﻿INDIAN 
  LINGUISTIC 
  FAMILIES. 
  

  

  By 
  J. 
  W. 
  Powell. 
  

  

  NOMENCLATURE 
  OF 
  LINGUISTIC 
  FAMILIES. 
  

  

  The 
  languages 
  spoken 
  by 
  the 
  pre-Columbian 
  tribes 
  of 
  'North 
  Amer- 
  

   ica 
  were 
  many 
  and 
  diverse. 
  Into 
  the 
  regions 
  occupied 
  by 
  these 
  tribes 
  

   travelers, 
  traders, 
  and 
  missionaries 
  have 
  penetrated 
  in 
  advance 
  

   of 
  civilization, 
  and 
  civilization 
  itself 
  has 
  marched 
  across 
  the 
  conti- 
  

   nent 
  at 
  a 
  rapid 
  rate. 
  Under 
  these 
  conditions 
  the 
  languages 
  of 
  the 
  

   various 
  tribes 
  have 
  received 
  much 
  study. 
  Many 
  extensive 
  works 
  

   have 
  been 
  published, 
  embracing 
  grammars 
  and 
  dictionaries 
  ; 
  but 
  a 
  

   far 
  greater 
  number 
  of 
  minor 
  vocabularies 
  have 
  been 
  collected 
  and 
  

   very 
  many 
  have 
  been 
  published. 
  In 
  addition 
  to 
  these, 
  the 
  Bible, 
  

   in 
  whole 
  or 
  in 
  part, 
  and 
  various 
  religious 
  books 
  and 
  school 
  books, 
  

   have 
  been 
  translated 
  into 
  Indian 
  tongues 
  to 
  be 
  used 
  for 
  purposes 
  of 
  

   instruction 
  ; 
  and 
  newspapers 
  have 
  been 
  published 
  in 
  the 
  Indian 
  lan- 
  

   guages. 
  Altogether 
  the 
  literature 
  of 
  these 
  languages 
  and 
  that 
  re- 
  

   lating 
  to 
  them 
  are 
  of 
  vast 
  extent. 
  

  

  While 
  the 
  materials 
  seem 
  thus 
  to 
  be 
  abundant, 
  the 
  student 
  of 
  

   Indian 
  languages 
  finds 
  the 
  subject 
  to 
  be 
  one 
  requiring 
  most 
  thought- 
  

   ful 
  consideration, 
  difficulties 
  arising 
  from 
  the 
  following 
  conditions: 
  

  

  (1) 
  A 
  great 
  number 
  of 
  linguistic 
  stocks 
  or 
  families 
  are 
  discovered. 
  

  

  (2) 
  The 
  boundaries 
  between 
  the 
  different 
  stocks 
  of 
  languages 
  are 
  

   not 
  immediately 
  apparent, 
  from 
  the 
  fact 
  that 
  many 
  tribes 
  of 
  diverse 
  

   stocks 
  have 
  had 
  more 
  or 
  less 
  association, 
  and 
  to 
  some 
  extent 
  linguis- 
  

   tic 
  materials 
  have 
  been 
  borrowed, 
  and 
  thus 
  have 
  passed 
  out 
  of 
  the 
  

   exclusive 
  possession 
  of 
  cognate 
  peoples. 
  

  

  (3) 
  Where 
  many 
  peoples, 
  each 
  few 
  in 
  number, 
  are 
  thrown 
  to- 
  

   gether, 
  an 
  intertribal 
  language 
  is 
  developed. 
  To 
  a 
  large 
  extent 
  this 
  

   is 
  gesture 
  speech 
  ; 
  but 
  to 
  a 
  limited 
  extent 
  useful 
  and 
  important 
  

   words 
  are 
  adopted 
  by 
  various 
  tribes, 
  and 
  out 
  of 
  this 
  material 
  an 
  

   intertribal 
  " 
  jargon" 
  is 
  established. 
  Travelers 
  and 
  all 
  others 
  who 
  

   do 
  not 
  thoroughly 
  study 
  a 
  language 
  are 
  far 
  more 
  likely 
  to 
  acquire 
  

   this 
  jargon 
  speech 
  than 
  the 
  real 
  speech 
  of 
  the 
  people 
  ; 
  and 
  the 
  tend; 
  

   ency 
  to 
  base 
  relationship 
  upon 
  such 
  jargons 
  has 
  led 
  to 
  confusion. 
  

  

  7 
  

  

  