etc.; while the +Araucanian equals the Sanscrit in extending the grammatical expression +of the dual through all parts of speech where it can find proper +application.<a name="FNanchor_27-1_45" id="FNanchor_27-1_45" href="#Footnote_27-1_45" class="fnanchor">27-*</a></p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[28]</a></span></p> + +<h3 class="sectionhead"><a name="sect16" id="sect16"></a>§ 16. <span class="smcap">Humboldt’s Essay on the American Verb.</span></h3> + +<p>The essay on the American verb translated in the following pages has +never previously appeared in print, either in German or English. The +original MS. is in the Royal Library at Berlin, whence I obtained a +transcript. The author alludes to this essay in several passages of +his printed works, most fully in his “Letter to M. Abel-Remusat” +(1826), in which he says:</p> + +<p>“A few years ago, I read before the Berlin Academy a memoir, which has +not been printed, in which I compared a number of American languages +with each other, solely with regard to the manner in which they +express the verb as uniting the subject with the attribute in the +proposition, and from this point of view I assigned them to various +classes. As this trait proves to what degree a language possesses +grammatical forms, or is near to possessing them, it is decisive of +the whole grammar of a tongue.”</p> + +<p>On reading the memoir, I was so much impressed with the acuteness and +justness of its analysis of American verbal forms that I prepared the +translation which I now submit.</p> + +<p>In the more recent studies of the American verb which have appeared +from the pens of Friedrich Müller, J. Hammond Trumbull and Lucien +Adam, we have the same central element of speech subjected to critical +investigation at able hands. But it seems to me that none of them has +approached the topic with the broad, philosophic conceptions which +impress the reader in this essay of Humboldt’s. Although sixty years +and more have elapsed since it was written, I am confident that it +will provide ample food for thought to the earnest student of +language.</p> + + + +<hr class="chapbreak" /> +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[29]</a></span></p> + +<h2 class="chapterhead"><a name="On_the_Verb_in_American_Languages" id="On_the_Verb_in_American_Languages"></a><i>On the Verb in American Languages. By Wilhelm von <a name="corr6" id="corr6"></a><ins class="correction" title="Humboldt.">Humboldt</ins></i></h2> +<p class="titlepage"><i>Translated from the unpublished original. By D. G. Brinton, M.D.</i></p> + + +<p>You recently had the goodness to give an appreciative hearing to my +essay on The Origin of Grammatical Forms.</p> + +<p>I desire to-day to apply the principles which I then stated in general +to a particular grammatical point through a series of languages. I +choose those of America as best suited to such a purpose, and select +the Verb as the most important part of speech, and the central point +of every language. Without entering into an analysis of the different +parts of the verb, I shall confine myself to that which constitutes +its peculiar verbal character—the union of the subject and predicate +of the sentence by means of the notion of Being. This alone forms the +essence of the verb; all other relations, as of persons, tenses, modes +and classes, are merely secondary properties.</p> + +<p>The question to be answered is therefore:—</p> + +<p>Through what form of grammatical notation do the languages under +consideration indicate that subject and predicate are to be united by +means of the notion of Being?</p> + +<p>I believe I have shown with sufficient clearness that a language may +have a great diversity of apparent forms, and may express all +grammatical relations with definiteness, and yet when taken as a whole +it may lack true grammatical form. From this arises an essential and +real graduated difference between languages. This difference, however, +has nothing to do with the question whether particular languages +employ exclusively agglutination or inflection, as all began with +agglutination; but in the languages of the higher class, it became in +its effects on the mind, identical with inflection.</p> + +<p>As languages of the higher class, one has but to name the cultivated +idioms of Asia and Europe, Sanscrit, Greek and Latin, in order to +apply to them the above statement. It is still more necessary, +however, to understand thoroughly the structure of those languages +which are on a lower plane, partly because this will convince us of +the correctness of the classification, partly because these tongues +are less generally known.</p> + +<p>It is enough to take up some single leading grammatical relation. I +select for this purpose the verb as the most important part of speech, +with which most of the others come into relation, and which completes +the formation of the sentence, the grammatical purpose of all +language—and often embraces it wholly in itself. But I shall confine +myself solely to that which makes the verb a verb, the characteristic +notation of its peculiar verbal nature. In every language this point +is the most important and the most difficult, and cannot be made too +clear to throw light upon the whole of the language. Linguistic +character can be ascertained through this point in the shortest and +most certain manner.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[30]</a></span>The verb is the union of the subject and predicate of the sentence by +means of the notion of Being; yet not of every predicate. The +attribute which is united to the substance by the verb must be an +energic one, a participial. The substance is represented in the verb +as in motion, as connecting the Being with the energic attribute. By +means of this representation, and the peculiar nature of the +attribute, the verb is distinguished from the mere logical copula, +with which it is liable to be confounded if these ideas are not +understood. If the verb is explained merely as a synthesis of Being +with any other attribute, then the origin of the tenses cannot be +wholly derived from one idea, for the idea of time alone would allow +only a three-fold distinction. Moreover, in such case the true and +efficient nature of the verb is misunderstood. In the sentence, “The +man is good,” the verb is not a synthesis of the adjective “good” with +the substantive, but it is a participial of the energic attribute “to +be good,” which contains a condition, having beginning, middle and +end, and consequently resembles an action. Fully analyzed, the +sentence would be, “He is being good.” Where the substantive verb +stands without a visible predicate, as in the sentence, “I am,” then +the verb “to be” has itself as the object of a synthesis, “I am +being.” But as rude nations would find this difficult to comprehend, +the verb “to be” is either entirely lacking, as in many American +languages, or else it has an original material sense, and is +confounded with “to stand,” “to give,” “to eat,” etc., and thus +indicates Being as identical with the most familiar occupations.</p> + +<p>The subject, the substance represented as in action, may be one +independent of the speakers, or it may be identical with one of them, +and this identity is expressed by the pronouns. From this arises the +persons. The energic attribute may exert its action in various manners +in the substance or between two substances; this gives rise to the +forms or classes of verbs. Their action must be confined to a given +point or period of time. The Being may be understood as definite or +indefinite, etc., and in this is the origin of modes. Being is +inseparably connected with the notation of time. This, united with the +fixation of the point or period of time of an action, forms the +tenses. No verb, therefore, can be conceived as without persons and +tenses, modes and classes; yet these qualities do not constitute its +essence, but arise from the latter, which itself is the synthesis +brought about by the notion of Being. The signs of these qualities +must be made to appear in the grammatical notation of the verb, but in +such a manner that they appear dependent on its nature, making one +with it.</p> + +<p>The energic attribute, which aids in forming the verb, may be a real +movement or action, as going, coming, living, working, etc., or merely +a qualitative Being, as a being beautiful, good, mortal, or immortal. +In the former case, we have a real attributive verb, in the latter a +substantive verb, in which an attribute is considered as at rest, +hence as an adjective. Although in both cases the nature of the verb +is the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[31]</a></span> same, yet in many languages this difference leads to a +corresponding variety in grammatical notation.</p> + +<p>In accordance with these ideas culled from universal grammar, the +forms of the conjugations in the various languages will now be +considered.</p> + +<p>I have taken as a basis for this investigation as many American +languages as I thought sufficient for the purpose, and as would not +make the survey oppressive by their number; but as I do not name all +of them, and pay still less attention to pointing out in what other +groups of languages the peculiarities named occur, it must be +understood that what is here said is not intended as a +characterization of American languages. This is reserved for another +study.</p> + +<p>In order to judge how closely these languages approach grammatical +perfection in this point, we must take as our criterion that condition +of speech where there is a class of words, which possess verbal power, +and are at the same time separated by a definite form from all other +parts of speech. With reference to this condition as the highest, we +must arrange in various grades all other structural forms or +paraphrases of the verb.</p> + +<p>The notion of Being, which constitutes the basis and the essence of +the verb, can be indicated either,</p> + +<p>1. As expressed independently.</p> + +<p>2. As incorporated in the verbal form as an auxiliary verb.</p> + +<p>3. As included in the verbal form merely as an idea.</p> + +<p>The differences of the languages under comparison can be appreciated +most correctly by means of these three headings; but it must not be +forgotten that any language may use the first and one of the last two +methods, and that in languages which have a substantive verb +conjugated with and without auxiliary verbs, all three may be +employed.</p> + + +<h3 class="sectionhead"><a name="sectI" id="sectI"></a>I.<br /> + +<span class="smcap">When the notion of Being is expressed independently.</span></h3> + +<p>I must except from this class all instances where the substantive verb +is formed from a radical, inasmuch as this root, like any other, must +assume the verbal form, and thus come under one of the two other +divisions. In such case it expresses the notion of Being, either by an +auxiliary, as in the German <i>Ich bin gewesen</i>, or simply in the form, +as, <i>I am</i>. When it is remembered that the substantive verbs of all +languages are derived from concrete conceptions and impart to these +merely the general notion of Being, the above becomes still more +obvious.</p> + +<p>Now if there is no root-form for the substantive verb, and yet it is +expressed independently, and not by another verbal form, this can only +be done either by the position of the governing and governed words, or +by linguistic elements which are not properly verbs, but only become<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[32]</a></span> +so by this use. In the former case the substantive verb is merely +understood, in the latter it appears in a definite word, but without a +fixed radical.</p> + +<h4 class="sectionhead"><a name="sectI-1" id="sectI-1"></a>1. <i>When the notion of Being is understood.</i></h4> + +<p>One of the most common forms of sentences in American languages is to +bring together an adjective and a substantive, the substantive verb +being omitted.</p> + +<p>Mexican: <i>in Pedro qualli</i>, the Peter (is) good.</p> + +<p>Totonaca: <i>aquit chixco</i>, I (am) a man.</p> + +<p>Huasteca: <i>naxe uxum ibaua tzichniel</i>, this woman (is) not thy +servant.</p> + +<p>In the Mixteca language such expressions have a peculiar arrangement. +The adjective must precede the substantive, or rather the predicate +must precede the subject, as in the reverse case the words are +understood separately, and are not connected into a sentence: <i>quadza +ñaha</i>, the woman is bad; <i>ñaha quadza</i>, the bad woman.</p> + +<p>In the language of the Mbayas, a sentence can be made with any verb by +dropping the verbal affixes, by transposing a letter characterizing +the nouns as such, appending an adjective suffix, and uniting this +with an independent pronoun. The grammars of this language call this +form a passive, but it is just as much a neuter, and is not a verb but +a phrase. From <i>iigaichini</i>, to teach, we have <i>n-iigaichin-igi</i>, +taught, and as first person <i>e n-iigaichin-igi</i>, I am taught. The +initial <i>n</i> which accompanies all nouns in this language, is merely +the possessive pronoun of the third person, added according to the +usage of many of these tongues to leave no noun without a possessive; +the termination <i>igi</i> is a particle which indicates the place where +anything remains. Literally, therefore, <i>eniigaichinigi</i> means, I (am) +the stopping-place of his teaching, <i>i. e.</i>, one who is taught. All +affixes of mode and tense, however, may be united to this phrase, so +that thus it approaches a verb.</p> + +<p>Regarded apart from the changes through tenses and modes, the union of +the subject and predicate with the substantive verb omitted, is +admirably adapted to express the conjunction of two words in one idea, +and as the languages which make use of it also possess the ordinary +forms of conjugation, they thus possess a special expression for both +the forms of verbs above referred to. We shall note this particularly +in the Beto language.</p> + +<p>When the subject is not an independent part of speech, but an affixed +pronoun, the analogy of this method of notation to a verbal form +increases. For this is present even when no characteristic of a tense +is added, simply by the union of an attribute and a pronoun. It should +be remarked once for all, however, that too much weight must not be +attached to whether these elements form one word or not, as this is +not an infallible criterion.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[33]</a></span>The verb cannot be considered to be present as a separate part of +speech, when a verb can thus be made out of any word, not merely those +stamped as verbs, but also out of those which bear the express +characteristics of nouns; and therefore I include all these cases in +the class under consideration. For in all these languages there is in +fact no verb, but only separate elements of speech with the verb +omitted. Such cases are, however, interesting, as showing the gradual +approach to the verb, and the effort of the instinct of language to +arrive at grammatical form.</p> + +<p>The independent personal pronoun rarely makes an element of verbal +form, as in speaking it is generally worn down to an affix. When it is +used to form a verbal expression, the difference of the elements is +apparent. Thus, in the Carib, <i><span class="inline_number"><span class="number">1</span>anaiaca</span> puin <span class="inline_number"><span class="number" style="margin-left: -1em;">3</span>au</span></i>—<span class="inline_number"><span class="number" style="margin-left: -1em;">3</span>I</span> (am) not a <span class="inline_number"><span class="number">1</span>divider</span>. +In that tongue, however, this placement is not applicable to every noun, +but only after certain definite verbal forms, especially in negative +expressions.</p> + +<p>The Lule language confines this notation to participials, and expresses +by it the condition of the action and also its time; <a name="corr7" id="corr7"></a><i>mil quis amaiciton</i>, +<span class="inline_number"><span class="number">1</span>you</span> (are) <span class="inline_number"><span class="number" style="margin-left: -1em;">2</span>me</span> <span class="inline_number"><span class="number">3</span>loving</span>.</p> + +<p>The affixed pronouns are either special, confined to these +expressions, or if elsewhere in the tongue, are not employed with +verbs, or not in this manner; or they are the pronominal affixes of +the verb itself.</p> + +<p>The Maya or Yucatecan language has a special pronoun which added to +any noun forms a sentence with it, and possesses the power to add the +idea of the verb; <i>Pedro en</i>, I am Pedro. But when it stands alone, +without a predicate, it loses this power, as <i>en</i> alone does not mean, +“I am.”</p> + +<p>In the Beto language there is, indeed, no special pronoun of this +kind, as the one used is also a possessive. Its position, however, +makes the difference. When it is prefixed, it is the possessive, but +when suffixed it carries with it the power of the verb: <i>humani rru</i>, +man I (am); <i>fofei rru</i>, bad I (am). In a similar manner this tongue +forms a substantive verb, <i>ajoi rru</i>. The meaning of the root is not +given, but it seems to mean something present, at hand. It is +suggestive that in these phrases the accent is always on the pronoun, +as if to signify that that is the important element.</p> + +<p>It is very common in American languages to find the noun and the verb +using the same pronouns, with the former to indicate possession, with +the latter the subject. This might be explained by supposing that the +action is regarded as the possession of the agent. But it is simpler +to suppose that in each case the connection of the person with the +noun and the verb is in the thoughts, and this relation is recognized +in expression.</p> + +<p>In this way the Mbaya language has a sort of descriptive conjugation;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[34]</a></span> +connecting the participles with possessive pronouns; <i>i-iligodi</i>, I +(am) explaining; but no doubt less definitely, “my explaining,” “I to +explain.”</p> + +<p>The language of the Abipones slightly alters the possessive pronouns +in some persons and uses them in a similar manner: <i>ri-aal</i>, I am +lazy; <i>yo-amkata</i>, he is good.</p> + +<p>When the verbal pronoun is used in such expressions, it is entirely +identical with the verb.</p> + +<p>This is the case with the Mexican, where the verbal pronoun united to +the participle forms a sentence: <i>ni-tlaçotlani</i>, I (am) a lover. This +expression differs from the present indicative only in the form of the +root-word, <i>ni-tlaçotla</i>; but it cannot form another tense or mode. +The grammarians call such an expression a tense indicating habit. +This, however, would not be a tense but a mode, and, in fact, the term +rests on a misunderstanding. That such expressions indicate habit is +shown by the fact that they do not apply, like the present of the +verb, to the temporary action, but convey that it is a custom, or a +business; not that I am loving just now, but that I am habitually a +lover.</p> + +<p>An entirely similar instance occurs in the North Guaranay language, +which also permits, besides the regular conjugation, a union of the +root of the verb with a pronoun, the verb being omitted. The +grammarians of that tongue say that this adds extension and emphasis +to the sense of the verb. The real difference, however, is that this +procedure treats the verb as a noun, and the extension comes from +considering the action expressed by the verb to have become a +permanent quality; <i>a poro iuca</i>, I kill men (ordinary conjugation); +<i>xe poro iuca</i>, I (am) a man-killer (form with the possessive +pronoun); I kill men as my business.</p> + +<p>In both these languages, therefore, what have been represented as +peculiar and separated forms, tenses indicating habit, or forms of +extension, are simply erroneous explanations of quite simple +constructions. In Mexican the correctness of this explanation is +confirmed by the forms of the vocative, which are identical with this +supposed tense, <i>in ti tlatlacoani</i>, O thou sinner; literally, thou +who (art) a sinner.</p> + +<p>In the above examples the verbal power lies in the pronouns. But the +Mbaya language constructs verbal sentences by adding the sign of the +future to any adjective without a pronoun. This sign is <i>de</i>, or +before a vowel <i>d</i>: <i>de liidi</i>, it will be pleasant to the taste; <i>d +otiya</i>, he will be fat. I do not find other examples, and am uncertain +whether other tenses and modes are thus formed. In that case the +pronouns would have to be added, and the expression would lose its +peculiarity, which is that the tense sign alone carries with it the +notion of Being.</p> + +<p>The Othomi language makes use in such expressions not only of the +pronouns but of all the affixes of the verb, and conjugates a noun +together with its article, treating it as a verbal radical: +<i>qui-no-munti-maha</i>,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[35]</a></span> Thou wert the enriched. Here <i>no-munti</i> is “the +enriched,” and all the remaining syllables are verbal inflections. +Sandoval, who wrote a grammar of the language, explains <i>no</i> as an +auxiliary verb; but with the noun he calls it an article, as it is, +and he evidently misunderstood the expression. It is wholly a verbal, +but as this procedure can be applied to any noun whatever, such an +expression is far removed from a real, well-defined verbal form.</p> + +<p>The same language has another peculiar form with the possessive, which +can only be explained by supplying an omitted verb. <i>Na nuhti</i> means +“my property;” but if to this is added the abbreviated pronoun used as +a verbal affix, <i>na-nuhti-gā</i>, the words mean, “this property +belongs to me,” or, “my property is it, mine.”</p> + +<p>In the grammatically obscure consciousness of these people, the ideas +of verbal and merely pronominal expression are confounded, as also in +the Brazilian language, where “my father” and “I have a father” are +expressed by the same word.</p> + +<p>The advantages which these languages derive from the formation of +sentences with the verb omitted are two.</p> + +<p>They can change any noun into a verb, or at least they can treat it as +such. It is true that this can also be done by a substantive verb when +one is found, but as the languages in question unite the noun to the +verbal flexions, their freedom is much greater.</p> + +<p>The second advantage is, that when it is desirable to discriminate +clearly between the two kinds of verbs, the one which has at base an +energic attribute, the other which merely expresses the relation of +predicate to subject, a thing to its qualities, this end can be much +better reached by the process described than even by the substantive +verb, which, by its full verbal form, always recalls the action of an +energic attribute.</p> + +<p>Many of the languages named include in these expressions particles of +time, thereby obscuring the distinction referred to. But in others +this is not the case. Thus in the Maya and Beto there are two +conjugations, one with the pronoun without time particles, and one +with them; and as in both these tongues the present of the true +conjugation has a characteristic tense sign, a separate aorist of the +present is formed by the other conjugation, which our cultivated +tongues cannot express so conveniently.</p> + +<h4 class="sectionhead"><a name="sectI-2" id="sectI-2"></a>2. <i>When the notion of Being is expressed by a special word, but +without a phonetic radical.</i></h4> + +<p>Although the assumption here expressed sounds at first rather +enigmatical, yet one can soon see that if the notion of Being is to be +conveyed without a phonetic radical, it can only be done through the +sign of the person, that is, in the pronoun, with or without a tense +sign. This is actually the case in two languages, the Maya and the +Yaruri.</p> + +<p>We have already seen that in the Maya there is a special pronoun<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[36]</a></span> +which unites a predicate to the idea of person into one sentence. +There is also another which by itself conveys the idea of the verb, +and of which each person has the signification both of the pronoun and +the substantive verb, “I” and “I am,” “thou” and “thou art,” etc. Not +only is it so used in the present, but it can take the signs of the +tenses. It is distinguished from the pronouns previously referred to +in the first and second persons of both numbers only by a prefixed +<i>t</i>, as follows:</p> + +<table summary="pronouns"> +<tr> + <td></td> + <td class="tdc">Pronouns which, with a predicate,<br /> + convey a verbal idea.</td> + <td class="tdc">Pronouns which, by themselves,<br /> + possess verbal power.</td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td>Singular.</td> + <td></td> + <td></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td class="tdr">1.</td> + <td class="tdc">en</td> + <td class="tdc">ten</td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td class="tdr">2.</td> + <td class="tdc">ech</td> + <td class="tdc">tech</td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td class="tdr">3.</td> + <td class="tdc">lai lo</td> + <td class="tdc">lai</td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td>Plural.</td> + <td></td> + <td></td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td class="tdr">1.</td> + <td class="tdc">on</td> + <td class="tdc">toon</td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td class="tdr">2.</td> + <td class="tdc">ex</td> + <td class="tdc">teex</td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td class="tdr">3.</td> + <td class="tdc">ob</td> + <td class="tdc">loob</td> +</tr> +</table> + +<p>This similarity leads to the thought that a true phonetic radical may +exist in this <i>t</i>, and may induce us to consider this word not as a +pronoun but as a substantive verb. But this makes no difference. The +fact remains that the word is used both as a simple pronoun and also +as a substantive verb. In the translation of the Lord’s Prayer, the +word <i>toon</i> is a simple pronoun. If <i>t</i> is a radical, it may just as +well come from the pronoun. Some languages offer clear examples of +this. In the Maipure the expression for the third person singular +recurs with all the other persons, as if this sound meant the person, +the man generally, and the first and second persons were denoted as +the “I-person,” “thou-person,” etc. In the Achagua language the same +radical occurs in all the pronouns, but does not, as in the Maipure, +stand alone for the third person singular, but in it, as in the other +persons, appears as an affix.</p> + +<p>At any rate, this pronoun answers, in the Maya, all the purposes of +the substantive verb, and there is no other in the language.</p> + +<p>It is quite intelligible that in the conceptions of rude nations the +idea of an object, and especially of a person, cannot be separated +from the idea of his existence. This may be applied to the forms of +expression above mentioned. What seems a violent and ungrammatical +omission of the verb, is probably in those people an obscure +association of thoughts, a non-separation of the object from its +being. Probably it is from the same source that in some American +languages every adjective is so considered that it includes not the +idea alone, but the expression, “it is thus, and thus constituted.”</p> + +<p>In the Yaruri language the absence of a phonetic radical meaning “to +be” is yet more apparent. Each person of the pronoun is a different +word, and they have no single letter in common. The pronoun<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[37]</a></span> which has +verbal power is almost identical with the independent personal +pronoun. The tense signs are prefixed to it. Thus, <i>que</i>, I am; <i>ri +que</i>, I was, &c. This <i>ri</i>, however, is merely a particle which +expresses that something is remote, and corresponds with our “from.” +<i>Ui-ri-di</i>, there was water there, literally “water far is” (from us +is). The subjunctive of this substantive verb is given as <i>ri</i>, “if I +were.” This means, however, “in,” and is a particle. The notion of +Being is added, as in the pronoun; and the ideas, “in the being,” and +“if I were,” pass into each other.</p> + +<p>Strictly speaking, both the verbal notations here expressed are +identical with those already mentioned. Here also the verb is supplied +by the mind. The difference is that in the latter case the pronouns +alone signify being, and contain this notion in themselves, whereas in +the other cases this notion arises from the conjunction of subject and +predicate. Then also in the Maya language there is a special pronoun for +this sole purpose. As far as the forms go, they entirely resemble those +of a true verb, and if <i>que</i> and <i>ten</i> are regarded as mere verbs +substantive, one who did not examine their elements would take them to +be true verbs like the Sanscrit <i>bhū</i>, the Greek ειμι, and the Latin +<i>sum</i>. The example of these languages thus teaches that in the analysis +of the substantive verbs of other tongues it is not necessary that a +common phonetic radical need be employed.