244 GRAMMAR OF THE KLAMATH LANGUAGE. 



to crush tvith a stone. Words witli long vowels are ni'l, ne'l fur, feathers, 

 ni'lka to dawn, nia'sha to he side, na'dsh, iia'dshak oue, at one time. 



For the quantity of each word the Dictionary may be consulted. 



The character of the language proni])ts the Indian to distinguish be- 

 tween long and short syllables, and no other phonetic figin-e is so produc- 

 tive of long vowels than vocalic contraction (synjieresis, etc.). In nakosh dam, 

 the synseresis of ua into o is remembered, and though the accent rests on 

 the first syllable, the second is pronounced long. Many syllables with e, 

 o, and other long vowels are not pronounced short, because the people use 

 the uncontracted form besides the contracted one: geno'la and geniiala, 

 hlekosh and hk'kuish, no'kla (from nokalu), shukatonolo'tch, tchi'sh and 

 tchi-ish. 



A vowel does not, as a general rule, alter its quantity through position, 

 viz., through a cluster of consonants gathering after it. The short a in 

 ktnpka remains short even in ktupkantko and in ktupktipksh. But before 

 -dsh a vowel generally sounds longer than before -tch: tama'dsha and 

 tamAtcha, laka'dsha and lakfitcha. 



Nor does a vowel, generally speaking, alter its quantity through be- 

 coming emphasized by accentuation : in hemkanka to speah, e is pronounced 

 as short as in hemkanka, i in hfta as short as in hita at this spot; but becomes 

 long through apocope: hi'd, lift. 



Syntactic or rhetoric emphasis sometimes modifies syllabic quantity: 

 gen him, 1 14, 2 ; na-a'sht gi so said, 95, 21 ; sii'gs' ish! fell me! (ii lonf/), '8, 4; 

 lala'ki chiefs, Go, 14. 



Neither quantity nor emphasis by accent is necessarily associated with 

 a higher pitch of the voice. 



HOMONYMY. 



Homonyms are terms sounding exactly alike, but having a diff"erent 

 signification; paronyms are terras which seem to sound alike to inexpe- 

 rienced ears, but in reality diff'er in accentuation, quantity, or pitch of 

 voice when uttered by natives, and also differ in their meaning. 

 Some Klamath homonyms are the following: 



kish fish-spear, ki'sh sundown. 



tia'sh, na's species of bulrush, also: one, single; also: thus, so. 



