﻿12 
  INDIAN 
  LINGUISTIC 
  FAMILIES. 
  

  

  decrease 
  so 
  as 
  almost 
  to 
  disappear. 
  All 
  of 
  these 
  characteristics 
  are 
  in 
  

   pari 
  adventitious, 
  but 
  to 
  a 
  large 
  extent 
  the 
  gender 
  is 
  a 
  phenomenon 
  

   of 
  growth, 
  indicating 
  the 
  stage 
  to 
  which 
  the 
  language 
  has 
  attained. 
  

   A 
  proper 
  case 
  system 
  may 
  not 
  have 
  been 
  established 
  in 
  a 
  language 
  

   by 
  the 
  fixing 
  of 
  ease 
  particles, 
  or, 
  having 
  been 
  established, 
  it 
  may 
  

   change 
  by 
  the 
  increase 
  or 
  diminution 
  of 
  the 
  number 
  of 
  cases. 
  A 
  

   i 
  ense 
  system 
  also 
  has 
  a 
  beginning, 
  a 
  growth, 
  and 
  a 
  decadence. 
  A 
  

   mode 
  system 
  is 
  variable 
  in 
  the 
  various 
  stages 
  of 
  the 
  history 
  of 
  a 
  

   language. 
  In 
  like 
  manner 
  a 
  pronominal 
  system 
  undergoes 
  changes. 
  

   Particles 
  may 
  be 
  prefixed, 
  infixed, 
  or 
  affixed 
  in 
  compounded 
  words, 
  

   and 
  which 
  one 
  of 
  these 
  methods 
  will 
  finally 
  prevail 
  can 
  be 
  deter- 
  

   mined 
  only 
  in 
  the 
  later 
  stage 
  of 
  growth. 
  All 
  of 
  these 
  things 
  are 
  

   held 
  to 
  belong 
  to 
  the 
  grammar 
  of 
  a 
  language 
  and 
  to 
  be 
  grammatic 
  

   methods, 
  distinct 
  from 
  lexical 
  elements. 
  

  

  With 
  terms 
  thus 
  defined, 
  languages 
  are 
  supposed 
  to 
  be 
  cognate 
  when 
  

   fundamental 
  similarities 
  are 
  discovered 
  in 
  their 
  lexical 
  elements. 
  

   When 
  the 
  members 
  of 
  a 
  family 
  of 
  languages 
  are 
  to 
  be 
  classed 
  in 
  

   subdivisions 
  and 
  the 
  history 
  of 
  such 
  languages 
  investigated, 
  gram- 
  

   matic 
  characteristics 
  become 
  of 
  primary 
  importance. 
  The 
  words 
  of 
  

   a 
  language 
  change 
  by 
  the 
  methods 
  described, 
  but 
  the 
  fundamental 
  

   elements 
  or 
  roots 
  are 
  more 
  enduring. 
  Grammatic 
  methods 
  also 
  

   change, 
  perhaps 
  even 
  more 
  rapidly 
  than 
  words, 
  and 
  the 
  changes 
  

   may 
  go 
  on 
  to 
  such 
  an 
  extent 
  that 
  primitive 
  methods 
  are 
  entirely 
  

   lost, 
  there 
  being 
  no 
  radical 
  grammatic 
  elements 
  to 
  be 
  preserved. 
  

   Grammatic 
  structure 
  is 
  but 
  a 
  phase 
  or 
  accident 
  of 
  growth, 
  and 
  not 
  

   a 
  primordial 
  element 
  of 
  language. 
  The 
  roots 
  of 
  a 
  language 
  are 
  its 
  

   most 
  permanent 
  characteristics, 
  and 
  while 
  the 
  words 
  which 
  are 
  

   formed 
  from 
  them 
  may 
  change 
  so 
  as 
  to 
  obscure 
  their 
  elements 
  or 
  in 
  

   some 
  cases 
  even 
  to 
  lose 
  them, 
  it 
  seems 
  that 
  they 
  are 
  never 
  lost 
  from 
  

   all, 
  but 
  can 
  be 
  recovered 
  in 
  large 
  part. 
  The 
  grammatic 
  structure 
  

   or 
  plan 
  of 
  a 
  language 
  is 
  forever 
  changing, 
  and 
  in 
  this 
  respect 
  the 
  

   language 
  may 
  become 
  entirely 
  transformed. 
  

  

  LITERATURE 
  RELATING 
  TO 
  THE 
  CLASSIFICATION 
  OF 
  INDIAN 
  

  

  LANGUAGES. 
  

  

  While 
  the 
  literature 
  relating 
  to 
  the 
  languages 
  of 
  North 
  America 
  

   is 
  very 
  extensive, 
  that 
  which 
  relates 
  to 
  their 
  classification 
  is 
  much 
  

   less 
  extensive. 
  For 
  the 
  benefit 
  of 
  future 
  students 
  in 
  this 
  line 
  it 
  is 
  

   thought 
  best 
  to 
  present 
  a 
  concise 
  account 
  of 
  such 
  literature, 
  or 
  at 
  

   least 
  so 
  much 
  as 
  has 
  been 
  consulted 
  in 
  the 
  preparation 
  of 
  this 
  paper. 
  

  

  1836. 
  Gallatin 
  (Albert). 
  

  

  A 
  synopsis 
  of 
  the 
  Indian 
  tribes 
  within 
  the 
  United 
  States 
  east 
  of 
  the 
  Rocky 
  

  

  Mountains, 
  and 
  in 
  the 
  British 
  and 
  Russian 
  possessions 
  in 
  North 
  America. 
  

  

  In 
  Transactions 
  and 
  Collections 
  of 
  the 
  American 
  Antiquarian 
  Society 
  

  

  (Archaeologia 
  Americana) 
  Cambridge, 
  18:50, 
  vol. 
  2. 
  

  

  Tbe 
  larger 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  volume 
  consists 
  of 
  Gallatin's 
  paper. 
  A 
  

   short 
  chapter 
  is 
  devoted 
  to 
  general 
  observations, 
  including 
  certain 
  

  

  