</p> + +<p>In the Huasteca language the substantive verb is replaced by affixing +a tense sign to the independent pronouns; <i>naua itz</i>, I was, <i>tata +itz</i>, thou wert, etc. But the case is not the same. The pronoun +receives the verbal power by the suffix <i>itz</i>, and this appears only +in later times to have become a sign of the preterit, and in an +earlier period to have had a general sense. The mountaineers who seem +to have retained the older forms of the tongue use the <i>itz</i>, not only +in the preterit, but in the present and future. It was doubtless the +expression of some general verbal idea, as, to be, to do, etc.</p> + + +<h3 class="sectionhead"><a name="sectII" id="sectII"></a>II.<br /> + +<span class="smcap">The notion of Being is incorporated with the verb as an Auxiliary.</span></h3> + +<p>Auxiliary verbs are used only for certain tenses, or form the entire +conjugation. The former arises from accidental causes having relation +only to these tenses, not to the verb in general. The latter readily +arises when a substantive verb offers an easy means of conjugation by +uniting with another verb. Sometimes the conjugation by means of an +auxiliary shows that the linguistic sense of a notion sought something +beyond the person and tense signs to express the verbal power itself, +and therefore had recourse to a general verb. This can, indeed, only +be constituted of those elements and a radical; but the want in the +language is thus supplied, once for all, and does not return with +every verb.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[38]</a></span><a name="Maya" id="Maya"></a>An excellent example of this is furnished by the Maya conjugation. In +an analysis of it we find an element that neither belongs to the root, +nor is a person, tense or mode sign, and when their varieties and +changes are compared, there is evident throughout a marked anxiety to +express the peculiar verbal power in the form of the verb.</p> + +<p>The conjugation in the Maya language is formed by affixing the +pronouns and mode and tense signs to the stem. The pronoun is, +according to a distinction to be noted hereafter, either the +possessive pronoun or that one which, without verbal power in itself, +yet receives it when a predicate is attached to it to form a sentence.</p> + +<p>Besides this, the suffix <i>cah</i> accompanies all verbs in the present +and imperfect; and the suffix <i>ah</i> accompanies all transitive verbs +through the remaining tenses, except the future. Present, 1st person, +sing., <i>canan-in-cah</i>, I guard; imperf. 1st pers. sing., <i>canan-in cah +cuchi</i>; perf., 1st pers. sing., <i>in canan-t-ah</i>. <i>In</i> is the +possessive pronoun, <i>cuchi</i> the sign of the imperfect, <i>t</i> in the +perfect is a euphonic letter.</p> + +<p>The idea of transitive verbs is here taken somewhat narrower than usual. +Only those are included which govern a word outside of themselves. All +others are considered intransitive, even those which of themselves are +active, but either have no expressed object (as, I love, I hate, etc.), +or the word which they govern is in the verb itself, as in the Greek +οικοδομεο, οικουρεω. As these can govern a second accusative, the object +incorporated in the verb is included in the idea they express.</p> + +<p>The tenses of the intransitive verbs, except the present and +imperfect, while they drop <i>ah</i> and the possessive pronoun, are formed +with that pronoun which forms sentences with a predicate.</p> + +<p>There are cases where not only the present omits <i>cah</i>, but where the +stem, if it ends in <i>ah</i> as is often the case, drops it, and +substitutes <i>ic</i>. The signification then alters, and indicates an +habitual action or quality. As <i>ic</i> is the sign of the gerund, this +change appears to be the transformation of the verb into a verbal, and +to effect this, it must be united to that pronoun which serves as the +substantive verb; <i>ten yacunic</i>, I love, properly, I am loving +(habitually).</p> + +<p>What <i>cah</i> and <i>ah</i> mean by themselves, we are not informed. Where +<i>cah</i> is attached to the stem of some verbs it signifies intensity. +<i>Ah</i> is as a prefix the sign of the male sex, of the inhabitant of a +place, and of names derived from active verbs. Hence it seems to have +meant at first person, man, and later to have become a pronoun, and +finally an affix. It is noteworthy that the same difference exists +between <i>ah</i> and <i>cah</i>, as between <i>en</i> and <i>ten</i>. The <i>c</i> may +therefore be a radical sound. In the conjugation, <i>cah</i> is treated +wholly as a verb. For in this the possessive pronoun is always +prefixed; and as in the present and imperfect it is placed after the +stem of the verb and before <i>cah</i>, it is evident from the difference +between the two forms <i>canan-in-cah</i> and <i>in-canan-t-ah</i>, that in the +former <i>cah</i>, and in the latter <i>canan</i>, are regarded as the verbs. +<i>Canan-in-cah</i> is precisely as the English “I do guard.”</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[39]</a></span><i>Cah</i> is consequently a true auxiliary verb; <i>ten</i>, when it appears in +conjunction with <i>en</i> must have the notion of Being understood: <i>ah</i> +appears to be of similar nature, but as it appears only in the +conjugation of transitive verbs, it is a verbal sign, and thus +receives its verbal power. That <i>cah</i> and <i>ah</i> do really possess this +<a name="corr8" id="corr8"></a><ins class="correction" title="power">powever</ins> is evident from the fact that they are never used +whenever either of the pronouns which are always associated with the +notion of Being is present.</p> + +<p>Except in the future of transitive verbs, there is no instance in the +conjugation where the stem of the verb is not accompanied by one of +these four syllables, all of which indicate Being, and all of which +have the force of auxiliary verbs.</p> + +<p>The future of transitive verbs not only does not take any of these +syllables, but even rejects <i>ah</i> when it is the terminal syllable of +the stem. In this case no other termination replaces it. On the +contrary, all other verbs receive a new suffix in their future, +varying as they are of one or many syllables. The nature of these +suffixes has not been explained.</p> + +<p>The definite results of this analysis are as follows:</p> + +<p>1. The Maya language possesses in its conjugation, besides the +inflection syllables of the persons and tenses, another element, +which, except in the simple future of transitive verbs, distinctly +carries with it the notion of Being; in the future of most verbs there +is such an element, but of unknown origin, and it only fails in the +future of one class of verbs.</p> + +<p>2. This language displays an effort to express, besides the other +purposes of the verb, particularly its synthetic power, which is all +the more apparent as it uses different means in different cases, but +all designed to accomplish the same purpose.</p> + +<p>The Yaruri language constructs the whole of its conjugation in a yet +simpler manner by means of an auxiliary verb.</p> + +<p>The union of the pronoun and the tense sign which, as we have already +seen, forms the substantive verb, affixed to the stem, completes the +inflections of the one and only conjugation of attributive verbs, +except that the independent pronouns are prefixed. Neither the stem +nor the auxiliary words suffer any changes, except the insertion of an +<i>n</i> in one person. The union remains, however, a loose one, and when +person and tense are manifest by the connection, the auxiliary verb is +omitted. This happens in certain verbs ending in <i>pa</i>. These, contrary +to the usual rule, change in the perfect this termination to <i>pea</i>, by +which the tense is made apparent, and as the person is evident from +the prefixed personal pronoun, the auxiliary can be dropped without +danger of obscurity.</p> + +<p>The formation of certain tenses by means of auxiliaries is also +frequent in American languages.</p> + +<p>An optative of this nature in the Lule language has already been +mentioned.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[40]</a></span>In the Mixteca tongue the imperfect is thus formed from the present, +which carries with it the personal sign, and the perfect without its +personal sign, a proceeding which, however rude and awkward it may be, +shows a just appreciation of the peculiarity of this past tense, which +expresses an action as going on, and therefore present in past time. +The expression of continuous action is placed first, “I sin,” then +this is more precisely defined by the mark of past time, “this was +so;” <i>Yo-dzatevain-di-ni-cuvui</i>. <i>Yo</i> is the sign of the present, <i>ni</i> +of the preterit, <i>di</i> is the pronoun; the other two words, <i>to sin</i> +and <i>to be</i>: “I was sinning.”</p> + +<p>The sign of the present, <i>yo</i>, is probably an abbreviation of the verb +<i>yodzo</i>, I stand upon or over something, and so there is a second +auxiliary in the sentence. This may often be a means of discovering +the origin of tense signs, as, especially in American tongues, tenses +are often formed by the union of verbs, as also occurs in Sanscrit and +Greek.</p> + +<p>The Othomi distinguishes certain past tenses, which, however, are +separated by other characteristics, by a prefixed <i>xa</i>, which is +called the third person singular of a substantive verb. As these +tenses are precisely those in which the action must be completed, the +perfect, pluperfect and future perfect, not, however, the imperfect +and past aorist, such a connection is very suitable. Of this verb we +have only <i>xa</i>, and there is another substantive verb <i>gui</i>, which +itself takes <i>oca</i> in its conjugation.</p> + +<p>The Totonaca language unites the perfect, in the person spoken of, +with the third person singular of the future of the substantive verb, +to form a future perfect. This is no completed form, but only an +awkward sequence of two verbs; <i>yc-paxquilh-na-huan</i>, literally, “I +have loved, it will be,”=“I shall have loved.”</p> + +<p>In similar manner the substantive verb is used to form a tense of the +subjunctive.</p> + +<p><a name="past" id="past"></a>The sign of both the perfects in this tongue is the syllable <i>nit</i>, +and <i>niy</i> means “to die.” It is not improbable that this affix is +derived from this verb. Death and destruction are suitable ideas to +express the past, and some languages employ negative particles as +signs of the preterit. In the Tamanaca this is not exactly the case, +but the negative particle <i>puni</i> added to a word which signifies an +animate thing, intimates that it has died; <i>papa puni</i>, the deceased +father, literally, “father not.” In the Omagua tongue the same word +signifies old, dead, and not present.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[41]</a></span></p><p>In the Maipure and Carib tongues the negative particles <i>ma</i> and <i>spa</i> +are also the signs of the preterit. Bopp’s suggestion that the Sanscrit +augment was originally <i>a</i> privative finds support in this analogy. Yet +I would not speak conclusively on this point, as probably that, the +Greek augment ε, and the Mexican <i>o</i>, are only lengthened sounds, +intended to represent concretely the length of the past time. At any +rate one must regard the negation as an actual destruction, a “been, and +no longer being,” not as simply a negation of the present.</p> + + +<h3 class="sectionhead"><a name="sectIII" id="sectIII"></a>III.<br /> + +<span class="smcap">The notion of Being is present in the Verbal form only in idea.</span></h3> + +<p>In this case the verb consists only of the stem, and the person, +tense, and mode signs. The former are originally pronouns, the latter +particles. Before they are worn down by use to mere affixes, the three +following cases may arise:</p> + +<p>1. That all three of these elements are equally separable and loosely +connected.</p> + +<p>2. That one of the two, the person or the tense and mode signs, +obtains a closer connection with the stem, and becomes formal, while +the other remains loosely attached.</p> + +<p>3. That both these are incorporated with the stem, and the whole +approaches a true grammatical form, although it does not fully +represent it.</p> + +<h4 class="sectionhead"><a name="sectIII-1" id="sectIII-1"></a><i>Case 1st.</i></h4> + +<p>The only language I can instance here is that of the Omaguas, as I +know no other with such a decided absence of all true grammatical +forms in the verb. The independent pronouns, the stem words of the +verbs, and the particles of tense and mode are merely placed together +without any change, without internal connection, and apparently +without fixed order; <i>usu</i>, to go; 1st pers. sing. pres. <i>ta usu</i>; 2d +pers. sing. perf. <i>avi ene usu</i> (<i>ene</i> is the pronoun, <i>avi</i> the sign +of the perfect). Subjunctive, 1st pers. sing. pres. <i>ta usu mia</i>; 2d +pers. sing. perf. <i>avi epe usu mia</i>.</p> + +<p>Sometimes, when a misunderstanding is not feared, the verbal stem is +employed without these qualifying particles, and cannot then be +distinguished from a noun. <i>Paolo amai amano</i>. The last word means “to +die,” but grammatically the sentence can as well be rendered, “Paul +only die” (<i>i. e.</i> has died), as “Paul only dead.”</p> + +<p>It is true that the suffix <i>ta</i> changes nouns to verbs: <i>zhiru</i>, +clothes, <i>zhiru-ta</i>, to clothe; but it also changes verbs to nouns, +<i>yasai</i>, to cover, <i>yasai-ta</i>, a cover. This may be explained by the +theory that this suffix conveys the idea <i>to make</i>, which is taken +sometimes actively, sometimes passively.</p> + +<p>According to the above, the Omagua conjugation falls in the class +where an attributive is united to a pronoun and the verb is omitted; +only that here definite tense syllables appear, and this brings the +construction nearer to the idea of a conjugation.</p> + +<h4 class="sectionhead"><a name="sectIII-2" id="sectIII-2"></a><i>Case 2d.</i></h4> + +<p>1. The Maipure, Abipone, Mbaya and Mocobi languages place only the +personal sign in intimate connection with the verb, and allow the +tense and mode signs to be loosely attached. They have therefore but +one type of personal forms to be applied in every tense and mode by<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[42]</a></span> +means of the particles or the affixes formed from them. This type, +taken alone, usually forms the present; but, accurately speaking, this +name cannot be assigned it; because the signs of the other tenses are +also dropped when this can be done without obscurity. +<i>Ya-chaguani-me-yaladi.</i> Here the first word is in the indefinite +form, though it is not the present but the perfect. The <i>me</i> is really +the preposition “in;” but usage has adopted it for the subjunctive +sign, and so the Spanish grammarians call it; or rather, the verb is +considered to be introduced by a conjunction, “if,” “as,” so that it +is usually not in the present but a past tense. If this is the case +with the last verb, the first one must have the same tense, and so the +whole phrase, without any tense sign, means, “I had helped him when I +said it.”</p> + +<p>One would scarcely expect to find anything like this in cultivated +languages. Yet it does occur in both Sanscrit and Greek. The now +meaningless particle <i>sma</i> in Sanscrit when it follows the present +changes it into a past, and in Greek αν alters the indicative into a +subjunctive.</p> + +<p>To form this general type, the Maipure makes use of the unchanged +possessive pronoun, and treats nouns and verbs in the same manner. The +noun must always be united to a possessive pronoun, a trait common to +all the Orinoco tongues and many other American languages. In the 3d +person sing., however, neither the verb nor the noun has such a +pronoun, but it is to be understood; <i>nuani</i>, my son; <i>ani</i>, alone, +not son, but “his son.” The 3d pers. sing. of the verb is often the +mere stem, without a personal sign, but that this peculiarity should +also extend to the noun I have met only in this tongue. It is evident +that a pronoun is considered as essential to a noun as to a verb, and +although a similar usage is found in many tongues, yet it appears in +none so binding. There are, indeed, some nouns which are free from the +necessity of thinking them in connection with a person, but these have +the suffix <i>ti</i>, which is dropped when the possessive pronoun is +added; <i>java ti</i>, a hatchet, <i>nu java</i>, my hatchet. From this it is +evident that <i>ti</i> does not belong to the stem, and is incompatible +with the use of a possessive, hence it is the sign of the substantive, +in its independent condition. The same occurs in Mexican, and the +chief termination of substantives, <i>tli</i>, is almost identical in sound +with that in the Maipure.</p> + +<p>In this respect the verbal, conjugated with the personal signs, +differs nothing from the noun united to its possessive pronouns. +Grammatically, the form first becomes a verbal one by the added +particles of tense and mode. The signification of these can generally +be clearly ascertained, and thus are united closely to the stem.</p> + +<p>The particles which the language of the Abipones uses to form the +general verbal type are quite different from the possessives. The +tense and mode particles have elsewhere in the tongue independent +meanings. Thus <i>kan</i>, the sign of the perfect, means a thing which has +been, time that has past.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[43]</a></span>In the language of the Mocobis the personal signs consist merely in +letters, prefixed and suffixed, and have no apparent relationship to +the pronouns. By affixing these letters, phonetic changes take place +so that the stem is combined with them into one form.</p> + +<p>Among the tense signs, a prefixed <i>l</i> indicates a past time, a +suffixed <i>o</i>, the future; but the others are independent particles, +loosely attached to the stem.</p> + +<p>I have already shown how the Mbaya language conjugates adjectives with +the independent pronoun, and participles with the possessive pronoun. +The signs used in the conjugation proper of the attributive verb, do +not appear elsewhere in the tongue, and must have descended from an +older period of its existence.</p> + +<p>In the tense and mode signs it is easily perceived how descriptive +phrases pass into true forms. For the imperfect and pluperfect the +speaker can choose among a number of particles, all of which indicate +past time. The modes have definite signs, but these are merely +appended, and some have separate significations. The future and +perfect have not merely fixed particles, but these are worn down to +one letter, so that the stem is actually incorporated with them.</p> + +<p>2. In the languages heretofore considered the personal signs added to +the word make up the conjugation, and the other signs are attached +loosely and externally. The reverse of this, though not perfectly so, +appears in the Lule language. The tense and mode signs, often of but +one letter, are immediately and firmly attached to the stem, and the +pronouns are affixed to this to complete the conjugation. These +pronouns are, however, the ordinary possessives, so that noun and verb +become in a measure identical; thus, <i>camc</i> means both “I eat” and “my +food;” <i>cumuee</i>, “I marry” and “my wife;” only in a few examples are +the verbal pronouns distinct from the possessives.</p> + +<p>In this case, therefore, the personal signs are independent elements, +occurring elsewhere in the language, while the tense and mode signs +are true affixes.</p> + +<p>The inflection-syllables form with the stem real verbal forms, and so +far the conjugation of this language belongs to the third case. But +each of the elements has its fixed position, and as soon as one has +the key to the combination, he can recognize and separate them at +once.</p> + +<p>Reasons which it would require too much space to set forth render it +probable that all the tense signs are really auxiliary verbs or come +from them. This is evident of the optative, as has already been shown. +The present only is simple, as it has no tense sign.</p> + +<p>Slight differences are found between the personal signs of some +tenses, so that these tenses can be distinguished by them, a trait +usually seen only in tongues so far cultivated that the grammatical +forms have undergone such changes as no longer to present simple and +uniform combinations. Equally curious is the regular omission of the +tense sign of past time in the third person plural only. Although, +except in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[44]</a></span> this case and that of the present, each tense has its +definite sign, inserted between the stem and the personal sign, yet +there are, besides these, various particles expressing past time, +which can accompany the usual tense form, so that there is a double +sign of time, one in the word itself and one loosely attached to it.</p> + +<p>The languages of the Mbayas, Abipones, Mocobis and Lules are closely +allied both in words and in some grammatical forms. It is all the more +extraordinary, therefore, to find the last-mentioned pursuing a method +in the structure of its verb which is almost totally opposed to that +in the other three tongues.</p> + +<h4 class="sectionhead"><a name="sectIII-3" id="sectIII-3"></a><i>Case 3d.</i></h4> + +<p>The languages of this class approach in their conjugations those of +the more cultivated tongues, in which each verbal inflection has a +fixed and independent form. Both the person, the tense and the mode +signs are united to the stem, in such a manner that none of the three +can be said to be either less or more loosely attached than the +others.</p> + +<p>All the conjugations about to be discussed lack, however, that fixity +of form which grammatically satisfies the mind.</p> + +<p>The elements are placed definitely and regularly one by the other, but +are not incorporated into each other, and are therefore readily +recognizable.</p> + +<p>They are found, moreover, outside of the verb elsewhere in the +language either without any change or with slight differences of +sound; the personal signs as pronouns, the other affixes as particles.</p> + +<p>The composition of the verb is separable, and may receive into itself +other parts of speech.</p> + +<p>No American language is free from these drawbacks to perfection of +form in the conjugations. In some all three are found; in most the +first and last. In really grammatically developed tongues, as in the +Sanscrit, Greek, Latin and German, none of these imperfections exists. +The verb includes in itself no part of its object, the affixes +modifying the stem have lost all independent life, and the analysis of +the formal elements becomes a difficult philological task, which often +fails and only rarely can be fully proved.</p> + +<p>I shall discriminate in regard to the conjugations about to be +considered that which is an approach toward a fixed form from the +intentional separation of the form to insert a governed word.</p> + +<h4 class="sectionhead"><a name="sectIII-1-2" id="sectIII-1-2"></a><i>1. Approach toward a Fixed Form.</i></h4> + +<p>In the Mixteca language, the personal sign is the unchanged possessive +pronoun. If the verb is governed by a noun in the third person, the +possessive is dropped. It is left to the speaker to choose whether he +designates the person, either by prefixing the personal pronoun or +suffixing the possessive. The tense signs are prefixed syllables, but +the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[45]</a></span> perfect and future signs are altogether different from those of +the present, and materially alter the verbal stem.</p> + +<p>The Beto language prefixes the personal signs and also the possessive +pronouns to the nouns. As the latter are not fully known, we cannot +judge of their identity with the verbal pronouns. The latter do not +seem to differ much from the personal pronouns. The tense signs are +easily recognized suffixes.</p> + +<p>Another conjugation of the same language, by the suffixed pronoun +without tense signs, and with the verb omitted, has been mentioned +above (I, 1), as forming a substantive verb.</p> + +<p>A second substantive verb arises from the conjugation above explained, +with the tense signs.</p> + +<p>These two forms may also be combined, and this illustrates with what +superfluous fullness grammatical forms spring up even among rude +nations. The conjugation with the tense sign is changed by a +participial suffix into a verbal, and then the pronoun is suffixed, as +in the conjugation without the tense sign. The latter, therefore, +stands twice in the form. The pronoun used in the conjugation with +tense signs may also be prefixed to a simple adjective, and the +pronoun used in the conjugation without tense sign is suffixed to +this, and the participial ending is then added. This is treated as a +verb with the substantive verb understood. But sometimes the verb “to +be” in the form without tense signs is added, and then the whole form +contains the pronoun three times, without gaining thereby any +additional meaning.</p> + +<p>The Carib conjugation seems to have arisen from the forms of many +dialects or epochs, and is therefore more complicated and formal, and +less easy to analyze.</p> + +<p>The personal signs are prefixed. In the substantive verb there are two +classes, of which only one is also common to attributive verbs. The +other indicates in the verb “to be” also the connection of persons +with the infinitive and gerund, and is therefore of the nature of a +possessive. It may also be that when it is combined with other tenses, +the notion among these nations is altogether a substantial one, as we +have already seen with the subjunctive.</p> + +<p>The stem often receives the addition <i>r</i> or <i>ri</i>, the meaning of which +is not known.</p> + +<p>The structure of the Tamanaca conjugation also reveals a combination +of at least two separate structures. Some tenses use as their personal +signs entire pronouns, almost identical with the personals. Other +tenses merely change the initial letter of the verb, while there is +little similarity between these affixes and the pronouns. In the +plural some of the persons insert a syllable between the verb and the +tense sign.</p> + +<p>The tense signs are suffixed, and consist merely of terminal letters +or syllables, except two true particles, which distinguish the +continued present from the present aorist.</p> + +<p>There are an initial <i>y</i> and a <i>t</i> occasionally appearing in all +persons, of which we can only say that they are not radicals.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[46]</a></span>The conjugation of this language, therefore, consists of elements not +readily analyzed.</p> + +<p>The Huasteca language prefixes the possessive pronouns as personal +signs. It may also drop them, and use in their stead the independent +pronouns; or may combine both; or may use abbreviated personals; so +that there is a prevailing arbitrariness in this part of the verbal +form.</p> + +<p>The tense signs are usually suffixes; but in the future they are +prefixes, which are incorporated with the personal sign placed between +them and the stem. They consist of simple sounds, of no independent +signification. But the particles of the imperative are so separable +that when this mode is preceded by an adverb, they attach themselves +to it.</p> + +<p>The Othomi language does not make use of the possessive pronouns in +the conjugation, but suffixes abbreviated forms of the personals, or +else prefixes others of special form, but identical in many letters +and syllables with the personals. In the present condition of the +language the suffixes are used only with the substantive verb; in the +attributive verb, however, they may have been driven forward by the +governed pronouns suffixed. Every verbal inflection may also take, +besides its pronominal prefix, also the <a name="corr9" id="corr9"></a><ins class="correction" title="unabbreviated">unabreviated</ins> personal +pronoun in front, or the abbreviated one after it.</p> + +<p>The tense signs consist principally of single vowels, by means of +which the pronominal prefixes are attached to the stem. The imperfect +and pluperfect alone have besides this a loosely attached particle. +The past tenses possess a prefix, which we have already seen appears +to have been derived from an auxiliary verb.