BOAS] HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN INDIAN LANGUAGES 215 



MAY WE NOT LEAVE WATER WITH YOU? (Masset) — liave the same inter- 

 rogative suffix -udja, -us. 



Labials are of small consequence in Haida. Still it is worth 

 noting that sip sea-anemone changes the ^ to 6 when followed by 

 the connective particle, namely, sl'hai. 



§ 6. GRAMMATICAL PROCESSES 



Grammatical categories and syntactical relations are expressed 

 almost solely by composition, affixing, and position. There is a 

 sporadic case of duplication presented by the continuative suffix 

 -gATi; as, la qi'ngAn he is looking, la qi'ngAhgAh he looks many 

 times; but it is not extensively used. The perfect tense is expressed 

 by a form which may possibly represent dieresis, but which is more 

 plausibly explained as a suffix, -y; as, la suda'yagAni I'la isda'si, 

 he did differently from the way he had said he would do. 



Verbal and nominal stems may be combined into stem-complexes 

 by juxtaposition. These complexes are treated syntactically like 

 single stems, each element in the complex receiving its significance 

 by its position. Besides compositions of such independent stems, a 

 number of others occur in which the component elements do not seem 

 to be independent, but occur as prefixes or suffixes. There is, how-- 

 ever, no sharp dividing-line between composition and affixing; and 

 some of the elements that appear at present as subordinate may 

 prove to be independent stems. Notwithstanding the phonetic 

 independence of the elements of the stem-complexes, their relation is 

 so intimate that it seems best to consider them as single words 

 because they enter as units into syntactic construction. A number 

 of sound changes which have been referred to seem to be of a 

 purely phonetic character, and not to have any morphological 

 significance. 



IDEAS EXPRESSED BY GRAMMATICAL PROCESSES 



(§§ 7-12) 



§ 7. Noun and Verb 

 In general, the distinction between nominal and verbal stems is 

 very sharp. It is true that certain stems are used in a manner that 

 leaves a doubt as to which category they belong, but their use is 

 quite limited. Such are wd'lgal potlatch and to potlatch, xial 

 dance and to dance, na house and to live; while glda chief's 



§§6,7 



