VARIETIES OF HUMAN SPEECH SAPIR. 579 



primitive as tliey are, make a far more liberal use of gestures accom- 

 pan^nng speech than any of the aborigines of North America. 



If we examine in a large way the structure of any given language, 

 we find that it is further characterized by the use of a definite pho- 

 netic system, that is, the sounds made use of in its words arc reducible 

 to a limited number of consonants and vowels. It does not seem to 

 be true, certain contradicting statements notwithstanding, that lan- 

 guages are to be found in which this phonetic definitcness is lacking 

 and in which individual variation of pronunciation takes place prac- 

 tically without limit. It is of course freely granted that a certain 

 amount of sound variation exists in every language, but it is important 

 to note that such variation is always very limited in range and always 

 takes place about a well-defined center. All known forms of speech, 

 then, operate with a definite apparatus of sounds; statements to the 

 contrary \vi\\ in most cases be found to rest either on a faulty per- 

 ception on the part of the recorder of sounds unfamiliar to his ear or 

 on his ignorance of regular sound processes peculiar to the language. 

 Naturally the actual phonetic systems found in various languages, 

 however much they may resemble each other in this fundamental trait 

 of definitcness, differ greatly in content, that is in the sounds actually 

 employed or neglected. This is inevitable, for the vast number of 

 possible and indeed existing speech sounds makes an unconscious 

 selection necessary. Even so, however, it is at least noteworthy 

 wdth what persistency such simple vowel sounds as a and i and such 

 consonants as n and s occur in all parts of the world. 



Even more than in their phonetic systems languages are found to 

 differ in their morphologies or granmiatical structures. Yet also in 

 this matter of grammatical structure a survey from a broad pouit of 

 view discloses the fact that there are certain deep-lyhig similarities, 

 very general and even vague in character, yel significant. To begin 

 ■with, we find that each language is characterized by a definite and, 

 however complex, yet strictly delimited grammatical system. Some 

 languages exhibit a specific type of morphology with greater clear- 

 ness or consistency than others, while some teem with irregularities; 

 yet in every case the structure tends to be of a definite and con- 

 sistently carried out type, the granmiatical processes employed are 

 quite limited in number and nearly always clearly developed, and 

 the logical categories that are selected for grammatical treatment 

 are of a definite sort and number and expressed in a limited, however 

 large, number of grammatical elements. In regard to the actual 

 content of the various morphologies we find, as already indicated, 

 vast differences, yet here again it is important to note with what 

 persistence certain fundamental logical categories are reflected in 

 the grammatical systems of practically all languages. Chief among 

 these may be considered the clear-cut distmction everywhere made 



