HINTS AND EXPLANATIONS. (ie 
performed. A strictly denotive name expresses no one quality or character, 
but embraces all qualities and characters. 
In Ute the name for bear is “he seizes,” or “the hugger.” In this 
case the verb is used forthe noun, and in so doing the Indian names the 
bear by predicating one of his characteristics. Thus noun and verb 
are undifferentiated. In Seneca the north is “the sun never goes there,” 
and this sentence may be used as adjective or noun; in such cases noun, 
- adjective, verb, and adverb are found as one vocable or word, and the four 
parts of speech are undifferentiated. In the Pavint language a school- 
house is called Pé-kint-in-ifi-yi-kin. The first part of the word, pé-ktnt, 
signifies ‘sorcery is practiced,” and is the name given by the Indians to 
any writing from the fact that when they first learned of writing they sup- 
posed it to be a method of practicing sorcery; in-if-yi is the verb signi- 
fying “to count,” and the meaning of the word has been extended so as to 
signify “to read”; “kuin” signifies wigwam, and is derived from the verb 
“kari,” to stay.” Thus the name of the school-house literally signifies “a 
staying place where sorcery is counted,” or where papers are read. The 
Payiint in naming a school-house describes the purpose for which it is used. 
These examples illustrate the general characteristics of Indian nouns; they 
are excessively connotive; a simply denotive name is rarely found. In 
general their name-words predicate some attribute of the object named, and 
thus noun, adjective, and predicant are undifferentiated. 
In Indian languages nouns are highly connotive; in English, nouns 
are highly denotive. This connotive character of Indian nouns is well 
exemplified by the explanation given in section 2, where it is set forth 
that an Indian in speaking of the parts of the body says “‘my eye,” ‘‘my 
hand,” ‘my foot,” ‘your eye,” ‘your hand,” ‘“‘your foot,” &c., and has no 
command of. a fully differentiated noun expressive of eye, hand, or foot. 
Similar facts are exemplified in section 17, where it is explained that kinship 
terms are usually found with attached possessive pronouns. 
As explained in section 26, there is found in many Indian languages a 
series of pronouns incorporated in verbs; that is, the verb contains within 
itself incorporated article pronouns which point out with great particularity 
the gender, number, and person of the subject and the object. In this 
