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 POLYSYNTHESIS IN THK LANGUAGES OF 
 THE AMERICAN INDIANS 
 
 BY 
 
 .; 
 
 jf Ni^RT' HEWITT 
 
 (From The Ai.ierican Anthropologist, October, 1393) 
 
 WASHINGTON, D. C. 
 JUDD & DKTWKII.ER, PRINTBRS 
 1893 
 
 n 
 
 f 
 
 rt 
 
 
 \ 
 
 i( 
 

 
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 ■liii., ■■<>■ 
 
 ^^. 
 
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 ^ 
 
 
 /inTHHUPOtOGiCAL ^JOCltTV 
 OF WASHINGTON. U.uJ 
 
 [Trom Thu American Anthropologist i'or Octoukr, 1893.] 
 
 i 
 
 POLYSYNTHESIB IN THE LANOUAOES OF THE 
 AMERICAN INDIANS. 
 
 r.Y J. N. n. HEWITT. 
 
 In tlic early part of this century I'eter S. Duponreaii annoiiiiced 
 his conviction, obtained from a cursory study of tiie scanty and 
 imperfect linguistic material accessible to him, that the grammatic 
 phenomena of the known tongues of the American Indians arc 
 characterized by a common ground plan, or, adopting a i)hrase of 
 Maupertuis, a "plan of ideas." This plan he called polysynthetic 
 or syntactic, and defined it as follows: 
 
 "A polysynthetic or syntactic construction of language is that in which 
 the greatest number of ideas are comprised in the least number of words. 
 This is done principally in two ways. i. By a mode of compounding 
 locutions which is not confined to joining two words together, as in 
 Greek, or varying the inflection or termination of a radical word, as in 
 most European languages, but by interweaving together the most signifi- 
 cant sounds or syllables of each simple word, so as to form a compound 
 that will awaken in the mind at once all the ideas singly expressed by the 
 words from which they are taken. 2. Ry an analogous combination [of] 
 the various parts of speech, particularly by means of the verb, so that its 
 various forms and inflections will express not only the jirincipal action, 
 but the greatest possible number of the moral ideas and physical objects 
 connected with it, and will combine itself to the greatest extent with 
 those conceptions which are the subject of other parts of speech, and in 
 other languages require to be expressed by separate and distinct words. 
 Such I take to be the general character of the Indian languages." * 
 
 He elsewhere says : 
 
 " I am inclined to believe that these forms are peculiar to this part of 
 the world, and that they do not exist in the languages of the old 
 world." t 
 
 In an essay, which won, in 1833, the Volney prize of the Insti- 
 tute of France, he says : 
 
 "A I'aide d'iuflexions, conime dans les langues grecque et latine, de 
 particules, affixes et suffixes, comme dans le copte, I'hdbreu et les lan- 
 gues dites sdmitiques, de la jonction de particules significatives, comme 
 
 •Transactions of the Historical and Literary Committee of the American Philo- 
 sophical Society, held at Philadelphia, for promoting useful knowledge, vol. i, p. xxx. 
 tLoc. cit., p. 370. 
 
882 
 
 TIIK A.Mi:i!I('A\ ANTIIK<)l'()l,()(iIST. 
 
 [Vol. VI. 
 
 O 
 
 dans le chiiiois, ct cnfiu dc syllabcs ct souveiit dc simples Icttrcs iiitcr- 
 cal^es i\ I'dTL't de rdveiller une id<je de Tcxpressiou de huiiiLlle c-ette 
 k'ltre fait partie, :\ qiioi il faiit ajouter I'ellipse, ([iii fait soiisentendre, Ics 
 Indieiis dc rAnit-riquc sout parvenus ;\ former des lanj,'iies (jui comjjrcu- 
 neiit le plus graml nomhre d'idees dans Ic plus petit nombre dt, mots 
 possible. Au moyen de ces proi-e<k's ils peuveiit chanjjer la nature de 
 toutes les parties du discours ; du verbe, faire un adverbe on \u\ nom ; de 
 I'adjective ou du substantif, un verbe; enfin, tons les nuteurs qui out 
 (■crit sur ces lan^ucs avec conuaissance de cause, depuis le nord jusqu'au 
 snd, adiruient que, dans ces idiomes sauva^cs, on pent former des mots a 
 I'inlini."* 
 
 If a general principle of the kind here described could be estab- 
 lished it would be of the utmost importance to the students of com- 
 parative grammar. This, however, can be done only by a careful 
 and thorough analysis by the modern methods of linguistics of every 
 language concerned, an analysis wliich has not yet been made. 
 For such an analysis trustworthy and sufficient data must also be at 
 hand. 
 
 The lexic and syntactic material relating to these languages is, in 
 some instances, quite extensive, consisting mostly of short vocabu- 
 laries, translations of the Holy Scriptmes or portions thereof, and 
 more or less pretentious lexicons and grammars ; but, for the pur- 
 pose of comparative or other study, these are so faulty and mislead- 
 ing and so warped by erroneous theories and misapprehensions tliat 
 they are of small value and of precarious utility in morphologic 
 study. The learned Father Cuoq, equally well-versed in Iroquoian 
 and Algonquian speech, says : 
 
 "Que penser de certaines traductions des Stes. :ficritures? Ceux qui 
 out taut soit pen dtudid les differeutes portions de la Hible traduites dans 
 les langues indicinies de I'Amdrique par les soins de certaines Socutcs 
 Bibligues, en trouveiit la traduction— il m'est pdnible de le dire— vrai- 
 ment pito3'able. Ce n'est rien nioins qu'une profanation de la parole dc 
 Dieu ; et je suis assurd pour ma part que les menibres eux-iiienies de ces 
 societds seraieut les premiers h repudier leurs i)auvres publications et k 
 les condamner aux flammes, s'ils conuaissaieut les in corrections, les in- 
 exactitudes, les solccismes, les barbarismes, et les contrc-sens dout elles 
 fourniilleiit." f 
 
 Duponceau had no ready means of testing the work of his chief 
 authorities, and so was compelled to accept their unsupported state- 
 
 O 
 
 * M^Miioire sur le systdme grammatical des langues de quelques nations indiennes de 
 I'Amcrique du uord. Paris, 1838, p. 89. 
 t " Jugement errou(S de M. :ernest Renan sur les langues sauvages," p. 105. 
 
• n4 .XJJ ■■ 
 
 ■Mka 
 
 1ST. 
 
 [Vol. VI. 
 
 dimples Icttrcs inter- 
 on (Ic liuiiiclle c-ctte 
 fait soiisenleiKlrc, Ics 
 iiiij^ues ((iii coini)rcn- 
 L'tit noiiihrc dt mots 
 chaiijjer l;i nature de 
 .•erbe ou lui noin ; de 
 les nilteiirs qui out 
 puis le lionl jusqu'au 
 ;ut former des mots d 
 
 l)cd could bo cstab- 
 lio students of com- 
 e only by a careful 
 linguistics of every 
 i)t yet been made, 
 lata must also be at 
 
 lese languages is, in 
 ly of sliort vocabu- 
 rtions thereof, and 
 s ; but, for the pur- 
 faulty and mislead- 
 sajjprehensions tliat 
 ty in nior[)hologic 
 versed in Iroquoian 
 
 icritures? Ceux qui 
 
 1 nible tradnites dans 
 de ccrlaines Socictcs 
 il)le de le dire — vrai- 
 ation de la parole de 
 es eux-memes de ces 
 res publications et eX 
 incorrections, les in- 
 ontrc-seus dout elles 
 
 2 work of his chief 
 unsui)ported state- 
 
 iies nations iiuliemies de 
 uvages," p. 105, 
 
 Oct. iSyj.J I'OI.VSYNTIIKSIS IN INDIAN l-ANdlAUKS. OiSli 
 
 nients and deductions. He drew his information of the Irocpioian 
 language from the works of /eisl)ergcr and I'yrlacus, chielly those 
 of the former. A careful and unbiased examination of Zeisberger's 
 work sliows tiiat tlie wurtliy missionary had at b(;sl only a super- 
 ficial and precarious knowledge of that language, for he lacked the 
 very elementary acipiainlance with it which would have enabled hini 
 invariably to dislinguisii its words from their derivatives and from 
 its sentences and phrases. 
 
 'I'iie method of inllections, which is common to European and 
 other tongues, need not tletain us; the method of intercalation or 
 interweaving vocal elements claimed to be peculiarly characteristic 
 of tlie poiysynthetic scheme demands some consideration. Had it 
 a substantial basis of fact it would indeed serve to mark off from 
 all otiiers those languages in which it was found t(j ])revail. The 
 use of a process so singular and abnormal in its oijcralion can be 
 established only by the evidence of unecpiivocal facts 'I'lie data 
 adduced as proof that such a method of combining vocal elements 
 is one of the most characteristic traits of all known Indian tongues 
 are of the most <piestionai)le character. This process is not a part 
 of Irocpioian grammar, nor lias a satislactory example of it been 
 cited from Aigoncpiian speech, and Rev. J. Owen Dorsey stales 
 that it does not find a place in the Siouan grammatic processes ; 
 hence it follows that the languages of these three great stocks are 
 not poiysynthetic within the meaning of this term as used by Du- 
 ponceau, because they do not use the so-called "artificial elements" 
 nor the alleged process of " interweaving together" or " intercala- 
 tion" of vocables, which alone constitute the characteristic traits 
 of the supposed " poiysynthetic construction." This raises the pre- 
 sumption that carefid study will show that other less-known Indian 
 tongues, which, like the three named above, have been classed as 
 p(jlysynthetic by Dui)onceau and his disciples, are not founded on 
 that theoretic plan ; because wherever the syntactic and morphologic 
 processes have been ascertained from accurate and sufficient data they 
 have been found at variance with the poiysynthetic processes, and 
 thev likewise differ greatly among themselves in their ground plans. 
 It lias, in fact, been found that those Indian languages whose le.xic 
 and .syntactic phenomena have been thoroughly analyzed have not, 
 as Duponceau maintained, a peculiar construction of language, in 
 which "the greatest number of ideas are c(miprised in the least 
 number of words," which is the motive or object of his conjectured 
 ground plan or " plan of ideas." 
 
 © 
 
 ^W^ 
 
OHl 
 
 TIIK AMi:itl(AN A.NTllltOl'Ul.OdlST. 
 
 [Vol. VI. 
 
