OF TUB HUMAN FAMILY. 



137 



My father. 

 Thy " 

 His " 

 Our " 

 Your " 

 Their " 



Kenistenaux or Cree. 

 Noh --tab- we'. 

 Koh'-ta-we'. 

 Oh'-tii-we'. 

 Koolr-ta-we'. 

 Koh'-ta-we-woo'. 

 Oolr-tii-we-woo-wa' 



My mother. N'-ga'-we. 



Thy " Ke-ga'-we. 



His " Oh'-ga'-we-a, 



Our " Ke-ga-we-nan'. 



Your " Ke-ga-we-woo'. 



Their " Oh'-ga'-we-woo-a'. 



These pronominal inflections are carried much further in the Ganowanian lan- 

 guages than philologists have generally supposed, although this characteristic has 

 been fully recognized. 1 From the fact that the terms of relationship almost uni- 

 versally involve the pronoun it became important to secure the advantages which 

 would result from a comparison of these terms as well as for ascertaining the direct 

 relationship to Ego of his blood kindred that all the answers to the questions in the 

 table should be in the same pronominal form. These questions, therefore, are to 

 be understood as made in the direct form. " What do I call the person (described 

 in the question) when I speak to him by the relationship which he sustains to 

 me V and the term given in the table is to be understood as responsive to the 

 question in this form ; e. g., " my father," " my son," " my nephew." It would be 

 impossible for an American Indian, in most of the nations, to use one of these terms 

 in the abstract. 2 There are some exceptions. 



1 There are specializations in the dual and plural numbers which, so far as the writer is aware, 

 have never been presented by Indian grammarians. My attention was first called to these additional 

 inflections by the Rev. Evan Jones, who for upwards of forty years has been a missionary among the 

 Cherokees, and who during this period has fully mastered the structure and principles of this lan- 

 guage. The pronoun myself in the Cherokee is perfect and independent ; the pronoun my, as also 

 in Iroquois, is capable of a separate inflection ; and all the terms of relationship pass through the 

 same form. The following illustrations are from the Cherokee : 



a a 

 cc 



& 



Person. Myself. 



/ 1. A-gwa'-suh, Myself. 

 J 2. Tsa'-suh, Thyself. 

 ( 3. Oo-wa'-suh, Himself. 

 I 1 & 2. Ge'-na-suh, Ourselves, thou and I. 

 1 & 3. O-ge-na'-suh, Ourselves, he and I. 



2. Sda'-suh, 

 1 & 2. E-ga'-suh, 



1 & 3. O-ga'-suh, 



2. 

 3. 



E-tsa'-suh, 

 . O-na'-suh, 



Yourselves, you two. 



Ourselves, three or more of 



yon and me. 

 Ourselves, three or more of 



them and me. 

 Yourselves, three or more. 

 Themselves. 



My or mine. 



A-gwa-tsa'-le, Mine. 



Tsa-tsa'-le, Thine. 

 Oo-tsa'-le, 

 Gin-e-tsa'-le, 



O-gin'-a-tsa-le, His and mine. 



Sta-tsa'-le, Yours, you two. 



E-ga-tsa'-le, Ours, yours and mine. 



His. 



Ours, thine and mine. 



My elder sister. 

 Un'-ge-do. 

 Tsuu'-doh. 

 Oo-doh'. 

 Gin-e-doh'. 

 O-gin'-e-doh. 

 Sta-doh'. 

 E-ge-doh'. 



O-ga-tsa'-le, Ours, thine and mine. 0-ge-doh'. 



E-ga-taa -le, 

 Oo-tsa'-le, 



Yours, three or more. 

 Theirs. 



E-tse-doh'. 

 Oo-ne-doh'. 



3 Many of the words used in the formal vocabularies of the philologists are inferior for comparison, 

 particularly such as are generic, as tree, fish, deer; such as relate to objects which are personal, as 



18 December, 1869. 



