Biinton.] 'J"^-' [Februarj- 4, 



§ 34. TRANSLATION OF THE ARTICLE-PRONOUNS, AND THEIR 

 MODIFICATIONS. 



a definite. AVhen a immediately follows a noun it may generally 

 be translated by the article, or else omitted. When any verb is under- 

 stood in connection with a noun, a, should be translated by a relative pro- 

 noun; as, Atvm ak osh hatak moma i tikba hatok, Adam he was of all men 

 the first of them he was ; Adam the one who of all men was the first. 

 When a modifying word or words follow the noun, the particle comes last; 

 as, miko vt mintih, the king comes; miko g, pisah, the king he sees (regem 

 videt); miko chito vt mintih, the great king comes; miko chito g, pisah, he 

 sees the great king. The particle follows pronouns and designates their 

 cases, vno vt, I; vno g., me. 



§ 25. o distinctive. When it follows nouns it denotes them as un- 

 known; nvni chaha yo, a mountain; the particular mountain is not known, 

 but it is made a distinctive object, a mountain and not a plain, or other 

 place. The difference between a and o may be seen in Mat. XVII. 1, 

 and 9, nvnih chaha yo, a mountain; nvnih chaha ya, the mountain. It has 

 an emphatic and prominent meaning in such sentences as Gal. IV. 2, Pal 

 sia hosh, I, Paul; Acts VIII. 20, Chihowa yosh nan ima yg, the gift of 

 God; Acts V. 4, hatak o, men. Like a, it is rendered by the personal pro- 

 nouns in both cases and numbers, he, she, it, they, him, her, it, them, 

 and by the relative and double pronouns. It has a contradistinctive sense 

 in siich expressions as Mat. XXV. 3, bila yano, as for the oil, in distinction 

 from the lamps. It is used after verbs, and with some conjunctions, to 

 render a distinct reason for an action; as, Luke XI. 37, ont chukowa cha, 

 impa chi hosh binili tok, he came in and sat down for to eat. It has a 

 oncessive sense when combined with the particles ok ak ; as, yohinic 

 hokak o, although it is so. 



Sometimes the article-pronouns are used to translate the articles a 

 and the, and sometimes they are used in Choctaw where the articles do 

 not occur in English. Some examples from Mark I. will illustrate tliis. 

 The beginning, vmmonak vt; the gospel, vbanumpa; the son of Jehovah, 

 Chihowa ushi; the way, ataya yg; the river of Jordan, Chatan okhina yako; 

 John, Chanvt; Jordan, Chatan ako; Jesus, Chisvs vt; a girdle, vskofvchi 

 yo; water, oka yo; the water, oka ya; a voice, anumpa hvt; the angels, 

 enchel vhleha hosh; the sea, ok hota; the ship, peni ash; fishers of men, 

 hatak hokli yo; the unclean spirit, shilombish okpulo ash osh; the unclean 

 spirits, shilombish okpulo hak. 



Mattli. XV. 38: Mihma okla impa tuk vt, olioyo vUa aiena hokvto asha 

 ho, hatak 4000 ushta tok; And they that did eat were 4000 men, beside 

 women and children. Here vt makes those who ate definite, while ho 

 makes the women and children distinctive and objective. 



Acts IX. 6. nanta hak o katiohmi la hi g? What wilt thou have me do? 

 is definite; but. Acts XXII. 10: nanta ko katiohmi la chi ho? is distinc- 

 tive. 