 Diiponrcan further says: 
 
 " I.i's Iiulicns, surtout ccux qui sont chasseurs ct nomadcs, u'unt pus 
 urn- li'le hieii aii.ilytique. lis se sont biLMiL.'u einl)r(>uill<:-s dans la forma- 
 tion <k- linirs mots : reci'vanl kurs i.lijes en troupes, aiiisi ((ue la nature 
 nous les prcsente, ils onl voulu les exprinicr il la fois avec toules leurs 
 parties, tcllcs qu'lls les ai)ercevaient.''- Ont-ils voulu, pir exemplc, 
 (loiiucr uii noni a uii certain arhre, ils n'ont pas pense i\ le d^-sijjner sim- 
 I)lenieiil par le IVuil, on par (jueliiue autre apjuireuee unicpie ; niais ils 
 onl ait: I'arbre portaiil tcl /mil ct dont les fcnillcs irssfinblciil u telle 
 chose, et ils out elierche :\ exprinier tout eela par uii seul mot. Mais 
 conmHul faire ? vS'ils joiniiaient tons ces mots ensemble, ils en auraient 
 un nouveau d'uue longueur enorine ; et puis, leur nouvelle lant,nic, abon- 
 daut en consonncs, u'ctait pas hcureusemcnt formee pour une pareiHe 
 jonetion. Mors ils ont pris qnelque chose de chaque mot, et par la 
 r(5unlou el I'inlercalalion des syllables, et meme de sons simples tirds de 
 la phrase (pi'ils avaient choisie, ou plulot des mots incolierens qui la 
 liresentaient rl leur esprit, ils ont iorm^ un nom propre compose de ces 
 (IKTerentes parties d'idees ; et pour celles qu'ils n'ont pu y faire entrer, 
 lellipse est venue il leur secours. * ■•■ * Ce qui nous parait le plus 
 probable, est ([ue les langnes, comnie le monde, ont commence- par le 
 chaos, et out acquis de la r(?},'ularit(J plus tot ou plus tard, sous une forme 
 ou une autre, selou le jjfdnie des peuples, leurs situations ou leurs besoins. 
 Celles (les ludieiis de rAuiericjue du nord ont retenu beaucoup de ce 
 genre chaoti(iue (jui a du presider il leur formation. I^es parties du dis- 
 cours y sont entremOlees d'une maniere qui fait croire qu'elles n'ont pas 
 toiijours dtd soumiscs aux rb^Xufi qui les jjouverneut actuellement et qui, 
 introduites pen a pen, n'ont pu que ino<lirier, sans le detruire, le systime 
 de fonualion des mots qui parait avoir prevalu des le commencement. 
 
 "Ce systeme polysynthdtique est ce qui caractt-rise les langues algon- 
 (juiues, aiusi (lue toutes celles de I'Aiuerique, et iuflue udcessairemeut 
 sur leurs formes grammaticales, qui ne different que dans les ddtails." 
 
 To this he adds the following foot-note: 
 
 " La plus forte jjreuve qu'ou puisse donner du melange d'iddes qui a 
 exisld au temps de la formation de ces langues, e.st le nombre de mots 
 (|u'elles ont pour exprinier la meme chose, selou les circonstances qui 
 l'accnmpai,'uent. II y a un verbe pour dire ' j'ai euvie de manger de la 
 viandc,' et nn autre pour 'j'ai envie de manger de la soupe ou de la 
 bouillie;' un mot, pour une plaie faile avec uu instrumeut tranchaut ; 
 uu autre, pour une plaie faite avec uu instrument coutoudant ; ces lan- 
 gues gdudralisent raremeut." t 
 
 In support of these striking statements Duponceau has produced 
 no trustworthy proofs. He has adduced only the most fanciful 
 
 ♦This is in substance the doctrine of holoplnasis, to which attention wiU he given 
 hereafter. 
 fMCmoire, pp. Ii8-i20. 
 
>OIMT. 
 
 [Vol. VI. 
 
 ■i nomacli's, u'otit pim 
 •ouillds dans la foriiia- 
 L'S, aiiisi ((UL' 111 iialure 
 fois avcc tonics linirs 
 vouUi, pir excMiiiilc, 
 2\\iiC i\ Ic (li^'signer sim- 
 ciu-c uiiiciue ; iiiais ils 
 //(W irssfinblent u Idle 
 ir nil seul mot. Mais 
 icmble, ils en auraient 
 iiouvelle laii^uc, ahoti- 
 uce pour line parcille 
 jluique mot, et par la 
 e sous simples tirds de 
 ots iucoliciens qui la 
 propre compose de ces 
 'out pu y faire entrer, 
 [ui nous parait le plus 
 out comniencd par le 
 IS tard, sous unc forme 
 itions ou leiirs hesoius. 
 letenu heaucoup de ce 
 II. Ia'S parties du dis- 
 -oire qu'elles n'ont pas 
 lit actuellement et qui, 
 le detruire, le syst^me 
 s le commencement, 
 rise les langues algon- 
 influe udcessairement 
 ue dans les ddtails." 
 
 melange d'iddes qui a 
 est le nombre de mots 
 1 les circonstances qui 
 
 envie de manger de la 
 r de la soupe ou de la 
 inslrument tranchant ; 
 t contondant ; ces lau- 
 
 )onceau has produced 
 ily the most fanciful 
 
 lich ■^UentioIl will lie given 
 
 .1S.^> 
 
 Oct. 1893.1 l'()I,YSYNTni:slS IN IN1>IAN I,A Ndl' AdKS. 
 
 reasons t.. supp-rt his roMvi<:ti<m that tlie In.liiiM languages slill 
 preserve the "cliaotic style" which « seems to have i.revailed from 
 the beginning." 'Die intermixture of the parts of speech docs not 
 follow from the fact that a iangu.ige can in a word-sentence say, 
 <' I desire meat," or " I desire soui)," and can distinguish between 
 a " cut " and a " bruise." Such word-sentences arc governed by 
 certain fixed laws of position and se<iuence of stems. 
 
 Tiie usual method of obtaining a vocalnilary from an unlettered 
 peoi.le is largely responsible for tl>e doctrine that Indians rarely 
 generalize. A savage is asked, Mow do you say " I cat meat, or 
 «' I drink soui)?" and, if he understands the question, he replies 
 by llie appropriate sentences (not words, as many tliiivk), meaning, 
 in his own vernacular, " I eat meat," or " I drink soup." He can 
 distinguish between a cut and a bruise, and shows it by his laug.-age, 
 but must it be inferred from this that he cannot generalize, or tliat 
 
 he does it but rarely? 
 
 Tlie materials of the language of the Iroquois consist of notional 
 words, namely, nouns, verbs, and adjectives ; representative words, 
 namely, prefixive and independent pronouns ; relational words, 
 adverbs, conjunctions, and suffixive prepositions; and derivative 
 elements, namely, formatives and flexions. 
 
 The distinctive nature and cliaracteristic functions of these ele- 
 ments cannot be changed at will by any speaker, for the good and 
 sufficient reason tliat a language does and can do only what it is in 
 the liabit of doing. In the category of notional words, the class of 
 elements called noun -stems may not indifferently assume the func- 
 tions and the flexions peculiar to either the verb-stems or the ad- 
 jective-stems, neither can the verb-stems nor the adjective-stems 
 indifferently assume the functions and the flexions peculiar to either 
 of the other two classes of elements in that category ; hence Du- 
 ponceau's sweeping statement concerning the general character of 
 the American Indian languages, that - they can change the nature 
 of all parts of speech ; of the verb, make an adverb or a noun ; of 
 the adjective or substantive, a verb," is not true of the Iroquoian 
 ton-rue The elements of its lexicon have acquired their individual 
 values by virtue of a series of historical changes, and they severally 
 retain these values solely at the behest of conventional usage, being 
 subject at all times to further mutations of form and signification as 
 
 this usage may decree. 
 
 The stems of words and word-sentences are not divided for any 
 
 50 
 
 l\* 
 
nso 
 
 TIIR AMKBTCAN A NTH lioroi.oiilST. 
 
 [Vol. VI. 
 
 purpose wIiatevLT. Tlic rompomul stems of word-seiUciices in:iy, 
 by liistorical ( hanges, Ik-coiiu! parts of si)ee(;h — notional terms — 
 denotive of tlie lliin(,'S descrilnd l)y llic \vordscnten<es from wliidi 
 tliey are derived, and tliey (an be so considered only wluii tlu- lin- 
 guistic sense has come to disregard the separate meanings of the 
 elements thus com!)ined. Tiiis h /<,viisv/i//i<-.u's:^' A prolific sonrre 
 of much error concerning the natnre of the grammatic jjroce.sses 
 prevailing in this language is the fact that these word-sentences are 
 mistaken for words, for a word-sentence mi^l, it is repeated, nndergo 
 certain historical cluinges of form and fimction before it Incomes a 
 word — a i)art of speet li. Conventional usage alone is the arbiter 
 in this, as it, is in all things linguistic. 
 
 To exemplify lliis the following concise analysis of the stems of a 
 verb and a noun is given. 'I'iie verb-stem selected is -/ir"s-)Y", from 
 the word-sentence ni-/id"s'-yP", " lie hears, untlerstands (by hear- 
 ing)," and the noun stem is -th'ctc-hra-hoc, from iit-hiic-hnt'-kioc, 
 " a chair, seat." These two steins have been chosen solely for the 
 reason that their constitutive elements have not yet undergone that 
 degree of effacement which would render tliein quite irrecognizable 
 to any but an accom|)Iished master of the language. 
 
 The full and original form of ut-hili:-hm'-kwc was ut-h'ctc-h'i- 
 hra'-kw'f, which was evidently derived from the word-sentence 
 yi''t-hctc-h'hhnt'-khwa\ "one (some one) uses it to support his but- 
 tocks," in which the i)ronominal element is jv7- (which is the re- 
 flexive form of -j(i'-, " one or she "), meaning " one-his " or " she- 
 her," the reflexive i)erforming a possessive and not a reflexive office ; 
 the noun-stem is -ht'tc-h't, from u-hctc'-lu-, "buttocks, fundament," 
 and, lastly, the verb -//y/vi-X'/zn',}', " to support with," "to use for 
 supporting," or "to use to sujiport." Tiiis verb-stem is from the 
 word-sentence rii-lu/n'i'-k/muV, "he uses it for supporting (it) " or 
 "he supports it with (it)," in which the " it" enclosed in paren- 
 thesis is understood. These two notional stems, -helc-lii (funda- 
 ment) and -Juird-khwa' (to support with, use to support), then form 
 the compound stem of the word, ut-h'cfc-hqni'-kioc, "chair, stool; " 
 but both stems themselves may be still further reduced to show 
 the original ideas v,-hich combined to form them. The verb-stem 
 chosen is -kP'-syc", from the simple sentence ru-hc"' -syU^ , " he hears 
 it," or simply, "he hears, understands (by hearing)." The com- 
 
 * The formation niul derivation ofa word from a compound. 
 
 Ui.'^' 
 
»«»- » - ^i "i^i 
 
 i 
 
 "ilST. 
 
 rv..i. VI. 
 
