386 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bdll. 40 



dubitative character. It expresses the possibility of a certain 

 action taking or having taken place, and at the same time doubts 

 the certainty of its occurrence. 



hi'nl h^ e'Tc'EXEJii Wye hafLdtc there perhaps amongst (them) is 



3^our elder brother 94.28 

 tn k^ %c hewese'nl merely perhaps you two are lying 28.13, 14 

 La'yEtat h^ (she) may get hungry 64.15 > 

 ^xd'nis h^ maybe (that) you are sick 



This particle is very often followed by the negation m not. 



yiliu In xd'nis he is probably sick (literally, maybe [or maybe] 

 not he is sick) 



• When followed bj'^ the future particle hanL^ it amalgamates with it 

 into yikwanL or hwanh (see §§8, 9), and it is translated by 



(l) WONDER WHETHER, (l) SUPPOSE IF. 



n% hwanL a' y a nqd'y a won^t I loose my breath? (literally, not I 



perhaps will [be] gone my breath) 54.13, 14 

 Za" T^xL.'ts kwayiL suppose I hit that one with a club (literally, 



that one I hit it with a club perhaps shall) 124.16 

 yikwanL dx'lW T^LOw&'wat I wonder what 1 shall eat (literally, 



maybe will that there I eat it) 32.19, 20 



It is contracted with the following ul into yikuL^ kuL (see § 9 and 



p. 391). 

 yikfUL In Is'yl perhaps that will be good (literally, perhaps would 



[be] that not good) 

 yikuL xtcfLtc yuL Lvn niha^Hs I wonder how it would be if 1 



should make a dam (literally, perhaps would [be] how, if should 



a dam I make) 34.16 

 In kuL qaic ha^'pU te^ xmi'nkatc could not my son-in-law cut off 



a chunk? (literally, not perhaps would a chunk cut off this my 



son-in-law) 128.29 

 When followed by the particle U surely (see p. 388), it is contracted 



with it into yikimZ or kvM (see § 8), and lends to a statement a 



high degree of probability. 

 qa'wax kwU Wye hd'Ldtc above may (be) surely your elder brother 



96.4, 5 

 The particle yiku, ^", appears sometimes as yikwa, yikwe^ or kwe. 



The reason for this phonetic change could not be found. 



yikwa qanto la where may it have gone? (literally, perhaps some- 

 where it went?) 88.3 



§88 



