boas] handbook of AMERICAN INDIAN LANGUAGES 641 



In these lists, (dim.) and (aug.) mean that the words so designated 

 are wholly or partly diminutive or augmentative in consonantism 

 owing to their primary significance. In i-p!a'qxa, for instance, the 

 <liminutive notion implied by p! is easily understood if we remember 

 that head-flattening is associated with infancy. In some cases a 

 consonant change involves or is accompanied by a vocalic change; 

 it seems that the change of a to it or je has in itself more or less 

 diminutive force (cf. wa'-tsk!un from via-ska'n with ila-k!6'its very 

 LITTLE [Wishram Texts 176.3] ordinarily -k'.aits small). The case 

 of i-cga'n as compared with wa-ska'n and ira'-tsl'.'un illustrates the 

 fact that the diminutive form of a noun often has a specialized 

 meaning of its own. A few more examples are : 



Normal Diminutive 



i-tc!i'n6n eagle il-ts!%'n6n bird 



i-tc!i'laq cricket i-ts!i'laq grasshopper 



i-q!apca'lwac turtle is-k!a'psalwafi lock (of door) 



a-tca'la grindstone a-tsa'la file 



It will be observed that several nouns on becoming diminutive in 

 form at the same time change to a more suitable gender, masculines 

 often becoming feminines (e. g., wa-ska'n), neuters (e. g., ii-sk H'luks) , 

 or diminutive duals in is- (e. g., is-k!a'psalwas). Most examples of 

 diminutives and augmentatives hitherto given have been formed 

 from nouns that in themselves have no necessary diminutive or aug- 

 mentative force. Other examples than those already given of words 

 with inherent diminutive force, and hence with at least partial 

 diminutive consonantism, follow: 



a-k!u'ksk!yks ankle is-ga'k!aps hat 



a-p!u'xp!ux elbow-joint i-k!a'its smallness (contrast -gail 



i-p!u'xc cotton-tailed rabbit bigness) 



a-t!antsa crow (contrast i-k!a'stilacT'dh 



i-cka'lax raven) il-xan (somebody's) child 



i-sk.'u'lya coyote (? cf. i-sk!w61atsintsin swaWow 



i-cgilukc wolf) wa-tsklE'rtLX nit 

 a-gu'sgus chipmunk 

 a-p!una'tsEktsEk mosquito 

 (? cf. -?>£77a. jump) 



Particularly instructive as indicating a live feehng for diminutive 

 consonantism are such words as a-lik!u'k chicken and a-lap!u's cat 

 borrowed from Chinook jargon (p in -pus would not be consistent 

 44877— Bull. 40, pt 1—10 41 § 53 