 Oct. iS.jj] lMir,V.sYVTIIi;s(s IV IVniAV I. VVfil' AMI-:,' 
 
 3S7 
 
 Iword-seiitciucs may, 
 111 — Motional terms — 
 scntciufs from wliif li 
 [■(1 only whtii llu' liii- 
 
 alL' meanings of the 
 s.-'- A prolific source 
 k'rammatic processes 
 \<v word-sentences are 
 It is repeated, undergo 
 |i before it becomes a 
 
 alone is the arbiter 
 
 )sis of the stems of a 
 ctcd is -///•",f-_)v'", from 
 iderstands (by hear- 
 r () m iit-hctc- lira' -hoc , 
 chosen solely for the 
 I yet undergone that 
 1 <|in'te irrecognizable 
 Mage. 
 
 'I'-hcr was iit-lutc-h'i- 
 n the word-sentence 
 t to support his but- 
 ;v""/- (which is the re- 
 "onc-his " or "slie- 
 notare/lexive office; 
 iittocks, fundament," 
 t with," " to use for 
 ■erb-stem is from the 
 r supporting (it)" or 
 " enclosed in paren- 
 ;ems, -hNc-lie (fimda- 
 > support), then form 
 hoc, "chair, stool;" 
 er reduced to show 
 icm. The verb-stem 
 i-hc"'-syl'\ " he hears 
 aring)." The com- 
 
 a compound. 
 
 ponents of liiis stem are -///"j- and -yi^ ; •fic'^s- is the steni of the 
 ar( haic ii-hc"'-sc, " the e ir," and -jv" is the verb " to enter " of the 
 sentence ra'-yc", "he enters." Hence, "to hear" is made up of 
 
 tlu' ideas " to enter-car," but belnre these two notions cou 
 
 Id 1) 
 
 rendered by " hear" usage had to disregard their several and sepa- 
 rate meanings. Moreover, the stem -//.//•</ /Jac'r' , meaning as a 
 morphologic imit, " to support with," " to use for siipiiorting," or 
 "to use to support," is in its more literal meaning itself the result 
 
 )f the forgetting of the elyuK 
 
 elements of a compound. It is 
 
 mad 
 
 e up of the stems -/ici/r, from la'-hiqr, " he puts ( it) upon," and 
 the au.\iliary ■khwCi' , " to do, make," hence, "to use," the object 
 of the auxiliary being always " it" understood, its object being of 
 course indicated by the context. 
 
 'I'he pronominal elements prefi.ved to the stems of words and 
 word-sentences perform one of two offices: first, they may lie pre- 
 fi.xed to noun-stems for the purpose of indicating gender or posses- 
 sion ; and, second, they may name determinatively the things of 
 which it is reipiired tiial notional stems be made names or predicates. 
 
 In Iro(iuoian speech all the developments of the language ex- 
 pressed by the terms word-sentence, stem-formation, and inilection, 
 are based i)rimarily on the well-known principle of juxtaposition 
 and a more or less intimate fusion of elements, but the living and 
 traditional usage of the language has established the following mor- 
 phothetic* canons, which determine the nature and the relative posi- 
 tion or sequence of elements that may be combined into words, 
 l)hrases, and word-sentences, namely : 
 
 First, The simple or comi)ound stem of a notional word or of a 
 word-sentence may not be employed isolated ly without a [)relixed 
 simple or complex [jcrsonal pronoun or a gender sign or fiexion. 
 
 Second. Only two notional stems may be combined in the same 
 word-sentence, and they nuist not be of the same part of si)eech. 
 
 Third. The stem of a verb or adjective may be combined with 
 the stem of a noun, and the stein of the verb or adjective must be 
 placed after and never I'cforc the noun-stem. 
 
 Foiirtli. An adjective-stem may not be combined with a verb- 
 stem, but it may unite with the formative auxiliary -tha\ to cause or 
 make, and with the inchoative -(. 
 
 ♦ From morphothesi.s, the principle or law fixing not only the sequence but also 
 determining tho kind and number of elements which may be cuilwdied in a word- 
 sentence, and also the morjihology thus established. 
 
rr 
 
 V 
 
 388 
 
 TIIK AMKKICAN ANTlIllorOLOOIST. 
 
 [Vol. VI. 
 
 7v'/?//. A qualificative or other word or element may not be inter- 
 posed between tlie two combined stems of notional words, nor be- 
 tween the simple or compound notional stem and its simple or 
 complex pronominal prefix, derivative and formative change being 
 effected only by prefixing or suffixing suitable flexions and forma- 
 tives to the forms fixed by the foregoing canons. 
 
 The following formulas, witii examples, chiefly from the Mohawk 
 and Onondaga dialects, will show the application of the preceding 
 canons in the building of words and word-sentences: 
 
 Simple Words. 
 (I.) Pronoun -f verb-stem. 
 
 In the following examples the pronominal element is separated 
 from the stem by a hyplien. 
 
 ka'-riks, it bites (it); 
 yo'-riks, it bites it ; 
 ye'-riks, she bites (it) ; 
 ra'-riks, he bites (it) ; 
 
 shako'-ryos, he kills them ; 
 
 ka'-ke", it sees (it) j 
 yo'-ke", it sees it \ 
 ye'-ke", she sees (it) ; 
 shako'-ke", he sees them ; 
 
 ra'-ya'ks, he breaks, cuts it. 
 
 The final "s" in some of the examples is the sign of customary 
 action and not a part of the verb-stem. 
 
 (II.) Pronoun -}- noun-stem. 
 
 In these examples the hyphen divides the pronominal element 
 from the notional stem. 
 
 or 
 
 ka-no"'sa', a house ; house; 
 o-ro^'hya' , or 
 ka-ro"'iiya', sky, the sky ; 
 o-qsi"ta', a foot, the foot; 
 
 o-ko°'sa', or 
 
 ka-ko'''sa' , a face or mask ; 
 
 o-ron'ta', or 
 
 ka-ron'ta', a tree or log ; 
 o-hne'ka', water ; liquid. 
 
 (III.) Pronoun -f- adjective-stem. 
 
 In these examples the hyphen separates the pronominal element 
 from the stem. 
 ka-hofl"tci, it is black; ka-no'ro"', it is costly, dear; 
 
 scarce ; deplorable ; 
 wa-katc'te', it is durable, lasting ; (w)a'-se', it is new ; green ; 
 iw'-es, it is long; (w)a-ka'yon', it is old, ancient ; 
 
 w-i'yo, it is fine, beautiful; (y)o-ya'ne', it is good; proper. 
 
 *1H 
 
OGIST. 
 
 [Vol. VI. 
 
 Oct. 1S03.] I'OIASYNTIIKSIS IN INDIAN I.AMlUACiKS. 
 
 389 
 
 ent may not be inter- 
 )tional words, nor be- 
 em and its simple or 
 rmative change being 
 e flexions and forma- 
 ins. 
 
 efly from the Mohawk 
 ition of the preceding 
 itences : 
 
 I element is separated 
 
 sees (it) ; 
 sees it i 
 e sees (it) ; 
 , he sees them ; 
 
 lie breaks, cuts it. 
 
 the sign of customary 
 
 2 pronominal element 
 
 or 
 
 a face or mask ; 
 or 
 , a tree or log ; 
 
 water; liquid. 
 
 e pronominal clement 
 
 , it is costly, dear ; 
 deplorable ; 
 it is new ; green ; 
 on', it is old, ancient ; 
 ;', it is good J proper. 
 
 Compound Notional Stems. 
 
 (IV.) Pronoun + noun-stem + verl)-stem. 
 
 In the following examples the pronominal, nominal, and verbal 
 elements are separated (jne from another by hyphens, 
 ra-rofll'-ya'ks, he cuts, breaks, ra-no"s'-C'fiti, he is building a 
 
 the tree or log ; house ; 
 
 ra-hy-uskwas. he plucks fruit ; ye-the'tcr-oflnis, she makes flour; 
 
 ka-heq'na-ne"s'kwas, it poaches wu-skwi'-yiVks, it crosses the 
 
 on the field ; l"-'^lg^' 5 
 
 ye-'waliri'saks, she seeks meat; ye-no"kwa'tcra-yenteri, she un- 
 is looking for meat ; derstands medicine. 
 
 (V.) Pronoun + noun-stem -f adjective-stem. 
 The hyphen is used in tlie following examples as it has been in 
 those under preceding formulas, to separate the elements of the 
 compound or word-sentence. 
 
 wa-hya'-ksC-n, (it) fruit is bud ; wa-hya-he"s'tci, (it) fruit is black ; 
 ka-ne":ui' kwast,(it) house is good ; yo-qsa'-hni-ro", its foot is firm ; 
 yu-heq na-kwast, its crop (field) yu-qsa'-ksCui, its foot is bad. 
 
 is good ; 
 ka-no"s'-iyo, (it) house is large ; 
 
 The pronoun // enclosed by parentheses is a gender sign only 
 or is understood. Being definitive, it may often be rendered by 
 ''the:' 
 
 These morphothelic rules establish and govern the morphology 
 or ground-plan of Irocpioian words and word-sentences, and any 
 violation of tiiese rules by a speaker in forming combinations of 
 vocal elements necessarily produces a meaningless assemblage (.f 
 ■irliculale sounds. For instance, to combine two nouns,two verbs, 
 or two adjectives in the same compound would not constitute tiie 
 one noun, verb, or adjective a predicate or (lualifier of the other 
 member of the combination. 
 
 In speaking of what he is pleased to call the origmal structure of 
 the American Indian tongues and of the numerous novel forms with 
 which he claims they abound, Duponceau says : 
 
 " It is impossible to resist the iuipressiou which forces itself upon us 
 that we are among the aboriginal inhabitants of a Nezu World. We find 
 
wm 
 
 390 
 
 Till'; AMKUICAN ANTIIUOI'UUJGIST. 
 
