642 



PHILOLOGY. 



Musaika, in Tshinuk, means " we here," excluding the person addressed; in the Jargon 

 it is used in a more general sense, though alhaika, which means we all (including the 

 person addressed) is sometimes employed by those who understand the native idiom. 



The personal pronouns become possessive merely by being prefixed to nouns ; as, 

 naika haus, my house ; maika oluman, thy father ; iahka kapo, his coat. 



The interrogative pronouns are klaksta, who ? kata or ikata, what 1 kdntshiak, how 

 much, how many? The last is also used for when? i. e. how much time, or how 

 many days? 



The relative pronouns must in general be understood ; as, kdh okok sdmiin maika 

 waica kwapa naika, where is that salmon [of which] you spoke to me ? Sometimes, 

 however, the interrogative pronouns supply their place, as in English ; as, wfk naika 

 kumataks ikata maika wauia, I do not understand what thou sayest. 



Okok, this or that, is the only demonstrative pronoun. 



The indefinite pronouns are kanamakst, both, lulu, none, kanawe, all, ham, much or 

 many, tanas, few or little, haloima, other. 



In general, the tense of the verb is left to be inferred from the context. When it is 

 absolutely necessary to distinguish the time, certain adverbs are employed, as, ishi, now, 

 alta, now, just now, straightway, mnipi, presently, alke, soon, tshike, directly, instantly ; 

 anakati, formerly, okok-sfm, to-day, tumola or waki, to-morrow, tadnliki, yesterday. 

 The future, in the sense of " about to," " ready to," is sometimes expressed by tfi/,'<//. 

 which means properly to wish or desire, as, naika papa tukeh memelust, my father i> 

 near dying, or about to die. 



A conditional or suppositive signification .is given to the verb by prefixing the words 

 klunas, perhaps, and pos, derived from the English suppose, but used rather indefinitely ; 

 as, naika kwas naika tilikum-mdma klunas mememust, I am afraid that my father will 

 die (lit. I afraid my father perhaps die). Naika tukeh pos maika mdmiik klosh naika 

 lahdsh, I wish you would mend my axe (lit., I wish suppose you make good my axe). 

 Pos maika kldtaiva idhwa, pi naika tshako kdkwa, if you will go yonder, I will follow 

 (lit., suppose you go that way, then I come the same). 



An interrogative form is sometimes made by inserting the particle na ; as, maika na 

 tukeh mdkuk maika kiutan kuapa naika, do you wish to sell your horse to me? 



The substantive verb must always be understood from the form of the sentence ; as. 

 maika pilton, thou art foolish ; sik maika au ? is thy brother sick ? Haias oluman 

 maika kanem, very old is thy canoe. 



The adverb usually precedes the adjective or verb which it qualifies, though it may 

 sometimes follow the latter; as, Jiaias klosh, very good; kaltas naika musiun, I am 

 only sleeping ; naika haias tukeh kumataks, I very much wish to know ; wekt ikt sun, 

 one more day, or again one day ; patlatsh wekt, give more, or again. 



There is but one preposition, viz., kwapa or kwapd, which is used in various senses, 

 as, to, for, at, in, among, towards, &c. But even this may generally be omitted, and the 

 sentence remain intelligible. Naika kldtawa naika lums, can only mean, " I am going 

 to my house." Kikwili, down, is used in the sense of beneath, and sdkali, high, up, in 

 the sense of above. 



Only two conjunctions, properly speaking, are found in the language ; pi, from the 

 French word puis, is used to mean and, or, then, &c. ; pos, from suppose, means if, in 

 case that, provided that, and serves in general as a sign of the subjunctive or conditional 

 mood. 



