BOAS] HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN INDIAN LANGUAGES 33 



are combined with the verbal expressions into a single word. In 

 these cases the independent existence of the w^ord to which such 

 particles are joined without any modification will generally deter- 

 mine us to consider these elements as independent particles, pro- 

 vided they are phonetically strong enough ; while whenever the 

 verbal expression to which they are joined is modified either by the 

 insertion of these elements between its component parts, or in some 

 other way, we are inclined to consider them as parts of the word. 



It seemed important to discuss somewhat fully the concept of the 

 word in its relation to the whole sentence, because in the morpho- 

 logical treatment of American languages this question pla^^s an 

 important role. 



Stern and Ajfix 



The analytic treatment of languages results in the separation of a 

 number of different groups of the elements of speech. When we 

 arrange these according to their functions, it appears that certain 

 elements recur in every single sentence. These are, for instance, 

 the forms indicating subject and predicate, or, in modern European 

 languages, forms indicating number, tense, and person. Others, 

 like terms expressing demonstrative ideas, may or may not occur in 

 a sentence. These and many others are treated in our grammars. 

 According to the character of these elements, they seem to modify 

 the material contents of the sentence; as, for instance, in the Eng- 

 lish sentences lie strikes him, and I struck tJiee, where the idea of strik- 

 ing somebody appears as the content of the communication ; while 

 the ideas he, present, him, and I, past, thee, appear as modifications. 



It is of fundamental importance to note that this separation of the 

 ideas contained in a sentence into material contents and formal 

 modifications is an arbitrary one, brought about, presumabl}^, first of 

 of all, by the great variety of ideas which may be expressed in the 

 same formal manner by the same pronominal and tense elements. 

 In other words, the material contents of the sentence may be repre- 

 sented by subjects and predicates expressing an unlimited number 

 of ideas, while the modifying elements — here the pronouns and 

 tenses — comprise, comparatively speaking, a very small number of 

 ideas. In the discussion of a language, the parts expressing the mate- 

 rial contents of sentences appear to us as the subject-matter of lexi- 



44877— Bull. 40, pt 1—10 3 



