BOAS] HANDBOOK OF INDIAN LANGUAGES COOS 315 



Examples of division by means of accent: 



Ie + -Uc xle'Uc z/dts with it he spoke 16.2 



Lita +-atc L ltd! ate leml'yat into the ground 



he stuck it 64.1 



§ 11. PROCESSES DUE TO CHANGE FROM TERMINAL TO MEDIAL 



POSITION 



Terminal consonantic clusters are avoided by inserting a weak vowel 

 between two consonants standing in final position (see § 4). But as 

 soon as a suffix is added to a stem thus expanded, changing the cluster 

 from a terminal to medial position, the inserted vowel is dropped, and 

 the consonants are combined into a cluster. 



mt'lax lunch 28.15 Trdlxa'nEm, lunch make me H4. 5 



difmsU prairie 22.12 dEmste'tc hM'tiaj) to the prairie 



he came 22.11 

 i^*'^«/> he went through 22. 11 ux Lhmpl'ye they two came 



through 112.1 

 a'lqas fear 66.4 ux alqsa'ya they two are afraid of 



it 7.5 

 hd'tcU! story 20.2 hdtctfenlfyeqEm a story is being 



told 44.14, 15 

 tcfi'lats he was astonished ta/lts^xEm he was astonished 128. 



22.28 15 



hwalxah bow 60.14 ux nkwafxLa they two have bows 



12,9 

 mi'lat he swam 30. 7 mfi'lt^qEm he swam (out) 100. 16 



On the whole, Coos shows a marked tendency toward clustering of 

 consonants in medial position. Thus, when a suffix beginning with a 

 long vowel is added to a stem that has already been amplified by 

 means of a suffix whose initial vowel is weak, the vowel of the first 

 suffix is dropped, and its consonants are combined with the final con- 

 sonants of the stem into a cluster. 



hd'mtG elder brother 72.27 hdhtd'yas elder brothers 



e'h^Ldtc father 20.25 eky-Ltcl'yas fathers 



la'^Lts mud 52.10 x^lhsa'stc with mud 52.13 



i^hu^'TnUits I marry her Jiu^mtstso^' wat he married 26.14 



This change from a terminal to a medial position effects sometimes 

 the dropping of a whole syllable. 



miLkwl'ydtc younger brother U trilIcwI' teinl they are younger 

 72.1 brothers (mutually) 84.20 



§ 11 