</p> + +<p>In the third person of some tenses in certain verbs the stem undergoes +a change of its initial letters, which appears to transform these +inflections into verbal adjectives, an instance of the confusion of +the ideas of noun and verb common in all these languages.</p> + +<p>The Mexican language possesses a peculiar class of verbal pronouns +which form the personal signs. This pronoun is similar to the personal +in its consonants, but has a vowel of its own. It is a prefix. The +plural is marked by the accent, or by a special termination. This +personal sign is inseparable from the verb, but the speaker may also +prefix the independent personal pronoun.</p> + +<p>The tense signs are all without signification, being single letters or +syllables. The perfect is marked not so much by an affix, as by +changing, the termination of the verb in various ways, but chiefly by +shortening and strengthening the sound. All tense designations are +placed at the end of the word, except the augment for past time. If by +augment we mean a vowel sound prefixed to the verb in certain tenses +in addition to their usual signs, then the Mexican is the only +American language which possesses one.</p> + +<p>The modes are designated by loosely attached particles, also by a +different structure of the tenses, and in the second person a peculiar +pronoun.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[47]</a></span>Thus the Mexican conjugation consists of true verbal forms, not of +separate parts of speech of independent significance; but the elements +of these forms are easily recognizable, and can be reached without +difficulty.</p> + +<p>The most difficult to analyze, and hence the most nearly approaching +our conjugations, is that of the Totonaca language.</p> + +<p>The personal signs differ from the pronouns. That of the 2d pers. +sing. is not easily recognized, and several forms of it must be +assumed. Its position as a prefix or suffix differs, and it is +variously located with reference to the other verbal signs. Still more +difficult is it to distinguish the tense signs. There are three +different systems of prefixes and suffixes in the conjugation, and the +plan on which these are combined with each other serves to distinguish +the tense. But only a few of these affixes really appear to designate +tense; of the others this may be suspected at best, and of others +again it is improbable.</p> + +<p>Thus there are verbal affixes which cannot be considered to designate +either persons, modes or tenses.</p> + +<p>The stem undergoes little change, but the attaching of the affixes to +it renders it impossible to apply the same scheme to all verbs, and +hence leads to a division of them into three conjugations.</p> + +<p>Some tenses have two different forms, without any change in +signification.</p> + +<h4 class="sectionhead"><a name="sectIII-2-2" id="sectIII-2-2"></a><i>2. Divisibility of Verbal Forms to allow the insertion of governed +parts of speech.</i></h4> + +<p>Of the Mixteca tongue it cannot exactly be said that it divides the +essential parts of the verbal form to allow the insertion of the +governed object. As a rule, the object is merely appended, and where +it appears in the form itself, it is inserted between the stem and the +suffixed pronoun. The latter is, however, no necessary part of the +form, as it is dropped when the verb is governed by a noun, and can +always be replaced by prefixing the indefinite pronoun.</p> + +<p>Nor is it mentioned that the Beto language includes the object in the +verb.</p> + +<p>The Carib tongue unites the governed pronoun with the verbal form, and +in some cases the personal sign is thus displaced. But here the object +is not inserted in the middle, but is prefixed or suffixed.</p> + +<p>Our information about the Tamanaca language discloses nothing on this +point.</p> + +<p>In the Huasteca, the governed pronoun separates sometimes the last, +sometimes the first syllable of the inflectional form from the stem.</p> + +<p>The Othomi merely attaches the governed words closely to the verbal +form, in this resembling the Mixteca.</p> + +<p>The Mexican language is that which has developed this peculiarity to +the greatest degree. The governed noun is placed in the middle of the +verb; or, if this is not done, a pronoun representing it is inserted.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[48]</a></span> +If there are two objects, an accusative and a dative, then two +corresponding pronouns are inserted; and if no object is named, but +the verb is of that class which is followed by an immediate or remote +object, or both, then two indefinite pronouns appear in the verb. The +Mexican verb therefore, expresses either a complete sentence, or else +a complete scheme of one, which merely requires to be filled out. It +says, in one word, “I give something to somebody,” <i>nititlamaca</i>, and +then defines what it is and to whom.</p> + +<p>It follows necessarily that a part of the verbal form is fluctuating +according to the sense and connection of the sentence, and that the +governing pronoun stands sometimes immediately before the verb, and +sometimes is separated from it by indefinite pronouns or even nouns.</p> + +<p>In the Totonaca language, the prefixes and suffixes make room for the +governed words between themselves and the stem.</p> + +<p>This examination of the languages whose conjugations approach a fixed +form, shows clearly that this fixedness is seriously shaken precisely +where it is most important, through this insertion of the governed +words.</p> + +<hr class="decshort" /> + +<p><a name="sectIII-conclusions" id="sectIII-conclusions"></a>Now if we reflect on the structure of the various verbal forms here +analyzed, certain general conclusions are reached, which are +calculated to throw light upon the whole organism of these languages.</p> + +<p>The leading and governing part of speech in them is the Pronoun; every +subject of discourse is connected with the idea of Personality.</p> + +<p>Noun and Verb are not separated; they first become so through the +pronouns attached to them.</p> + +<p>The employment of the Pronoun is two-fold, one applying to the Noun, +the second to the Verb. Both, however, convey the idea of belonging to +a person; in the noun appearing as Possession, in the verb as Energy. +But it is on this point, on whether these ideas are confused and +obscure, or whether they are defined and clear, that the grammatical +perfection of a language depends. The just discrimination of the kinds +of pronouns is therefore conclusive, and in this respect we must yield +the decided pre-eminence to the Mexican.</p> + +<p>It follows that the speaker must constantly make up his verbs, instead +of using those already on hand; and also that the structure of the +verb must be identical throughout the language, that there must be +only one conjugation, and that the verbs, except a few irregular ones, +can possess no peculiarities.</p> + +<p>This is different in the Greek, Latin and ancient Indian. In those +tongues many verbs must be studied separately, as they have numerous +exceptions, phonetic changes, deficiencies, etc., and in other +respects carry with them a marked individuality.</p> + +<p>The difference between these cultivated and those rude languages is +chiefly merely one of time, and of the more or less fortunate mixture<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[49]</a></span> +of dialects; though it certainly also depends in a measure on the +original mental powers of the nations.</p> + +<p>Those whose languages we have here analyzed are, in speaking, +constantly putting together elementary parts; they connect nothing +firmly, because they follow the changing requirements of the moment, +joining together only what these requirements demand, and often leave +connected through habit, that which clear thinking would necessarily +divide.</p> + +<p>Hence no just division of words can arise, such as is demanded by +accurate and appropriate thought, which requires that each word must +have a fixed and certain content and a defined grammatical form, and +as is also demanded by the highest phonetic laws.</p> + +<p>Nations richly endowed in mind and sense will have an instinct for +such correct divisions; the incessant moving to and fro of elementary +parts of speech will be distasteful to them; they will seek true +individuality in the words they use; therefore they will connect them +firmly, they will not accumulate too much in one, and they will only +leave that connected which is so in thought, and not merely in usage +or habit.</p> + +<hr class="declong" /> + +<h3 class="sectionhead"><a name="Notes" id="Notes"></a><i>Notes (by the translator) on the various American Tribes and +Languages mentioned by Humboldt in the preceding Memoir.</i></h3> + +<p><i>Abipones.</i>—A tribe formerly residing on the broad grassy plains +known as <i>El Gran Chaco</i>, west of the Parana river and on the right +bank of the Rio Vermejo. They are a nomadic, hunting people, and are +related by language closely to the Mocobis and Tobas, more remotely to +the Mbayas. The Jesuit, Father Jose Brigniel, wrote an <i>Arte y +Vocabulario de la Lengua Abipona</i>, which has not been published.</p> + +<p><i>Achaguas.</i>—A small tribe formerly living in Venezuela, between the +Apure and Meta rivers. They are mentioned by Piedrahita as an +intelligent people. Aristides Rojas says they are now extinct +(<i>Estudios Indigenas</i>, p. 214. Caracas, 1878).</p> + +<p><i>Beto.</i>—Usually spelled <i>Betoi or Betoya</i>. They live on the upper +waters of the Meta river in Colombia and are related to the Yaruris.</p> + +<p><i>Caribs.</i>—This widely extended stock occupied much of the northern +coast of South America and had planted colonies on many of the +Antilles. It is believed that they are distantly connected with the +Tupis and Guaranis.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[50]</a></span><i>Guaranis.</i>—The name of a number of affiliated tribes in Southern +Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and the Argentine Republic. The Tupis of +Brazil are a branch of the Guaranis.</p> + +<p><i>Huastecas.</i>—A northern colony of the great Maya stock of Yucatan, +dwelling in the province of Tampico on the river Panuco. At the time +of the discovery they were an important and cultured nation.</p> + +<p><i>Lule.</i>—One of the nations of <i>El Gran Chaco</i>, west of the Parana +river. The <i>Arte y Vocabulario de la Lengua Lule y Tonocote</i>, by +Father Antonio Machoni de Cerdeña (Madrid, 1732), was republished with +a careful ethnographic introduction by J. M. Larsen, at Buenos Ayres, +1877.</p> + +<p><i>Maipures.</i>—Tribes of various dialects who live on both sides of the +Orinoco river where it forms the boundary between Venezuela and New +Granada, about 5° N. lat.</p> + +<p><i>Mayas.</i>—Natives of Yucatan, and the most highly developed of any of +the American nations. Related dialects are spoken in Guatemala, in +Tabasco, and by the Huastecas.</p> + +<p><i>Mbayas.</i>—A people of the <i>Gran Chaco</i> in the northern part of the +Argentine Republic, and distantly related to the Abipones.</p> + +<p><i>Mexican.</i>—Otherwise called the Nahuatl or Aztec language. Spoken in +the greatest purity in the valley of Mexico, it extended from the Gulf +of Mexico to the Pacific, and along the latter from Sonora to +Guatemala, with few interruptions.</p> + +<p><i>Mixtecas.</i>—A tribe speaking several dialects living in the State of +Oaxaca, Mexico.</p> + +<p><i>Mocobis.</i>—One of the four principal nations who formerly occupied +<i>El Gran Chaco</i>, west of the Parana river. By some the name is spelled +<i>Mbocoby</i>.</p> + +<p><i>Omaguas.</i>—Once a nation of considerable extent and culture between +the Marañon and the Orinoco.</p> + +<p><i>Othomis.</i>—A tribe resident near San Louis Potosi, Mexico, and +neighboring parts. Their proper name is said to be <i>Hiā-hiū</i>. +Their language is monosyllabic and nasal.</p> + +<p><i>Tamanacas.</i>—These dwell on the right bank of the Upper Orinoco, and +are connected by dialect with the Carib stock on the one hand and the +Guaranay on the other.</p> + +<p><i>Totonacas.</i>—A nation asserted by Pimentel to speak a mixed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[51]</a></span> language +(Nahuatl and Maya) dwelling in the southern portion of the Province of +Vera Cruz, Mexico, and parts adjacent.</p> + +<p><i>Tupis.</i>—The natives of the eastern area of Brazil, related to the +Guaranis of the south and perhaps to the Caribs of the north. The +<i>Lingoa Geral</i> of Brazil is a corrupt Tupi.</p> + +<p><i>Yaruris.</i>—Residents on the upper streams of the Meta river in New +Granada, related to the Betoi.</p> + + +<div class="footnotes"> +<p><a name="Footnote_3-1_1" id="Footnote_3-1_1" href="#FNanchor_3-1_1"><span class="label">3-*</span></a> <i>Die Elemente der Philosophischen Sprachwissenschaft +Wilhelm von Humboldt’s. In systematischer Entwicklung dargestellt und +kritisch erläutert</i>, von Dr. Max Schasler, Berlin, 1847.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_3-2_2" id="Footnote_3-2_2" href="#FNanchor_3-2_2"><span class="label">3-†</span></a> <i>Die Sprachwissenschaft Wilhelm von Humboldt’s und die +Hegel’sche Philosophie</i>, von H. Steinthal, Dr., Berlin, 1848. The same +eminent linguist treats especially of Humboldt’s teachings in +<i>Grammatik, Logik und Psychologie, ihre Principien und ihr Verhältniss +zu einander</i>, pp. 123-135 (Berlin, 1855); in his well-known volume +<i><a name="corr10" id="corr10"></a><ins class="correction" title="Charakteristik">Characteristik</ins> der Hauptsächlichsten Typen des Sprachbaues</i>, +pp. 20-70 (Berlin, 1860); in his recent oration <i>Ueber Wilhelm von +Humboldt</i> (Berlin, 1883); and elsewhere.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_3-3_3" id="Footnote_3-3_3" href="#FNanchor_3-3_3"><span class="label">3-‡</span></a> <i>Wilhelm von Humboldt’s Linguistical Studies.</i> By C. +J. Adler, A.M. (New York, 1866). This is the only attempt, so far as I +know, to present Humboldt’s philosophy of language to English readers. +It is meritorious, but certainly in some passages Prof. Adler failed +to catch Humboldt’s meaning.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_4-1_4" id="Footnote_4-1_4" href="#FNanchor_4-1_4"><span class="label">4-*</span></a> <i>Ueber die Verschiedenheit des menschlichen Sprachbaues +und ihren Einfluss auf die geistige Entwickelung des +Menschengeschlechts.</i> Prof. Adler translates this “The Structural +Differences of Human Speech and their Influence on the Intellectual +Development of the Human Race.” The word <i>geistige</i>, however, includes +emotional as well as intellectual things.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_4-2_5" id="Footnote_4-2_5" href="#FNanchor_4-2_5"><span class="label">4-†</span></a> <i>Ueber die Verschiedenheit</i>, etc., Bd. vi, s. 271, +note. I may say, once for all, that my references, unless otherwise +stated, are to the edition of Humboldt’s <i>Gesammelte Werke</i>, edited by +his brother, Berlin, 1841-1852.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_5-1_6" id="Footnote_5-1_6" href="#FNanchor_5-1_6"><span class="label">5-*</span></a> <i>Aus Wilhelm von Humboldt’s letzien Lebensjahren. Eine +Mütheilung bisher unbekannter Briefe.</i> Von Theodor Distel, p. 19 +(Leipzig, 1883).</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_6-1_7" id="Footnote_6-1_7" href="#FNanchor_6-1_7"><span class="label">6-*</span></a> From his memoir <i>Ueber das vergleichende +<a name="corr11" id="corr11"></a><ins class="correction" title="Sprachtstudium">Sprachtstudium</ins> in Beziehung auf die verschiedenen Epochen der +Sprachentwicklung</i>, Bd. iii, s. 249.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_6-2_8" id="Footnote_6-2_8" href="#FNanchor_6-2_8"><span class="label">6-†</span></a> He draws examples from the Carib, Lule, Tupi, Mbaya, +Huasteca, Nahuatl, Tamanaca, Abipone, and Mixteca; <i>Ueber das +Entstehen der grammatischen Formen, und ihren Einfluss auf die +Ideenentwicklung</i>, Bd. iii, ss. 269-306.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_6-3_9" id="Footnote_6-3_9" href="#FNanchor_6-3_9"><span class="label">6-‡</span></a> <i>Ueber die Buchstabenschrift und ihren +<a name="corr12" id="corr12"></a><ins class="correction" title="Zusammenhang">Zusummenhang</ins> mit dem Sprachbau</i>, Bd. vi, s. 526</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_6-4_10" id="Footnote_6-4_10" href="#FNanchor_6-4_10"><span class="label">6-‖</span></a> This letter is printed in the memoir of Prof. E. Teza, +<i>Intorno agli Studi del Thavenet sulla Lingua Algonchina</i>, in the +<i>Annali delle Università toscane</i>, Tomo xviii (Pisa, 1880).</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_6-5_11" id="Footnote_6-5_11" href="#FNanchor_6-5_11"><span class="label">6-§</span></a> Compare Prof. Adler’s Essay, above mentioned, p. 11.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_7-1_12" id="Footnote_7-1_12" href="#FNanchor_7-1_12"><span class="label">7-*</span></a> This is found expressed nowhere else so clearly as at +the beginning of § 13, where the author writes: “Der Zweck dieser +Einleitung, die Sprachen, in der Verschiedenartigkeit ihres Baues, als +die nothwendige Grundlage der Fortbildung des menschlichen Geistes +darzustellen, und den wechsel seitigen Einfluss des Einen auf das +Andre zu erörtern, hat mich genöthigt, in die Natur der Sprache +überhaupt einzugehen.” Bd. vi, s. 106.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_7-2_13" id="Footnote_7-2_13" href="#FNanchor_7-2_13"><span class="label">7-†</span></a> “Der Idee der Sprachvollendung Dasein in der +Wirklichkeit zu gewinnen.” <i>Ueber die Verschiedenheit</i>, ss. 10 and 11. +The objection which may be urged that a true philosophy of language +must deal in universals and not confine itself to mere +differentiations (particulars) is neatly met by Dr. Schasler, <i>Die +Elemente der Philosophischen Sprachwissenschaft</i>, etc., p. 21, note.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_8-1_14" id="Footnote_8-1_14" href="#FNanchor_8-1_14"><span class="label">8-*</span></a> In his remarkable essay “On the Mission of the +Historian,” which Prof. Adler justly describes as “scarcely anything +more than a preliminary to his linguistical researches,” Humboldt +writes: “Die Philosophie schreibt den Begebenheiten ein Ziel vor: dies +Suchen nach Endursachen, man mag sie auch aus dem Wesen des Menschen +und der Natur selbst ableiten wollen, stört und verfalscht alle freie +Ansicht des eigenthümlichen Wirkens der Kräfte.” <i>Ueber die Aufgabe +des Geschichtschreibers</i>, Bd. i, s. 13.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_8-2_15" id="Footnote_8-2_15" href="#FNanchor_8-2_15"><span class="label">8-†</span></a> “Das Studium der verschiedenen Sprachen des Erdbodens +verfehlt seine Bestimmung, wenn es nicht immer den Gang der geistigen +Bildung im Auge behält, und darin seinen eigentlichen Zweck sucht.” +<i>Ueber den Zusammenhang der Schrift mit der Sprache</i>, Bd. vi, s. 428.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_8-3_16" id="Footnote_8-3_16" href="#FNanchor_8-3_16"><span class="label">8-‡</span></a> “Eine Gedankenwelt an Töne geheftet.” <i>Ueber die +Buchstabenschrift und ihre Zusammenhang mit dem Sprachbau</i>, Bd. vi, s. +530.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_8-4_17" id="Footnote_8-4_17" href="#FNanchor_8-4_17"><span class="label">8-‖</span></a> This cardinal point in Humboldt’s philosophy is very +clearly set forth in his essay, “<i>Ueber die Aufgabe des +Geschichtschreibers</i>,” Bd. i, s. 23, and elsewhere.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_8-5_18" id="Footnote_8-5_18" href="#FNanchor_8-5_18"><span class="label">8-§</span></a> See <i>Ueber die Buchstabenschrift</i>, etc., Bd. vi, s. +530.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_9-1_19" id="Footnote_9-1_19" href="#FNanchor_9-1_19"><span class="label">9-*</span></a> “Les notions grammaticales resident bien plutôt dans +l’esprit de celui qui parle que dans le matériel du language.” +Humboldt, <i>Lettre à M. Abel-Remusat Werke</i>, Bd. vii, s. 396. On the +realms of the three varieties of grammar, see also Dr. M. Schasler, +<i>Die Elemente der Philosophischen Sprachwissenschaft</i>, etc., s. 35, +36, and Friedrich Müller, <i>Grundriss der Sprachwissenschaft</i>, Band 1, +ss. 8-10 (Wien, 1876). Schasler observes that a main object in +philosophic grammar is an investigation of “die genetisch-qualitativen +Unterschiede der Redetheile,” that is, of the fundamental +psychological differences of the parts of speech, as, what is the +ultimate distinction between noun and adjective, etc.?</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_10-1_20" id="Footnote_10-1_20" href="#FNanchor_10-1_20"><span class="label">10-*</span></a> Steinthal does not like Humboldt’s expression “to make +capable” (fähig zu machen). He objects that the “capacity” to express +thought is already in the articulate sounds. But what Humboldt wishes +to convey is precisely that this capacity is only derived from the +ceaseless, energizing effort of the intellect. Steinthal, <i>Die +Sprachwissenschaft Wilhelm von Humboldt’s</i>, s. 91, note. The words in +the original are: “Die sich ewig wiederholende Arbeit des Geistes, den +articulirten Laut zum Ausdruck des Gedanken fähig zu machen.”</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_10-2_21" id="Footnote_10-2_21" href="#FNanchor_10-2_21"><span class="label">10-†</span></a> “Nur die Stärke des Selbstbewusstseins nöthigt der +körperlichen Natur die scharfe Theilung und feste Begrenzung der Laute +ab, die wir Artikulation nennen.” <i>Ueber das Vergleichende +Sprachstudium in Beziehung auf die Verschiedenen Epochen der +Sprachentwicklung</i>, Bd. iii, s. 244.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_11-1_22" id="Footnote_11-1_22" href="#FNanchor_11-1_22"><span class="label">11-*</span></a> Ubi suprá, p. 17. Compare Humboldt’s words, “Im Ich +aber ist von selbst auch das Du gegeben.” <i>Ueber die Verschiedenheit</i>, +etc., Bd. vi, s. 115.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_11-2_23" id="Footnote_11-2_23" href="#FNanchor_11-2_23"><span class="label">11-†</span></a> <i>Ueber die Verschiedenheit</i>, etc., Bd. vi, s. 116; and +compare Dr. Schasler’s discussion of this subject (which is one of the +best parts of his book), <i>Die Elemente der Phil. Sprachwissenschaft</i>, +etc., ss. 202-14.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_11-3_24" id="Footnote_11-3_24" href="#FNanchor_11-3_24"><span class="label">11-‡</span></a> Expressed in detail by Humboldt in his <i>Lettre à M. +Abel-Remusat sur la nature des formes grammaticules</i>, etc., Bd. vii, +ss. 300-303.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_12-1_25" id="Footnote_12-1_25" href="#FNanchor_12-1_25"><span class="label">12-*</span></a> <i>Ueber die Verwandtschaft der Ortsadverbia mit dem +Pronomen in einigen Sprachen</i>, in the <i>Abhandlungen der hist.-phil. +Classe der Berliner Akad. der Wiss.</i> 1829.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_12-2_26" id="Footnote_12-2_26" href="#FNanchor_12-2_26"><span class="label">12-†</span></a> <i>Ueber die Verschiedenheit</i>, etc., Bd. vi, s. 115.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_12-3_27" id="Footnote_12-3_27" href="#FNanchor_12-3_27"><span class="label">12-‡</span></a> <i>Gesammelte Werke</i>, Bd. vii, ss. 392-6.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_13-1_28" id="Footnote_13-1_28" href="#FNanchor_13-1_28"><span class="label">13-*</span></a> His explanation of inflection is most fully given in +his Introductory Essay, <i>Ueber die Verschiedenheit</i>, etc., § 14, +<i>Gesammelte Werke</i>, s. 121, sqq. A sharp, but friendly criticism of +this central point of his linguistic philosophy may be found in +Steinthal, <i>Charakteristik der Hauptsächlichsten Typen des +<a name="corr13" id="corr13"></a><ins class="correction" title="Sprachbaues">Sprachbones</ins></i>, ss. 58-61. Humboldt certainly appears not only +obscure in parts but contradictory.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_14-1_29" id="Footnote_14-1_29" href="#FNanchor_14-1_29"><span class="label">14-*</span></a> See these teachings clearly set forth in his Essay, +<i>Ueber das vergleichende Sprachstudium in Beziehung auf die +verschiedenen Epochen der Sprachentwicklung, Werke</i>, Bd. iii, +especially, s. 255 and s. 262.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_15-1_30" id="Footnote_15-1_30" href="#FNanchor_15-1_30"><span class="label">15-*</span></a> The eloquent and extraordinary passage in which these +opinions are expressed is in his <i>Lettre à M. Abel-Remusat, Gesammelte +Werke</i>, Bd. vii, ss. 336-7.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_15-2_31" id="Footnote_15-2_31" href="#FNanchor_15-2_31"><span class="label">15-†</span></a> <i>Gesammelte Werke</i>, Bd. iii, ss. 248, 257.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_16-1_32" id="Footnote_16-1_32" href="#FNanchor_16-1_32"><span class="label">16-*</span></a> This reasoning is developed in the essay, <i>Ueber das +Vergleichende Sprachstudium</i>, etc., <i>Gesammelte Werke</i>, Bd. iii, ss. +241-268; and see ibid, s. 270.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_16-2_33" id="Footnote_16-2_33" href="#FNanchor_16-2_33"><span class="label">16-†</span></a> See the essay <i>Ueber die Buchstabenschrift und ihren +Zusammenhang mit dem Sprachbau, Ges. Werke</i>, Bd. vi, ss. 551-2.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_17-1_34" id="Footnote_17-1_34" href="#FNanchor_17-1_34"><span class="label">17-*</span></a> On this subtle point, which has been by no means the +least difficult to his commentators, see Humboldt’s Introduction +<i>Ueber die Verschiedenheit</i>, etc., <i>Ges. Werke</i>, Bd. vi, ss. 45-6, +92-5, 254-5, by a careful comparison of which passages his real intent +will become apparent.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_17-2_35" id="Footnote_17-2_35" href="#FNanchor_17-2_35"><span class="label">17-†</span></a> <i>Lettre à M. <a name="corr14" id="corr14"></a><ins class="correction" title="Abel-Remusat,">Abbe-Remusat,</ins> Ges. Werke</i>, Bd. vii, +s. 396.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_18-1_36" id="Footnote_18-1_36" href="#FNanchor_18-1_36"><span class="label">18-*</span></a> “Nicht was in einer Sprache ausgedrückt zu werden +vermag, sondern das, wozu sie aus eigner, innerer Kraft anfeuert und +begeistert, entscheidet über ihre Vorzüge oder Mängel.” <i>Ueber das +Entstehen der Grammatischen Formen</i>, <a name="corr15" id="corr15"></a><ins class="correction" title="etc.,">etc,</ins> <i>Werke</i>, Bd. iii, s. +272. Compare with this the expression in his celebrated <i>Einleitung</i>: +“Die Sprache ist das bildende Organ des Gedanken,” <i>Werke</i>, Bd. vi, s. +51. A perfected language will “allseitig und harmonisch durch sich +selbst auf den Geist einwirken.” Ibid, s. 311.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_19-1_37" id="Footnote_19-1_37" href="#FNanchor_19-1_37"><span class="label">19-*</span></a> <i><a name="corr16" id="corr16"></a><ins class="correction" title="“Ueber">Ueber</ins> das Entstehen der grammatischen Formen</i>,“ +etc., <i>Werke</i>, Bd. iii, s. 292.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_19-2_38" id="Footnote_19-2_38" href="#FNanchor_19-2_38"><span class="label">19-†</span></a> Speaking of such “imperfect” languages, he gives the +following wise suggestion for their study: “Ihr einfaches Geheimniss, +welches den Weg anzeigt, auf welchem man sie, mit gänzlicher +Vergessenheit unserer Grammatik, immer zuerst zu enträthseln versuchen +muss, ist, das in sich Bedeutende unmittelbar an einander zu reihen.” +<i>Ueber das Vergleichende Sprachstudium</i>, etc., <i>Werke</i>, Bd. iii, s. +255; and for a practical illustration of his method, see the essay, +<i>Ueber das Entstehen der grammatischen Formen</i>, etc., Bd. iii, s. +274.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_20-1_39" id="Footnote_20-1_39" href="#FNanchor_20-1_39"><span class="label">20-*</span></a> His teachings on this point, of which I give the +barest outline, are developed in sections 12 and 13 of his +Introduction, <i>Ueber die Verschiedenheit</i>, etc. Steinthal’s critical +remarks on these sections (in his <i>Charakteristik der haupt. Typen des +Sprachbaues</i>) seem to me unsatisfactory, and he even does not appear +to grasp the chain of Humboldt’s reasoning.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_21-1_40" id="Footnote_21-1_40" href="#FNanchor_21-1_40"><span class="label">21-*</span></a> <i>Lettre à M. Abel-Remusat, Werke</i>, Bd. vii, ss. +353-4.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_21-2_41" id="Footnote_21-2_41" href="#FNanchor_21-2_41"><span class="label">21-†</span></a> <i>Ueber die Verschiedenheit</i>, etc., Sec. 23, <i>Werke</i>, +Bd. vi, s. 329.