a, Initial characteristic ; - b, inserted characteristic ;-d, plural terminations. c. This expletive en seems peculiar to the Chippeway.

He him; ak, wall, gol, &c.

VOL. II.

37

First person, plural inclusive.

NOTES

TO THE

TABLES OF TRANSITIONS.

CHOCTAW.

THERE is no pronoun of the third person: but for its plural, okla, and oklat, which mean, 'a multitude,' people,' are used respectively in the nominative and the objective case.

The derivation of the pronouns of the first person, used in the nominative case with the verbs as subjects of the action, is not known: but those in the nominative of the second person are abbreviated from the corresponding separable pronouns: and those in the objective case, both of the first and second person, are the same as the possessive pronouns used in connexion with the parts of the body.

The pronouns are prefixed to the verb, with the exception of ill, 'I,’ which is affixed. The pronouns in the objective case are placed immediately before the verb and after those in the nominative case, with the exception of oklat (them,) which always precedes the other pronoun.

As, with the exception of the third person, there is, for each number, a distinct word, for the nominative and for the objective case respectively, the only defect is found in the union of oklat with the singular of the same person. Thus the sentences, 'he ties them,' and, they tie him,' are both expressed by oklat tokchě.

The transitions of all the tenses, moods, voices, and forms of the verb tokchě, 'to tie,' are, with respect to the pronouns, conjugated as the Present of the Indicative.

MUSKHOGEE.

There are distinct words for the singular and plural respectively of the three persons in the nominative case, and of the first person in the objective case; and also one, chi (same as in the Choktaw), for both numbers of the second person in the objective case. In order to distinguish the dual and plural from the singular in that instance, and the dual from the plural in both persons, the word homulgiad or homulgot, from homulga, multitude,' is used for the plural; and hokolid, from hokoly, 'two,' for the dual. In the objective case, they become homulgin and hokolin and, in either case, they always precede the pronouns and verb. There is no word properly for the objective case of the third person but the particle awa, prefixed to the pronoun in the nominative case, supplies its place in the plural.

The pronouns in the nominative case are always affixed, and those in the objective case, (with the exception of awa, as aforesaid,) always

prefixed to the verb. These last, therefore, follow the words homulgiad, hokolik, homulgin, hokolin, when used.

Although not inserted in the Table, there appears to be a dual for the second person, formed in the same manner as that of the first.

There are some deviations from the rules in the paradigm; but whether anomalies, or proceeding from errors, is not ascertained. Nor is it known, whether those rules apply to the other moods and tenses, or whether there are several conjugations.

Cherokee.

The Cherokees have three separable indeclinable pronouns: Ayung, ‘I,' 'we '; nihi, 'thou,''ye'; na, 'he,'' they.' Traces of them are still visible in the transitions: ungya, 'I-thee;' ihya, 'thou-him;' ana, 'they-him.'

But it will appear, by the Grammatical Notices, that the possessive pronouns united with nouns, are the same with the personal pronouns united with verbs, and that they correspond with the numerous nice distinctions made in that language, between the different species of dual and plural.

It is also necessary to observe that, in many Indian languages and particularly in this, the transitions may be divided into two general classes, that of the third person with the third, first, or second; and that between the first and second persons. The first class is susceptible of various subdivisions, according to the character of each language respectively; separating, in some cases, the transitions from one third to another third person, from those between the third and the first or second person; distinguishing, in some languages, the transitions, in which the third person is in the nominative, from those in which it is in the objective case.

This being premised, the three following general rules for the indicative present, are deduced from the Table.

1. The verb, in every instance, terminates the word; the pronouns, in Cherokee, being always prefixed.

2. Te (sign of plural) prefixed, always shows that the pronoun in the objective case is in the dual or plural number.

3. G, ge, gung, prefixed, or inserted immediately after the plural te, designates the third person plural.

Whence it follows that teg means them,' in the transitions which terminate in the third person plural. But the g is omitted in the transition from the third person plural to the third person. They him,' ana; they them,' teana.

The pronouns used, either as possessive, or as personal in the transitions between the third and either the first or the second person, are Simple conjugation.

him.

he.
aqua, awka
te awka

him and me,

te awgina

ha

thou,

ihia;

4. Whence a fourth rule is deduced, viz. the designation of the plural by ts, and of the dual by st; except the objective case of the dual of the first person, where the termination ina is substituted for st.