 [Vol. VI. 
 
 tJ 
 
 a naa nia.uicr of coiupoundi.iK words from various roots, so as to strike 
 the ...iiul at once with a whole mass of ideas ; a >,cw manner of express- 
 ing the cases of substantives, by iutlecting the verbs which govern them ; 
 a „rTa nn.uber (the particular plural) applied to the declension of nouns 
 and conju^^ition of verbs ; a ;/,7c- concordance in tense of the eonjvnctiou 
 with the verb. We sec not only pn.nouns, as in the Hebrew an<l some 
 other lanuiuiKt-s, but adjectives, conjunctions, and adverbs co.nbined with 
 the principal part of speech and producing an immense variety of verbal 
 forms." * 
 
 Tliis alleged new manner of compounding words, the so-called 
 polvsyntlictic sclienie, lias already been shown to be erroneous and 
 unfounded in liict, since the morpliologic processes of those Indian 
 languages which have been critically analyzed do not correspond or 
 accord with the theoretical processes distinctive of the scheme, nor 
 do the morphologic processes jirevailing in one tongue accord with 
 tliose common to anotlier in so marked a degree as to warrant the 
 inference that they are based on a common principle or ground- 
 plan differing essentially from fundamental principles common to 
 languages of the old hemisphere. Concerning the new manner of 
 exp^ressing the cases of nouns by inQecting the verbs which govern 
 them, it may be said that it is not true of ilie Iroquoian tongue ; 
 besides, such a process would imply that there exists a provision for 
 what is still undeveloped and non-existent in many of the Indian 
 languages— a nominal case-ending; the fact being, in most in- 
 stances, that the noun is in apposition with an objective pronoun 
 forming an integral part of the person-endings of the verb; by this 
 means the relation of the noun to the action of tiie verb is indicated. 
 In otlier instances the position of a noun in a word-sentence de- 
 termines its "case;" in others it is determined by the pronoun 
 with which it is in apposition. In regard to a ne7u number, the 
 particular plural, it will suffice to say that it is both Asiatic and 
 l':uropean, and to tiiat extent not a distinctive trait of the American 
 Indian languages. It is thus evident that this array of new methods 
 and novel means is the product of misai)prehension and insufficient 
 investigation. Duponceau's fundamental error lay in tlie fact that 
 he attempted to classify all known Indian tongues under a hypotlieti- 
 cal system based chiefly on a superficial study of Algonquian 
 morphologies, before he had made a thorough investigation of the 
 morphologies of the other Indian tongues involved. His whole 
 
 ♦Transactions, p. xxxviii. 
 
 tptaiM 
 
 "JflMliaiL." 
 
ilST. 
 
 [Vol. VI. 
 
 roots, so as to strike 
 re manner of cxpress- 
 wliich govern them ; 
 declension of nouns 
 se of the conjr notion 
 he Hebrew and some 
 Iverbs eoinbineil with 
 ense variety of verbal 
 
 words, the so-called 
 :o be erroneous and 
 sses of those Indian 
 o not correspond or 
 ; of the scheme, nor 
 
 tongue accord with 
 .'e as to warrant the 
 )rinciple or ground- 
 inciples common to 
 
 the new manner of 
 
 verbs which govern 
 : Iroquoian tongue ; 
 exists a provision for 
 
 many of the Indian 
 
 being, in most in- 
 11 objective pronoun 
 
 of the verb ; by this 
 tlie verb is indicated. 
 
 a word-sentence de- 
 ned by the pronoun 
 ) a new number, the 
 
 is both Asiatic and 
 traitof the American 
 array of new methods 
 nsion and insufficient 
 ir lay in tlie fact that 
 les under a hypotheti- 
 itudy of Algonquian 
 , investigation of the 
 nvolved. His whole 
 
 Oct. 1893.] VOLY.SYNTITKSIS IN' INDIAN I.ANdf A( JKS. ^'^l 
 
 conception of language was erroneous. For instance, speaking of 
 Indian speech, he says : 
 
 <'L' organisation interieure du mot est :\ la discraion dc rinventcur. 
 S'il a des rC-gles a suivre, ce sont des regies de goilt et uon de gramman-e. 
 rresqu' enticremcnt, c'est I'oreille qui en decide ; les changemens et 
 transpositions de svllabes et de sons restent tl sa disposition, comme les 
 inversions des motsde la langue latino sont tl celle de I'homme qui parle 
 ou dcrit dans cet idiome." * 
 
 No critical linguistic student could consistently hold sucli views 
 of language and its processes. This statement, besides, is scarcely 
 in accord with what he had previously remarked in his Report, where 
 he says : 
 
 "Nor can this class of languages be divested, even in imagination, of 
 the admirable order, method and regularity, which pervade them ; for it 
 is evident that without these, such complicated forms of language could 
 not subsist, and the confusion which would follow would render them 
 unfit even for the communication of the most simple ideas. A simple 
 language may be, perhaps, nnmelhodical ; but one which is highly com- 
 plicated, and in which the parts of speech are to a considerable degree 
 interwoven with each other, I humbly couceive, never can." t 
 
 The former of these assertions, making the interior form of a word 
 the plavthing of the caprice of every speaker's whim and fancy, 
 represents his opinion after more than ten years' study of the lan- 
 guages, and the latter after not more than three, sliowing tiiat the 
 longer he studied, the less clearly did he comprehend them. Many 
 students have adopted the Hiww polysynthctic as a designation of the 
 Indian languages, but, api)arently, without taking the precaution to 
 learn the exact sense in which Duponceau himself employed it, or 
 to ascertain whether such a scheme of classification was warranted 
 by the grammatic facts of these languages. In exi)lanalion of his 
 use of it he says that the Indian languages belong to "the class 
 which I have denominated polysynthdic merely for tlie sake of desig- 
 nation and without meaning to affix any other importance to the 
 
 name." f 
 
 It thus appears that he employed the term without direct refer- 
 ence to its etymologic meaning and merely as a tag or label for a 
 theoretic scheme of classification, which he believed epitomized the 
 
 »M6moire, p. 145. 
 top. cU., p. xxvii. 
 top. cit., p. xxxvi. 
 
 ^ 
 
r 
 
 ; I 
 
 M 
 
 > 1 ; 
 
 I 1 
 
 no2 
 
 TIIK AMIOTUr'AX ANTintOl'OT.ndlST. 
 
 [Vol. VI. 
 
 fundamental princii)les of morpliology underlying tlie stnictnrcs of 
 the American Indian languages. It should be discarded, since its 
 further use only perpetuates liis errors. 
 
 In an essay, entitled " Polysynthesis and Incorporation as Char- 
 acteristics of American Languages," Dr. P. G Brinton attempts 
 to show that F. Miiller, L. Adam, and others fail to comprehend 
 what he himself believes to be Duponceau's conception of a " poly- 
 synthetic construction of language." He says: 
 
 "Ihelicve that for the scientific study of language, and especi.illy of 
 American languages, it will be profitable to restore and clearly to differ- 
 entiate the distinction between polysynthesis and incorporation, dunly 
 perceived by Duponceau and expressed by him in the words already 
 quoted. With these may be retained the neologism of Lieber, /lo/o- 
 phrasis, and the three defined as follows : 
 
 "Polysynthesis is a method of word-building, applicable either to nom- 
 inals or verbals, which not only employs juxtaposition with aplueresis, 
 syncope, apocope, etc., but also words, forms of words and significant 
 phonetic elements which have no separate existence apart from such 
 compounds. This latter peculiarity marks it off altogether from the 
 processes of agglutination and collocation. 
 
 "Incorporation (Einvcrlcibung) is a structural process confined to 
 verbals, by which the nonnnal or prononnnal elements of the proposi- 
 tion are subordinated to the verbal elements, either in form or position ; 
 in the former case having no independent existence in the language m 
 the form recpiired by the verb, and in the latter case being included 
 within the specific verbal signs of tense uid mood. In a fully incorpo- 
 rative language the verbal exhausts the syntax of the grammar, all 
 other parts of speech remaining in isolation and without structural con- 
 
 uection. 
 
 "Ilolophrasis does not refer to structural peculiarities of language, but 
 to the psychological impulse which lies at the root of polysynthesis and 
 incorporation. It is the same in both instances-the effort to express 
 the whole proposition in one word. This in turn is instigated by the 
 stronger stimulus which the imagination receives from an idea conveyed 
 in one word rather than in many." * * * 
 
 "As the holoplirastic method makes uo provision for the .syntax of the 
 sentence outside of the expression of action (/. e., the verbal and what it 
 embraces), nouns and adjectives are not declined. The 'cases' which 
 appear in many grammars of American languages, are usually indications 
 of space or direction, or of possession, and not case-endings in the sense 
 of Aryan grammar. 
 
 "A further consequence of the same method is the absence of true rela- 
 tive pronouns, of copulative conjunctions, and generally of the machinery 
 of dependent clauses. ' ' 
 
 »k. 
 
 " "^ibat fi . HI** 
 
odisT. 
 
 [Vol. VI. 
 
 lyiiifr tlie stnictiircs of 
 be discarded, since ilb 
 
 ncorjjoration as Char- 
 G Tlrinton attempts 
 s fixil to comprehend 
 onccption of a "poly- 
 ys ; 
 
 ^uagc, and especially of 
 )ie and clearly to diffcr- 
 id iiicorporalion, dimly 
 II in tlie words already 
 logisni of Ivieber, //ina- 
 pplicable cither to nom- 
 josition witb aplutresis, 
 )f words and significant 
 stence apart from snch 
 off altogether from the 
 
 ral process confined to 
 elements of the proposi- 
 Iher in form or position ; 
 ence in the langnage in 
 ler case being inclnded 
 ood. In a fully incorpo- 
 ax of the grammar, all 
 1 without structural con- 
 
 iliarities of language, but 
 ■oot of polysynthesis and 
 es— the effort to express 
 :urn is instigated by the 
 es from an idea conveyed 
 
 siou for the syntax of the 
 c, the verbal and what it 
 ined. The ' cases ' which 
 es, are usually indications 
 case-endings in the sense 
 
 is the absence of true rela- 
 euerally of the machinery 
 
 
 Oct. 1S93.] roTA-SYNTlTKSIS IX INPTAN I.AN'mTAOT.fl. -03 
 
 All this doubtless has a certain plausibility so long as it is tested 
 solely by the faulty and equivocal works of the pioneers in Ameri- 
 can Indian philology ; but, by the light of the facts of language 
 which are gradually being made available, these polysynthctic 
 dogmas are being dissipated. 
 
 Dr. Brinton's definition of polysynthesis is clearly defective and 
 incomi)letc. There is an omission of the name or names of the 
 elements subject to "juxtaposition," and also of the term co-ordi- 
 nate with "juxtaposition " and expressive of a process contrary or 
 co-relative to that of "juxtaposition," two very important omissions 
 in a definition designed to " clearly differentiate the distinction be- 
 tween polysynthesis and incorporation, dimly perceived by Dupon- 
 ceau." But, as Dr. Brinton was merely recasting and remoulding the 
 first sectionof Duponceau's definition of a polysynthetic construction 
 of language, the omitted process, judging from this fact and from 
 other parts of Dr. Brinton's essay, is that affirmed by Duponceau 
 to consist in the "intercalation" or "interweaving together the 
 most significant sounds or syllables of each simple word " and the 
 various "parts of speech, particularly by means of the verb. 
 The alle^^ed process of intercalation or interweaving together of 
 vocal elements has already been shown to be mere hypothesis and 
 unfounded in Uie known facts of Indian languages. Moreover, 
 Dr Brinton tells us that agglutination and collocation differ from 
 polysynthesis in not using "words, forms of words and significant 
 phonetic elements which have no separate existence apart from 
 such compounds." If this statement were substantiated by facts, it 
 would pass unchallenged ; but it is to be doubted that " agglutina- 
 tion and collocation " do not employ, in the polysynthetic sense 
 "words, forms of words," which have no existence outside of 
 compound forms. Even in the English, which is agglutinative in 
 some of its forms, such nouns as sooth and wise are practically 
 obsolete in current speech, although in use in compound forms; 
 hence, must it be inferred that they never had an independent 
 existence in the language? Not at all. In the obsolescence of 
 words and forms they will maintain an existence in certain quaint 
 or striking phrases or compounds when they have lost their adapta- 
 bility for current and new formations. 
 
