1889-90.J THE d]6n^ languages. 197 



will get, at the third person singular, ta-nhiya, " he (hum. b.) walks in (the 

 house)." Should we change the verbal stem, while retaining the modifi- 

 cative prefix, we might say : ta-ninyiU, he drives in (the house), which, by 

 further verbal modifications, may become ta-nceycek^ he usually drives in 

 (the h.); ta-ncstgitt, he is susceptible of being driven in (do.); ta-ncEtgcek^ 

 it can generally be driven in (do.), etc. If we now try of the objective 

 verbs, we may say, while still keeping the modificative particle : ta-s'aih 

 I put in (the house a single object); ta-distaih, I put in (the house a 

 single object) for my own use ; ta-tat/i, it (one single obj.) can be put in 

 (the house) ; ta-ditaiJi, it (do.) can be put in (do.) for one's own use ; ta- 

 stle, I put in (the house many objects), etc., etc. Let us not, however, 

 allow ourselves to be allured by the multiplicity of forms assumable by 

 this and similar verbs. It would lead us to the enumeration of many 

 hundreds of verbs before the supply is exhausted. For the same reason, 

 we shall avoid ta-s'is, I throw in (the house a single obj.), which is the 

 first of a new series of objective verbs. 



Selecting less prolific forms for our word-building experiences, we 

 come on ia-ssd (lit. " I cry on the threshold "), I beg ; ia-nces'a, I order in ; 

 ta-hwajyi, I enter while playing ; ta-ncsstsas, I enter while throwing 

 sticks on the snow ;* ta-dcBzni, I introduce my hand in (the house) ; ta'- 

 nceskra, I introduce my finger in, etc., etc. 



Some verbs of as simple formation connote an even greater number of 

 ideas. For instance, 7itsi\ " he is bad, avaricious," while preceded by the 

 aforesaid prefix fa, becomes ta-ntsi\ which we cannot well translate in 

 English by less than nine words, viz.: " he proves avaricious to those who 

 enter his house." So that if it is true to say that a single idea expressed 

 in one Aryan word frequently requires a periphrase in the American 

 languages, it can be retorted that sometimes short native verbs cannot be 

 translated by less than a whole sentence in our idioms. Nay, the Carrier 

 dialect might even, with some respect, be adduced as a model of phraseolo- 

 gical conciseness. As a proof of this, it may suffice to quote the conjugat- 

 able adverb 'a, which means " promptly." To any person requiring of a 

 native courier, for instance, to cover, in one day, a distance of 70 or 80 miles 

 the latter might simply answer : 7fa gcEnnih (lit. it-shall-be-promptly 

 let-it-not), the real signification of which is : " one cannot reasonably 

 expect that I should do it in so short a time." Same remark applies to 

 sa', a long time ; fat, often ; su, well ; iiiCtza', far ; niCtuk, near, etc., 

 which are similarly conjugatable. 



To return to the composite verbs. A slight analysis of the examples 



* Indian game much in favor during the winter months. 