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_24-1_42" id="Footnote_24-1_42" href="#FNanchor_24-1_42"><span class="label">24-*</span></a> “Der Mexikanischen kann man am Verbum, in welchem die +Zeiten durch einzelne Endbuchstaben und zum Theil offenbar symbolisch +bezeichnet werden, Flexionen und ein gewisses Streben nach +Sanskritischer Worteinheit nicht absprechen.” <i>Ueber die +Verschiedenheit</i>, etc., <i>Werke</i>, Bd. vi, s. 176.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_25-1_43" id="Footnote_25-1_43" href="#FNanchor_25-1_43"><span class="label">25-*</span></a> “Daher ist das Einschliessen in Ein Wort mehr Sache +der Einbildungskraft, die Trennung mehr die des Verstandes.” <i>Ueber +die Verschiedenheit</i>, etc., s. 327. Compare also, s. 326 and 166. +Steinthal points out the disadvantages of the incorporative plan and +puts it lower than the isolating system of the Chinese; but fails to +recognize its many and striking advantages. See his remarks, “Ueber +das Wesen und Werth der Einverleibungsmethode,” in his <i>Charakteristik +der haupt. Typen des Sprachbaues</i>, s. 214.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_25-2_44" id="Footnote_25-2_44" href="#FNanchor_25-2_44"><span class="label">25-†</span></a> <i>Ueber die Verschiedenheit</i>, etc., in <i>Werke</i>, Bd. vi, +ss. 323 sqq.</p> + +<p><a name="Footnote_27-1_45" id="Footnote_27-1_45" href="#FNanchor_27-1_45"><span class="label">27-*</span></a> See the essay, <i>Ueber den Dualis, Gesammelte Werke</i>, +Bd. vi, ss. 562-596.</p> +</div> + + +<hr class="chapbreak" /> +<h2 class="chapterhead"><span class="size70per">LIBRARY</span> <br /> +<span class="size50per">—OF—</span><br /> +ABORIGINAL AMERICAN LITERATURE.</h2> + +<p class="titlepage"><span class="size70per">GENERAL EDITOR AND PUBLISHER:</span> <br /> +D. G. BRINTON, M.D.</p> + +<hr class="declong" /> + +<p>The aim of this series of publications is to put within the reach of +scholars authentic materials for the study of the languages and +culture of the native races of America. Each work is the production of +the native mind, and is printed in the original tongue, with a +translation and notes, and only such are selected as have some +intrinsic historical or ethnological importance. The volumes of the +series are sold separately, at the prices named.</p> + +<p class="centertop2 u">NOW READY.</p> + +<p class="adbiblio"><span class="size120per">No. I. THE CHRONICLES OF THE MAYAS.</span><br /> + +Edited by DANIEL G. BRINTON, M.D. 279 pages. Cloth, uncut, $5.00. +($3.00 when a complete set is ordered.)</p> + +<p>This volume contains five brief chronicles in the Maya language of +Yucatan, written shortly after the Conquest, and carrying the history +of that people back many centuries. To these is added a history of the +Conquest, written in his native tongue, by a Maya Chief, in 1562. The +texts are preceded by an introduction on the history of the Mayas; +their language, calendar, numeral system, etc.; and a vocabulary is +added at the close.</p> + +<p class="adbiblio"><span class="size120per">No. II. THE IROQUOIS BOOK OF RITES.</span><br /> + +Edited by HORATIO HALE. 222 pages. Cloth, uncut, $3.00.</p> + +<p>This work contains, in the Mohawk and Onondaga languages, the +speeches, songs and rituals with which a deceased chief was lamented +and his successor installed in office. It may be said to throw a +distinct light on the authentic history of Northern America to a +period fifty years earlier than the era of Columbus. The Introduction +treats of the ethnology and history of the Huron-Iroquois. A map, +notes and a glossary complete the work.</p> + +<p class="adbiblio"><span class="size120per">No. III. THE COMEDY-BALLET OF GÜEGÜENCE.</span><br /> + +Edited by DANIEL G. BRINTON, M.D. 146 pages. Cloth, uncut, $2.50.</p> + +<p>A curious and unique specimen of the native comic dances, with +dialogues, called <i>bailes</i>, formerly common in Central America. It is +in the mixed Nahuatl-Spanish jargon of Nicaragua, and shows +distinctive features of native authorship. The Introduction treats of +the ethnology of Nicaragua, and the local dialects, musical +instruments, and dramatic representations. A map and a number of +illustrations are added.</p> + +<p class="adbiblio"><span class="size120per">No. IV. A MIGRATION LEGEND OF THE CREEK INDIANS.</span><br /> + +By A. S. GATSCHET. 251 pages. Cloth, uncut, $3.00.</p> + +<p>This learned work offers a complete survey of the ethnology of the +native tribes of the Gulf States. The strange myth or legend told to +Gov. Oglethorpe, in 1732, by the Creeks, is given in the original, +with an Introduction and Commentary.</p> + +<p class="adbiblio"><span class="size120per">No. V. THE LENÂPÉ AND THEIR LEGENDS.</span><br /> + +By Dr. DANIEL G. BRINTON. Cloth, uncut, $3.00.</p> + +<p>Contains the complete text and symbols, 184 in number, of the <span class="smcap">Walam +Olum or Red Score</span> of the Delaware Indians, with the full original +text, and a new translation, notes and vocabulary. A lengthy +introduction treats of the Lenâpé or Delawares, their history, +customs, myths, language, etc., with numerous references to other +tribes of the great Algonkin stock.</p> + +<p class="adbiblio"><i>IN PREPARATION</i>:</p> + +<p class="hanging"><b>THE ANNALS OF THE CAKCHIQUELS.</b> By Francisco Arana Ernantez Xahila. +With a translation and notes by Dr. D. G. Brinton.</p> + +<p class="hanging"><b>ABORIGINAL AMERICAN ANTHOLOGY.</b> Chiefly original material, furnished +by various collaborators.</p> + + + +<hr class="chapbreak" /> +<h2 class="sectionhead">RECENT PUBLICATIONS ON AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY.</h2> + +<hr class="declong" /> + +<p class="titlepage size120per"><i>AMERICAN HERO-MYTHS.</i></p> + +<p>A Study in the Native Religions of the Western Continent. By Daniel G. +Brinton, A.M., M.D., etc. 1 vol., 8vo, pp. 251. (Philad’a, 1882.) +Cloth, Price, $1.75.</p> + +<p class="adbiblio">NOTICES OF THE PRESS.</p> + +<p>“Dr. Brinton writes from a minute and extended knowledge of the +original sources. * * His work renders a signal service to the cause +of comparative mythology in our country.”—<i>The Literary World</i> +(Boston).</p> + +<p>“This study of certain of the most remarkable stories of American +mythology is exceedingly interesting.”—<i>The Saturday Review</i> +(London).</p> + +<hr class="declong" /> + +<p class="titlepage size120per"><i>ABORIGINAL AMERICAN AUTHORS</i>,</p> + +<p class="noindent">And Their Productions. Especially those +in the Native Languages. A Contribution to the History of Literature. +By Daniel G. Brinton, A.M., M.D., etc. 1 vol., 8vo, pp. 63. Boards, +Price, $1.00.</p> + +<p>An essay founded on an address presented to the Congress of +Americanists, at Copenhagen, in 1883. It is an extended review of the +literary efforts of the red race, in their own tongues, and in +English, Latin and Spanish (both manuscript and printed).</p> + +<hr class="declong" /> + +<p class="titlepage size120per"><i>A GRAMMAR OF THE CAKCHIQUEL LANGUAGE</i></p> + +<p class="noindent">of Guatemala. Translated with +an Introduction and Additions by Daniel G. Brinton, M.D. Map, pp. 72. +Price, boards, $1.00.</p> + +<hr class="declong" /> + +<p class="titlepage"><i>THE NAMES OF THE GODS IN THE QUICHE MYTHS</i>,</p> + +<p class="noindent">of Central America. By D. +G. Brinton, M.D., 8vo, pp. 38, paper, 50c.</p> + +<hr class="declong" /> + +<p class="titlepage"><i>THE LINEAL MEASURES OF THE SEMI-CIVILIZED NATIONS</i></p> + +<p class="noindent">of Mexico and +Central America. By D. G. Brinton, M.D., pp. 14, paper, 25c.</p> + +<hr class="chapbreak" /> + + +<div class="tn"> +<p class="titlepage"><a name="trans_note" id="trans_note"></a><b>Transcriber’s Note</b></p> + +<p class="noindent">The following errors have been maintained.</p> + +<table class="tntable" summary="typos"> +<tr> + + <td>Page</td> + <td>Error</td> + <td>Correction</td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td><a href="#corr1">15</a></td> + <td>unneccessary</td> + <td>unnecessary</td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td><a href="#corr2">16</a></td> + <td>grammer</td> + <td>grammar</td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td><a href="#corr3">17</a></td> + <td>tendncy</td> + <td>tendency</td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td><a href="#corr4">23</a></td> + <td>acustomed,</td> + <td>accustomed</td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td><a href="#corr5">23</a></td> + <td>fullfils</td> + <td>fulfils</td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td><a href="#corr6">29</a></td> + <td>Humboldt</td> + <td>Humboldt.</td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td><a href="#corr7">33</a></td> + <td colspan="2"><i>mil quis amaiciton</i>, should have numbers over the words in +to match numbers on the next line</td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td><a href="#corr8">39</a></td> + <td>powever</td> + <td>power</td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td><a href="#corr9">46</a></td> + <td>unabreviated</td> + <td>unabbreviated</td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td><a href="#corr10">fn 3-†</a></td> + <td>Characteristik</td> + <td>Charakteristik</td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td><a href="#corr11">fn 6-*</a></td> + <td>Sprachtstudium</td> + <td>Sprachstudium</td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td><a href="#corr12">fn 6-‡</a></td> + <td>Zusummenhang</td> + <td>Zusammenhang</td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td><a href="#corr13">fn 13-*</a></td> + <td><i>Sprachbones</i>,</td> + <td>Sprachbaues</td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td><a href="#corr14">fn 17-†</a></td> + <td>Abbe-Remusat,</td> + <td>Abel-Remusat</td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td><a href="#corr15">fn 18-*</a></td> + <td>etc</td> + <td>etc.</td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td><a href="#corr16">fn 19-*</a></td> + <td><i>Ueber</i></td> + <td>“<i>Ueber</i></td> +</tr> +</table> +</div> + + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Philosophic Grammar of American +Languages, as Set Forth by Wilhelm , by Daniel G. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Philosophic Grammar of American Languages, as Set Forth by Wilhelm von Humboldt + With the Translation of an Unpublished Memoir by Him on + the American Verb + +Author: Daniel G. Brinton + +Release Date: July 7, 2011 [EBook #36646] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PHILOSOPHIC GRAMMAR--AMERICAN LANGUAGES *** + + + + +Produced by Julia Miller and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was +produced from images generously made available by The +Internet Archive) + + + + + +Transcriber's Note + +A number of typographical errors have been maintained in this version +of this book. They have been marked with a [TN-#], which refers to a +description in the complete list found at the end of the text. + +Text surrounded with ~ was originally printed in Greek. + +The following codes for less common characters were used: + + [=a] a with macron + [=u] u with macron + + dagger + ++ double dagger + || double vertical line + + + + + THE + + PHILOSOPHIC GRAMMAR + + --OF-- + + AMERICAN LANGUAGES, + + As Set Forth by Wilhelm von Humboldt; + + WITH THE TRANSLATION OF AN UNPUBLISHED MEMOIR BY + HIM ON THE AMERICAN VERB. + + --BY-- + + DANIEL G. BRINTON, A.M., M.D., + + PROFESSOR OF ETHNOLOGY AND ARCHAEOLOGY AT THE ACADEMY OF NATURAL SCIENCES, + PHILADELPHIA. + + President of the Numismatic and Antiquarian Society of Philadelphia; + Member of the American Philosophical Society, the American Antiquarian + Society, the Pennsylvania Historical Society, etc.; Membre de la + Societe Royale des Antiquaires du Nord; de la Societe Americaine + de France; Delegue General de l'Institution Ethnographique; + Vice-President du Congres International des Americanistes; + Corresponding Member of the Anthropological + Society of Washington, etc. + + (_Read before the American Philosophical Society, March 20, 1885._) + + PHILADELPHIA: + PRESS OF MCCALLA & STAVELY, 237-9 DOCK STREET. + 1885. + + + + +CONTENTS. + + +_The Philosophic Grammar of American Languages._ + + + Sec.1. Introduction, p. 3. Sec.2. Humboldt's Studies in American Languages, + p. 4. Sec.3. The Final Purpose of the Philosophy of Language, p. 7. + Sec.4. Historical, Comparative and Philosophic Grammar, p. 9. Sec.5. + Definition and Psychological Origin of Language, p. 10. Sec.6. + Primitive Roots and Grammatical Categories, p. 11. Sec.7. Formal and + Material Elements of Language, p. 13. Sec.8. The Development of + Languages, p. 14. Sec.9. Internal Form of Languages, p. 16. Sec.10. + Criteria of Rank in Languages, p. 17. Sec.11. Classification of + Languages, p. 21. Sec.12. Nature of Incorporation, p. 22. Sec.13. + Psychological Origin of Incorporation, p. 24. Sec.14. Effect of + Incorporation on Compound Sentences, p. 25. Sec.15. The Dual in + American Languages, p. 27. Sec.16. Humboldt's Essay on the American + Verb, p. 28. + + +_On the Verb in American Languages. By Wilhelm von Humboldt, p. 29._ + +Verbal forms classified as they indicate the notion of Being: + +I. When the notion of Being is expressed independently, p. 31. + + 1. When the notion of Being is understood, p. 32. 2. When the notion + of Being is expressed by a special word, but without a phonetic + radical, p. 35. + +II. The notion of Being is incorporated with the verb as an auxiliary, +p. 37. + + Analysis of the Maya Verb, p. 38. Other Examples. The idea of past + time as related to death and negation, p. 40. + +III. The notion of Being is present in the verbal form only in idea, +p. 41. + + Case 1st. When the person, tense and mode signs are separable, p. 41. + Case 2d. When either the person, or the tense and mode signs, are + attached to the verb, p. 41. Case 3d. When both person and tense + and mode signs are attached to the verb. 1. Approach toward a Fixed + Form, p. 44. 2. Divisibility of Verbal Forms to allow the insertion + of governed parts of speech, p. 47. General Conclusions on the + organism of American Languages, p. 48. + + Notes (by the Translator) on the various American Tribes and + Languages mentioned by Humboldt in the preceding Memoir, p. 49. + + + + +The Philosophic Grammar of American Languages. + + +Sec. 1. INTRODUCTORY. + +The foundations of the Philosophy of Language were laid by Wilhelm von +Humboldt (b. June 22, 1767, d. April 8, 1835). The principles he +advocated have frequently been misunderstood, and some of them have +been modified, or even controverted, by more extended research; but a +careful survey of the tendencies of modern thought in this field will +show that the philosophic scheme of the nature and growth of +languages, which he set forth, is gradually reasserting its sway, +after having been neglected and denied through the preponderance of +the so-called naturalistic school during the last quarter of a +century. + +The time seems ripe, therefore, to bring the general principles of his +philosophy to the knowledge of American scholars, especially as +applied by himself to the analysis of American languages. + +Any one at all acquainted with Humboldt's writings, and the literature +to which they have given rise, will recognize that this is a serious +task. I have felt it such, and have prepared myself for it not only by +a careful perusal of his own published writings, but also by a +comparison of the conflicting interpretations put upon them by Dr. Max +Schasler,[3-*] Prof. H. Steinthal,[3-+] Prof. C. J. Adler,[3-++] and +others, as well as by obtaining a copy of an entirely unpublished +memoir by Humboldt on the "American Verb," a translation of which +accompanies this paper. But my chief reliance in solving the +obscurities of Humboldt's presentation of his doctrines has been a +close comparison of allied passages in his various essays, memoirs and +letters. Of these I need scarcely say that I have attached the +greatest weight to his latest and monumental work sometimes referred +to as his "Introduction to the Kawi Language," but whose proper title +is "On Differences in Linguistic Structure, and their Influence on the +Mental Development of the Human Race."[4-*] + +I would not have it understood that I am presenting a complete +analysis of Humboldt's linguistic philosophy. This is far beyond the +scope of the present paper. It aims to set forth merely enough of his +general theories to explain his applications of them to the languages +of the American race. + +What I have to present can best be characterized as a series of notes +on Humboldt's writings, indicating their bearing on the problems of +American philology, introducing his theories to students of this +branch, and serving as a preface to the hitherto unpublished essay by +him on the American Verb, to which I have referred. + + +Sec. 2. HUMBOLDT'S STUDIES IN AMERICAN LANGUAGES. + +The American languages occupied Humboldt's attention earnestly and for +many years. He was first led to their study by his brother Alexander, +who presented him with the large linguistic collection he had amassed +during his travels in South and North America. + +While Prussian Minister in Rome (1802-08), he ransacked the library of +the _Collegio Romano_ for rare or unpublished works on American +tongues; he obtained from the ex-Jesuit Forneri all the information +the latter could give about the Yurari, a tongue spoken on the Meta +river, New Granada;[4-+] and he secured accurate copies of all the +manuscript material on these idioms left by the diligent collector +and linguist, the Abbe Hervas. + +A few years later, in 1812, we find him writing to his friend Baron +Alexander von Rennenkampff, then in St. Petersburg: "I have selected +the American languages as the special subject of my investigations. +They have the closest relationship of any with the tongues of +north-eastern Asia; and I beg you therefore to obtain for me all the +dictionaries and grammars of the latter which you can."[5-*] + +It is probable from this extract that Humboldt was then studying these +languages from that limited, ethnographic point of view, from which he +wrote his essay on the Basque tongue, the announcement of which +appeared, indeed, in that year, 1812, although the work itself was not +issued until 1821. + +Ten years more of study and reflection taught him a far loftier +flight. He came to look upon each language as an organism, all its +parts bearing harmonious relations to each other, and standing in a +definite connection with the intellectual and emotional development of +the nation speaking it. Each language again bears the relation to +language in general that the species does to the genus, or the genus +to the order, and by a comprehensive process of analysis he hoped to +arrive at those fundamental laws of articulate speech which form the +Philosophy of Language, and which, as they are also the laws of human +thought, at a certain point coincide, he believed, with those of the +Philosophy of History. + +In the completion of this vast scheme, he continued to attach the +utmost importance to the American languages. His illustrations were +constantly drawn from them, and they were ever the subject of his +earnest studies. He prized them as in certain respects the most +valuable of all to the philosophic student of human speech. + +Thus, in 1826, he announced before the Berlin Academy that he was +preparing an exhaustive work on the "Organism of Language," for which +he had selected the American languages exclusively, as best suited for +this purpose. "The languages of a great continent," he writes, +"peopled by numerous nationalities, probably never subject to foreign +influence, offer for this branch of linguistic study specially +favorable material. There are in America as many as thirty little +known languages for which we have means of study, each of which is +like a new natural species, besides many others whose data are less +ample."[6-*] + +In his memoir, read two years later, "On the Origin of Grammatical +Forms, and their Influence on the Development of Ideas," he chose most +of his examples from the idioms of the New World;[6-+] and the year +following, he read the monograph on the Verb in American languages, +which is printed for the first time with the present essay. + +In a later paper, he announced his special study of this group as +still in preparation. It was, however, never completed. His earnest +desire to reach the fundamental laws of language led him first into a +long series of investigations into the systems of recorded speech, +phonetic hieroglyphics and alphabetic writing, on which he read +memoirs of great acuteness. + +In one of these he again mentions his studies of the American tongues, +and takes occasion to vindicate them from the current charge of being +of a low grade in the linguistic scale. "It is certainly unjust," he +writes, "to call the American languages rude or savage, although their +structure is widely different from those perfectly formed."[6-++] + +In 1828, there is a published letter from him making an appointment +with the Abbe Thavenet, missionary to the Canadian Algonkins, then in +Paris, "to enjoy the pleasure of conversing with him on his +interesting studies of the Algonkin language."[6-||] And a private +letter tells us that in 1831 he applied himself with new zeal to +mastering the intricacies of Mexican grammar.[6-Sec.] + +About 1827, he found it indispensable to subject to a critical +scrutiny the languages of the great island world of the Pacific and +Indian oceans. This resulted at last in his selecting the Kawi +language, a learned idiom of the island of Java, Malayan in origin but +with marked traces of Hindu influence, as the point of departure for +his generalizations. His conclusions were set forth in the +introductory essay above referred to. + +The avowed purpose of this essay was to demonstrate the thesis that +the _diversity of structure in languages is the necessary condition of +the evolution of the human mind_.[7-*] + +In the establishment of this thesis he begins with a profound analysis +of the nature of speech in general, and then proceeds to define the +reciprocal influences which thought exerts upon it, it upon thought. + +Portions of this work are extremely obscure even to those who are most +familiar with his theories and style. This arises partly from the +difficulty of the subject; partly because his anxiety to avoid +dogmatic statements led him into vagueness of expression; and partly +because in some cases he was uncertain of his ground. In spite of +these blemishes, this essay remains the most suggestive work ever +written on the philosophy of language. + + +Sec. 3. THE FINAL PURPOSE OF THE PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE. + +Humboldt has been accused of being a metaphysician, and a scientific +idealist. + +It is true that he believed in an ideal perfection of language, to +wit: that form of expression which would correspond throughout to the +highest and clearest thinking. But it is evident from this simple +statement that he did not expect to find it in any known or possible +tongue. He distinctly says, that this ideal is too hypothetical to be +used otherwise than as a stimulus to investigation; but as such it is +indispensable to the linguist in the pursuit of his loftiest task--the +estimate of the efforts of man to realize perfection of +expression.[7-+] + +There is nothing teleological in his philosophy; he even declines to +admit that either the historian or the linguist has a right to set up +a theory of progress or evolution; the duty of both is confined to +deriving the completed meaning from the facts before them.[8-*] He +merely insists that as the object of language is the expression of +thought, certain forms of language are better adapted to this than +others. What these are, why they are so, and how they react on the +minds of the nations speaking them, are the questions he undertakes to +answer, and which constitute the subject-matter with which the +philosophy of language has to do. + +Humboldt taught that in its highest sense this philosophy of language +is one with the philosophy of history. The science of language misses +its purpose unless it seeks its chief end in explaining the +intellectual growth of the race.[8-+] + +Each separate tongue is "a thought-world in tones" established between +the minds of those who speak it and the objective world without.[8-++] +Each mirrors in itself the spirit of the nation to which it belongs. +But it has also an earlier and independent origin; it is the product +of the conceptions of antecedent generations, and thus exerts a +formative and directive influence on the national mind, an influence, +not slight, but more potent than that which the national mind exerts +upon it.[8-||] + +So also every word has a double character, the one derived from its +origin, the other from its history. The former is single, the latter +is manifold.[8-Sec.] + +Were the gigantic task possible to gather from every language the full +record of every word and the complete explanation of each grammatical +peculiarity, we should have an infallible, the only infallible and +exhaustive, picture of human progress. + + +Sec. 4. HISTORICAL, COMPARATIVE AND PHILOSOPHIC GRAMMAR. + +The Science of Grammar has three branches, which differ more in the +methods they pursue than in the ends at which they aim. These are +Historic, Comparative and Philosophic Grammar. Historic Grammar +occupies itself with tracing the forms of a language back in time to +their earlier expression, and exhibits their development through the +archaic specimens of the tongue. Comparative Grammar extends this +investigation by including in the survey the similar development of a +number of dialects of the same stock or character, and explains the +laws of speech, which account for the similarities and diversities +observed. + +Both of these, it will be observed, begin with the language and its +forms, and are confined to these. Philosophic Grammar, on the other +hand, proceeds from the universal constructive principles of language, +from the abstract formulae of grammatical relations, and investigates +their application in various languages. It looks upon articulate +speech as the more or less faithful expression of certain logical +procedures, and analyzes tongues in order to exhibit the success, be +it greater or less, which attends this effort. The grammatical +principles with which it deals are universals, they exist in all +minds, although it often happens that they are not portrayed with +corresponding clearness in language.[9-*] + +Philosophic Grammar, therefore, includes in its horizon all languages +spoken by men; it essays to analyze their inmost nature with reference +to the laws of thought; it weighs the relations they bear to the +character and destiny of those who speak them; and it ascends to the +psychological needs and impulses which first gave them existence. + +It was grammar in this highest sense, it was the study of languages +for such lofty purposes as these, with which Humboldt occupied himself +with untiring zeal for the last fifteen years of his life, when he had +laid aside the cares of the elevated and responsible political +positions which he had long filled with distinguished credit. + + +Sec. 5. DEFINITION AND PSYCHOLOGICAL ORIGIN OF LANGUAGE. + +Humboldt remarks that the first hundred pages or so of his celebrated +"Introduction" are little more than an expansion of his definition of +language. He gives this definition in its most condensed form as +follows: "Language is the ever-recurring effort of the mind to make +the articulate sound capable of expressing thought."[10-*] + +According to this definition, language is not a dead thing, a +completed product, but it is an ever-living, active function, an +energy of the soul, which will perish only when intelligence itself, +in its highest sense, is extinguished. As he expresses it, language is +not an ~ergon~, but an ~energeia~. It is the proof and the product of +a mind _consciously_ working to a definite end. + +Hence, in Humboldt's theory the psychological element of +_self-consciousness_ lies at the root of all linguistic expression. No +mere physical difference between the lower animals and man explains +the latter's possession of articulate speech. His self-consciousness +alone is that trait which has rendered such a possession +possible.[10-+] + +The idea of Self necessarily implies the idea of Other. A thought is +never separate, never isolated, but ever in relation to another +thought, suggested by one, leading on to another. Hence, Humboldt +says: "The mind can only be conceived as in action, and _as action_." + +As Prof. Adler, in his comments on Humboldt's philosophy, admirably +observes: "Man does not possess any such thing as an absolutely +isolated individuality; the 'I' and the 'thou' are the essential +complements of each other, and would, in their last analysis, be found +identical."