222 



at least in some few cases, of м'д, where South Greenlandic 

 has <p'\ Hkewise the frequent occurrence of the sound-group т\ 

 where Greenlandic has ij or üj. Among the differences which 

 set a sharp division between the Mackenzie and Labrador 

 dialects the occurrence of initial tl (<ç) in the Mackenzie dialect, 

 where Labrador, just like Greenlandic, has merely .9, is of 

 especial importance; besides it is pretty sure that the Mackenzie 

 dialect lacks [/], which occurs in Labrador (Up. Gr. has h here). 

 More peculiarities will be seen later, which connect the Labrador 

 dialect more closely with Greenlandic. — With respect to the 

 s-sounds. Up Gr. stands on the same side as Middle Greenland and 

 S Gr., even if it otherwise stands apart from them ; the Baffin 

 dialect has j{dj\ here instead of s; with regard to the remaining 

 fricatives, Up. Gr. stands isolated, or it may possibly approach 

 the dialect of the Central Eskimo, which is little known. — 

 Several other differences and agreements between all these 

 dialects may be suspected but they are not yet sufficiently clear. 



>'ow we come to Alaska. All authors agree that there 

 are a large number of different dialects along the coasts of this 

 large peninsula, especially along the western and southern coasts. 

 The material which is to be had for a comparison of these 

 dialects is perhaps rather abundant compared with what we 

 have for large portions of the Central Eskimo, but yet when 

 we come lo use it for exact investigation, we find it very 

 fragmentary and difficult to unravel. The idioms are presumably 

 interwoven here as they are in the districts farther east, so 

 that we must make a qualitative choice of phonetical criteria 

 to be used in determining the dialectal boundaries. 



The northernmost point on the coast of Alaska is Point 

 Barrow (156" W. long., 71°N. lat.). Between this place and the 

 Mackenzie River, there is a large extent of territory which 

 is inhabited probably only by a few Eskimo, about whose 

 language nothing is known. A copious list of words from the 