But in the transition from the first to the second person, ungya expresses the two persons combined; and the transition from the second to the first person, is expressed by skiya, changed into skina for the dual.

The uniformity of the transitions, from which the rules have been deduced, and the defects of those between the first and second person, though obvious in the Table, will be still more apparent in the following recapitulation, in which the verb itself, (lungiha,) which without any change always terminates the form, is omitted.

From the third to another third person,

Between the third and the first or second person,

he.

I pl. we du. he and I thou

tsiya tega tsiya
awtsa teg awtsa
awsta teg awsta
ihya teg ihya

me

pl. us

aqua
te awka

they.

gung que teg awka

du. him and me te awgina teg awgina

thee

tsa

ge tsa

pl. ye

etsa

teg etsa

du. ye two

esta

teg esta

du. you two

testa

tege tsa tege sta

It will be perceived that the dual designations are used in the transitions between dual and singular, between dual and dual, and between dual and third person plural; and that the plural designation prevails in the other transitions between plural and dual, except in the transition Ye-him and me, where ina is used.

The defect of the system is obvious in the transitions between the first and second persons, where the same forms are used to express different transitions, and the resulting ambiguity is evident. This is due to the want of a distinctive sign between the singular and plural, either in the nominative or objective case. There is also confusion in the forms tegetsa and tegesta, both of which are applied to two different purposes.

In preparing those several tables, the etymology has alone been attended to, and the Cherokee distinction of syllables, as they are pronounced, has been disregarded. This distinction is made in Mr. Worcester's transitions and notes, as given by him, and to which the attention of the inquisitive reader is specially called. (Grammatical Notices.)

It must be recollected that every syllable in Cherokee ends in a vocal or nasal sound. This last is, in the tables, &c., represented by the letters ung, from analogy to the English words long, clung, &c. Thus the forms teg-esta, its-ungya, &c., are pronounced te-ge-sta, i-tsung-ya,

&c.

It will not escape notice, that the pronouns in the singular number of the simple conjugation differ from those used in the transitions, and that, in the simple conjugation, that of the first and that of the third person are the same. We have in the simple conjugation, 'I,' ga; thou,' ha; 'he,' ga; in the transitions, 'I— him,' tsiya; 'thou-him,' ihya; 'he- him,' ga.

It has appeared to me most natural to suppose that, in the transitions, (with the exception of that from the third to the third person,) the singular of the third person, he and him, was implied and not expressed: but this is only a conjecture, and requires further investigation.

There are other forms of the same verb, in which the pronouns he, him, are expressed, and vary, according as the person is present, or absent, or in order to express some modification of the action:

Ga -lung i ha, he is tying him, or it,' is the form as set down in the table.

But, Taw-lung i ha, 'he is tying him'; if the person tying hears the
speaker.

Ka-lung i ha, he is tying it'; if the person tying hears.
Tu-lung i ha, he is tying him; if the person tied hears.
Tegalsiya-lung i ha, 'I am tying them '(viz. each separately,)
in the form set down in the table.

But, Gatsiya-lung i ha, 'I am tying them,' viz. both together. This last instance seems contrary to analogy, since the te prefixed does uniformly designate the plural of the objective case; and it is here used when each person is tied separately, and omitted when they are tied together.

Again: there are two past tenses (at least), and one future, in the Cherokee.

The forms are respectively, independent of the pronouns: lung lung gi, and lung tsa, for the two past tenses; and for the future, ta-lungli, in which ta (taw, tay, tung) is prefixed, and lungli affixed to the pro

nouns.

And they are in other respects generally conjugated as the present: tsiya-lung lung gi, I have tied him; ta-tsiya-lungli, I will tie him; getsa-lung lung gi, they have tied thee; ta-getsa-lungli, they will tie

thee.

But they differ in the transition from the third to the third person. Omitting the final verbal form, we have, viz.

This shows, not only the difficulty of pronouncing definitively respecting the omission of the third person, but also that, notwithstanding the uniformity of the transition forms of the present of the Indicative,