Brinton.] *>V fOct. 2, 



parisons, and will form a truly scientific basis for the classifi- 

 cation of American nations. 



Acting merely as a pioneer to this vast scheme, I shall con- 

 fine myself to the examination of two closely-related traits, said 

 by some to be common to the ground-plan of all American 

 tongues, while by others they are dropped from consideration 

 altogether, or are asserted to be absent in many instances. These 

 traits are Poly synthesis and Incorporation. 



I shall first sketch the history of these linguistic doctrines ; 

 next explain their nature ; and then proceed to examine in detail 

 several groups of tongues of this continent in which they are 

 said not to appear. If I succeed in showing that when correctly 

 understood, one or the other, or both of them, are really present 

 in these tongues, then I shall have taken a step towards defining 

 the " ground-plan " which I have referred to. As I shall show 

 that they are both expressions of the same psychological motive, 

 if either is present in a tongue it will make for my position, and 

 the propriety of discussing them together will be obvious. 



I would note at the outset that there are a few cautions which 

 one must observe in the search for structural peculiarities in 

 general, and especially of these. 



Thus, it will become obvious to the student of the subject that 

 those American languages which have been lauded for their sim- 

 plicity are quite sure to be those of which we know very little ! 

 The Bri-Bri, the Mutsun, Chibcha, and the Othomi, ai-e exam- 

 ples. Just in proportion as our means of studying them in- 

 crease, their complexity becomes apparent. The little we know 

 about a tongue is often the safe refuge of those who claim for it 

 an exceptional character. 



There is good reason to believe that 6uch apparent simplicity 

 arises from the slight knowledge of the tongues possessed by the 

 whites, to whom we are indebted for our information about them. 

 The trading jargons are always extremely simple, and even the 

 most complex native language readily lends itself to the formation 



