ANTHROPOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 37 



The same wear occurs where particular words are used to 

 form cases in nouns, and a variety of illustrations might be 

 given. These categories constitute conjugations and declen- 

 sions, and for convenience such combinations may be called 

 paradigmatic. Then the oft-repeated elements of paradig- 

 matic combinations arc apt to become excessively worn and 

 modified, so that the primitive words or themes to which 

 they are attached seem to be but slightly changed by the 

 addition. Under these circumstances combination is called 

 inflection. 



Asa morphologic process, no well-defined plane of demarc- 

 ation between these four methods of combination can be 

 drawn, as one runs into another; but, in general, words may 

 be said to be juxtaposed, when two words being placed to- 

 gether the combination performs the function of a new word, 

 while in form the two words remain separate. 



Words may be said to be compound when two or more 

 words arc combined to form one, no change being made in 

 cither. Words may be said to be agglutinated when the 

 elementary words arc changed but slightly, i. c, only to the 

 extent that their original forms are not greatly obscured ; 

 and words may be said to be inflected when in the combi- 

 nation the oft-repeated element or formative part has been 

 so changed that its origin is obscured. These inflections 

 arc used chiefly in the paradigmatic combinations. 



In the preceding statement it has been assumed that there 

 - can be recognized, in these combinations of inflection, a 

 theme or root, as it is sometimes called, and a formative 

 element. The formative element is used with a great many 

 different words to define or qualify them, that is to indicate 

 mode, tense, number, person, gender, etc., of verbs, nouns, 

 and other parts of speech. 



When in a language juxtaposition is the chief method of 

 combination, there may also be distinguished two kinds of 

 elements, in some sense corresponding to themes and forma- 

 tive parts. The theme is a word the meaning of which is 

 determined by the formative word placed by it; that is, the 