 It may be stated that "significant phonetic elements " form no 
 part of the linguistic material of Indian languages any more than 
 they do of that of the Indo-European languages. Words and sounds 
 51 
 
ft 
 
 394 
 
 THE AMERICAN AXTimOPOrOOTST. 
 
 [Vol. VI. 
 
 in Indian as in otlier l:insiiages have no intrinsic si^'nification apart 
 from that imposed on tliem by tiie common usage of the com- 
 munity. 
 
 Tile apparent abbreviation of nouns in derivative words aid word- 
 sentences which has given rise to some of these misleading designa- 
 tions may be explained by tlie fact tliat those who attempted to 
 define the methods of derivation and combination of vocal elements 
 took noun-stems from prepositional and other phrases or from word- 
 sentences wlierein those students have percliance found the stem for 
 which they sought, overlooking the fact that language does not 
 make decomposition an antecedent condition to other composition. 
 Again, in some languages the gender-sign is usually discarded from 
 the noun-stem when the stem is united with another to form a new 
 
 compound. 
 
 From Dr. Brinton's definition of incorporation— the process of 
 intercalation or interweaving together of Duponceau— it follows that 
 where no conscious or artificial mutilation of notional stems takes 
 place in the compound there is no subordination, and so to that 
 extent no incorporation ; that where no modal or tensal flexions 
 are affixed to the word-sentence in such manner as to give the pro- 
 nominal and nominal elements— the person-endings and the noun- 
 stems— the appearance of being infixed or enclosed between those 
 elements and the verb stem, there is likewise no incorporation. 
 These changes are not made in the sinii)le tenses of the Iroquoian 
 indicative mode, showing that the combination of the notional 
 stems is a condition antecedent to the affixion of modal and tensal 
 flexions to the word-sentence. Tiie fatal error of this doctrine of 
 incorporation lies in the fact that it places flexions and formatives 
 on an equality with notional stems in the expression of thought, 
 making flexions and formatives an integral part of the semasiologic 
 difference between two expressions or word-sentences composed of 
 unlike notional stems, for it is not the flexions but the notional 
 stems which, from the standpoint of morphology, give to every 
 word-sentence its semasiologic individuality. So that testing the 
 question by Dr. Brinton's definition of what constitutes incorpora- 
 tion as he conceives it was dimly perceived by Duponceau, there is 
 in the ground-forms of Iroquoian words and word-sentences no trace 
 of incorporation ; for it is not a question of the affixion or suffixion 
 of elements to a root or stem, but merely the use of a system for 
 that purpose. 
 
 mtmii p* 
 
■■■■•%. 
 
 ^ 
 
 OflTST. 
 
 [Vol. VI. 
 
 Oct. 1893] 
 
 I-OI.YHYNTIIICSIS IN INUIAN I,AN(ir AdKS. 
 
 395 
 
 isir si}j;nification apart 
 )n usage of the com- 
 
 'ative words aid word- 
 se misleading designa- 
 ose who attempted to 
 ition of vocal elements 
 
 ■ phrase.s or from word- 
 nce found the stem for 
 lat language does not 
 1 to other composition, 
 usually discarded from 
 inother to form a new 
 
 oration — the process of 
 onceau — it follows that 
 )f notional stems takes 
 [nation, and so to that 
 odal or tensal flexions 
 mer as to give the pro- 
 -endings and the noun- 
 Miclosed between those 
 vise no incorporation, 
 tenses of the Iroquoian 
 nation of the notional 
 on of modal and tensal 
 rror of this doctrine of 
 flexions and formatives 
 expression of thought, 
 part of the semasiologic 
 -sentences composed of 
 :xions but the notional 
 phology, give to every 
 ty. So that testing the 
 it constitutes incorpora- 
 by Duponceau, there is 
 word-sentences no trace 
 
 ■ the affix! on or suffixion 
 the use of a system for 
 
 The statement that the word-sentence exhausts the syntax of the 
 language .n which the principle of incorporation prevads, that no 
 
 rovisions for the syntax of the sentence outside o the expression 
 of action (/. .., the verbal and what it embraces)" are made, ■ 
 unwarranted so far as the Iroquoian, Siouan, Atiiapascan, and 
 Algonciuian languages are concerned. The employment by these 
 languagesof correlatives, relative and coordinate pronouns and coi - 
 nctio,.s, and prepositional phrases is ample refutation of such 
 cm Fa. is like these show on what an unsubstantud basis wa 
 erected the l,ypothetical polysynthetic scheme of Duponceau and 
 
 ''' uf Brinton affirms that incorporation consists in subordinating 
 the nominal and pronominal elements of the l-P-^'- °^^^ 
 verbal in one of two ways: first, by a mutilation of form, and 
 Lond, by position. In the first case the noun or pronoun n.ust 
 as ume a Lm which it does not have apart from such -".pounds 
 ad in the second it must be placed between the signs o mode and 
 t^i e on the one hand and the verb-stem on the other In Sanscn t 
 a Indo-European language, the person-endings which are adm.t- 
 :dl .ronominal in origin do not have the form of the pronmu s 
 vhen apart from the compounds to which they are affixed. Mme- 
 over, tiey may be inserted between the verb and its adveibial 
 qualifiers in the proposition. _ 
 
 In section 249 of his Sanscrit Grammar Prof. Max MuUer says . 
 "The comparative is formed by tara or iyas ; the superlative hytcnna 
 
 better (Pan., v. 3, 57) ; pacUatita,na>n, he cooks best (1 an., v. 3- 5 ) 
 Here the pronominal elements, the person-terminations and 
 
 ?he aboriginal American tongues? If modern instances of th.s 
 
 q» 
 
11^ 
 
 l-il 
 
 
 ! 
 
 r 
 
 I 
 
 806 
 
 THK AMKltlCAN ANTllUOrOLOOIST. 
 
 [Vol. VI. 
 
 "incorporation" and the synthetic capacity for comi)oiinding 
 words be necessary, let us turn to the abundantly synthetic structure 
 of modern Russian, which exemplifies the important fact that in 
 the Indo-European family, of which the Russian is a me.nber, the 
 tendency has not been "everywhere and in all respects downward, 
 toward poverty of synthetic forms, throughout the historic period." 
 Of the structure of this language Prof. W. D. Whitney says: 
 
 " The Russian of the present day possesses in some respects a capacity 
 of synthetic (kvclopnient hardly, if at all. excelled by that of any 
 ancient tongue. For example, it takes the two independent words bcz 
 Boira '' without God,' and fuses them into a theme from which it draws 
 a whole list of deriv.atives. Thus, Orst. by adding an adjective sunix, it 
 gets the adjective /;f^*o-//««)', 'godless;' a new suffix appended to this 
 makes a nomi, bczbozlmik, 'a godless person, an atheist;' the nonn^ 
 gives birth to a denominative verb, bczbozhnichat, 'to be an atheist;' 
 from this verb, again, come a number of derivatives, giving to the 
 verbal idea the form of adjective, agent, act, and so on : the abstract is 
 be-bozhnichestvo, ' the condition of being an atheist ; ' while, once more, 
 a new verb is made from this abstract, namely bczbozluiichesivovat, 
 literally 'to be in the condition of being a godless person.' A more 
 intricate synthcti-. form than this could not easily be found in Greek, 
 ],atin, or Sanscrit ; but it is no rare or exceptional case in the language 
 from which we have extracted it; it rather represents, by a striking 
 instance, the general character of Russian word-formatiou and deriva- 
 tion."* 
 
 This, Professor Whitney holds, shows the futility of attempting 
 to maintain that there has been "an miinterrupted and universal 
 reduction of the resources of synthetic exprer>sion among tlie lan- 
 guages of the Indo-European fiimily," demonstrating conclusively 
 that even the members of a linguistic family differ in synthetic 
 
 capacity. 
 
 These examples of the synthetic power in the Sanscrit and Rus- 
 sian languages show that the synthesis of a large numl)er of elements 
 into the form of a word is not a trait peculiar to the Indian lan- 
 guages; Duponceau and his followers maintiMn not only that this 
 exuberant synthetic capacity prevails in all known Indian tongues, 
 but also that all these synthetic forms are based on one common 
 model distinctively peculiar to these aboriginal languages; but, if 
 Dr. Brinton's definition of what constitutes incorporation be ac- 
 cepted, then the Sanscrit and the Russian may be confidently said 
 
 • lyanguage and the Study of Language, p. 281. 
 
lUKiJST. [Vol. VI. 
 
 :ity for compounding 
 fntly synthetic striRtiirc 
 Jiinpoitant fact that in 
 Iissian is a int-.iil)er, tlie 
 Jail respects downward, 
 lit the iiistoric ])eri()d." 
 f). Whitney says: 
 
 some respects n capacity 
 xcelled by that of any 
 independent words bt's 
 lenie from wliicb it draws 
 in^ an adjective sufllx, it 
 V suffix appended to this 
 I, an allieist ; ' the noun 
 chat, ' to be an atheist ; ' 
 ;rivatives, giving to the 
 nd so on : the abstract is 
 lieist ; ' while, once more, 
 1 e 1 y bczhozh n ich estvo vat, 
 godless person.' A more 
 ;asily be found in Greek, 
 onal case in the language 
 •cpresents, by a striking 
 )rd-formatiou and deriva- 
 
 e futility of attempting 
 iterrupted and universal 
 prer^sion among the lan- 
 lonstrating conclusively 
 iiily differ in synthetic 
 
 n the Sanscrit and Rns- 
 rge number of elements 
 liar to the Indian lan- 
 t.'-in not only that this 
 known Indian tongues, 
 based on one common 
 :inal languages; but, if 
 J incorporation be ac- 
 nay be confidently said 
 
 ge, p. 281. 
 
 Oct. i«.j3,] IMtl.YSYNTHKSIS IN l.VDI.VX r.AN(iI ACKS. 
 
 007 
 
 to form their words and word-sentences on the theoretic ground- 
 plan conjectured to be the pattern of all the grammatic structures 
 of the American Indian tongues. 
 
 Can it, therefore, be asserted tiiat the Sanscrit, tiie Russian, and 
 their congeners belong to a family of languages based on a model 
 common to that of the .Vmerican Indians? As there is no ground- 
 plan comn. )n to all the well-known Indian tongues, such an assertion 
 cannot well be made. They, like the languages of the old hemis- 
 phere, hare traits which are found in the majoiity of languages and 
 they also individually have otliers which are idionutic. 
 
