115 



A FEW WOKDS ON THE LANGUAGE OF THE ALEUTS OF 



UNALASHKA. 



The language has fifteen letters: a (Latin), (j (as in Gabriel), f?, i 

 (Latin i), Ic, Ih, I, m, n, ng, s, t, u (Latin iT), h, tsh. 



It has no articles. Numbers are three: singular, dual, and ])lural. 



Chief cases are three: nominative, dative, and prepositional, which is 

 also possessive. They are divided into indefinite, possessive, and personal- 

 instrumental cases, so that each substantive noun may have thirty-two dif- 

 ferent terminations. 



Possessive cases are those which contain a possessive pronoun joined 

 to a noun; as, for instance, a(lal<h, father, is the indefinite nominative case, 

 and adanri, my father, adan' , thy father, adaii'iiiff, my fathers, &c., are pos- 

 sessive nominative cases. 



The latter are divided into unipersonal, polypersonal, and impersonal. 



Personal-instrumental cases are used when the impersonal pronoun 

 one's is used in the instrumental case, for example, hy one's arm. 



Adjective pronouns have three degrees. 



Numerals extend to 10,000 and more. Verbs have numbers, persons, 

 moods, tenses, voices, forms, and conjugations. 



A verb is the most variable word of this language, so that it assumes 

 more than 800 ditferent terminations, or variations, in the active voice alone. 

 Nay, the verbs are often combined with other Avords, as, for instance, Avith 

 siga, perfectly, completely; ta, more than once; sigasiada, ver}^ mucli; 

 tasiada, exceedingly, and so forth; so that in this way one and the same 

 verb, iMmgellk, to pray (to say one's prayers), assumes more than foj-ty 

 different meanings. Jcamgasigalik, to pray fervently; Ji-amgasigatdik, to pray 

 fervently and many times; kamgasigasiadalUt, to pray verj' fervently; kam- 

 gasigatasiadaUk, to pray very fervently and many times; lanigasigatasiada- 

 t(dtk, to pray with the utmost fervor and many times, &c. The verb to lUl, 

 in the imperative mood, may be expressed by ashasa'gana'n, ashasa'ganaldhin, 

 ashakiga'da, asliakigadalcagan, asliada-idiiih, &c. 



The third person is of two sorts in some tenses; for instance, "thev 

 take" is sukung\ or snkuni' aiig\ 



