CHEROKEE. WE are indebted to Mr. Pickering for our first knowledge of the structure and grammatical forms of the Cherokee language. Unfortunately he has published only the commencement of his Grammar, of which a very concise outline is here given. We refer for further details to the Grammar itself and to the essay on Indian languages, in the Appendix to the sixth volume of Dr. Lieber's American edition of the "Conversations-Lexicon," which is understood to have also been written by Mr. Pickering. But we give entire the answers of the Rev. S. A. Worcester to twelve grammatical queries, which were circulated at my request, in the year 1826, by the War Department. They have not been answered from any other quarter. EXTRACTED FROM MR. PICKERING'S GRAMMAR. There is no word corresponding precisely with the English articles a and the. Instead of these the Cherokees use sakwah one'; or hiah, 'this'; and naski, or, na, 'that.' These words are indeclinable. The masculine and feminine genders appear to be no otherwise distinguished than by the different names given to the male and female respectively of certain animals, or by using, with the name of the animal, words signifying, male, or female. But the nouns are arranged under the two classes of animate and inanimate beings; a distinction which is denoted by varied inflections in the plural of nouns, in the inseparable possessive pronouns, and in the verbs. There are three numbers, singular, dual, and plural; but in nouns the termination is the same for the dual and the plural. The distinction is made by a varied inflection in the inseparable possessive pronouns.* The plural of nouns is formed by the prefixes t, te, ti, ts, and ani, uni, united to the singular; the four first being commonly used in the plurals of inanimate, and the two last in those of the animate class, though not invariably. When an * And also, as appears in the essay, in the inseparable personal pronouns united to the verb. adjective accompanies the noun, the plural prefix is in some instances added to both, and in some others to the adjective alone. EXAMPLES. tlukung, a tree; ekwoni, a river; tettlukung, trees; tsekwoni, rivers; ekwahi tlukung, a large tree; tsekwahi tetlukung, large trees; atsutsu, a boy. anitsutsu, boys. usti kihli, a little dog. *tsunasti kihli, little dogs. asi seti, a good walnut. ttsasi seti, good walnuts. asi sunkuta, a good apple; tanasi sunkuta, good apples; The nouns have no inflections expressive, as in the Latin and Greek languages, of cases. When the inseparable possessive pronouns are combined with nouns, the dual is expressed by a varied inflection in the pronoun alone. But a distinction is also made in the dual and plural of the pronoun (of the first person) between 'our,' meaning of you and me, and 'our,' meaning of him or them and me, and in all the numbers of the third person, (his, their), according as the person or persons may be absent or present. But from the two examples given, those inseparable pronouns are not always the same. * In this instance the two prefixes ts and un are used. + The animate prefix an used for apple; the inanimate ts for walnut. When the noun is in the plural, (houses, hearts,) this is formed by the addition of the usual prefixes placed before the pronoun. EXTRACTED FROM MR. PICKERING'S ESSAY. The same distinctions of dual and plural are found in the conjugations of verbs, distinguishing in like manner in the personal pronouns we, whether it means thou (or you) and I, or he (or they) and 1; and in the pronoun of the third person, whether he is, or they are absent or present. (See the Essay.) Many other peculiarities are also noticed in the same paper. The plural prefixes are affixed to the verb, when the object of the action is in the plural. Moods, in the general sense of any modification in the action, are numerous, such as, 'I do habitually,' 'I am at liberty to do,' &c., expressed by varied inflections. In the same way the action is distinguished if done collectively or distributively, he is tying thee and me together,' tikinaluniha; he is tying thee and me, but each separately,' tetikinalun-iha, &c. ANSWERS TO GRAMMATICAL QUERIES BY REV. S. A. WORCESTER, MISSIONARY TO THE CHEROKEES. 1. Are nouns, whether substantive or adjective, indeclinable? Ans. All adjectives and many substantives are declined. Many substantives are indeclinable. 2. Do the varied inflections apply to number, gender, tense, or case? Ans. The inflections of substantives apply to number and person; of adjectives to number and person, and sometimes to A-naw-si-yu is applied to animate objects and things of a solid shape. Tsaw-si-yu to other things. Substantives denoting relationship and those which necessarily imply a possessor, as the members of the body, &c., usually have inflections denoting the number and person of the possessor. Thus ; 3. How many numbers? Is there a dual, or definite plural, or both, besides the general or indefinite plural? Ans. In the first and second persons, or rather in the second person and in the combinations of the first and second, and of the first and third persons, there is a dual as well as a plural number. In the third person there is no distinction between dual and plural. 4. Of what inflections are pronouns susceptible? Do they depend on number, gender? Do those used in the conjugation of verbs differ from those used in an absolute sense? Who saw thee?' 'He-he saw': Does the word he differ? Tu-wa-sung, Tu-tse-li, Gi-nung-sung, thou & 1, ourselves, Gi-na-tse-li, I-stung-sung, ye two yourselves, I-sta-tse-li, I-kung-sung, ye and I, ourselves, I-ka-tse-li, they & 1, ourselves, Aw-ka-tse-li, Aw-kung-sung, I-tsung-sung, yourselves, } themselves, I-tsa-tse-li, U-na-tse-li, Tu-na-tse-li, his, her, thy and my, your, U-nung-sung, Tu-nung-sung, their. When the noun united with the possessive pronoun is in the plural (more than one,) the plural sign is prefixed to the pronoun, as in the following table. Ex.: my cow,' aquatseli waka; my cows,' tiquatseli waka. our, (of thee & me) Tsaw-ka-tse-li, Tsaw-gi-na-tse-li, our, (of him & me) || Ti-tsa-tse-li, your, (of you two) Tsu-na-tse-li, The second form of the third person, Tu-wa-sung, Tu-tse-li, &c. denotes an intention that the person spoken of should hear what is said. A-quung-sung, with a little variation of accent, signifies 'I only'; a-quung-sung-hi, the same emphatic, a-quung-sung-hi-yu, more emphatic, 'I entirely alone': a-qua-tse-li, 'my'; a-qua-tse-li-ka, emphatic, 'mine'; a-qua-tse-li-ka-ya, more emphatic, truly mine,'' my own.' The above examples exhibit all the inflections of pronouns. The personal pronouns a-yung, 'I,'' we'; ni-hi, 'thou,' 'ye '; na or na-ni 'he,' she,' it,' that,' they,' those,' as well as the interrogative and demonstrative pronouns, &c. are indeclinable. If the prefixes of verbs be considered as inseparable pronouns, they are entirely different from those used absolutely; but it is very doubtful whether they should be so considered, particularly as the separate pronouns often are, and in cases of emphasis must be used with the verb. Ka-gaw tsa-gaw-he-i, Who saw thee?' Na, 'He.' Na-a-gigaw-hung-gi, He saw me.' The pronoun in both instances is the same. In the former case however, na-ni is commonly used; in the latter it is never or at least seldom used. |