EEFLECTIVE AND MEDIAL VOICE. 423 



3. The reflective voice. 



In reflective verbs, the direct object is also the subject of the verb. To 

 express this relation the English language has no means but that of adding 

 myself, himself, oneself, etc.; but in Klamath prefixation of sh- or of h-sh is 

 resorted to, so that the reflective voice is formed synthetically. If peculiar 

 stress is laid upon the myself, himself, nutak, pitak etc. may be added. 

 Some grammarians call these verbs pronominal verbs. The function of the 

 prefix sh- as a reflective pronoun is to form reflective verbs with a direct 

 object (reflective verbs properly so-called), and other reflective verbs with 

 an indirect object (medial verbs). The latter are now formed exclusively 

 by this prefix, while the former show sh- and its compound h-sh-. The 

 pronoun sha they, now used in the plural only, gave origin to this prefix, 

 for it must have once signified owese//and themselves. Examples : 



shalaktcha to cut one!s throat; from laktcha to cut another's throat. 



shatalaka to nib oneself; from talaka to rub. 



shupt6ga (14k) to pull out one's hair; from put6ga to tear out. 



And several others mentioned on page 278. 



The compound prefix h-sh- also forms reflective verbs, and some of 

 these are reciprocal at the same time, like histAnta. Besides the verbs 

 given on page 279 we mention: 



histanta to love oneself; from stinta to love. 

 hishlan to shoot oneself; from shli'n to shoot. 

 hasht^a to perforate one's nose-wall; from shti'ika to pierce. 



4. The medial voice. 



Transitive and intransitive verbs assume the form of what I call the 

 medial voice by prefixing sh-, s- when the act embodied in the verb is done 

 upon or for the subject by or in reference to tliis same subject of the verb. 

 It is in fact a reflective verb, but a special kind of it. To the reflective 

 verb proper tlie verbal subject serves as a direct object, and therefore only 

 transitive verbs can give origin to this verb ; but to the medial verb the 

 verbal subject serves as an indirect object, hence this verb may originate 

 from intransitive as well as from transitive verbs. The medial verbs of 