[11-*] + +On these two fundamental conceptions, those of Identity and Relation, +or, as they may be expressed more correctly, those of Being and +Action, Humboldt builds his doctrines concerning the primitive +radicals of language and the fundamental categories of grammar. + + +Sec. 6. PRIMITIVE ROOTS AND GRAMMATICAL CATEGORIES. + +The roots of a language are classified by Humboldt as either +_objective_ or _subjective_, although he considers this far from an +exhaustive scheme.[11-+] + +The objective roots are usually descriptive, and indicate an origin +from a process of mental analysis. They bear the impress of those two +attributes which characterize every thought, Being and Action. Every +complete objective word must express these two notions. Upon them are +founded the fundamental grammatical categories of the Noun and the +Verb; or to speak more accurately, they lead to the distinction of +nominal and verbal themes. + +The characteristic of the Noun is that it expresses Being; of the Verb +that it expresses Action. This distinction is far from absolute in the +word itself; in many languages, especially in Chinese and some +American languages, there is in the word no discrimination between its +verbal and nominal forms; but the verbal or nominal _value_ of the +word is clearly fixed by other means.[11-++] + +Another class of objective root-words are the adjective words, or +Determinatives. They are a later accession to the list, and by their +addition bring the three chief grammatical categories, the Noun, the +Verb and the Adjective, into correlation with the three logical +categories of Substance, Action and Quality. + +By the subjective roots, Humboldt meant the personal pronouns. To +these he attributed great importance in the development of language, +and especially of American languages. They carry with them the mark of +sharp individuality, and express in its highest reality the notion of +Being. + +It is not easy to understand Humboldt's theory of the evolution of the +personal pronouns. In his various essays he seems to offer conflicting +statements. In one of his later papers, he argues that the origin of +such subjective nominals is often, perhaps generally, locative. By +comparing the personal pronouns with the adverbs of place in a series +of languages, he showed that their demonstrative antedated their +personal meaning.[12-*] With regard to their relative development, he +says, in his celebrated "Introduction": + +"The first person expresses the individuality of the speaker, who is +in immediate contact with external nature, and must distinguish +himself from it in his speech. But in the 'I' the 'Thou' is assumed; +and from the antithesis thus formed is developed the third +person."[12-+] + +But in his "Notice of the Japanese Grammar of Father Oyanguren," +published in 1826, he points out that infants begin by speaking of +themselves in the third person, showing that this comes first in the +order of knowledge. It is followed by the second person, which +separates one object from others; but as it does so by putting it in +conscious antithesis to the speaker, it finally develops the +"I."[12-++] + +The latter is unquestionably the correct statement so far as the +history of language is concerned and the progress of knowledge. I can +know myself only through knowing others. + +The explanation which reconciles these theories is that the one refers +to the order of thought, or logical precedence, the other to the order +of expression. Professor Ferrier, in his "Institutes of Metaphysics," +has established with much acuteness the thesis that, "What is first in +the order of nature is last in the order of knowledge," and this is an +instance of that philosophical principle. + + +Sec. 7. FORMAL AND MATERIAL ELEMENTS OF LANGUAGE. + +A fundamental distinction in philosophic grammar is that which divides +the _formal_ from the _material_ element of speech. This division +arises from the original double nature of each radical, as expressing +both Being and Action. + +On the one hand, Action involves Relation; it assumes an object and a +subject, an agent, a direction of effort, a result of effort; usually +also limitations of effort, time and space, and qualifications as to +the manner of the effort. In other words, Action is capable of +increase or decrease both in extension and intension. + +On the other hand, Being is a conception of fixed conditions, and is +capable of few or no modifications. + +The _formal_ elements of a language are those which express Action, or +the relation of the ideas; they make up the affixes of conjugations +and declensions, the inflections of words; they indicate the parts of +speech, the so-called "grammatical categories," found in developed +tongues. The _material_ elements are the roots or stems expressing the +naked ideas, the conceptions of existence apart from relation. + +Using the terms in this sense, Humboldt presents the following terse +formula, as his definition of Inflection: "_Inflection is the +expression of the category in contrast to the definition of the +idea._"[13-*] Nothing could be more definitive and lucid than this +concise phrase. + +The inflectional or formal elements of language are usually derived +from words expressing accessory ideas. Generally, they are worn down +to single letters or a single syllable, and they usually may be traced +back to auxiliary verbs and pronouns. + +Often various accessories are found which are not required by the main +proposition. This is a common fault in the narratives of ignorant men +and in languages and dialects of a lower grade. It is seen in the +multiplication of auxiliaries and qualifying particles observed in +many American languages, where a vast number of needless accessories +are brought into every sentence. + +The nature of the relations expressed by inflections may be manifold, +and it is one of the tasks of philosophic grammar to analyze and +classify them with reference to the direction of mental action they +imply. + +It is evident that where these relations are varied and numerous, the +language gains greatly in picturesqueness and force, and thus reacts +with a more stimulating effect on the mind. + + +Sec. 8. THE DEVELOPMENT OF LANGUAGES. + +Humboldt believed that in this respect languages could be divided into +three classes, each representing a stage in progressive development. + +In the first and lowest stage all the elements are material and +significant, and there are no true formal parts of speech. + +Next above this is where the elements of relation lose their +independent significance _where so used_, but retain it elsewhere. The +words are not yet fixed in grammatical categories. There is no +distinction between verbs and nouns except in use. The plural conveys +the idea of many, but the singular not strictly that of unity. + +Highest of all is that condition of language where every word is +subject to grammatical law and shows by its form what category it +comes under; and where the relational or formal elements convey no +hint of anything but this relation. Here, only, does language attain +to that specialization of parts where each element subserves its own +purpose and no other, and here only does it correspond with clear and +connected thinking. + +These expressions, however, must not be understood in a genetic sense, +as if historically one linguistic class had preceded the other, and +led up to it. Humboldt entertained no such view. He distinctly +repudiated it. He did not believe in the evolution of languages. The +differences of these classes are far more radical than that of sounds +and signs; they reach down to the fundamental notions of things. His +teaching was that a language without a passive voice, or without a +grammatical gender can never acquire one, and consequently it can +never perfectly express the conceptions corresponding to these +features.[14-*] + +In defining and appraising these inherent and inalienable qualities of +languages lies the highest end and aim of linguistic science. This is +its true philosophic character, its mission which lifts it above the +mere collecting of words and formulating of rules. + +If the higher languages did not develop from the lower, how did they +arise? Humboldt answered this question fairly, so far as he was +concerned. He said, he did not know. Individuals vary exceedingly in +their talent for language, and so do nations. He was willing to call +it an innate creative genius which endowed our Aryan forefathers with +a richly inflected speech; but it was so contrary to the results of +his prolonged and profound study of languages to believe, for +instance, that a tongue like the Sanscrit could ever be developed from +one like the Chinese, that he frankly said that he would rather accept +at once the doctrine of those who attribute the different idioms of +men to an immediate revelation from God.[15-*] + +He fully recognized, however, a progress, an organic growth, in human +speech, and he expressly names this as a special branch of linguistic +investigation.[15-+] He lays down that this growth may be from two +sources, one the cultivation of a tongue within the nation by +enriching its vocabulary, separating and classifying its elements, +fixing its expressions, and thus adapting it to wider uses; the +second, by forcible amalgamation with another tongue. + +The latter exerts always a more profound and often a more beneficial +influence. The organism of both tongues may be destroyed, but the +dissolvent force is also an organic and vital one, and from the ruins +of both constructs a speech of grander plans and with wider views. +"The seemingly aimless and confused interminglings of primitive tribes +sowed the seed for the flowers of speech and song which flourished in +centuries long posterior." + +The immediate causes of the improvement of a language through forcible +admixture with another, are: that it is obliged to drop all +unneccessary[TN-1] accessory elements in a proposition; that the +relations of ideas must be expressed by conventional and not +significant syllables; and that the limitations of thought imposed by +the genius of the language are violently broken down, and the mind is +thus given wider play for its faculties. + +Such influences, however, do not act in accordance with fixed laws of +growth. There are no such laws, which are of universal application. +The development of the Mongolian or Aryan tongues is not at all that +of the American. The goal is one and the same, but the paths to it are +infinite. For this reason each group or class of languages must be +studied by itself, and its own peculiar developmental laws be +ascertained by searching its history.[16-*] + +With reference to the growth of American languages, it was Humboldt's +view that they manifest the utmost refractoriness both to external +influence and to internal modifications. They reveal a marvellous +tenacity of traditional words and forms, not only in dialects, but +even in particular classes of the community, men having different +expressions from women, the old from the young, the higher from the +lower classes. These are maintained with scrupulous exactitude through +generations, and except by the introduction of words, three centuries +of daily commingling with the white race, have not at all altered the +grammer[TN-2] and scarcely the phonetics of many of their languages. + +Nor is this referable to the contrast between an Aryan and an American +language. The same immiscibility is shown between themselves. "Even +where many radically different languages are located closely together, +as in Mexico, I have not found a single example where one exercised a +constructive or formative influence on the other. But it is by the +encounter of great and contrasted differences that languages gain +strength, riches, and completeness. Only thus are the perceptive +powers, the imagination and the feelings impelled to enrich and extend +the means of expression, which, if left to the labors of the +understanding alone, are liable to be but meagre and arid."[16-+] + + +Sec. 9. INTERNAL FORM OF LANGUAGES. + +Besides the grammatical form of a language, Humboldt recognized +another which he called its _internal form_. This is that subtle +something not expressed in words, which even more than the formal +parts of speech, reveals the linguistic genius of a nation. It may be +defined as the impression which the language bears of the clearness of +the conceptions of those speaking it, and of their native gift of +speech. He illustrates it by instancing the absence of a developed +mode in Sanscrit, and maintains that in the creators of that tongue +the conception of modality was never truly felt and distinguished from +tense. In this respect its inner form was greatly inferior to the +Greek, in the mind of which nation the ideally perfect construction of +the verb unfolded itself with far more clearness. + +The study of this inner form of a language belongs to the highest +realm of linguistic investigation, and is that which throws the most +light on the national character and capacities.[17-*] + + +Sec. 10. CRITERIA OF RANK IN LANGUAGES. + +Humboldt's one criterion of a language was its tendncy[TN-3] to +_quicken and stimulate mental action_. He maintained that this is +secured just in proportion as the grammatical structure favors clear +definition of the individual idea apart from its relations, in other +words, as it separates the material from the inflectional elements of +speech. Clear thinking, he argued, means progressive thinking. +Therefore he assigned a lower position both to those tongues which +inseparably connect the idea with its relations, as the American +languages, and to those which, like the Chinese and in a less degree +the modern English, have scarcely any formal elements at all, but +depend upon the position of words (placement) to signify their +relations. + +But he greatly modified this unfavorable judgment by several +extenuating considerations. + +Thus he warns us that it is of importance to recognize fully "that +grammatical principles dwell rather in the mind of the speaker than in +the material and mechanism of his language."[17-+] + +This led him to establish a distinction between _explicit_ grammar, +where the relations are fully expressed in speech, and _implicit_ +grammar, where they are wholly or in part left to be understood by the +mind. + +He expressly and repeatedly states that an intelligent thinker, +trained in the grammatical distinctions of a higher language, can +express any thought he has in the grammar of any other tongue which he +masters, no matter how rude it is. This adaptability lies in the +nature of speech in general. A language is an instrument, the use of +which depends entirely on the skill of him who handles it. It is +doubtful whether such imported forms and thoughts appeal in any direct +sense to those who are native to the tongue. But the fact remains that +the forms of the most barbarous languages are such that they may be +developed to admit the expression of any kind of idea. + +But the meaning of this must not be misconstrued. If languages were +merely dead instruments which we use to work with, then one would be +as good as another to him who had learned it. But this is not the +case. Speech is a living, physiological function, and, like any other +function, is most invigorating and vitalizing when it works in the +utmost harmony with the other functions. Its special relationship is +to that brain-action which we call thinking; and entire harmony +between the two is only present when the form, structure and sounds of +speech correspond accurately to the logical procedure of thought. This +he considered "an undeniable fact." + +The measure of the excellence of a language, therefore, is the +clearness, definiteness and energy of the ideas which it awakes in the +nation. Does it inspire and incite their mind? Has it positive and +clear tones, and do these define sharply the ideas they represent, +without needless accessories? Does its structure present the leading +elements of the proposition in their simplicity, and permit the +secondary elements to be grouped around them in subordinate positions, +with a correct sense of linguistic perspective? The answers to these +queries decide its position in the hierarchy of tongues.[18-*] + +As its capacity for expression is no criterion of a language, still +less is the abundance or regularity of its forms. For this very +multiplicity, this excessive superfluity, is a burden and a drawback, +and obscures the integration of the thought by attaching to it a +quantity of needless qualifications. Thus, in the language of the +Abipones, the pronoun is different as the person spoken of is +conceived as present, absent, sitting, walking, lying, or running, all +quite unnecessary specifications.[19-*] + +In some languages much appears as form which, on close scrutiny, is +nothing of the kind. + +This misunderstanding has reigned almost universally in the treatment +of American tongues. The grammars which have been written upon them +proceed generally on the principles of Latin, and apply a series of +grammatical names to the forms explained, entirely inappropriate to +them and misleading. Our first duty in taking up such a grammar as, +for instance, that of an American language, is to dismiss the whole of +the arrangement of the "parts of speech," and, by an analysis of words +and phrases, to ascertain by what arrangement of elements they express +logical, significant relations.[19-+] + +For example, in the Carib tongue, the grammars give _aveiridaco_ as +the second person singular, subjunctive imperfect, "if thou wert." +Analyze this, and we discover that _a_ is the possessive pronoun +"thy;" _veiri_ is "to be" or "being" (in a place); and _daco_ is a +particle of definite time. Hence, the literal rendering is "on the day +of thy being." The so-called imperfect subjunctive turns out to be a +verbal noun with a preposition. In many American languages the +hypothetical supposition expressed in the Latin subjunctive is +indicated by the same circumlocution. + +Again, the infinitive, in its classical sense, is unknown in most, +probably in all, American languages. In the Tupi of Brazil and +frequently elsewhere it is simply a noun; _caru_ is both "to eat" and +"food;" _che caru ai-pota_, "I wish to eat," literally "my food I +wish." + +In the Mexican, the infinitive is incorporated in the verb as an +accusative, and the verb is put in the future of the person spoken of. + +Many writers continue to maintain that a criterion of rank of a +language is its lexicographical richness--the number of words it +possesses. Even very recently, Prof. Max Mueller has applied such a +test to American languages, and, finding that one of the Fuegian +dialects is reported to have nearly thirty thousand words, he +maintains that this is a proof that these savages are a degenerate +remnant of some much more highly developed ancestry. Founding his +opinion largely on similar facts, Alexander von Humboldt applied the +expression to the American nations that they are "des debris echappes +a un naufrage commun." + +Such, however, was not the opinion of his brother Wilhelm. He sounded +the depths of linguistic philosophy far more deeply than to accept +mere abundance of words as proof of richness in a language. Many +savage languages have twenty words signifying to eat particular +things, but no word meaning "to eat" in general; the Eskimo language +has different words for fishing for each kind of fish, but no word "to +fish," in a general sense. Such apparent richness is, in fact, actual +poverty. + +Humboldt taught that the quality, not merely the quantity, of words +was the decisive measure of verbal wealth. Such quality depends on the +relations of concrete words, on the one hand, to the primitive +objective perceptions at their root, and, on the other, to the +abstract general ideas of which they are particular representatives; +and besides this, on the relations which the spoken word, the +articulate sound, bears to the philosophic laws of the formation of +language in general.[20-*] + +In his letter to Abel-Remusat he discusses the theory that the +American languages point to a once higher condition of civilization, +and are the corrupted idioms of deteriorated races. He denies that +there is linguistic evidence of any such theory. These languages, he +says, possess a remarkable regularity of structure, and very few +anomalies. Their grammar does not present any visible traces of +corrupting intermixtures.[21-*] + +In a later work he returns to the subject when speaking of the Lenape +(Algonkin Delaware) dialect, and asks whether the rich imaginative +power, of which it bears the evident impress, does not point to some +youthful, supple and vigorous era in the life of language in +general?[21-+] But he leaves the question unanswered. + + +Sec. 11. CLASSIFICATION OF LANGUAGES. + +The lower unit of language is the Word; the higher is the Sentence. +The plans on which languages combine words into sentences are a basic +character of their structure, and divide them into classes as distinct +and as decisive of their future, as those of vertebrate and +invertebrate animals in natural history. + +These plans are four in number: + +1. By Isolation. + +The words are placed in juxtaposition, without change. Their relations +are expressed by their location only (placement). The typical example +of this is the Chinese. + +2. By Agglutination. + +The sentence is formed by suffixing to the word expressive of the main +idea a number of others, more or less altered, expressing the +relations. Examples of this are the Eskimo of North America, and the +Northern Asiatic dialects. + +3. By Incorporation. + +The leading word of the sentence is divided and the accessory words +either included in it or attached to it with abbreviated forms, so +that the whole sentence assumes the form and sound of one word. + +4. By Inflection. + +Each word of the sentence indicates by its own form the character and +relation to the main proposition of the idea it represents. Sanscrit, +Greek and Latin are familiar examples of inflected tongues. + +It is possible to suppose that all four of these forms were developed +from some primitive condition of utterance unknown to us, just as +naturalists believe that all organic species were developed out of a +homogeneous protoplasmic mass; but it is as hard to see how any one of +them in its present form could pass over into another, as to +understand how a radiate could change into a mollusk. + + +Sec. 12. NATURE OF INCORPORATION. + +Of the four plans mentioned, Incorporation is that characteristic of, +though not confined to, American tongues. + +It may appear in a higher or a lower grade, but its intention is +everywhere the effort to convey in one word the whole proposition. The +Verb, as that part of speech which especially conveys the synthetic +action of the mental operation, is that which is selected as the stem +of this word-sentence; all the other parts are subordinate +accessories, devoid of syntactic value. + +The higher grade of incorporation includes both subject, object and +verb in one word, and if for any reason the object is not included, +the scheme of the sentence is still maintained in the verb, and the +object is placed outside, as in apposition, without case ending, and +under a form different from its original and simple one. + +This will readily be understood from the following examples from the +Mexican language. + +The sentence _ni-naca-qua_, is one word and means "I, flesh, eat." If +it is desired to express the object independently, the expression +becomes _ni-c-qua-in-nacatl_, "I it eat, the flesh." The termination +_tl_ does not belong to the root of the noun, but is added to show +that it is in an external, and, as it were, unnatural position. Both +the direct and remote object can thus be incorporated, and if they are +not, but separately appended, the scheme of the sentence is still +preserved; as _ni-te-tla-maca_, literally, "I, something, to somebody, +give." How closely these accessories are incorporated is illustrated +by the fact that the tense augments are not added to the stem, but to +the whole word; _o-ni-c-te-maca-e_, "I have given it to somebody;" +when the _o_ is the prefix of the perfect. + +In these languages, every element in the sentence, which is not +incorporated in the verb, has, in fact, no syntax at all. The verbal +exhausts all the formal portion of the language. The relations of the +other words are intimated by their position. Thus _ni-tlagotlaz-nequia_, +I wished to love, is literally "I, I shall love, I wished." _Tlagotlaz_, +is the first person singular of the future, _ni-nequia_, I wished, which +is divided, and the future form inserted. The same expression may stand +thus: _ni-c-nequia-tlagotlaz_, where the _c_ is an intercalated relative +pronoun, and the literal rendering is, "I it wished, I shall love." + +In the Lule language the construction with an infinitive is simply +that the two verbs follow each other in the same person, as _caic +tucuec_, "I am accustomed to eat," literally, "I am acustomed,[TN-4] I +eat." + +None of these devices fullfils[TN-5] all the uses of the infinitive, +and hence they are all inferior to it. + +In languages which lack formal elements, the deficiency must be +supplied by the mind. Words are merely placed in juxtaposition, and +their relationship guessed at. Thus, when a language constructs its +cases merely by prefixing prepositions to the unaltered noun, there is +no grammatical form; in the Mbaya language _e-tiboa_ is translated +"through me," but it is really "I, through;" _l'emani_, is rendered +"he wishes," but it is strictly "he, wish." + +In such languages the same collocation of words often corresponds to +quite different meanings, as the precise relation of the thoughts is +not defined by any formal elements. This is well illustrated in the +Tupi tongue. The word _uba_ is "father;" with the pronoun of the third +person prefixed it is _tuba_, literally "he, father." This may mean +either "his father," or "he is a father," or "he has a father," just +as the sense of the rest of the sentence requires. + +Certainly a language which thus leaves confounded together ideas so +distinct as these, is inferior to one which discriminates them; and +this is why the formal elements of a tongue are so important to +intellectual growth. The Tupis may be an energetic and skillful +people, but with their language they can never take a position as +masters in the realm of ideas. + +The absence of the passive in most, if not all, American tongues is +supplied by similar inadequate collocations of words. In Huasteca, for +example, _nana tanin tahjal_, is translated "I am treated by him;" +actually it is, "I, me, treats he." This is not a passive, but simply +the idea of the Ego connected with the idea of another acting upon it. + +This is vastly below the level of inflected speech; for it cannot be +too strenuously maintained that the grammatical relations of spoken +language are the more perfect and favorable to intellectual growth, +the more closely they correspond to the logical relations of thought. + +Sometimes what appears as inflection turns out on examination to be +merely adjunction. Thus in the Mbaya tongue there are such verbal +forms as _daladi_, thou wilt throw, _nilabuite_, he has spun, when the +_d_ is the sign of the future, and the _n_ of the perfect. These look +like inflections; but in fact _d_, is simply a relic of _quide_, +hereafter, later, and _n_ stands in the same relation to _quine_, +which means "and also." + +To become true formal elements, all such adjuncts must have completely +lost their independent signification; because if they retain it, their +material content requires qualification and relation just as any other +stem word. + +A few American languages may have reached this stage. In the Mexican +there are the terminals _ya_ or _a_ in the imperfect, the augment _o_ +in the preterit, and others in the future. In the Tamanaca the present +ends in _a_, the preterit in _e_, the future in _c_. "There is nothing +in either of these tongues to show that these tense signs have +independent meaning, and therefore there is no reason why they should +not be classed with those of the Greek and Sanscrit as true +inflectional elements."[24-*] + + +Sec. 13. PSYCHOLOGICAL ORIGIN OF INCORPORATION. + +This Incorporative plan, which may be considered as distinctive of the +American stock of languages, is explained in its psychological origin +by Humboldt, as the result of an _exaltation of the imaginative over +the intellectual elements of mind_. By this method, the linguistic +faculty strives to present to the understanding the whole thought in +the most compact form possible, thus to facilitate its comprehension; +and this it does, because a thought presented in one word is more +vivid and stimulating to the imagination, more individual and +picturesque, than when narrated in a number of words.