Gatschet.] 4oO [].»,, 2 0, 



verb; they ai*e placed either before or after the verb. Concerning the 

 obect pronouns the evidence on hand is too scanty! The nominal object 

 can become incorporated into the verb, but this is not done regularly. 



The language has two relative or demonstrative-relative pronouns, hacha 

 (cha) and acu, which help in a great measure to disengage the intricacy of 

 construction and prevent the language from becoming too "participial.". 

 The number of conjunctions seems to be rather small, and in this respect 

 the language is far from being analytic. 



The most important question of morphology to be decided by every lin- 

 guist who gives a gram ma tic sketch of an idiom to the world, is whether 

 the idiom possesses a real verb or not, the verb being typical of the lan- 

 guage itself. For the Timucua the answer is, that the verb is neither a 

 real verb, nor a pure noun, but a noun-verb. It is true that the plural is 

 formed in the same manner and by the same suffixes in the noun and in the 

 verb, as we rind it done also in the Maya family < it is true that no real sub- 

 ject-case exists, and therefore no real case for the direct object either, all 

 the nominal postpositions being originally of a locative character, as it 

 seems ; it is true also that several relational suffixes of nouns repeat them- 

 selves in the verb. But the subject-pronouns are by no means identical 

 with the possessive pronouns of the nouns and participles, some of which 

 are always suffixed, not prefixed to them, and though the verb docs not 

 inflect for person, it inflects for tense and mode. The verbal forms which 

 correspond to our finite verb are nomina agentis. 



The result is that the verb of this peninsular idiom is a mixed produc- 

 tion between a real verb and a noun used as verb ; it is a noun-verb, hold- 

 ing a middle position between the finite Indoeuropean verb, and the finite 

 Algonkin and Creek verb, both of which are nomina action-is. 



'flic nature of the texts makes it difficult to find out whether there is a 

 substantive verb to be or not, and therefore we are still in the dark con- 

 cerning the attributive verbs. However, tin; existence of a verb to be is 

 very improbable ; it is often circumscribed by the article//!'. Adjectives 

 used attributively are sometimes inflected with the same postpositions as the 

 noun which they qualify ; sometimes with other postpositions, while at 

 oilier times they show no inflectional endings at all, which proves thai 

 they were then considered as forming one term with the noun, which they 

 qualify. They always follow the noun, unless used predicatively. 



The incorporative tendenc3 r of the language has been spoken of above. 

 It is not very prominently nor frequently put to use, and most sentences do 

 not show any trace of it ; but it exists, and this fact is enough for us to 

 direct our judgment concerniiu the nature of this southern idiom. Subject 

 pronouns and s >me of the adverbs are not, but most other parts of speech 

 can become united with the verb, or among themselves, into "collective 

 terms," which are so instructive for the study of agglutinative languages. 



