﻿10 
  INDIAN 
  LINGUISTIC 
  FAMILIES. 
  

  

  families, 
  so 
  that 
  a 
  large 
  part 
  of 
  his 
  work 
  remains 
  and 
  is 
  still 
  to 
  be 
  

   considered 
  sound. 
  There 
  is 
  no 
  safe 
  resting 
  place 
  anterior 
  to 
  Galla- 
  

   tin, 
  because 
  ao 
  scholar 
  prior 
  to 
  his 
  time 
  had 
  properly 
  adopted 
  com- 
  

   parative 
  methods 
  of 
  research, 
  and 
  because 
  no 
  scholar 
  was 
  privileged 
  

   to 
  work 
  with 
  so 
  large 
  a 
  body 
  of 
  material. 
  It 
  must 
  further 
  be 
  said 
  

   of 
  Gallatin 
  that 
  he 
  had 
  a 
  very 
  clear 
  conception 
  of 
  the 
  task 
  he 
  was 
  

   performing, 
  and 
  brought 
  to 
  it 
  both 
  learning 
  and 
  wisdom. 
  Gallatin's 
  

   work 
  has 
  therefore 
  been 
  taken 
  as 
  the 
  starting 
  point, 
  back 
  of 
  which 
  

   we 
  may 
  not 
  go 
  in 
  the 
  historic 
  consideration 
  of 
  the 
  systematic 
  phi- 
  

   lology 
  of 
  North 
  America. 
  The 
  point 
  of 
  departure 
  therefore 
  is 
  the 
  

   year 
  L836, 
  when 
  Gallatin's 
  "Synopsis 
  of 
  Indian 
  Tribes" 
  appeared 
  

   in 
  vol. 
  2 
  of 
  the 
  Transactions 
  of 
  the 
  American 
  Antiquarian 
  Society. 
  

   It 
  is 
  believed 
  that 
  a 
  name 
  should 
  be 
  simply 
  a 
  denotive 
  word, 
  and 
  

   that 
  no 
  advantage 
  can 
  accrue 
  from 
  a 
  descriptive 
  or 
  connotive 
  title. 
  ■ 
  

   It 
  is 
  therefore 
  desirable 
  to 
  have 
  the 
  names 
  as 
  simple 
  as 
  possible, 
  

   consistent 
  with 
  other 
  and 
  more 
  important 
  considerations. 
  For 
  this 
  

   reason 
  it 
  has 
  been 
  found 
  impracticable 
  to 
  recognize 
  as 
  family 
  names 
  

   designations 
  based 
  on 
  several 
  distinct 
  terms, 
  such 
  as 
  descriptive 
  

   phrases, 
  and 
  words 
  compounded 
  from 
  two 
  or 
  more 
  geographic 
  names. 
  

   Such 
  phrases 
  and 
  compound 
  words 
  have 
  been 
  rejected. 
  

  

  There 
  are 
  many 
  linguistic 
  families 
  in 
  North 
  America, 
  and 
  in 
  a 
  

   number 
  of 
  them 
  there 
  are 
  many 
  tribes 
  speaking 
  diverse 
  languages. 
  

   It 
  is 
  important, 
  therefore, 
  that 
  some 
  form 
  should 
  be 
  given 
  to 
  the 
  

   family 
  name 
  by 
  which 
  it 
  maybe 
  distinguished 
  from 
  the 
  name 
  of 
  a 
  

   single 
  tribe 
  or 
  language. 
  In 
  many 
  cases 
  some 
  one 
  language 
  within 
  

   a 
  stock 
  has 
  been 
  taken 
  as 
  the 
  type 
  and 
  its 
  name 
  given 
  to 
  the 
  entire 
  

   family; 
  so 
  that 
  the 
  name 
  of 
  a 
  language 
  and 
  that 
  of 
  the 
  stock 
  to 
  

   which 
  it 
  belongs 
  are 
  identical. 
  This 
  is 
  inconvenient 
  and 
  leads 
  to 
  

   confusion. 
  For 
  such 
  reasons 
  it 
  has 
  been 
  decided 
  to 
  givo 
  each 
  family 
  

   name 
  the 
  termination 
  '•an" 
  or 
  "ian." 
  

  

  Conforming 
  to 
  the 
  principles 
  thus 
  enunciated, 
  the 
  following 
  rules 
  

   have 
  been 
  formulated: 
  

  

  I. 
  The 
  law 
  of 
  priority 
  relating 
  to 
  the 
  nomenclature 
  of 
  the 
  sys- 
  

   tematic 
  philology 
  of 
  the 
  North 
  American 
  tribes 
  shall 
  not 
  

   extend 
  to 
  authors 
  whose 
  works 
  are 
  of 
  date 
  anterior 
  to 
  the 
  

   year 
  1836. 
  

   II. 
  The 
  name 
  originally 
  given 
  by 
  the 
  founder 
  of 
  a 
  linguistic 
  

   gi'oup 
  to 
  designate 
  it 
  as 
  a 
  family 
  or 
  stock 
  of 
  languages 
  shall 
  

   be 
  permanently 
  retained 
  to 
  the 
  exclusion 
  of 
  all 
  others. 
  

  

  III. 
  No 
  family 
  name 
  shall 
  be 
  recognized 
  if 
  composed 
  of 
  more 
  

  

  than 
  one 
  word. 
  

  

  IV. 
  A 
  family 
  name 
  once 
  established 
  shall 
  not 
  be 
  canceled 
  in 
  any 
  

  

  subsequent 
  division 
  of 
  the 
  group, 
  hut 
  shall 
  be 
  retained 
  in 
  a 
  

   restricted 
  sense 
  for 
  one 
  of 
  its 
  constituent 
  portions. 
  

   V. 
  Family 
  names 
  shall 
  be 
  distinguished 
  as 
  such 
  by 
  the 
  termina- 
  

   tion 
  "an 
  "or 
  "ian." 
  

  

  