 Again, Dr. Brinton says: 
 
 "As the effort to speak in sentences rather than in words entails a con- 
 stant variation in these sentence-words, there arises both an enormous in- 
 crea.se in verl)al forms and a mulliplicalion of expressions for ideas closely 
 allied. This is the cause of the apparently endless conjugations of numy 
 such tongues, and also of the exuberance of their vocabularies in words 
 of closely similar signification. * » * I^angunges structurally at the 
 bottom of the scale have an enormous and useless excess of words. 
 The savage tribes of the plains will call a color by three or four dilTerent 
 words, as it ajjpears on different objects. The Kskimo has about twenty 
 words for fishing, depending on the nature of the fish pursued. All this 
 arises from the ' holophrastic ' plan of thought." 
 
 But Dr. Brinton does not show this by the convincing method of 
 citing unequivocal facts of language. He evidently overlooks the 
 impossibility of speaking in words without the use of sentences. 
 What evidence has he adduced to prove that the structure of any 
 one Indian tongue is the product of an " effort " to speak in some 
 specific manner. The truth of the matter is that the speakers of 
 Indian languages are just as powerless consciously to change the 
 habits of their several idioms as are the speakers of Indo-European 
 and other tongues. 
 
 The statement that certain Indian tongues call a color by three 
 or four different names as it appears on different objects is due to 
 erroneous information. The exi)lanation of this difficulty is tiiis: 
 the three or four different names or words are not names of only 
 one color, but rather of as mafty colors, or, strictly, as many shades 
 of the same color as have received appellations in the language in 
 question. In the English, one says "a gray horse," but "a dun 
 cow;" "a bay horse," but "a red apple;" " a yellow dog," but 
 "a hazel eye," etc. 
 
.'5!)8 
 
 Tin; AMKltlCAN ANTII IlortMAHilrtT. 
 
 [Vol. VI. 
 
 II* 
 
 The otiicr remark, stating tliat tlic Kskimo possesses twenty words 
 for falling, "(le|KMi(lent on tlie nature of the fish pinsned," is to he 
 exphiiiK'.l in a similar nuinner, beeaiise it is ojjvioas that the dijfi'ratt 
 mnins and mrt/uhh of fisliing necessarily recpiire diffe>ei>l words for 
 their desi-iuUion. In like manner the Missionary l!ntri<k, who 
 praedcd Jarvis and Pickering, staled llial the Mngnage of the 
 Ciitrokees, owing to its incapacity for generalization, has fourteen 
 veri)s to denote wasiiing different things, hut no verb to denote 
 washing in general. An analyzUion of the fourteen examples given 
 shows that they are not all verbs denotive of washing ; some signify 
 "to swim," others " to soak," others " to wet or sjjrinkle," and 
 still others " to boil," which, of course, it would be folly to classify 
 among the verbs meaning to wash or lave. Thus, a rational expla- 
 nation is sui)i)lied for what appeared to be an anomaly in language. 
 
 In speaking of the elements used in polysynthesis and incorpora- 
 tion Dr. Hrinton says {pp. cit.): 
 
 "As polysynthetic elements we have the inseparahle possessive pro- 
 nouns which in many languages are attaclicd to the names of the parts 
 of the body and to the words foi near relatives; also the 'generic forma- 
 tives,' particles which are prefixed, suffixed, or inserted to indicate to 
 what class or material ot)jects belong ; also the 'numeral terminations' 
 afiixed to the ordinal numbers to indicate the nature of the objects 
 counted ; the negative, diminutive, and amplificative particles which 
 convey certain conceptions of a general character, * * * but are 
 generally not words themselves, having no independent status in the 
 language. They may be single letters or even merely vowel-changes 
 and consonantal substitutions, but they have well-defined siguificauce." 
 
 Again (t>/. cit.), he says : 
 
 "Although in polysynthesis we speak of prefixes, suffixes, and juxta- 
 position, we are not to understand these terms as the same as in connec- 
 tion with the Aryan or with the agglutinative languages. In polysyn- 
 thetic tongues they are not intended to form words, but sentences ; not 
 to express an idea, but a proposition. This is a fundamental, logical dis- 
 tinction between the two classes of languages." 
 
 In Irocpioian and Algoncpiian speech the names of the parts of 
 the body are not inseparably connected with " possessive pro- 
 nouns," nor do they enif)loy " numeral terminations'! to indicate 
 the "nature of the objects counted." Dr. Brinton endeavors to 
 make a distinction between "prefixes, suffixes, and jn.Ktaposition," 
 when used in reference to Aryan and agglutinative languages and 
 when they refer to flexions in Indian languages, on the erroneous 
 
 M^p'ip^^^^''*"Mtr. 
 
'ol.dcilsT. 
 
 [Vol. VI. 
 
 Oct. |S93."| I'OI.VSYNTFIKSIH l\ IN'HI.W I, ANdl' A»ii:.s. 
 
 :\w 
 
 111) possesses twenty words 
 he fish |)iiisiu-(l," is to 1)0 
 |obvio;is that \.\\^ iiiprcnt 
 |<Hiiii' (iiffi-ri-i't wouls for 
 Missionary Ihitrick, who 
 li;it the laiigiiayt: of the 
 fieralization, has fourlieii 
 but no vcrlj to denote 
 le lonrtccn examples given 
 1)1 wasiiing; some signify 
 to wet or sprinkle," and 
 would 1)0 folly to classify 
 Thus, a rational expla- 
 an anomaly in language, 
 ysyiithesis and incorpora- 
 
 iiiscjjarahlc possessive pro- 
 
 to the names of the parts 
 
 s; also tlie 'generic fornia- 
 
 , or inserted to indicate to 
 
 he 'miiiieral terminations' 
 
 the nature of the ot)jects 
 
 iplificative particles which 
 
 laracter, * » * but are 
 
 independent status in the 
 
 ;ven merely vowel-changes 
 
 well-defiued significance. " 
 
 refixes, suffixes, and juxta- 
 
 is as the same as in connec- 
 
 ve langnages. In polysyn- 
 
 words, hut sentences ; not 
 
 a fundamental, logical dis- 
 
 le names of the parts of 
 1 with " possessive pro- 
 rminations'.' to indicate 
 •r. Brinton endeavors to 
 ixes, and juxtaposition," 
 Intinative languages and 
 uages, on tlie erroneous 
 
 ground that in polysynthetic tonj/ucs their fmiction is " unt to 
 form words, hut sentences; not to express an idea, but a i)r(iposi- 
 tion." A more misleading statement or a more lamentable confu- 
 sion of terms regarding the function and use of llcxioiis in language 
 it would be difficult to equal. There is nothing in the use and 
 historii al development of (lexional and formative elements in tliofn: 
 Indian langnages which have been thoroughly studied by the scien- 
 tific methods of modern linguistics to warrant the assum|ition that 
 formatives and flexions are em|)loyed solely for the purpose of form- 
 ing sentences, and that they do not compose essential parts of 
 words. Such a contention can rest solely on the tremendous as- 
 sumption that every Indian necessarily knows the etymology — the 
 component i)arts or constitutive elements — of each word he employs. 
 The science of language stands o])posed to such fanciful assmup- 
 tions. Moreover, this is another proof, if such be needed, that the 
 doctrine of i)olysyntbesis rests on a fimdamental misconception of 
 the phenomena of linguistic growth and development, for its 
 methods and means of lingm'stic growth do not conform to those 
 established by the science of language. In a science so well con- 
 stituted as is that of comparative linguistics, groundless assumptions 
 should be avoided. In a science of this character, research to be 
 fruitful of substantial and trustworthy results must converge toward 
 a self-sustaining and continuous development. The findings of 
 to-day must enlarge without overturning the conceptions of yes- 
 terday, and thenceforward there must be " system, but no systems ; " 
 facts and reasons must take the place of authorities. Hut, in the 
 fruitful field of American Indian linguistics, there appears to be no 
 common method or system of study, and for this reason every 
 important question pertaining to these tongues is in dispute, with 
 no recognized criterion by which tlie accuracy and trustworthiness 
 of any result, system, or conclusion may be tested. This is the 
 soil in which controversy flourishes. It is too much the custom to 
 quote authors rather than to give facts, although the authors 
 quoted may or may not have known a reason for what they wrote. 
 
 After citing from T^acombe's Cree Grammar an analysis of a 
 nominal compound-stem, Dr. Hrinton remarks, in referring to the 
 constitutive elements thus found : 
 
 "Not a single one of the above elements can be employed as an inde- 
 pendent word. They are all only the raw material to weave into and 
 make up words." 
 
h 
 
 too 
 
 Till", AMi;itI('AN ANTMItol'OI.fHJiST. 
 
 [Vol. VI. 
 
 And, from Katlicr Monloya's Ti-u>ro dc /<; f.cn;^iit GuiViini, lie 
 a(l()|)ls tliL- following,' rrmarkahlc statement : 
 
 "The fduiulatioii of this laiiKiinKi' consists of jjarticleH, which frc- 
 (luciitly have no mciininjj if tnken alone ; Imt when conij)ountU<l with the 
 whole or parts of others (for they cnt them ii]) a ^real tleal in composi- 
 tion) tliey form sij^nificant expressions ; for this reason there are no inde- 
 peiident verhs in the lan^naj^e, as they are built up of thcBC particles 
 with nouns and jirononns." 
 
 Then Dr. Uriuton says: 
 
 "This analysis, which Montoya carries much further, remimls us for- 
 cihly of the extraordinarily acute analysis of the Crcc ( Alj^onkin ) hy Mr. 
 James Ilowse. lIiuloul)tedly the two toujjues have been built up from 
 significant particles (not words) in the same manner." * 
 
 'I'liis species of " extraordinarily acute analysis" amniiiits virtu- 
 ally to this, tiiat it finds in certain languages "significant expres- 
 sions," formed by compounding together certain meaningless par- 
 ticles with fragments of other equally meaningless particles, and 
 this, it is claimed, is tlic method of word-forming jiervading the 
 Indian languages. This is romance and not comparative grammar. 
 Words can be modified by other words only. Relations of ideas 
 must necessarily be indicated by words which, by the tropic action 
 of nictajihor, will eventually be formatives and flexions. 
 
 Abandoning his first but truer impressions of tliese Indian tongues, 
 expressed ten or twelve years earlier in his report, Duponceau, in 
 his Memoire, adopts the fiillacious doctrine since called holophrasis. 
 Here (p. 249) he says : 
 
 "The grammatic forms of these languages are in perfect liarmony 
 with the method in which they form their words ; the same system 
 rules everywhere ; and everywhere one sees the ahseuce of the spirit of 
 analysis, [l^c had believed at one time that analysis should precede 
 synthesis ; but more profound researches and deeper rejections have con- 
 vinced I's that the synthetic forms that characleri/e these idioms result 
 from the inability of those who formed them to analyze the concrete 
 ideas which presented themselves to their imagination, and they have 
 sought to express them en masse, as they have perceived them." 
 
