BOAS] HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN INDIAN LANGUAGES 17 



more or less distinctly sometimes as an I, sometimes an r, sometimes 

 as n, and again as d, which, however, without any doubt, is through- 

 out the same sound, although modified to a certain extent by its 

 position in the word and by surrounding sounds. It is an exceed- 

 ingly weak r, made by trilling with the tip of the tongue at a point a 

 little behind the roots of the incisors, and in which the tongue hardly 

 leaves the palate, the trill being produced by the lateral part of the 

 tongue adjoining the tip. As soon as the trill is heard more strongly, 

 we receive the impression of an r. When the lateral movement 

 prevails and the tip of the tongue does not seem to leave the palate, 

 the impression of an I is strongest, while when the trill is almost 

 suppressed and a sudden release of the tongue from the palate takes 

 place, the impression of the d is given. The impression of an n is 

 produced because the sound is often accompanied by an audible 

 breathing through the nose. This peculiar sound is, of course, 

 entirely foreign to our phonetic system; but its variations are not 

 greater than those of the English r in various combinations, as in 

 Iroth, mother, where. The different impression is brought about 

 by the fact that the sound, according to its prevailing character, 

 associates itself either with our I, or our r, n, or d. 



Other examples are quite common. Thus, the lower Chinook has a 

 sound which is readily perceived as a h, m, or w. As a matter of fact, 

 it is a 6 sound, produced by a very weak closure of the lips and with 

 open nose, the breath passing weakly both through the mouth and 

 through the nose, and accompanied by a faint intonation of the vocal 

 chords. This sound associates itself with our h, which is produced 

 by a moderately weak release of the lips ; with our m, which is a free 

 breath through the nose with closed lips; and with our w, which is 

 a breath through the lips, which are almost closed, all accompanied 

 by a faint intonation of the vocal chords. The association of this 

 sound with w, is particularly marked when it appears in combina- 

 tion with a u vowel, which imitates the characteristic u tinge of our 

 w. Still another example is the h sound, which is produced with 

 half-closed nose by the Indians of the Strait of Fuca, in the State 

 of Washington. In this case the characteristic trait of the sound is 

 a semiclosure of the nose, similar to the effect produced by a cold 

 in the head. Not less common are sounds intermediate between 

 our vowels. Thus we seem to find in a number of Indian languages 

 44877— Bull. 40, pt 1—10 2 



