1891-92}. DENE ROOTS. 151 
hwo, ko, kwo, etc., they are. meaningless accretions which, strictly 
speaking, are not component parts of the words and which should be 
treated as if they did not exist. They are proper to a few nouns ex- 
pressing objects of simple import among which we must count the 
names of the different parts of an animal body. When the words refer 
to a human being their prefixes are changed into xe, nz, ti, tén, téy, etc., 
according to the dialects, and they disappear altogether when said nouns 
are preceded by another word forming therewith compound nouns, as 
kre- tan, “birch-leaf,” instead of ’kre-atan. 
4. Of non-initial consonants, z is sometimes converted into w and v, 
while the first Zin quite a number of monosyllables is changed into ~ 
Apropos of z, I should remark here that in such works as ef’guze, “ vein,” 
etuze, “skin,” etc., that letter should not be considered as initial relatively 
to the last syllable of the word, the final e being a mere accretion char- 
acteristic of certain dialects. The real words are ’gwz and ’tuz. Thus 
pronounced they will be understood by most of the tribes. 
5. As for the value of the letters with reference to the sense of the 
words, a close examination of the following vocabulary will disclose the 
fact that, in all the dialects, connection with water is expressed by an 
initial #2: thu, water; thzz, bottom of the water; ¢ha-tsz, wave, etc. 
Besides, a ¢ suffixed to certain nouns or pronouns adds to their original 
meaning that of reference to place.* For instance, in Carrier, ¢#a means 
“in the water,” when we suffix a ¢ thereto (¢huZ); e, “it” becomes 
“at it,” that is, “there” with the same addition. Ayu, “another 
{thing)” Tcitkohtin, signifies “at another place,’ i.e, ‘ elsewhere” 
when changed into ayzt. sand z ina similar position denote derivation 
Jrom the place expressed by the word to which they are suffixed. Ex.: 
nto, “above”; ntas, ‘from above”; zu, “zn the direction of the head 
of the water”; zzz, “from the same direction,” etc. For more detailed 
remarks concerning the value of letters in Déné, I take the liberty to 
refer the reader to my paper on “The Déné Languages.” 
6. The main, and generally only, root of the verbs contained in the 
following vocabulary, is to be found in their last syllable which, in a 
number of cases, is subject to radical variations. This applies also to 
the adjectives which, with barely two or three exceptions, are regular 
verbs. I give the verbs in the first person singular of the indicative 
present—there is no infinitive—and the adjectives in the third person of 
the same mode tense and number. 
* A final # performs the same function in relation with some noans. Ex. : ¢a-thi, “ door- 
way”; ¢a-thth, ‘‘in the doorway.” 