 This, in short, is the foundation of Dr. Lieber's doctrine of holo- 
 phrasis and adopted by Dr. Brinton. It is due wholly to a con- 
 founding of the analytic mode of expre. n with mental analysis. 
 
 ♦p. 83. 
 
ItsT, [Vol. vr. 
 
 \r»i,'iii GuiViJui, he 
 
 |iartiples, whlih frc- 
 
 iiii]ii)iiiiik(l with the 
 
 \\-,i\. (leal in I'oiiipdsi- 
 
 oii tluTf an- IK) inde- 
 
 liil) of these i)arlick'8 
 
 Irtlier, ri'iniiids us for- 
 I'c (Alj^oiikiii) t)y Mr. 
 e l)feii built up from 
 
 LT."» 
 
 siH " aiiioiiiits virtu- 
 sign ifnaiU exprt's- 
 lin meaningless par- 
 glcss particles, and 
 niing pervading the 
 (jmparativc grammar. 
 Relations of ideas 
 by the tropic action 
 ll flexions. 
 
 these Indian tongues, 
 eport, Diiponceau, in 
 ce called holophrasis. 
 
 •e in perfect harmony 
 rils ; the same system 
 ihseuce of the spirit of 
 <talysis should precede 
 er reflections have coii- 
 izc these idioms result 
 analyze the concrete 
 illation, and they have 
 rceived them." 
 
 er's doctrine of holo- 
 hie wholly to a con- 
 ith mental analysis. 
 
 Oct. 1893 1 I'or.vKYNTirRsrH in* indi.w r.ANorAoFH. 
 
 toi 
 
 In argiiini( from n theoretic NtaMd|H)iiit against tlic doctrine of a 
 primitive oligo- or monosyllabic stage of dcv(lo|»ment in the Iiulo- 
 Mnropcan family of lan^^nages, the late M, Kenan follows the same 
 line of aignmcnt that Dr. I, ieber adopted in support of holophiasis. 
 M. Renan says (^Origin of I,angiiag(', seventh chapter): 
 
 "Another characteristic which the progress of comparative philology 
 authorizes us to atlritnitc to primitive language, as in general to crea- 
 tions of the iirimilive liuin.in mind, v:. the Hyiitlicsi?- ami exiilu-raiieeof its 
 forms. It is too often imagined llial simplii ily, which, relative to our 
 analytic processes is anterior to complexity, is also anterior in the order 
 of time. This is a vestige of the oM usages of the scholastics nii<l of the 
 artificial method which logicians employ in psychology. * * * I'ar 
 from this heginning I>y analysis, the (irst act which it (the mind) proposes 
 is, c 11 the contrary, complex, oliscurc, synthetic ; all is heaped together 
 and indistinct. » » * The idea is expressed at first with its entire 
 <rt»;7^X'''' "'"determinatives and in a perfect unity. • * • 
 
 " The history of dilferetit systems of conjug.ition gives place for analo- 
 gous considerations. In our modern languages the subject, the verb, and 
 the several relations of time, mode, and voice, arc expressed by isolated 
 and independent words. In aiuifiit languages, on the contrary, these 
 ideas are most often comi)riscd in one single word ; ainabor contains the 
 idea of lo love, the indication of the first person, that of the future, anil 
 that of the passive. » » * 
 
 "Agglutination must have been the dominant process of the language 
 of primitive men, as synthesis, or rather syncretism, was the characteristic 
 of their thought." 
 
 The criticism of these views by tlie distingiiislied linguist, Prof. 
 W. 1). Whitney, is cogent and effective ; and since the argument of 
 Professor Whitney embodies the writer's views on the subject of 
 holophrasis as defined by Dr. Lieber, it will be given here entire. 
 Professor Whitney says: 
 
 "The synthetic fonns which we are asked to regard as original have 
 uot the character of something indistinctly heaped together ; they con- 
 tain the clear and express designation of the radical idea and of its im- 
 portant relations ; they represent by a linguistic synthesis the results of 
 a mental analysis. The idea is, indeed, conceived in unity, involving all 
 its aspects and relations ; but these cannot be separately expressed until 
 the mind has separated them, until practice in the use of language has 
 enabled it to distinguish them, and to mark each by an appropriate sign. 
 In a.: or, the {I<atin) word cited as an example of synthesis, are con- 
 tained precisely the same designations as in the equivalent English 
 analytic phrase, "I shall be loved;" auta expresses "loving;" bo 
 unites future-sign and ending designating the first person ; and the r is 
 
 52 
 
 99 
 
402 
 
 THE AMF.RTCAN AXTITKOFOT-OntaT. 
 
 [Vol. VI 
 
 the sign of passivity. Who can possibly maintain that a system of such 
 forms, gathered about a root, exhibits the results of experience, of < e- 
 veloped acut-ness, iu thought and speech, any less clearly thaii the 
 analytic forms ol our English conjugation ? The two are onl- different 
 methods of expressing the same 'array of determinatives.' Ihe first 
 synthetic mental act, on the contrary, is truly represented by the bare 
 root : There all is, iudeeu, confused and indiscrete. . . M. Renan, in 
 short, has made a very strange confusion of analytic style of expression 
 with mental analysis: All expression of relations, whether by means that 
 we call synthetic or analytic, is the result and evidence of analysis. 
 
 This reasoning thoroughly dissipates the position taken by Dr. 
 Lieber in support of the doctrine of holophrasis. Although written 
 in view of the languages of the Indo-European family, it applies 
 with equal force to the languages of the American aborigines, the 
 word-sentences of which are the same in kind with those of the 
 
 former. . , , , i- 
 
 The comparison of linguistic forms to ascertain probable lin- 
 guistic aiifinity can be used with extreme caution and to a limited 
 extent only. The information and data for such a study must be 
 accurate and trustworthy in an unexceptional degree ; even then 
 its results must, in a measure, be necessarily of doubtful value, since 
 the scientific melliod of the science of language demands that no 
 human nature different from the one we know be made a factor in 
 the problem, and the human organism, under like conditions, acts 
 with more or less uniformity. 
 
 Linguistic classification by means of morphologies— grammatic 
 and syntactic accordances alone, like that by the genetic method— 
 the historically traceable identity of elements— is, of course, incom- 
 petent and of no force to affirm or to deny identity or possible cor- 
 respondences among the ultimate elements of some or all linguistic 
 groups-accordances antedating all, even partial, grammatic devel- 
 opment, because its right to.be rests on the development of the 
 parts of speech and their flexions—the derivative and the syntactic 
 processes ; beyond these, the tokens of the grammatic period, it 
 cannot take us. This is of course true, because in every language 
 the earliest records of men can carry us back only to a point far 
 distant from the genesis of its peculiar structure and still more dis- 
 tant from the beginnings of human speech. 
 
 • Op, cit., pp. 285, 286. 
 
rOLYSYNTIIKSIS IN INDIAN LANGUAUKS. 
 
 403 
 
 L0GI3T. 
 
 [Vol. VI 
 
 itn that a system of such 
 ilts of experience, of de- 
 ny less clearly than the 
 iie two are onl- lUffereut 
 tenuiualives.' The first 
 represeulstl by the bare 
 lete. . . M. Renaii, in 
 alytic style of expression 
 IS, whether by means that 
 jviileuce of analysis." * 
 
 '. position taken by Dr. 
 ■asis. Although written 
 )pean family, it applies 
 merican aborigines, the 
 kind with those of the 
 
 ascertain probable lin- 
 aution and to a limited 
 or such a study must be 
 jnal degree ; even then 
 ' of doubtful value, since 
 nguage demands that no 
 now be made a factor in 
 Jer like conditions, acts 
 
 .orphologies — grammatic 
 by the genetic method — 
 Its — is, of course, incom- 
 ■ identity or possible cor- 
 I of some or all linguistic 
 [)artial, grammatic devel- 
 the development of the 
 ivative and the syntactic 
 he grammatic period, it 
 jecause in every language 
 back only to a point far 
 ucture and still more dis- 
 li. 
 
 Oct. 1893] 
 
 „iS„t, in order .0 ascerta.n »•■«""•■' *°f";;,\„j A,,u,.a«:an 
 what I liad round in th« languaRcs of the S.'uan a"" ' 
 
 familic. In consequence of .h« -"T'^^^l^rl.. re- 
 
 .„ U.e cone,u.on U,a. ^^Z^^^^ "»^"-"J. '" 
 
 snectinL' the structure of Indian iant,ua^c 
 
 Z^L S-,oua,, and A;-.— ;S:-;r:,r'at ..rt:,,. 
 
 r;t;:r.;;:;T,>?;i„';:;;et-eof,,.co„c,n.on. 
 
 on Lage . . , of Duponceau's Memo.re ,t ,s sa,d . 
 
 ..Chacu,, fai. „u moid. a „.,n.™, ,«'il -ompaS". ^e =,g»es, =• 
 
 versation. ^^y a t.me ha-^^^^^^ e^uld be seen, and yet his 
 lage on a dark mght, when no es ^.^^^^ ^^^^.^^^ 
 
 words have been understood by ^^^^.f^f^^^ ^^ ,„,,form to fixed 
 could " make a word in his own way , he haU 
 laws, else his speech could not be understood. 
 
 On page 1 1 8 the same v, riter observes : 
 
 ..Outilsvoulu.parexemple.donnerunnom^ 
 
 :r^r:?nti:;^?^="X..^^^ 
 
 lesfeuiUesressemblent a telle chose.' 
 
I2i ' 
 
 r 
 
 404 THE AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST. [Vol. VI. 
 
 Many other tree names could be given, in most of which the name 
 fsZZa by the simple juxtaposition of the elements. 1 he al eg^d 
 expression of case by the inflection of verbs governing nouns doe 
 no "xi t n Siouan Lguages, unless it applies to the .nstrumental 
 orm of the verb (as .an in, he was wounded w,th or by an ro. 
 ,nan, arrow; i-, instrumental prefix to the -vb , ., o v nd 
 whirh sometimes has r locative force, as in dhte dhan m, lit xvas 
 ded t^e side. On the contrary, in the Biloxi, the nomina- 
 ive and objective signs are suffixed to nouns and pronouns mstead 
 of >e t attTcbed to the governing verb. There are no instances 
 o the .< particular plural" in the languages which I have recorded 
 :ithrugh tie dual often appears in the verb and some other par s o 
 s ech In Dakota, Dhegiha, etc.. there is a first person dial n 
 e V b ; in the Tutu and cognate Athapascan languages of Oregon, 
 veb hasadual in all three persons, and so has the pronoun 
 D ponceau speaks of "a new concordance of tense oi the conjunc 
 ^on with the verb." This does not appear in Siouan languages. 
 
