BOAS] HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN INDIAN LANGUAGES 449 



Wliile the word-suffixes modify the terminal sound of the stem 

 and undergo changes of their own initial sounds in accordance with 

 the rules of sound grouping, the stem-suffixes exert a more far- 

 reaching effect upon the stem to which they are affixed. On the 

 whole, these changes are quite regular and consist, on the one hand, in 

 the transformation of surds into fortes, and the other in the trans- 

 formation of surds and fortes into sonants, and other parallel changes 

 described in § 4. I have called the former group hardening suffixes, 

 because the intensity of articulation of the terminal sound is increased, 

 and accordingly the acoustic effect of the sound is harder; while I 

 designate the second group as weakening suffixes, because the inten- 

 sity of articulation is decidedly decreased by their action. A third 

 group of suffixes is indifferent and causes or suffers no changes except 

 those occasioned by the laws of sound grouping. A fourth group 

 loses initial sounds when the stem to which they are suffixed termi- 

 nates in certain sounds. These are mostly indifferent, but a few are 

 hardening or weakening suffixes. 



The only sounds thus affected are anterior palatals {g', Tc', Ic'I, x'), 

 the sonant velar (g), x, and s. The loss of the initial palatal or velar 

 never occurs after vowels, m, n, and I. It occurs regularly after 

 labial, dental, palatal, velar, and lateral surd stops (p, t, l", l'^, q, q^, l), 

 and after s. The number of cases in which suffixes of this class 

 appear attached to a sonant or fortis stop (except in cases in which 

 terminal sounds are strengthened or weakened) are so few in num- 

 ber that I am not sure whether the initial sound is dropped in all 

 cases. There are a few examples that suggest a certain variability 

 of usage : 



dze'dzonogotcda and dze'dzonogoxtdla Dzo'noq!was on top 118.29 

 rriEgug'l'tUd to rub on 199.11 



Suffixes with initial g', x', and g lose these sounds also after the 

 spirant palatals and velars {x', x^, x, x^), while initial Ic'! is generally 

 retained in these cases : 



sepe'Ix'-Jc' !dla-g'iLe ringing noise on water 152.34 (nos. 144, 42) 

 ax-k'ld'la to ask 7.5 (no. 144) 



ts! EX-k' !i'lg-End-dla to drop in lap 258.2 (nos. 70, 2, 91) 

 This rule, however, is not rigid. We find, for instance, 



gEmx-ot-std^-lll left hand side of door X 76.6 (nos. 12, 59, 46) where 



the initial sound of -I" lot drops out; and 

 ^nEX-k'!d't straight down, where it is retained 

 44877— Bull. 40, pt ]— 10 29 § 18 



