468 GRAMMAR OF THE KLAMATH LANdUAOE. 



example, can be affixed to some of the abstract substantives only; i- and 

 -na are of rare occurrence, -tka, -ksaksi etc. will be found chiefly in sub- 

 stantives of the inanimate gender. 



Klamath shows a large number of other postpositions than case-postpo- 

 sitions, mainly of a locative signification, which are connected with substan- 

 tives. They differ from the case-postpositions, because (1) they keep their 

 accentuation and thus appear as independent words, and (2) they can be 

 placed, at the speaker's option, before or after the noun they govern. They 

 never coalesce into one word with the noun. 



The only direct case, or casus rectus, is the subjective case, otherwise 

 named "nominative"; all others are oblique cases. A vocative case cannot 

 be said to exist, and the subjective case intonated on the last syllable will 

 answer for it, especially when followed by the interjection e: tidsi mixka'k! 

 or tidsi muka'k e! that nice baby! 



Many words taken fi-om English or other languages foreign to Klamath 

 inflect like those of Klamath origin for case and for severalty: Boshtin, 

 ipshuna, lam, mitash, sho'p, tf'i-uni. 



Up to this point we have considered only the simple form of nominal 

 inflection, by which a case is formed by one suffix or postposition only; 

 but Klamath also possesses a composite inflection of the absolute and dis- 

 tributive noun, since some of the cases can assume the functions of the 

 subjective case and form inflections for themselves by means of other case- 

 suffixes and case-postpositions. These polysynthetic nominal forms do not 

 exceed the number of three suffixes or postpositions, and thus the inflections 

 may be classified as binary and ternary ones. The case-suffixes capable of 

 forming new substantives in this way are: -ash, -am, -ti, -emi; and the 

 case-postpositions, -i, -kshi, -ksaksi. The suffixes which each of these can 

 append, and a further discussion of the composite case-inflection, will be 

 found below. 



FORMATION OF THE CASES. 



According to the nature of the final sound of the substantive to which 

 the case-endings are joined, all modes of inflection may be divided into 

 two classes, which, however, do not largely differ among themselves: (I j 

 Consonantal inflection, and (2) Vocalic inflection. 