 A I Cree compound is given as an example of polysynthes.s 
 in no"n; and this word is declared by so high an authority .s D 
 D G B inton to be a fair example. We should not be content 
 wi'ti?a si gle example, especially when that word (the name for 
 loss) seems to be a modern word, introduced after the arrival of 
 r missionaries. Just here let me quote Dr. Brinton. On page .x 
 of his article on Polysynthesis and Incorporation he says : 
 
 « While the genius of American languages is such that they permit 
 .„d m^m of them favor the formation of long compounds which express 
 r Zl of the sentence in one word, this is by no means necessary 
 M^fof the examp of words of ten, twenty or more syllables are no 
 g^:I nlli^elrds. but novelties manufactured by the missionaries. 
 
 I know by experience how difficult it is for a missionary to con- 
 ve to the minds of his hearers certain religious ideas. Again aiid 
 ..!^in did 1 try when missionary to the Ponka Indians to find the 
 ;?o er Indian word for kin,do,n, in order to make even an approx- 
 Vate translation of the petition, " Tliy kingdom come." 1 he Ciee 
 Trd o cross (if it be,^s I suspect, a modern word) s as poor an 
 lustration of what the author contemplated as is the Mexican name 
 or ."/ given by Dr. Whitney on page 348 of his work entitled 
 ''Language and the Study of Langunge," as there is no species of 
 goat indigenous to the Western hemisphere. Any one who has 
 Uved among Indians knows the worthlessness of adducing modem 
 
[Vol. VI. 
 
 Ihich the name 
 The alleged 
 Ing nouns docs 
 le instrumental 
 Ir by an arrow: 
 |«, to wfiiind), 
 j/ian iiii, lie was 
 <i, the nomina- 
 jnouns, instead 
 e no instances 
 have recorded, 
 e other parts of 
 person d :al in 
 ages of Oregon, 
 s the pronoun, 
 of the conjunc- 
 an languages, 
 of ])olysyn thesis 
 authority as Dr. 
 not be content 
 I (the name for 
 ;er the arrival of 
 t»n. On page 21 
 e says : 
 
 that they permit 
 nils which express 
 means necessary. 
 ; syllables are not 
 :he missionaries." 
 
 issionary to con- 
 gas. Again and 
 ians to find the 
 even an approx- 
 tne." The Cree 
 d) is as poor an 
 e Mexican name 
 s work entitled 
 is no species of 
 y one who has 
 iducing modern 
 
 ''/" 
 
 Oct. 1893.] POr.VSYXTirKSIS I\ indiax laxguaoks. 
 
 40.5 
 
 names (/. e., names of objects introduced among the Indians since 
 the arrival of the white race on this continent) for the purpose of 
 illustrating the structure of an Indian language. As far as I can 
 judge from such illustrations of polysyntliesis in nouns, no such pro- 
 cess occurs in the Siouan languages, nor can I recall any instance 
 of it in the Athapascan languages of Oregon. 
 
 Dr. Brinton refers to "generic formatives," by which, I suppose, 
 he means classifiers. These classifiers are found in the Athapascan 
 and Siouan languages, and they perform several functions : some- 
 times they indicate to what classes objects belong (the sitting, stand- 
 ing, reclining, etc., of the Athapascan and Siouan; the earthy, 
 mushy, watery, stony, etc., of other languages); sometimes they 
 distinguish between the subject and the object of an action, etc. 
 Numeral terminations, indicating the nature of the objects counted, 
 are unknown in the Siouan languages; but in the Athapascan lan- 
 guages of Oregon there are two series of numerals, the human and 
 the non-human. 
 
 We are told that polysynthesis is a characteristic which distin- 
 guishes American Indian languages from those of the old world. Is 
 there nothing of the nature of so-called polysynthesis in the Aryan 
 languages? In Greek, thittu^aiiuuv is explained by 6 mui Saiituvai 
 iistTfii ; int)^at/)iic'ilc<"i by <» roii KuKoti ^eitixuiputv ; KaHnHaiiiMv by 'o 
 KUKov SainiiMii 'iyutv ; hOsot; by '« rijv Oio'v 'ei' iauToj e^uiv (Kiihner, 
 Greek Gr., New York, 1864, p. 296). The Sanscrit was especially 
 distinguished by its power of forming compounds of any length, 
 and one of the greatest difficulties of the language lies in the finding 
 out the exact relation of the different parts. Thus, a Hindu could 
 speak of a man as being " tiger-king-handsword-killed " (a very 
 moderate compound). This would mean " killed by a sword in 
 the hand of a king who was like a tiger."* 
 
 On pages 16 and 17 of the article on polysynthesis and incorpora- 
 tion Dr. Brinton says : 
 
 "As the holophrastic method makes no provisions for the syntax of the 
 sentence outside the expression of action («". e., the verbal and what it 
 embraces), nouns and adjectives are not declined. The 'cases' which 
 appear in many grammars of American languages are usually indications 
 of space or direction or of possession and not case-endings in the sense of 
 Aryan grammar " 
 
 •Peile, Philology, N. Y.. 1877, pp. 77, 78. 
 
406 
 
 THE AMERICAN VNTIIKOPOLOGIST. 
 
 [Vol. VI. 
 
 m 
 
 What are case-endings in the sense of Aryan grammar? Killnier 
 informs us tliat "all the relations whicli the Greek denotes by the 
 genitive, dative, and accusative were originally considered relations 
 of spaced * Tiie relations of time and causality also were regarded 
 as relations oi space. Whitney remarks that out of the seven cases 
 "three of them distinctly indicated local relations: the ablative 
 denoted the relation expressed hy/roni; the locative that expressed 
 by in; the instrumental that expressed by with or /y." f To these 
 Peile adds the dative, denoting the relation expressed by io or 
 io7iHinis.X Can any one explain away these words of Kiihner, 
 Whitney, and Peile? 
 
 The learned author of " Polysynthesis and Incorporation" in- 
 forms us that "a further consequence of the same method " (/. e., 
 his method of polysynthesis) " is the absence of true relative ])ro- 
 nouns, of copulative conjunctions, and generally of the machinery 
 of dependent clauses." In Siouan languages there are copulative 
 conjunctions. That there are words which perform the functions of 
 relative pronouns may be seen from the following sentences: 
 
 Mazhan dhan ankikandhai te andhia tangatan ebdhegan — I 
 
 Laud the we desire for the we fail we shaU I think 
 
 ourselves (which) 
 
 think that we shall fail to obtain the land which we desire for our- 
 selves. 
 
 Nuzhinga dhii dhinke e azhi ha. Panka azhi 
 
 Boy gave it he who that one another . Ponka another 
 
 gave it 
 to you 
 
 shange tan 
 
 horse the 
 
 standing 
 
 ihan 
 
 his 
 mother 
 
 tan 
 
 the 
 standing 
 
 adhin 
 
 has 
 
 aka 
 
 he who 
 (subject) 
 
 gdhizai 
 
 took 
 (aforesaid) his own 
 
 shangetazhinga — The youth who gave it to you is not the one (who 
 
 colt 
 
 now has the stray colt). He who has taken it is the Ponka who 
 has the colt's mother. 
 
 Unless one has before him one or more series of sentences, such 
 as occur in myths or epistles, he is hardly in the position to sjjcak 
 with authority, at least so far as dependent clauses are concerned. § 
 
 *Op. cit., p. 373. 
 
 fOp. cit., pp. 271, 272. 
 
 X Op. cit., pp. 102-106. 
 
 gFor examples of dependent clauses in the Siouan languages see my Madison 
 address, "The Biloxi Indians of Louisiana," p. 16, and " Coutributions to North Ameri- 
 can Kthnology," vol. 6, pp. 582, 585, et passim. 
 
 
 B 
 
 V4^ 
 
 B ML i EJ,>>JlJJ Wi- « ! " I ■ — • a i 
 
Xi 
 
 [Vol. VI. 
 
 mar ? Kiilnier 
 denotes by tlie 
 idered relations 
 I were regarded 
 the seven cases 
 5 : the ablative 
 .' that expressed 
 '."t To these 
 •essed by to or 
 ds of Kijhner, 
 
 rporation " in- 
 nethod " (/. c, 
 je relative ])ro- 
 the machinery 
 are copulative 
 ;he functions of 
 ntences : 
 1 ebdhegan — I 
 
 I think 
 
 desire for our- 
 Panka azhi 
 
 Ponka another 
 
 e 
 
 t one 
 esaid) 
 
 gdhizai 
 
 took 
 his own 
 
 •t the one (who 
 
 he Ponka who 
 
 sentences, such 
 sition to speak 
 re concerned. § 
 
 oc. ,8,3.] ™,vsv>-TnK«. .N ,Nn,AX ,,a™i>a.k». 407 
 
 On page .6 Dr. Prison say, tl,a, " U>e ..lOo.. ^ -f '.f,;,^'::, 
 „„„„ iL5„aral,l, connected or, a. east, "'f*;; 'j^^ ;,',,„. 
 ,,„... anrl ^" '!« -= -f^^J ■. ;,;; 'sio,*: ;:;U«. in 
 
 randl ntnan, near *e '^:^X.^r^ ,. •• My 
 the first person would have the vowel /. 
 
 ^„ rmr"— In Tome VI, No. lo, 1893, of 
 
 .;,r,:reraT,:L2-n.a:.c.^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 
 
 J r r FllU describing the custom of measuring the neck, ine 
 Scaliger, E^l'^'.'^^'"'^' f „„. ^^^^^^ .'Soci^te d' Anthropologic de 
 
 .Aiez une eguillee de fil blanc -^^ ^^^J^^^.fvL en ferez 
 cou de la raie, puis vous doublerez ""f "^'.^^.drez ladite 
 tenir les d.ux bouts . la ^^^ ^^^ ^,^1,^, elle 
 mesu. . pour fa.re passer sa tfite, si la ^^^^ P^ ^ ^^ ,.elle est 
 
 estcorrompue; si elle ne 1-^^, ^"^ I'f'JjXrJi/^^^^ 
 
 .ii<. ' • 'Secrets merveilleux de la tnagie naturelie ei cau ' 
 pucelle. Secrets merv ^ ^^^ ^^^ ,^^^^y ^f 
 
 FeHt Albert, etc., i743. 21 P- Among ^" > according to the 
 
 young men is determined solemnly in this manner, ^^^^^^ S „ 
 
 ^ . 1 f MM Hnnoteau and Letourneau, La Kaoyiie. 
 
 excellent work of MM. Honoteau aim ^ ^ ^ Hewitt. 
 
 5 see my Madison 
 ns to North Ameri- 
 
 . *V 
 
 H^ 
 
>. f 
 

 lf?i te °V" S ! ^^ ySi^!,ii 'jtg^' ''' y:!-jli