BOAS] HANDBOOK OF INDIAN LANGUAGES TAKELMA 27 



The semivowel corresponding to i, namely y, is also capable, under 

 analogous circumstances, of causing the i- umlaut of a preceding non- 

 radical a. Examples are: 



daxoyo' xiya^n (=-xaya^n) I scare them around; daxoyo'xi {=-xiy 

 =-xay) he scares them around 



alHt'ge'ifgiyaV^ {=-fgay-) rolled up 



alhuyu'liVx (=-7iiyx=-'hayx) he used to hunt 



saniya' (=sanaya^) to fight him 



do^mYwiya {=-Vwaya) to kill him; and numerous other infini- 

 tives in -Vwiya (=-Vwaya) 



§ 9. K- SOUNDS PRECEDED BY TT- VOWELS 



An u- vowel (o, u, ii, and diphthongs in -u) immediately preceding a 

 Ic- sound (i. e., g, ¥ , Ic!, x) introduces after the latter a parasitic -w-, 

 which, when itself followed by a vowel, unites \^^th the Tc- sound to 

 form a consonant-cluster {gw, Vw, Iclw, xw), but appears, when stand- 

 ing after a (word or syllabic) final ¥, as a voiceless -'"". The intro- 

 duction of the excrescent w simply means, of course, that the labial 

 rounding of the u- vowel lingers on after the articulation of the ^■- 

 sound, a phonetic tendency encouraged by the fact that the produc- 

 tion of the guttural consonant does not, as in the labials and dentals, 

 necessitate a readjustment of the lips. A few examples will illustrate 

 the phonetic process: 



gelgulugwa'^n I desire it 



gelgulu'V'" he desires it (contrast gelgula^V he desired it, without 



the labial affection of the -¥ because of the replacement of the 



-u- by an -a-) 

 giixwl'^ his heart 

 du^gwi't'gwa her dress 

 duV'^ woman's garment 

 yd^Jc.'wd'^ his bones 



As also in the upper Chinook dialects (Wasco, Wishram), where 

 exactly the same process occurs, the w- infection is often very slight, 

 and particularly before u- vowels the -w- is, if not entirely absent, 

 at least barely audible : 



ydkl^oya'^n I know it 



yo'Vyan I shall know it 

 In one very common word the catch seems to be treated as a Tc- sound 

 in reference to a preceding u when itself followed by an -I- : 



s'u^will he sits; but 



s'u'^alfd^ he will sit 



§ 9 



