234 michelson: American Indian languages 



which of course will be counted as the great fact of Indo-European 

 philology. 



To change to a different topic. The study of American Indian 

 languages will show that there is no such thing as superiority 

 in language. They all possess the necessary machinery to 

 express the most complicated ideas. The point is simply that 

 what is grammar in one language may be vocabulary in another, 

 and vice versa. For example there are no prepositions in Algon- 

 quian languages, but what we call prepositions are expressed by 

 grammatical processes or special features in vocabulary. Thus 

 "on" will be expressed by the locative case. "To come in" in 

 Fox is piti, "to go out" is nowi. Nor is the language of primitive 

 peoples indicative of low mentality. Thus Fox has but two 

 fractions, one-half and one-quarter. It does not follow at all 

 that the Fox Indians can not conceive of other fractions. As a 

 matter of fact they can. The point is that ordinarily their life 

 is such that there is no necessity for expressing them. I have 

 tested this again and again by asking interpreters how to say, 

 "Give me a third of that pie," and the like. In every case they 

 were able without the slightest hesitation to render the idea, 

 though not the precise words. I mention this simply because 

 Gobineau apparently still has a goodly number of followers and 

 admirers. 



In conclusion, the study of American Indian languages is an 

 extremely attractive field for students of general linguistics; 

 and one that as yet is almost virgin soil. By their study the 

 Indo-European specialist will find his scope vastly broadened, 

 especially in the so-called philosophical bearings of his science. 

 The American ethnologist who neglects their study, places him- 

 self wholly at the mercy of interpreters; or at the best must 

 rely on the ipse dixit of his wiser colleagues. For these reasons 

 their scientific study should be fostered in every possible way. 