[25-*] + +But the mistake must not be made of supposing that Incorporation is a +_creative act_ of the language-sense, or that its products, the +compounds that it builds, are real words. Humboldt was careful to +impress this distinction, and calls such incorporated compounds +examples of _collocation_ (Zusammensetzung), not of _synthesis_ +(Zusammenfassung). On this ground, he doubted, and with justice, the +assertion of Duponceau, that the long words of the Lenape (Delaware) +dialect are formed by an arbitrary selection of the phonetic parts of +a number of words, without reference to the radical syllables.[25-+] +He insisted, as is really the case, that in all instances the +significant syllable or syllables are retained. + + +Sec. 14. EFFECT OF INCORPORATION ON COMPOUND SENTENCES. + +As has been seen, the theory of Incorporation is to express the whole +proposition, as nearly as possible, in one word; and what part of it +cannot be thus expressed, is left without any syntax whatever. Not +only does this apply to individual words in a sentence, but it extends +to the various clauses of a compound sentence, such as in Aryan +languages show their relation to the leading clauses by means of +prepositions, conjunctions and relative pronouns. + +When the methods are analyzed by which the major and minor clauses are +assigned their respective values in these tongues, it is very plain +what difficulties of expression the system of Incorporation involves. +Few of them have any true connecting word of either of the three +classes above mentioned. They depend on scarcely veiled material +words, simply placed in juxtaposition. + +It is probable that the prepositions and conjunctions of all +languages were at first significant words, and the degree to which +they have lost their primary significations and have become purely +formal elements expressing relation, is one of the measures of the +grammatical evolution of a tongue. In most American idioms their +origin from substantives is readily recognizable. Frequently these +substantives refer to parts of the body, and this, in passing, +suggests the antiquity of this class of words and their value in +comparison. + +In Maya _tan_ means in, toward, among; but it is also the breast or +front of the body. The Mexican has three classes of prepositions--the +first, whose origin from a substantive cannot be detected; the second, +where an unknown and a known element are combined; the third, where +the substantive is perfectly clear. An example of the last mentioned +is _itic_, in, compounded of _ite_, belly, and the locative particle +_c_; the phrase _ilhuicatl itic_, in heaven, is literally "in the +belly of heaven." Precisely the same is the Cakchiquel _pamcah_, +literally, "belly, heaven"=in heaven. In Mexican, _notepotzco_ is +"behind me," literally, "my back, at;" this corresponds again to the +Cakchiquel _chuih_, behind me, from _chi_, at, _u_, my, _vih_, +shoulder-blades. The Mixteca prepositions present the crude nature of +their origin without disguise, _chisi huahi_, belly, house--that is, +in front of the house; _sata huahi_, back, house--behind the house. + +The conjunctions are equally transparent. "And" in Maya is _yetel_, in +Mexican _ihuan_. One would suppose that such an indispensable +connective would long since have been worn down to an insoluble +entity. On the contrary, both these words retain their perfect +material meaning. _Yetel_ is a compound of _y_, his, _et_, companion, +and _el_, the definite termination of nouns. _Ihuan_ is the +possessive, _i_, and _huan_, associate, companion, used also as a +termination to form a certain class of plurals. + +The deficiency in true conjunctions and relative pronouns is met in +many American languages by a reversal of the plan of expression with +us. The relative clause becomes the principal one. There is a certain +logical justice in this; for, if we reflect, it will appear evident +that the major proposition is, in our construction, presented as one +of the conditions of the minor. "I shall drown, if I fall in the +water," means that, of the various results of my falling in the water, +one of them will be that I shall drown. "I followed the road which +you described," means that you described a road, and one of the +results of this act of yours was that I followed it. + +This explains the plan of constructing compound sentences in Qquichua. +Instead of saying "I shall follow the road which you describe," the +construction is "You describe, this road I shall follow;" and instead +of "I shall drown if I fall in the water," it would be, "I fall in the +water, I shall drown." + +The Mexican language introduces the relative clause by the word _in_, +which is an article and demonstrative pronoun, or, if the proposition +is a conditional one, by _intla_, which really signifies "within +this," and conveys the sense that the major is included within the +conditions of the minor clause. The Cakchiquel conditional particle is +_vue_, if, which appears to be simply the particle of affirmation +"yes," employed to give extension to the minor clause, which, as a +rule, is placed first. + +Or a conventional arrangement of words may be adopted which will +convey the idea of certain dependent clauses, as those expressing +similitude, as is often the case in Mexican. + + +Sec. 15. THE DUAL IN AMERICAN LANGUAGES. + +In his admirable philosophical examination of the dual number in +language, Humboldt laid the foundation of a linguistic theory of +numerals which has not yet received the development it merits. Here he +brings into view the dual and plural endings of a list of American +languages, and explains the motives on which they base the inclusive +and exclusive plurals so common among them. It is, in fact, a species +of pronominal dual confined to the first person in the plural. + +This, he goes on to say, is by no means the only dual in these +tongues. Some of them express both the other classes of duals which he +names. Thus, the Totonaca has duals for all objects which appear as +pairs in nature, as the eyes, the ears, the hands, etc.; while the +Araucanian equals the Sanscrit in extending the grammatical expression +of the dual through all parts of speech where it can find proper +application.[27-*] + + +Sec. 16. HUMBOLDT'S ESSAY ON THE AMERICAN VERB. + +The essay on the American verb translated in the following pages has +never previously appeared in print, either in German or English. The +original MS. is in the Royal Library at Berlin, whence I obtained a +transcript. The author alludes to this essay in several passages of +his printed works, most fully in his "Letter to M. Abel-Remusat" +(1826), in which he says: + +"A few years ago, I read before the Berlin Academy a memoir, which has +not been printed, in which I compared a number of American languages +with each other, solely with regard to the manner in which they +express the verb as uniting the subject with the attribute in the +proposition, and from this point of view I assigned them to various +classes. As this trait proves to what degree a language possesses +grammatical forms, or is near to possessing them, it is decisive of +the whole grammar of a tongue." + +On reading the memoir, I was so much impressed with the acuteness and +justness of its analysis of American verbal forms that I prepared the +translation which I now submit. + +In the more recent studies of the American verb which have appeared +from the pens of Friedrich Mueller, J. Hammond Trumbull and Lucien +Adam, we have the same central element of speech subjected to critical +investigation at able hands. But it seems to me that none of them has +approached the topic with the broad, philosophic conceptions which +impress the reader in this essay of Humboldt's. Although sixty years +and more have elapsed since it was written, I am confident that it +will provide ample food for thought to the earnest student of +language. + + + + +_On the Verb in American Languages. By Wilhelm von Humboldt[TN-6] +Translated from the unpublished original. By D. G. Brinton, M.D._ + + +You recently had the goodness to give an appreciative hearing to my +essay on The Origin of Grammatical Forms. + +I desire to-day to apply the principles which I then stated in general +to a particular grammatical point through a series of languages. I +choose those of America as best suited to such a purpose, and select +the Verb as the most important part of speech, and the central point +of every language. Without entering into an analysis of the different +parts of the verb, I shall confine myself to that which constitutes +its peculiar verbal character--the union of the subject and predicate +of the sentence by means of the notion of Being. This alone forms the +essence of the verb; all other relations, as of persons, tenses, modes +and classes, are merely secondary properties. + +The question to be answered is therefore:-- + +Through what form of grammatical notation do the languages under +consideration indicate that subject and predicate are to be united by +means of the notion of Being? + +I believe I have shown with sufficient clearness that a language may +have a great diversity of apparent forms, and may express all +grammatical relations with definiteness, and yet when taken as a whole +it may lack true grammatical form. From this arises an essential and +real graduated difference between languages. This difference, however, +has nothing to do with the question whether particular languages +employ exclusively agglutination or inflection, as all began with +agglutination; but in the languages of the higher class, it became in +its effects on the mind, identical with inflection. + +As languages of the higher class, one has but to name the cultivated +idioms of Asia and Europe, Sanscrit, Greek and Latin, in order to +apply to them the above statement. It is still more necessary, +however, to understand thoroughly the structure of those languages +which are on a lower plane, partly because this will convince us of +the correctness of the classification, partly because these tongues +are less generally known. + +It is enough to take up some single leading grammatical relation. I +select for this purpose the verb as the most important part of speech, +with which most of the others come into relation, and which completes +the formation of the sentence, the grammatical purpose of all +language--and often embraces it wholly in itself. But I shall confine +myself solely to that which makes the verb a verb, the characteristic +notation of its peculiar verbal nature. In every language this point +is the most important and the most difficult, and cannot be made too +clear to throw light upon the whole of the language. Linguistic +character can be ascertained through this point in the shortest and +most certain manner. + +The verb is the union of the subject and predicate of the sentence by +means of the notion of Being; yet not of every predicate. The +attribute which is united to the substance by the verb must be an +energic one, a participial. The substance is represented in the verb +as in motion, as connecting the Being with the energic attribute. By +means of this representation, and the peculiar nature of the +attribute, the verb is distinguished from the mere logical copula, +with which it is liable to be confounded if these ideas are not +understood. If the verb is explained merely as a synthesis of Being +with any other attribute, then the origin of the tenses cannot be +wholly derived from one idea, for the idea of time alone would allow +only a three-fold distinction. Moreover, in such case the true and +efficient nature of the verb is misunderstood. In the sentence, "The +man is good," the verb is not a synthesis of the adjective "good" with +the substantive, but it is a participial of the energic attribute "to +be good," which contains a condition, having beginning, middle and +end, and consequently resembles an action. Fully analyzed, the +sentence would be, "He is being good." Where the substantive verb +stands without a visible predicate, as in the sentence, "I am," then +the verb "to be" has itself as the object of a synthesis, "I am +being." But as rude nations would find this difficult to comprehend, +the verb "to be" is either entirely lacking, as in many American +languages, or else it has an original material sense, and is +confounded with "to stand," "to give," "to eat," etc., and thus +indicates Being as identical with the most familiar occupations. + +The subject, the substance represented as in action, may be one +independent of the speakers, or it may be identical with one of them, +and this identity is expressed by the pronouns. From this arises the +persons. The energic attribute may exert its action in various manners +in the substance or between two substances; this gives rise to the +forms or classes of verbs. Their action must be confined to a given +point or period of time. The Being may be understood as definite or +indefinite, etc., and in this is the origin of modes. Being is +inseparably connected with the notation of time. This, united with the +fixation of the point or period of time of an action, forms the +tenses. No verb, therefore, can be conceived as without persons and +tenses, modes and classes; yet these qualities do not constitute its +essence, but arise from the latter, which itself is the synthesis +brought about by the notion of Being. The signs of these qualities +must be made to appear in the grammatical notation of the verb, but in +such a manner that they appear dependent on its nature, making one +with it. + +The energic attribute, which aids in forming the verb, may be a real +movement or action, as going, coming, living, working, etc., or merely +a qualitative Being, as a being beautiful, good, mortal, or immortal. +In the former case, we have a real attributive verb, in the latter a +substantive verb, in which an attribute is considered as at rest, +hence as an adjective. Although in both cases the nature of the verb +is the same, yet in many languages this difference leads to a +corresponding variety in grammatical notation. + +In accordance with these ideas culled from universal grammar, the +forms of the conjugations in the various languages will now be +considered. + +I have taken as a basis for this investigation as many American +languages as I thought sufficient for the purpose, and as would not make +the survey oppressive by their number; but as I do not name all of them, +and pay still less attention to pointing out in what other groups of +languages the peculiarities named occur, it must be understood that what +is here said is not intended as a characterization of American +languages. This is reserved for another study. + +In order to judge how closely these languages approach grammatical +perfection in this point, we must take as our criterion that condition +of speech where there is a class of words, which possess verbal power, +and are at the same time separated by a definite form from all other +parts of speech. With reference to this condition as the highest, we +must arrange in various grades all other structural forms or +paraphrases of the verb. + +The notion of Being, which constitutes the basis and the essence of +the verb, can be indicated either, + +1. As expressed independently. + +2. As incorporated in the verbal form as an auxiliary verb. + +3. As included in the verbal form merely as an idea. + +The differences of the languages under comparison can be appreciated +most correctly by means of these three headings; but it must not be +forgotten that any language may use the first and one of the last two +methods, and that in languages which have a substantive verb +conjugated with and without auxiliary verbs, all three may be +employed. + + +I. + +WHEN THE NOTION OF BEING IS EXPRESSED INDEPENDENTLY. + +I must except from this class all instances where the substantive verb +is formed from a radical, inasmuch as this root, like any other, must +assume the verbal form, and thus come under one of the two other +divisions. In such case it expresses the notion of Being, either by an +auxiliary, as in the German _Ich bin gewesen_, or simply in the form, +as, _I am_. When it is remembered that the substantive verbs of all +languages are derived from concrete conceptions and impart to these +merely the general notion of Being, the above becomes still more +obvious. + +Now if there is no root-form for the substantive verb, and yet it is +expressed independently, and not by another verbal form, this can only +be done either by the position of the governing and governed words, or +by linguistic elements which are not properly verbs, but only become +so by this use. In the former case the substantive verb is merely +understood, in the latter it appears in a definite word, but without a +fixed radical. + +1. _When the notion of Being is understood._ + +One of the most common forms of sentences in American languages is to +bring together an adjective and a substantive, the substantive verb +being omitted. + +Mexican: _in Pedro qualli_, the Peter (is) good. + +Totonaca: _aquit chixco_, I (am) a man. + +Huasteca: _naxe uxum ibaua tzichniel_, this woman (is) not thy +servant. + +In the Mixteca language such expressions have a peculiar arrangement. +The adjective must precede the substantive, or rather the predicate +must precede the subject, as in the reverse case the words are +understood separately, and are not connected into a sentence: _quadza +naha_, the woman is bad; _naha quadza_, the bad woman. + +In the language of the Mbayas, a sentence can be made with any verb by +dropping the verbal affixes, by transposing a letter characterizing +the nouns as such, appending an adjective suffix, and uniting this +with an independent pronoun. The grammars of this language call this +form a passive, but it is just as much a neuter, and is not a verb but +a phrase. From _iigaichini_, to teach, we have _n-iigaichin-igi_, +taught, and as first person _e n-iigaichin-igi_, I am taught. The +initial _n_ which accompanies all nouns in this language, is merely +the possessive pronoun of the third person, added according to the +usage of many of these tongues to leave no noun without a possessive; +the termination _igi_ is a particle which indicates the place where +anything remains. Literally, therefore, _eniigaichinigi_ means, I (am) +the stopping-place of his teaching, _i. e._, one who is taught. All +affixes of mode and tense, however, may be united to this phrase, so +that thus it approaches a verb. + +Regarded apart from the changes through tenses and modes, the union of +the subject and predicate with the substantive verb omitted, is +admirably adapted to express the conjunction of two words in one idea, +and as the languages which make use of it also possess the ordinary +forms of conjugation, they thus possess a special expression for both +the forms of verbs above referred to. We shall note this particularly +in the Beto language. + +When the subject is not an independent part of speech, but an affixed +pronoun, the analogy of this method of notation to a verbal form +increases. For this is present even when no characteristic of a tense +is added, simply by the union of an attribute and a pronoun. It should +be remarked once for all, however, that too much weight must not be +attached to whether these elements form one word or not, as this is +not an infallible criterion. + +The verb cannot be considered to be present as a separate part of +speech, when a verb can thus be made out of any word, not merely those +stamped as verbs, but also out of those which bear the express +characteristics of nouns; and therefore I include all these cases in +the class under consideration. For in all these languages there is in +fact no verb, but only separate elements of speech with the verb +omitted. Such cases are, however, interesting, as showing the gradual +approach to the verb, and the effort of the instinct of language to +arrive at grammatical form. + + The independent personal pronoun rarely makes an element of verbal + form, as in speaking it is generally worn down to an affix. When it is + used to form a verbal expression, the difference of the elements is + 1 3 3 1 + apparent. Thus, in the Carib, _anaiaca puin au_--I (am) not a divider. + In that tongue, however, this placement is not applicable to every noun, + but only after certain definite verbal forms, especially in negative + expressions. + + The Lule language confines this notation to participials, and expresses + by it the condition of the action and also its time; [TN-7]_mil quis + 1 2 3 + amaiciton_, you (are) me loving. + +The affixed pronouns are either special, confined to these +expressions, or if elsewhere in the tongue, are not employed with +verbs, or not in this manner; or they are the pronominal affixes of +the verb itself. + +The Maya or Yucatecan language has a special pronoun which added to +any noun forms a sentence with it, and possesses the power to add the +idea of the verb; _Pedro en_, I am Pedro. But when it stands alone, +without a predicate, it loses this power, as _en_ alone does not mean, +"I am." + +In the Beto language there is, indeed, no special pronoun of this +kind, as the one used is also a possessive. Its position, however, +makes the difference. When it is prefixed, it is the possessive, but +when suffixed it carries with it the power of the verb: _humani rru_, +man I (am); _fofei rru_, bad I (am). In a similar manner this tongue +forms a substantive verb, _ajoi rru_. The meaning of the root is not +given, but it seems to mean something present, at hand. It is +suggestive that in these phrases the accent is always on the pronoun, +as if to signify that that is the important element. + +It is very common in American languages to find the noun and the verb +using the same pronouns, with the former to indicate possession, with +the latter the subject. This might be explained by supposing that the +action is regarded as the possession of the agent. But it is simpler +to suppose that in each case the connection of the person with the +noun and the verb is in the thoughts, and this relation is recognized +in expression. + +In this way the Mbaya language has a sort of descriptive conjugation; +connecting the participles with possessive pronouns; _i-iligodi_, I +(am) explaining; but no doubt less definitely, "my explaining," "I to +explain." + +The language of the Abipones slightly alters the possessive pronouns +in some persons and uses them in a similar manner: _ri-aal_, I am +lazy; _yo-amkata_, he is good. + +When the verbal pronoun is used in such expressions, it is entirely +identical with the verb. + +This is the case with the Mexican, where the verbal pronoun united to +the participle forms a sentence: _ni-tlacotlani_, I (am) a lover. This +expression differs from the present indicative only in the form of the +root-word, _ni-tlacotla_; but it cannot form another tense or mode. +The grammarians call such an expression a tense indicating habit. +This, however, would not be a tense but a mode, and, in fact, the term +rests on a misunderstanding. That such expressions indicate habit is +shown by the fact that they do not apply, like the present of the +verb, to the temporary action, but convey that it is a custom, or a +business; not that I am loving just now, but that I am habitually a +lover. + +An entirely similar instance occurs in the North Guaranay language, +which also permits, besides the regular conjugation, a union of the +root of the verb with a pronoun, the verb being omitted. The +grammarians of that tongue say that this adds extension and emphasis +to the sense of the verb. The real difference, however, is that this +procedure treats the verb as a noun, and the extension comes from +considering the action expressed by the verb to have become a +permanent quality; _a poro iuca_, I kill men (ordinary conjugation); +_xe poro iuca_, I (am) a man-killer (form with the possessive +pronoun); I kill men as my business. + +In both these languages, therefore, what have been represented as +peculiar and separated forms, tenses indicating habit, or forms of +extension, are simply erroneous explanations of quite simple +constructions. In Mexican the correctness of this explanation is +confirmed by the forms of the vocative, which are identical with this +supposed tense, _in ti tlatlacoani_, O thou sinner; literally, thou +who (art) a sinner. + +In the above examples the verbal power lies in the pronouns. But the +Mbaya language constructs verbal sentences by adding the sign of the +future to any adjective without a pronoun. This sign is _de_, or +before a vowel _d_: _de liidi_, it will be pleasant to the taste; _d +otiya_, he will be fat. I do not find other examples, and am uncertain +whether other tenses and modes are thus formed. In that case the +pronouns would have to be added, and the expression would lose its +peculiarity, which is that the tense sign alone carries with it the +notion of Being. + +The Othomi language makes use in such expressions not only of the +pronouns but of all the affixes of the verb, and conjugates a noun +together with its article, treating it as a verbal radical: +_qui-no-munti-maha_, Thou wert the enriched. Here _no-munti_ is "the +enriched," and all the remaining syllables are verbal inflections. +Sandoval, who wrote a grammar of the language, explains _no_ as an +auxiliary verb; but with the noun he calls it an article, as it is, +and he evidently misunderstood the expression. It is wholly a verbal, +but as this procedure can be applied to any noun whatever, such an +expression is far removed from a real, well-defined verbal form. + +The same language has another peculiar form with the possessive, which +can only be explained by supplying an omitted verb. _Na nuhti_ means +"my property;" but if to this is added the abbreviated pronoun used as +a verbal affix, _na-nuhti-g[=a]_, the words mean, "this property +belongs to me," or, "my property is it, mine." + +In the grammatically obscure consciousness of these people, the ideas +of verbal and merely pronominal expression are confounded, as also in +the Brazilian language, where "my father" and "I have a father" are +expressed by the same word. + +The advantages which these languages derive from the formation of +sentences with the verb omitted are two. + +They can change any noun into a verb, or at least they can treat it as +such. It is true that this can also be done by a substantive verb when +one is found, but as the languages in question unite the noun to the +verbal flexions, their freedom is much greater. + +The second advantage is, that when it is desirable to discriminate +clearly between the two kinds of verbs, the one which has at base an +energic attribute, the other which merely expresses the relation of +predicate to subject, a thing to its qualities, this end can be much +better reached by the process described than even by the substantive +verb, which, by its full verbal form, always recalls the action of an +energic attribute. + +Many of the languages named include in these expressions particles of +time, thereby obscuring the distinction referred to. But in others +this is not the case. Thus in the Maya and Beto there are two +conjugations, one with the pronoun without time particles, and one +with them; and as in both these tongues the present of the true +conjugation has a characteristic tense sign, a separate aorist of the +present is formed by the other conjugation, which our cultivated +tongues cannot express so conveniently. + +2. _When the notion of Being is expressed by a special word, but +without a phonetic radical._ + +Although the assumption here expressed sounds at first rather +enigmatical, yet one can soon see that if the notion of Being is to be +conveyed without a phonetic radical, it can only be done through the +sign of the person, that is, in the pronoun, with or without a tense +sign. This is actually the case in two languages, the Maya and the +Yaruri. + +We have already seen that in the Maya there is a special pronoun +which unites a predicate to the idea of person into one sentence. +There is also another which by itself conveys the idea of the verb, +and of which each person has the signification both of the pronoun and +the substantive verb, "I" and "I am," "thou" and "thou art," etc. Not +only is it so used in the present, but it can take the signs of the +tenses. It is distinguished from the pronouns previously referred to +in the first and second persons of both numbers only by a prefixed +_t_, as follows: + + Pronouns which, with a predicate, Pronouns which, by themselves, + convey a verbal idea. possess verbal power. + + Singular. + 1. en ten + 2. ech tech + 3. lai lo lai + + Plural. + 1. on toon + 2. ex teex + 3. ob loob + +This similarity leads to the thought that a true phonetic radical may +exist in this _t_, and may induce us to consider this word not as a +pronoun but as a substantive verb. But this makes no difference. The +fact remains that the word is used both as a simple pronoun and also +as a substantive verb. In the translation of the Lord's Prayer, the +word _toon_ is a simple pronoun. If _t_ is a radical, it may just as +well come from the pronoun. Some languages