434 GRAMMAR OF TUE KLAMATH LANGUAGE. 



these belongs to later periods of linguistic development. Concrete catego- 

 ries alone were then accounted of importance, for all rehitions bearing upon 

 locality, distance, and individuality or severalty are distinguished with su- 

 perior accui-acy, and even tense is marked by means of particles which were 

 originally locative. Nowhere is the female sex made distinct from the male 

 by linguistic forms, although several Columbian and Oregonian languages 

 exhibit this distinction, some in the pronoun only, as the Atfalati, of the 

 Kalapuya stock, some in the verl) also, as the Chinook. 



In order to make our subject-matter clear, I have divided this chapter 

 nito two parts: 



I. Number in the transitive verb. 

 II. Number in the intransitive verb. 



I. — THE CATEGORY OF NUMBER IN THE TRANSITIVE VERB. 



In the languages of Aryan and Semitic stock, all verbs are governed 

 exclusively by their grammatic subject. But it is diflferent in the agglu- 

 tinative languages. Here the intransitive verb is governed by its subject, 

 this being the grammatic and logical subject of the sentence ; but the tran- 

 sitive verb, or rather noun-verb, is governed for number by its direct object, 

 and not by its subject. The subject remains in its quality as grammatic 

 subject, but the grammatic object becomes the logical subject of the sen- 

 tence, and as such it rules the noun-verb.* Elxample: 



Lelckash watch shi'uga Leiekash killed a horse. 

 Lelc^kash tunia watch li'iela Leiekash killed many horses. 



In a few transitive verbs a distinction is made in the number or quality 

 of the verbal object, one form being employed when a few only are con- 

 cerned, and another when many objects are acted upon. 



When the direct object of a transitive verb is plural, it will be expressed 

 in the verb under certain circumstances When the subject of this verb is 

 plural, the verb is usually not affected by it. If the plurality of the object 



* Sometbing that slightly reminds us of this structure U found in the compound transitive verb 

 (not the simple) of Roinancu languages, which varies the paiiiciple %vhi'n tlic ohject prccrdes it in llie 

 BiMitence. Thus in French: " les hiroiidclles (]Ue j'ai ckiw etaicnt per clii'cs." compared to "j'ai !•« des 

 hironilcllcs piTi-li^-es" ; derived from Low lyiitiii: liabeo ri8rt<, iuid \\:ihi-o vimim. 



