354 



BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY 



§ 48. Subject and Object Pronouns of Verbs in -aya 



[BULL. 40 



The corresponding suflBxes for the above discussed verbs, express- 

 ing, besides the object, also the subject of the first, second, or third 

 person, are etymologically related to the suffixes treated on p. 351. 

 They appear, however, in such changed form, that they i*equire 

 separate discussion. These forms are — 



The^^ are suffixed directly to the verbal stem. 



e^dowa'yExta'm/i thee I want 

 eHiFtlyExtdf mi of thee I take care 

 eHoHlyExtofis you take care of me 86.20 

 i^kwee' nlyExtu me he knows 

 e^dowofyExtu thee he wants 



The etymology of the first element in these suffixes {-yExt-) is quite 



obscure. It may be suggested that -yEx- is the adjectival suffix (see 



§ QQ), and -t the transitive (see § 26), although we are no longer able 



to understand the psychological principles underlying this peculiar 



formation. 



§ 49. Transitive Verbs in -a 



This suffix is preceded by the transitive suffixes. Its function is 

 varied. It may have expressed originally the indirect object; but 

 verbal ideas requiring both a direct and an indirect object are very few 

 in number in the Coos language, and the functional scope of this 

 suffix is much wider now, permitting its use for other purposes. 

 Thus it is very frequently suffixed to transitive verbs where the 

 object of the action is actual 1}^ expressed, and not merely understood; 

 and it is often, but not as a rule, used as a suffix denoting pluralit}" of 

 the object. The most plausible suggestion that can be offered in 

 explanation of this suffix is that it may denote an action performed 

 upon an object that possesses another object. At any rate, there can 

 be no doubt that the predominating function of this suffix is that 

 of a special characterization of the pronominal object. 



§§ 48-49 