offer clear examples of +this. In the Maipure the expression for the third person singular +recurs with all the other persons, as if this sound meant the person, +the man generally, and the first and second persons were denoted as +the "I-person," "thou-person," etc. In the Achagua language the same +radical occurs in all the pronouns, but does not, as in the Maipure, +stand alone for the third person singular, but in it, as in the other +persons, appears as an affix. + +At any rate, this pronoun answers, in the Maya, all the purposes of +the substantive verb, and there is no other in the language. + +It is quite intelligible that in the conceptions of rude nations the +idea of an object, and especially of a person, cannot be separated +from the idea of his existence. This may be applied to the forms of +expression above mentioned. What seems a violent and ungrammatical +omission of the verb, is probably in those people an obscure +association of thoughts, a non-separation of the object from its +being. Probably it is from the same source that in some American +languages every adjective is so considered that it includes not the +idea alone, but the expression, "it is thus, and thus constituted." + +In the Yaruri language the absence of a phonetic radical meaning "to +be" is yet more apparent. Each person of the pronoun is a different +word, and they have no single letter in common. The pronoun which has +verbal power is almost identical with the independent personal +pronoun. The tense signs are prefixed to it. Thus, _que_, I am; _ri +que_, I was, &c. This _ri_, however, is merely a particle which +expresses that something is remote, and corresponds with our "from." +_Ui-ri-di_, there was water there, literally "water far is" (from us +is). The subjunctive of this substantive verb is given as _ri_, "if I +were." This means, however, "in," and is a particle. The notion of +Being is added, as in the pronoun; and the ideas, "in the being," and +"if I were," pass into each other. + +Strictly speaking, both the verbal notations here expressed are +identical with those already mentioned. Here also the verb is supplied +by the mind. The difference is that in the latter case the pronouns +alone signify being, and contain this notion in themselves, whereas in +the other cases this notion arises from the conjunction of subject and +predicate. Then also in the Maya language there is a special pronoun +for this sole purpose. As far as the forms go, they entirely resemble +those of a true verb, and if _que_ and _ten_ are regarded as mere +verbs substantive, one who did not examine their elements would take +them to be true verbs like the Sanscrit _bh[=u]_, the Greek ~eimi~, +and the Latin _sum_. The example of these languages thus teaches that +in the analysis of the substantive verbs of other tongues it is not +necessary that a common phonetic radical need be employed. + +In the Huasteca language the substantive verb is replaced by affixing +a tense sign to the independent pronouns; _naua itz_, I was, _tata +itz_, thou wert, etc. But the case is not the same. The pronoun +receives the verbal power by the suffix _itz_, and this appears only +in later times to have become a sign of the preterit, and in an +earlier period to have had a general sense. The mountaineers who seem +to have retained the older forms of the tongue use the _itz_, not only +in the preterit, but in the present and future. It was doubtless the +expression of some general verbal idea, as, to be, to do, etc. + + +II. + +THE NOTION OF BEING IS INCORPORATED WITH THE VERB AS AN AUXILIARY. + +Auxiliary verbs are used only for certain tenses, or form the entire +conjugation. The former arises from accidental causes having relation +only to these tenses, not to the verb in general. The latter readily +arises when a substantive verb offers an easy means of conjugation by +uniting with another verb. Sometimes the conjugation by means of an +auxiliary shows that the linguistic sense of a notion sought something +beyond the person and tense signs to express the verbal power itself, +and therefore had recourse to a general verb. This can, indeed, only +be constituted of those elements and a radical; but the want in the +language is thus supplied, once for all, and does not return with +every verb. + +An excellent example of this is furnished by the Maya conjugation. In +an analysis of it we find an element that neither belongs to the root, +nor is a person, tense or mode sign, and when their varieties and +changes are compared, there is evident throughout a marked anxiety to +express the peculiar verbal power in the form of the verb. + +The conjugation in the Maya language is formed by affixing the +pronouns and mode and tense signs to the stem. The pronoun is, +according to a distinction to be noted hereafter, either the +possessive pronoun or that one which, without verbal power in itself, +yet receives it when a predicate is attached to it to form a sentence. + +Besides this, the suffix _cah_ accompanies all verbs in the present +and imperfect; and the suffix _ah_ accompanies all transitive verbs +through the remaining tenses, except the future. Present, 1st person, +sing., _canan-in-cah_, I guard; imperf. 1st pers. sing., _canan-in cah +cuchi_; perf., 1st pers. sing., _in canan-t-ah_. _In_ is the +possessive pronoun, _cuchi_ the sign of the imperfect, _t_ in the +perfect is a euphonic letter. + +The idea of transitive verbs is here taken somewhat narrower than +usual. Only those are included which govern a word outside of +themselves. All others are considered intransitive, even those which +of themselves are active, but either have no expressed object (as, I +love, I hate, etc.), or the word which they govern is in the verb +itself, as in the Greek ~oikodomeo, oikoureo~. As these can +govern a second accusative, the object incorporated in the verb is +included in the idea they express. + +The tenses of the intransitive verbs, except the present and +imperfect, while they drop _ah_ and the possessive pronoun, are formed +with that pronoun which forms sentences with a predicate. + +There are cases where not only the present omits _cah_, but where the +stem, if it ends in _ah_ as is often the case, drops it, and +substitutes _ic_. The signification then alters, and indicates an +habitual action or quality. As _ic_ is the sign of the gerund, this +change appears to be the transformation of the verb into a verbal, and +to effect this, it must be united to that pronoun which serves as the +substantive verb; _ten yacunic_, I love, properly, I am loving +(habitually). + +What _cah_ and _ah_ mean by themselves, we are not informed. Where +_cah_ is attached to the stem of some verbs it signifies intensity. +_Ah_ is as a prefix the sign of the male sex, of the inhabitant of a +place, and of names derived from active verbs. Hence it seems to have +meant at first person, man, and later to have become a pronoun, and +finally an affix. It is noteworthy that the same difference exists +between _ah_ and _cah_, as between _en_ and _ten_. The _c_ may +therefore be a radical sound. In the conjugation, _cah_ is treated +wholly as a verb. For in this the possessive pronoun is always +prefixed; and as in the present and imperfect it is placed after the +stem of the verb and before _cah_, it is evident from the difference +between the two forms _canan-in-cah_ and _in-canan-t-ah_, that in the +former _cah_, and in the latter _canan_, are regarded as the verbs. +_Canan-in-cah_ is precisely as the English "I do guard." + +_Cah_ is consequently a true auxiliary verb; _ten_, when it appears in +conjunction with _en_ must have the notion of Being understood: _ah_ +appears to be of similar nature, but as it appears only in the +conjugation of transitive verbs, it is a verbal sign, and thus +receives its verbal power. That _cah_ and _ah_ do really possess this +powever[TN-8] is evident from the fact that they are never used +whenever either of the pronouns which are always associated with the +notion of Being is present. + +Except in the future of transitive verbs, there is no instance in the +conjugation where the stem of the verb is not accompanied by one of +these four syllables, all of which indicate Being, and all of which +have the force of auxiliary verbs. + +The future of transitive verbs not only does not take any of these +syllables, but even rejects _ah_ when it is the terminal syllable of +the stem. In this case no other termination replaces it. On the +contrary, all other verbs receive a new suffix in their future, +varying as they are of one or many syllables. The nature of these +suffixes has not been explained. + +The definite results of this analysis are as follows: + +1. The Maya language possesses in its conjugation, besides the +inflection syllables of the persons and tenses, another element, +which, except in the simple future of transitive verbs, distinctly +carries with it the notion of Being; in the future of most verbs there +is such an element, but of unknown origin, and it only fails in the +future of one class of verbs. + +2. This language displays an effort to express, besides the other +purposes of the verb, particularly its synthetic power, which is all +the more apparent as it uses different means in different cases, but +all designed to accomplish the same purpose. + +The Yaruri language constructs the whole of its conjugation in a yet +simpler manner by means of an auxiliary verb. + +The union of the pronoun and the tense sign which, as we have already +seen, forms the substantive verb, affixed to the stem, completes the +inflections of the one and only conjugation of attributive verbs, +except that the independent pronouns are prefixed. Neither the stem +nor the auxiliary words suffer any changes, except the insertion of an +_n_ in one person. The union remains, however, a loose one, and when +person and tense are manifest by the connection, the auxiliary verb is +omitted. This happens in certain verbs ending in _pa_. These, contrary +to the usual rule, change in the perfect this termination to _pea_, by +which the tense is made apparent, and as the person is evident from +the prefixed personal pronoun, the auxiliary can be dropped without +danger of obscurity. + +The formation of certain tenses by means of auxiliaries is also +frequent in American languages. + +An optative of this nature in the Lule language has already been +mentioned. + +In the Mixteca tongue the imperfect is thus formed from the present, +which carries with it the personal sign, and the perfect without its +personal sign, a proceeding which, however rude and awkward it may be, +shows a just appreciation of the peculiarity of this past tense, which +expresses an action as going on, and therefore present in past time. +The expression of continuous action is placed first, "I sin," then +this is more precisely defined by the mark of past time, "this was +so;" _Yo-dzatevain-di-ni-cuvui_. _Yo_ is the sign of the present, _ni_ +of the preterit, _di_ is the pronoun; the other two words, _to sin_ +and _to be_: "I was sinning." + +The sign of the present, _yo_, is probably an abbreviation of the verb +_yodzo_, I stand upon or over something, and so there is a second +auxiliary in the sentence. This may often be a means of discovering +the origin of tense signs, as, especially in American tongues, tenses +are often formed by the union of verbs, as also occurs in Sanscrit and +Greek. + +The Othomi distinguishes certain past tenses, which, however, are +separated by other characteristics, by a prefixed _xa_, which is +called the third person singular of a substantive verb. As these +tenses are precisely those in which the action must be completed, the +perfect, pluperfect and future perfect, not, however, the imperfect +and past aorist, such a connection is very suitable. Of this verb we +have only _xa_, and there is another substantive verb _gui_, which +itself takes _oca_ in its conjugation. + +The Totonaca language unites the perfect, in the person spoken of, +with the third person singular of the future of the substantive verb, +to form a future perfect. This is no completed form, but only an +awkward sequence of two verbs; _yc-paxquilh-na-huan_, literally, "I +have loved, it will be,"="I shall have loved." + +In similar manner the substantive verb is used to form a tense of the +subjunctive. + +The sign of both the perfects in this tongue is the syllable _nit_, +and _niy_ means "to die." It is not improbable that this affix is +derived from this verb. Death and destruction are suitable ideas to +express the past, and some languages employ negative particles as +signs of the preterit. In the Tamanaca this is not exactly the case, +but the negative particle _puni_ added to a word which signifies an +animate thing, intimates that it has died; _papa puni_, the deceased +father, literally, "father not." In the Omagua tongue the same word +signifies old, dead, and not present. + +In the Maipure and Carib tongues the negative particles _ma_ and _spa_ +are also the signs of the preterit. Bopp's suggestion that the +Sanscrit augment was originally _a_ privative finds support in this +analogy. Yet I would not speak conclusively on this point, as probably +that, the Greek augment ~e~, and the Mexican _o_, are only +lengthened sounds, intended to represent concretely the length of the +past time. At any rate one must regard the negation as an actual +destruction, a "been, and no longer being," not as simply a negation +of the present. + + +III. + +THE NOTION OF BEING IS PRESENT IN THE VERBAL FORM ONLY IN IDEA. + +In this case the verb consists only of the stem, and the person, +tense, and mode signs. The former are originally pronouns, the latter +particles. Before they are worn down by use to mere affixes, the three +following cases may arise: + +1. That all three of these elements are equally separable and loosely +connected. + +2. That one of the two, the person or the tense and mode signs, +obtains a closer connection with the stem, and becomes formal, while +the other remains loosely attached. + +3. That both these are incorporated with the stem, and the whole +approaches a true grammatical form, although it does not fully +represent it. + +_Case 1st._ + +The only language I can instance here is that of the Omaguas, as I +know no other with such a decided absence of all true grammatical +forms in the verb. The independent pronouns, the stem words of the +verbs, and the particles of tense and mode are merely placed together +without any change, without internal connection, and apparently +without fixed order; _usu_, to go; 1st pers. sing. pres. _ta usu_; 2d +pers. sing. perf. _avi ene usu_ (_ene_ is the pronoun, _avi_ the sign +of the perfect). Subjunctive, 1st pers. sing. pres. _ta usu mia_; 2d +pers. sing. perf. _avi epe usu mia_. + +Sometimes, when a misunderstanding is not feared, the verbal stem is +employed without these qualifying particles, and cannot then be +distinguished from a noun. _Paolo amai amano_. The last word means "to +die," but grammatically the sentence can as well be rendered, "Paul +only die" (_i. e._ has died), as "Paul only dead." + +It is true that the suffix _ta_ changes nouns to verbs: _zhiru_, +clothes, _zhiru-ta_, to clothe; but it also changes verbs to nouns, +_yasai_, to cover, _yasai-ta_, a cover. This may be explained by the +theory that this suffix conveys the idea _to make_, which is taken +sometimes actively, sometimes passively. + +According to the above, the Omagua conjugation falls in the class +where an attributive is united to a pronoun and the verb is omitted; +only that here definite tense syllables appear, and this brings the +construction nearer to the idea of a conjugation. + +_Case 2d._ + +1. The Maipure, Abipone, Mbaya and Mocobi languages place only the +personal sign in intimate connection with the verb, and allow the +tense and mode signs to be loosely attached. They have therefore but +one type of personal forms to be applied in every tense and mode by +means of the particles or the affixes formed from them. This type, +taken alone, usually forms the present; but, accurately speaking, this +name cannot be assigned it; because the signs of the other tenses are +also dropped when this can be done without obscurity. +_Ya-chaguani-me-yaladi._ Here the first word is in the indefinite +form, though it is not the present but the perfect. The _me_ is really +the preposition "in;" but usage has adopted it for the subjunctive +sign, and so the Spanish grammarians call it; or rather, the verb is +considered to be introduced by a conjunction, "if," "as," so that it +is usually not in the present but a past tense. If this is the case +with the last verb, the first one must have the same tense, and so the +whole phrase, without any tense sign, means, "I had helped him when I +said it." + +One would scarcely expect to find anything like this in cultivated +languages. Yet it does occur in both Sanscrit and Greek. The now +meaningless particle _sma_ in Sanscrit when it follows the present +changes it into a past, and in Greek ~an~ alters the indicative +into a subjunctive. + +To form this general type, the Maipure makes use of the unchanged +possessive pronoun, and treats nouns and verbs in the same manner. The +noun must always be united to a possessive pronoun, a trait common to +all the Orinoco tongues and many other American languages. In the 3d +person sing., however, neither the verb nor the noun has such a +pronoun, but it is to be understood; _nuani_, my son; _ani_, alone, +not son, but "his son." The 3d pers. sing. of the verb is often the +mere stem, without a personal sign, but that this peculiarity should +also extend to the noun I have met only in this tongue. It is evident +that a pronoun is considered as essential to a noun as to a verb, and +although a similar usage is found in many tongues, yet it appears in +none so binding. There are, indeed, some nouns which are free from the +necessity of thinking them in connection with a person, but these have +the suffix _ti_, which is dropped when the possessive pronoun is +added; _java ti_, a hatchet, _nu java_, my hatchet. From this it is +evident that _ti_ does not belong to the stem, and is incompatible +with the use of a possessive, hence it is the sign of the substantive, +in its independent condition. The same occurs in Mexican, and the +chief termination of substantives, _tli_, is almost identical in sound +with that in the Maipure. + +In this respect the verbal, conjugated with the personal signs, +differs nothing from the noun united to its possessive pronouns. +Grammatically, the form first becomes a verbal one by the added +particles of tense and mode. The signification of these can generally +be clearly ascertained, and thus are united closely to the stem. + +The particles which the language of the Abipones uses to form the +general verbal type are quite different from the possessives. The +tense and mode particles have elsewhere in the tongue independent +meanings. Thus _kan_, the sign of the perfect, means a thing which has +been, time that has past. + +In the language of the Mocobis the personal signs consist merely in +letters, prefixed and suffixed, and have no apparent relationship to +the pronouns. By affixing these letters, phonetic changes take place +so that the stem is combined with them into one form. + +Among the tense signs, a prefixed _l_ indicates a past time, a +suffixed _o_, the future; but the others are independent particles, +loosely attached to the stem. + +I have already shown how the Mbaya language conjugates adjectives with +the independent pronoun, and participles with the possessive pronoun. +The signs used in the conjugation proper of the attributive verb, do +not appear elsewhere in the tongue, and must have descended from an +older period of its existence. + +In the tense and mode signs it is easily perceived how descriptive +phrases pass into true forms. For the imperfect and pluperfect the +speaker can choose among a number of particles, all of which indicate +past time. The modes have definite signs, but these are merely +appended, and some have separate significations. The future and +perfect have not merely fixed particles, but these are worn down to +one letter, so that the stem is actually incorporated with them. + +2. In the languages heretofore considered the personal signs added to +the word make up the conjugation, and the other signs are attached +loosely and externally. The reverse of this, though not perfectly so, +appears in the Lule language. The tense and mode signs, often of but +one letter, are immediately and firmly attached to the stem, and the +pronouns are affixed to this to complete the conjugation. These +pronouns are, however, the ordinary possessives, so that noun and verb +become in a measure identical; thus, _camc_ means both "I eat" and "my +food;" _cumuee_, "I marry" and "my wife;" only in a few examples are +the verbal pronouns distinct from the possessives. + +In this case, therefore, the personal signs are independent elements, +occurring elsewhere in the language, while the tense and mode signs +are true affixes. + +The inflection-syllables form with the stem real verbal forms, and so +far the conjugation of this language belongs to the third case. But +each of the elements has its fixed position, and as soon as one has +the key to the combination, he can recognize and separate them at +once. + +Reasons which it would require too much space to set forth render it +probable that all the tense signs are really auxiliary verbs or come +from them. This is evident of the optative, as has already been shown. +The present only is simple, as it has no tense sign. + +Slight differences are found between the personal signs of some +tenses, so that these tenses can be distinguished by them, a trait +usually seen only in tongues so far cultivated that the grammatical +forms have undergone such changes as no longer to present simple and +uniform combinations. Equally curious is the regular omission of the +tense sign of past time in the third person plural only. Although, +except in this case and that of the present, each tense has its +definite sign, inserted between the stem and the personal sign, yet +there are, besides these, various particles expressing past time, +which can accompany the usual tense form, so that there is a double +sign of time, one in the word itself and one loosely attached to it. + +The languages of the Mbayas, Abipones, Mocobis and Lules are closely +allied both in words and in some grammatical forms. It is all the more +extraordinary, therefore, to find the last-mentioned pursuing a method +in the structure of its verb which is almost totally opposed to that +in the other three tongues. + +_Case 3d._ + +The languages of this class approach in their conjugations those of +the more cultivated tongues, in which each verbal inflection has a +fixed and independent form. Both the person, the tense and the mode +signs are united to the stem, in such a manner that none of the three +can be said to be either less or more loosely attached than the +others. + +All the conjugations about to be discussed lack, however, that fixity +of form which grammatically satisfies the mind. + +The elements are placed definitely and regularly one by the other, but +are not incorporated into each other, and are therefore readily +recognizable. + +They are found, moreover, outside of the verb elsewhere in the +language either without any change or with slight differences of +sound; the personal signs as pronouns, the other affixes as particles. + +The composition of the verb is separable, and may receive into itself +other parts of speech. + +No American language is free from these drawbacks to perfection of +form in the conjugations. In some all three are found; in most the +first and last. In really grammatically developed tongues, as in the +Sanscrit, Greek, Latin and German, none of these imperfections exists. +The verb includes in itself no part of its object, the affixes +modifying the stem have lost all independent life, and the analysis of +the formal elements becomes a difficult philological task, which often +fails and only rarely can be fully proved. + +I shall discriminate in regard to the conjugations about to be +considered that which is an approach toward a fixed form from the +intentional separation of the form to insert a governed word. + +_1. Approach toward a Fixed Form._ + +In the Mixteca language, the personal sign is the unchanged possessive +pronoun. If the verb is governed by a noun in the third person, the +possessive is dropped. It is left to the speaker to choose whether he +designates the person, either by prefixing the personal pronoun or +suffixing the possessive. The tense signs are prefixed syllables, but +the perfect and future signs are altogether different from those of +the present, and materially alter the verbal stem. + +The Beto language prefixes the personal signs and also the possessive +pronouns to the nouns. As the latter are not fully known, we cannot +judge of their identity with the verbal pronouns. The latter do not +seem to differ much from the personal pronouns. The tense signs are +easily recognized suffixes. + +Another conjugation of the same language, by the suffixed pronoun +without tense signs, and with the verb omitted, has been mentioned +above (I, 1), as forming a substantive verb. + +A second substantive verb arises from the conjugation above explained, +with the tense signs. + +These two forms may also be combined, and this illustrates with what +superfluous fullness grammatical forms spring up even among rude +nations. The conjugation with the tense sign is changed by a +participial suffix into a verbal, and then the pronoun is suffixed, as +in the conjugation without the tense sign. The latter, therefore, +stands twice in the form. The pronoun used in the conjugation with +tense signs may also be prefixed to a simple adjective, and the +pronoun used in the conjugation without tense sign is suffixed to +this, and the participial ending is then added. This is treated as a +verb with the substantive verb understood. But sometimes the verb "to +be" in the form without tense signs is added, and then the whole form +contains the pronoun three times, without gaining thereby any +additional meaning. + +The Carib conjugation seems to have arisen from the forms of many +dialects or epochs, and is therefore more complicated and formal, and +less easy to analyze. + +The personal signs are prefixed. In the substantive verb there are two +classes, of which only one is also common to attributive verbs. The +other indicates in the verb "to be" also the connection of persons +with the infinitive and gerund, and is therefore of the nature of a +possessive. It may also be that when it is combined with other tenses, +the notion among these nations is altogether a substantial one, as we +have already seen with the subjunctive. + +The stem often receives the addition _r_ or _ri_, the meaning of which +is not known. + +The structure of the Tamanaca conjugation also reveals a combination +of at least two separate structures. Some tenses use as their personal +signs entire pronouns, almost identical with the personals. Other +tenses merely change the initial letter of the verb, while there is +little similarity between these affixes and the pronouns. In the +plural some of the persons insert a syllable between the verb and the +tense sign. + +The tense signs are suffixed, and consist merely of terminal letters +or syllables, except two true particles, which distinguish the +continued present from the present aorist. + +There are an initial _y_ and a _t_ occasionally appearing in all +persons, of which we can only say that they are not radicals. + +The conjugation of this language, therefore, consists of elements not +readily analyzed. + +The Huasteca language prefixes the possessive pronouns as personal +signs. It may also drop them, and use in their stead the independent +pronouns; or may combine both; or may use abbreviated personals; so +that there is a prevailing arbitrariness in this part of the verbal +form. + +The tense signs are usually suffixes; but in the future they are +prefixes, which are incorporated with the personal sign placed between +them and the stem. They consist of simple sounds, of no independent +signification. But the particles of the imperative are so separable +that when this mode is preceded by an adverb, they attach themselves +to it. + +The Othomi language does not make use of the possessive pronouns in +the conjugation, but suffixes abbreviated forms of the personals, or +else prefixes others of special form, but identical in many letters +and syllables with the personals. In the present condition of the +language the suffixes are used only with the substantive verb; in the +attributive verb, however, they may have been driven forward by the +governed pronouns suffixed. Every verbal inflection may also take, +besides its pronominal prefix, also the unabreviated[TN-9] personal +pronoun in front, or the abbreviated one after it. + +The tense signs consist principally of single vowels, by means of +which the pronominal prefixes are attached to the stem. The imperfect +and pluperfect alone have besides this a loosely attached particle. +The past tenses possess a prefix, which we have already seen appears +to have been derived from an auxiliary verb. + +In the third person of some tenses in certain verbs the stem undergoes +a change of its initial letters, which appears to transform these +inflections into verbal adjectives, an instance of the confusion of +the ideas of noun and verb common in all these languages. + +The Mexican language possesses a peculiar class of verbal pronouns +which form the personal signs. This pronoun is similar to the personal +in its consonants, but has a vowel of its own. It is a prefix. The +plural is marked by the accent, or by a special termination. This +personal sign is inseparable from the verb, but the speaker may also +prefix the independent personal pronoun. + +The tense signs are all without signification, being single letters or +syllables. The perfect is marked not so much by an affix, as by +changing, the termination of the verb in various ways, but chiefly by +shortening and strengthening the sound. All tense designations are +placed at the end of the word, except the augment for past time. If by +augment we mean a vowel sound prefixed to the verb in certain tenses +in addition to their usual signs, then the Mexican is the only +American language which possesses one. + +The modes are designated by loosely attached particles, also by a +different structure of the tenses, and in the second person a peculiar +pronoun. + +Thus the Mexican conjugation consists of true verbal forms, not of +separate parts of speech of independent significance; but the elements +of these forms are easily recognizable, and can be reached without +difficulty. + +The most difficult to analyze, and hence the most nearly approaching +our conjugations, is that of the Totonaca language. + +The personal signs differ from the pronouns. That of the 2d pers. +sing. is not easily recognized, and several forms of it must be +assumed. Its position as a prefix or suffix differs, and it is +variously located with reference to the other verbal signs. Still more +difficult is it to distinguish the tense signs. There are three +different systems of prefixes and suffixes in the conjugation, and the +plan on which these are combined with each other serves to distinguish +the tense. But only a few of these affixes really appear to designate +tense; of the others this may be suspected at best, and of others +again it is improbable. + +Thus there are verbal affixes which cannot be considered to designate +either persons, modes or tenses. + +The stem undergoes little change, but the attaching of the affixes to +it renders it impossible to apply the same scheme to all verbs, and +hence leads to a division of them into three conjugations. + +Some tenses have two different forms, without any change in +signification. + +_2. Divisibility of Verbal Forms to allow the insertion of governed +parts of speech._ + +Of the Mixteca tongue it cannot exactly be said that it divides the +essential parts of the verbal form to allow the insertion of the +governed object. As a rule, the object is merely appended, and where +it appears in the form itself, it is inserted between the stem and the +suffixed pronoun. The latter is, however, no necessary part of the +form, as it is dropped when the verb is governed by a noun, and can +always be replaced by prefixing the indefinite pronoun. + +Nor is it mentioned that the Beto language includes the object in the +verb. + +The Carib tongue unites the governed pronoun with the verbal form, and +in some cases the personal sign is thus displaced. But here the object +is not inserted in the middle, but is prefixed or suffixed. + +Our information about the Tamanaca language discloses nothing on this +point. + +In the Huasteca, the governed pronoun separates sometimes the last, +sometimes the first syllable of the inflectional form from the stem. + +The Othomi merely attaches the governed words closely to the verbal +form, in this resembling the Mixteca. + +The Mexican language is that which has developed this peculiarity to +the greatest degree. The governed noun is placed in the middle of the +verb; or, if this is not done, a pronoun representing it is inserted. +If there are two objects, an accusative and a dative, then two +corresponding pronouns are inserted; and if no object is named, but +the verb is of that class which is followed by an immediate or remote +object, or both, then two indefinite pronouns appear in the verb. The +Mexican verb therefore, expresses either a complete sentence, or else +a complete scheme of one, which merely requires to be filled out. It +says, in one word, "I give something to somebody," _nititlamaca_, and +then defines what it is and to whom. + +It follows necessarily that a part of the verbal form is fluctuating +according to the sense and connection of the sentence, and that the +governing pronoun stands sometimes immediately before the verb, and +sometimes is separated from it by indefinite pronouns or even nouns. + +In the Totonaca language, the prefixes and suffixes make room for the +governed words between themselves and the stem. + +This examination of the languages whose conjugations approach a fixed +form, shows clearly that this fixedness is seriously shaken precisely +where it is most important, through this insertion of the governed +words. + + ------ + +Now if we reflect on the structure of the various verbal forms here +analyzed, certain general conclusions are reached, which are +calculated to throw light upon the whole organism of these languages. + +The leading and governing part of speech in them is the Pronoun; every +subject of discourse is connected with the idea of Personality. + +Noun and Verb are not separated; they first become so through the +pronouns attached to them. + +The employment of the Pronoun is two-fold, one applying to the Noun, +the second to the Verb. Both, however, convey the idea of belonging to +a person; in the noun appearing as Possession, in the verb as Energy. +But it is on this point, on whether these ideas are confused and +obscure, or whether they are defined and clear, that the grammatical +perfection of a language depends. The just discrimination of the kinds +of pronouns is therefore conclusive, and in this respect we must yield +the decided pre-eminence to the Mexican. + +It follows that the speaker must constantly make up his verbs, instead +of using those already on hand; and also that the structure of the +verb must be identical throughout the language, that there must be +only one conjugation, and that the verbs, except a few irregular ones, +can possess no peculiarities. + +This is different in the Greek, Latin and ancient Indian. In those +tongues many verbs must be studied separately, as they have numerous +exceptions, phonetic changes, deficiencies, etc., and in other +respects carry with them a marked individuality. + +The difference between these cultivated and those rude languages is +chiefly merely one of time, and of the more or less fortunate mixture +of dialects; though it certainly also depends in a measure on the +original mental powers of the nations. + +Those whose languages we have here analyzed are, in speaking, +constantly putting together elementary parts; they connect nothing +firmly, because they follow the changing requirements of the moment, +joining together only what these requirements demand, and often leave +connected through habit, that which clear thinking would necessarily +divide. + +Hence no just division of words can arise, such as is demanded by +accurate and appropriate thought, which requires that each word must +have a fixed and certain content and a defined grammatical form, and +as is also demanded by the highest phonetic laws. + +Nations richly endowed in mind and sense will have an instinct for +such correct divisions; the incessant moving to and fro of elementary +parts of speech will be distasteful to them; they will seek true +individuality in the words they use; therefore they will connect them +firmly, they will not accumulate too much in one, and they will only +leave that connected which is so in thought, and not merely in usage +or habit. + + ------------ + +_Notes (by the translator) on the various American Tribes and +Languages mentioned by Humboldt in the preceding Memoir._ + +_Abipones._--A tribe formerly residing on the broad grassy plains +known as _El Gran Chaco_, west of the Parana river and on the right +bank of the Rio Vermejo. They are a nomadic, hunting people, and are +related by language closely to the Mocobis and Tobas, more remotely to +the Mbayas. The Jesuit, Father Jose Brigniel, wrote an _Arte y +Vocabulario de la Lengua Abipona_, which has not been published. + +_Achaguas._--A small tribe formerly living in Venezuela, between the +Apure and Meta rivers. They are mentioned by Piedrahita as an +intelligent people. Aristides Rojas says they are now extinct +(_Estudios Indigenas_, p. 214. Caracas, 1878). + +_Beto._--Usually spelled _Betoi or Betoya_. They live on the upper +waters of the Meta river in Colombia and are related to the Yaruris. + +_Caribs._--This widely extended stock occupied much of the northern +coast of South America and had planted colonies on many of the +Antilles. It is believed that they are distantly connected with the +Tupis and Guaranis. + +_Guaranis._--The name of a number of affiliated tribes in Southern +Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and the Argentine Republic. The Tupis of +Brazil are a branch of the Guaranis. + +_Huastecas._--A northern colony of the great Maya stock of Yucatan, +dwelling in the province of Tampico on the river Panuco. At the time +of the discovery they were an important and cultured nation. + +_Lule._--One of the nations of _El Gran Chaco_, west of the Parana +river. The _Arte y Vocabulario de la Lengua Lule y Tonocote_, by +Father Antonio Machoni de Cerdena (Madrid, 1732), was republished with +a careful ethnographic introduction by J. M. Larsen, at Buenos Ayres, +1877. + +_Maipures._--Tribes of various dialects who live on both sides of the +Orinoco river where it forms the boundary between Venezuela and New +Granada, about 5 deg. N. lat. + +_Mayas._--Natives of Yucatan, and the most highly developed of any of +the American nations. Related dialects are spoken in Guatemala, in +Tabasco, and by the Huastecas. + +_Mbayas._--A people of the _Gran Chaco_ in the northern part of the +Argentine Republic, and distantly related to the Abipones. + +_Mexican._--Otherwise called the Nahuatl or Aztec language. Spoken in +the greatest purity in the valley of Mexico, it extended from the Gulf +of Mexico to the Pacific, and along the latter from Sonora to +Guatemala, with few interruptions. + +_Mixtecas._--A tribe speaking several dialects living in the State of +Oaxaca, Mexico. + +_Mocobis._--One of the four principal nations who formerly occupied +_El Gran Chaco_, west of the Parana river. By some the name is spelled +_Mbocoby_. + +_Omaguas._--Once a nation of considerable extent and culture between +the Maranon and the Orinoco. + +_Othomis._--A tribe resident near San Louis Potosi, Mexico, and +neighboring parts. Their proper name is said to be _Hi[=a]-hi[=u]_. +Their language is monosyllabic and nasal. + +_Tamanacas._--These dwell on the right bank of the Upper Orinoco, and +are connected by dialect with the Carib stock on the one hand and the +Guaranay on the other. + +_Totonacas._--A nation asserted by Pimentel to speak a mixed language +(Nahuatl and Maya) dwelling in the southern portion of the Province of +Vera Cruz, Mexico, and parts adjacent. + +_Tupis._--The natives of the eastern area of Brazil, related to the +Guaranis of the south and perhaps to the Caribs of the north. The +_Lingoa Geral_ of Brazil is a corrupt Tupi. + +_Yaruris._--Residents on the upper streams of the Meta river in New +Granada, related to the Betoi. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[3-*] _Die Elemente der Philosophischen Sprachwissenschaft Wilhelm von +Humboldt's. In systematischer Entwicklung dargestellt und kritisch +erlaeutert_, von Dr. Max Schasler, Berlin, 1847. + +[3-+] _Die Sprachwissenschaft Wilhelm von Humboldt's und die +Hegel'sche Philosophie_, von H. Steinthal, Dr., Berlin, 1848. The same +eminent linguist treats especially of Humboldt's teachings in +_Grammatik, Logik und Psychologie, ihre Principien und ihr Verhaeltniss +zu einander_, pp. 123-135 (Berlin, 1855); in his well-known volume +_Characteristik[TN-10] der Hauptsaechlichsten Typen des Sprachbaues_, +pp. 20-70 (Berlin, 1860); in his recent oration _Ueber Wilhelm von +Humboldt_ (Berlin, 1883); and elsewhere. + +[3-++] _Wilhelm von Humboldt's Linguistical Studies._ By C. J. Adler, +A.M. (New York, 1866). This is the only attempt, so far as I know, to +present Humboldt's philosophy of language to English readers. It is +meritorious, but certainly in some passages Prof. Adler failed to +catch Humboldt's meaning. + +[4-*] _Ueber die Verschiedenheit des menschlichen Sprachbaues und +ihren Einfluss auf die geistige Entwickelung des Menschengeschlechts._ +Prof. Adler translates this "The Structural Differences of Human +Speech and their Influence on the Intellectual Development of the +Human Race." The word _geistige_, however, includes emotional as well +as intellectual things. + +[4-+] _Ueber die Verschiedenheit_, etc., Bd. vi, s. 271, note. I may +say, once for all, that my references, unless otherwise stated, are to +the edition of Humboldt's _Gesammelte Werke_, edited by his brother, +Berlin, 1841-1852. + +[5-*] _Aus Wilhelm von Humboldt's letzien Lebensjahren. Eine +Muetheilung bisher unbekannter Briefe._ Von Theodor Distel, p. 19 +(Leipzig, 1883). + +[6-*] From his memoir _Ueber das vergleichende Sprachtstudium[TN-11] in +Beziehung auf die verschiedenen Epochen der Sprachentwicklung_, Bd. +iii, s. 249. + +[6-+] He draws examples from the Carib, Lule, Tupi, Mbaya, Huasteca, +Nahuatl, Tamanaca, Abipone, and Mixteca; _Ueber das Entstehen der +grammatischen Formen, und ihren Einfluss auf die Ideenentwicklung_, +Bd. iii, ss. 269-306. + +[6-++] _Ueber die Buchstabenschrift und ihren Zusummenhang[TN-12] mit +dem Sprachbau_, Bd. vi, s. 526 + +[6-||] This letter is printed in the memoir of Prof. E. Teza, _Intorno +agli Studi del Thavenet sulla Lingua Algonchina_, in the _Annali delle +Universita toscane_, Tomo xviii (Pisa, 1880). + +[6-Sec.] Compare Prof. Adler's Essay, above mentioned, p. 11. + +[7-*] This is found expressed nowhere else so clearly as at the +beginning of Sec. 13, where the author writes: "Der Zweck dieser +Einleitung, die Sprachen, in der Verschiedenartigkeit ihres Baues, als +die nothwendige Grundlage der Fortbildung des menschlichen Geistes +darzustellen, und den wechsel seitigen Einfluss des Einen auf das +Andre zu eroertern, hat mich genoethigt, in die Natur der Sprache +ueberhaupt einzugehen." Bd. vi, s. 106. + +[7-+] "Der Idee der Sprachvollendung Dasein in der Wirklichkeit zu +gewinnen." _Ueber die Verschiedenheit_, ss. 10 and 11. The objection +which may be urged that a true philosophy of language must deal in +universals and not confine itself to mere differentiations +(particulars) is neatly met by Dr. Schasler, _Die Elemente der +Philosophischen Sprachwissenschaft_, etc., p. 21, note. + +[8-*] In his remarkable essay "On the Mission of the Historian," which +Prof. Adler justly describes as "scarcely anything more than a +preliminary to his linguistical researches," Humboldt writes: "Die +Philosophie schreibt den Begebenheiten ein Ziel vor: dies Suchen nach +Endursachen, man mag sie auch aus dem Wesen des Menschen und der Natur +selbst ableiten wollen, stoert und verfalscht alle freie Ansicht des +eigenthuemlichen Wirkens der Kraefte." _Ueber die Aufgabe des +Geschichtschreibers_, Bd. i, s. 13. + +[8-+] "Das Studium der verschiedenen Sprachen des Erdbodens verfehlt +seine Bestimmung, wenn es nicht immer den Gang der geistigen Bildung +im Auge behaelt, und darin seinen eigentlichen Zweck sucht." _Ueber den +Zusammenhang der Schrift mit der Sprache_, Bd. vi, s. 428. + +[8-++] "Eine Gedankenwelt an Toene geheftet." _Ueber die +Buchstabenschrift und ihre Zusammenhang mit dem Sprachbau_, Bd. vi, s. +530. + +[8-||] This cardinal point in Humboldt's philosophy is very clearly +set forth in his essay, "_Ueber die Aufgabe des Geschichtschreibers_," +Bd. i, s. 23, and elsewhere. + +[8-Sec.] See _Ueber die Buchstabenschrift_, etc., Bd. vi, s. 530. + +[9-*] "Les notions grammaticales resident bien plutot dans l'esprit de +celui qui parle que dans le materiel du language." Humboldt, _Lettre a +M. Abel-Remusat Werke_, Bd. vii, s. 396. On the realms of the three +varieties of grammar, see also Dr. M. Schasler, _Die Elemente der +Philosophischen Sprachwissenschaft_, etc., s. 35, 36, and Friedrich +Mueller, _Grundriss der Sprachwissenschaft_, Band 1, ss. 8-10 (Wien, +1876). Schasler observes that a main object in philosophic grammar is +an investigation of "die genetisch-qualitativen Unterschiede der +Redetheile," that is, of the fundamental psychological differences of +the parts of speech, as, what is the ultimate distinction between noun +and adjective, etc.? + +[10-*] Steinthal does not like Humboldt's expression "to make capable" +(faehig zu machen). He objects that the "capacity" to express thought +is already in the articulate sounds. But what Humboldt wishes to +convey is precisely that this capacity is only derived from the +ceaseless, energizing effort of the intellect. Steinthal, _Die +Sprachwissenschaft Wilhelm von Humboldt's_, s. 91, note. The words in +the original are: "Die sich ewig wiederholende Arbeit des Geistes, den +articulirten Laut zum Ausdruck des Gedanken faehig zu machen." + +[10-+] "Nur die Staerke des Selbstbewusstseins noethigt der koerperlichen +Natur die scharfe Theilung und feste Begrenzung der Laute ab, die wir +Artikulation nennen." _Ueber das Vergleichende Sprachstudium in +Beziehung auf die Verschiedenen Epochen der Sprachentwicklung_, Bd. +iii, s. 244. + +[11-*] Ubi supra, p. 17. Compare Humboldt's words, "Im Ich aber ist +von selbst auch das Du gegeben." _Ueber die Verschiedenheit_, etc., +Bd. vi, s. 115. + +[11-+] _Ueber die Verschiedenheit_, etc., Bd. vi, s. 116; and compare +Dr. Schasler's discussion of this subject (which is one of the best +parts of his book), _Die Elemente der Phil. Sprachwissenschaft_, etc., +ss. 202-14. + +[11-++] Expressed in detail by Humboldt in his _Lettre a M. +Abel-Remusat sur la nature des formes grammaticules_, etc., Bd. vii, +ss. 300-303. + +[12-*] _Ueber die Verwandtschaft der Ortsadverbia mit dem Pronomen in +einigen Sprachen_, in the _Abhandlungen der hist.-phil. Classe der +Berliner Akad. der Wiss._ 1829. + +[12-+] _Ueber die Verschiedenheit_, etc., Bd. vi, s. 115. + +[12-++] _Gesammelte Werke_, Bd. vii, ss. 392-6. + +[13-*] His explanation of inflection is most fully given in his +Introductory Essay, _Ueber die Verschiedenheit_, etc., Sec. 14, +_Gesammelte Werke_, s. 121, sqq. A sharp, but friendly criticism of +this central point of his linguistic philosophy may be found in +Steinthal, _Charakteristik der Hauptsaechlichsten Typen des +Sprachbones_,[TN-13] ss. 58-61. Humboldt certainly appears not only +obscure in parts but contradictory. + +[14-*] See these teachings clearly set forth in his Essay, _Ueber das +vergleichende Sprachstudium in Beziehung auf die verschiedenen Epochen +der Sprachentwicklung, Werke_, Bd. iii, especially, s. 255 and s. 262. + +[15-*] The eloquent and extraordinary passage in which these opinions +are expressed is in his _Lettre a M. Abel-Remusat, Gesammelte Werke_, +Bd. vii, ss. 336-7. + +[15-+] _Gesammelte Werke_, Bd. iii, ss. 248, 257. + +[16-*] This reasoning is developed in the essay, _Ueber das +Vergleichende Sprachstudium_, etc., _Gesammelte Werke_, Bd. iii, ss. +241-268; and see ibid, s. 270. + +[16-+] See the essay _Ueber die Buchstabenschrift und ihren +Zusammenhang mit dem Sprachbau, Ges. Werke_, Bd. vi, ss. 551-2. + +[17-*] On this subtle point, which has been by no means the least +difficult to his commentators, see Humboldt's Introduction _Ueber die +Verschiedenheit_, etc., _Ges. Werke_, Bd. vi, ss. 45-6, 92-5, 254-5, +by a careful comparison of which passages his real intent will become +apparent. + +[17-+] _Lettre a M. Abbe-Remusat,[TN-14] Ges. Werke_, Bd. vii, s. 396. + +[18-*] "Nicht was in einer Sprache ausgedrueckt zu werden vermag, +sondern das, wozu sie aus eigner, innerer Kraft anfeuert und +begeistert, entscheidet ueber ihre Vorzuege oder Maengel." _Ueber das +Entstehen der Grammatischen Formen_, etc[TN-15], _Werke_, Bd. iii, s. +272. Compare with this the expression in his celebrated _Einleitung_: +"Die Sprache ist das bildende Organ des Gedanken," _Werke_, Bd. vi, s. +51. A perfected language will "allseitig und harmonisch durch sich +selbst auf den Geist einwirken." Ibid, s. 311. + +[19-*] [TN-16]_Ueber das Entstehen der grammatischen Formen_," etc., +_Werke_, Bd. iii, s. 292. + +[19-+] Speaking of such "imperfect" languages, he gives the following +wise suggestion for their study: "Ihr einfaches Geheimniss, welches +den Weg anzeigt, auf welchem man sie, mit gaenzlicher Vergessenheit +unserer Grammatik, immer zuerst zu entraethseln versuchen muss, ist, +das in sich Bedeutende unmittelbar an einander zu reihen." _Ueber das +Vergleichende Sprachstudium_, etc., _Werke_, Bd. iii, s. 255; and for +a practical illustration of his method, see the essay, _Ueber das +Entstehen der grammatischen Formen_, etc., Bd. iii, s. 274. + +[20-*] His teachings on this point, of which I give the barest +outline, are developed in sections 12 and 13 of his Introduction, +_Ueber die Verschiedenheit_, etc. Steinthal's critical remarks on +these sections (in his _Charakteristik der haupt. Typen des +Sprachbaues_) seem to me unsatisfactory, and he even does not appear +to grasp the chain of Humboldt's reasoning. + +[21-*] _Lettre a M. Abel-Remusat, Werke_, Bd. vii, ss. 353-4. + +[21-+] _Ueber die Verschiedenheit_, etc., Sec. 23, _Werke_, Bd. vi, s. +329. + +[24-*] "Der Mexikanischen kann man am Verbum, in welchem die Zeiten +durch einzelne Endbuchstaben und zum Theil offenbar symbolisch +bezeichnet werden, Flexionen und ein gewisses Streben nach +Sanskritischer Worteinheit nicht absprechen." _Ueber die +Verschiedenheit_, etc., _Werke_, Bd. vi, s. 176. + +[25-*] "Daher ist das Einschliessen in Ein Wort mehr Sache der +Einbildungskraft, die Trennung mehr die des Verstandes." _Ueber die +Verschiedenheit_, etc., s. 327. Compare also, s. 326 and 166. +Steinthal points out the disadvantages of the incorporative plan and +puts it lower than the isolating system of the Chinese; but fails to +recognize its many and striking advantages. See his remarks, "Ueber +das Wesen und Werth der Einverleibungsmethode," in his _Charakteristik +der haupt. Typen des Sprachbaues_, s. 214. + +[25-+] _Ueber die Verschiedenheit_, etc., in _Werke_, Bd. vi, ss. 323 +sqq. + +[27-*] See the essay, _Ueber den Dualis, Gesammelte Werke_, Bd. vi, +ss. 562-596. + + + + +LIBRARY OF ABORIGINAL AMERICAN LITERATURE. + +GENERAL EDITOR AND PUBLISHER: D. G. BRINTON, M.D. + + +The aim of this series of publications is to put within the reach of +scholars authentic materials for the study of the languages and +culture of the native races of America. Each work is the production of +the native mind, and is printed in the original tongue, with a +translation and notes, and only such are selected as have some +intrinsic historical or ethnological importance. The volumes of the +series are sold separately, at the prices named. + +_NOW READY._ + +=No. I. THE CHRONICLES OF THE MAYAS.= + +=Edited by DANIEL G. BRINTON, M.D. 279 pages. Cloth, uncut, $5.00. +($3.00 when a complete set is ordered.)= + +This volume contains five brief chronicles in the Maya language of +Yucatan, written shortly after the Conquest, and carrying the history +of that people back many centuries. To these is added a history of the +Conquest, written in his native tongue, by a Maya Chief, in 1562. The +texts are preceded by an introduction on the history of the Mayas; +their language, calendar, numeral system, etc.; and a vocabulary is +added at the close. + +=No. II. THE IROQUOIS BOOK OF RITES.= + +=Edited by HORATIO HALE. 222 pages. Cloth, uncut, $3.00.= + +This work contains, in the Mohawk and Onondaga languages, the +speeches, songs and rituals with which a deceased chief was lamented +and his successor installed in office. It may be said to throw a +distinct light on the authentic history of Northern America to a +period fifty years earlier than the era of Columbus. The Introduction +treats of the ethnology and history of the Huron-Iroquois. A map, +notes and a glossary complete the work. + +=No. III. THE COMEDY-BALLET OF GUeEGUeENCE.= + +=Edited by DANIEL G. BRINTON, M.D. 146 pages. Cloth, uncut, $2.50.= + +A curious and unique specimen of the native comic dances, with +dialogues, called _bailes_, formerly common in Central America. It is +in the mixed Nahuatl-Spanish jargon of Nicaragua, and shows +distinctive features of native authorship. The Introduction treats of +the ethnology of Nicaragua, and the local dialects, musical +instruments, and dramatic representations. A map and a number of +illustrations are added. + +=No. IV. A MIGRATION LEGEND OF THE CREEK INDIANS.= + +=By A. S. GATSCHET. 251 pages. Cloth, uncut, $3.00.= + +This learned work offers a complete survey of the ethnology of the +native tribes of the Gulf States. The strange myth or legend told to +Gov. Oglethorpe, in 1732, by the Creeks, is given in the original, +with an Introduction and Commentary. + +=No. V. THE LENAPE AND THEIR LEGENDS.= + +=By Dr. DANIEL G. BRINTON. Cloth, uncut, $3.00.= + +Contains the complete text and symbols, 184 in number, of the WALAM +OLUM OR RED SCORE of the Delaware Indians, with the full original +text, and a new translation, notes and vocabulary. A lengthy +introduction treats of the Lenape or Delawares, their history, +customs, myths, language, etc., with numerous references to other +tribes of the great Algonkin stock. + +_IN PREPARATION_: + +=THE ANNALS OF THE CAKCHIQUELS.= By Francisco Arana Ernantez Xahila. + With a translation and notes by Dr. D. G. Brinton. + +=ABORIGINAL AMERICAN ANTHOLOGY.= Chiefly original material, furnished + by various collaborators. + + + + +RECENT PUBLICATIONS ON AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY. + + +_AMERICAN HERO-MYTHS._ + +A Study in the Native Religions of the Western Continent. By Daniel G. +Brinton, A.M., M.D., etc. 1 vol., 8vo, pp. 251. (Philad'a, 1882.) +Cloth, Price, $1.75. + +=NOTICES OF THE PRESS.= + +"Dr. Brinton writes from a minute and extended knowledge of the +original sources. * * His work renders a signal service to the cause +of comparative mythology in our country."--_The Literary World_ +(Boston). + +"This study of certain of the most remarkable stories of American +mythology is exceedingly interesting."--_The Saturday Review_ +(London). + + +_ABORIGINAL AMERICAN AUTHORS_, And Their Productions. Especially those +in the Native Languages. A Contribution to the History of Literature. +By Daniel G. Brinton, A.M., M.D., etc. 1 vol., 8vo, pp. 63. Boards, +Price, $1.00. + +An essay founded on an address presented to the Congress of +Americanists, at Copenhagen, in 1883. It is an extended review of the +literary efforts of the red race, in their own tongues, and in +English, Latin and Spanish (both manuscript and printed). + + +_A GRAMMAR OF THE CAKCHIQUEL LANGUAGE_ of Guatemala. Translated with +an Introduction and Additions by Daniel G. Brinton, M.D. Map, pp. 72. +Price, boards, $1.00. + + +_THE NAMES OF THE GODS IN THE QUICHE MYTHS_, of Central America. By D. +G. Brinton, M.D., 8vo, pp. 38, paper, 50c. + + +_THE LINEAL MEASURES OF THE SEMI-CIVILIZED NATIONS_ of Mexico and +Central America. By D. G. Brinton, M.D., pp. 14, paper, 25c. + + + +Transcriber's Note + + +The following typographical errors were maintained in this version of the +book. + + Page Error + TN-1 15 unneccessary should read unnecessary + TN-2 16 grammer should read grammar + TN-3 17 tendncy should read tendency + TN-4 23 acustomed, should read accustomed + TN-5 23 fullfils should read fulfils + TN-6 29 Humboldt should read Humboldt. + TN-7 33 _mil quis amaiciton_, should have numbers over the words + to match numbers on the next line + TN-8 39 powever should read power + TN-9 46 unabreviated should read unabbreviated + TN-10 fn 3-+ Characteristik should read Charakteristik + TN-11 fn 6-* Sprachtstudium should read Sprachstudium + TN-12 fn 6-++ Zusummenhang should read Zusammenhang + TN-13 fn 13-* _Sprachbones_, should read Sprachbaues + TN-14 fn 17-+ Abbe-Remusat, should read Abel-Remusat + TN-15 fn 18-* etc should read etc. + TN-16 fn 19-* _Ueber_ should read "_Ueber_ + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Philosophic Grammar of American +Languages, as Set Forth by Wilhelm von Humboldt, by Daniel G. 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