ALGONQUIAN LANGUAGES. 



355 



Meeker (J.) — Continued. 



"G denotes the position of the organs when 

 prepared to express a word beginning with g 

 hard. 



' ' H indicates the sound of ch in church. 



"L has the sound of sh in she. 



"S signifies a hissing sound, as occurs in the 

 commencement of the pronunciation of the 

 word see. 



"Example. — Mskwr — Here the lips are 

 closed, and a slight nasal sound is emitted, on s 

 the lips open with hissing, k denotes the posi- 

 tion of the organs as described above without 

 articulation, and the voice opens on w as oo, and 

 ends with r as e short, and the word msqueh 

 (blood) is unavoidably pronounced. 



" The learner is, therefore, not taught the 

 names of these nineteen characters, but their 

 uses. 



"Again, let the characters Ikinor be used as 

 above directed, in succession as they are 

 placed here, and the word shkin-o-weh (youug 

 man) is unavoidably pronounced. 



" The learner can acquire a knowledge of 

 these 19 characters in as little time as he could 

 learn the names of the same number of letters 

 of the alphabet. He is then capable of reading, 

 because the repeating, or, rather, the using of 

 these characters as they are written, is reaUy 

 reading. 



"Single words are arranged in columns 

 merely for the purpose of bringing them more 

 distinctly to the notice of the learner, and not 

 for the purpose of spelling. The same remarks 

 apply to the division of words, apparently, 

 into syllables. 



"Sounds occur in one Indian dialect which 

 do not in others. Hence, some of the charac- 

 ters describe different sounds, and different 

 positions of the organs, in different dialects. 



"The apostrophe denotes an abrupt inter- 

 ruption, and, sometimes, a sudden termination, 

 of the voice. 



""When an aspiration precedes a vowel, as h 

 in how, the vowel is marked thus, S.w, waonwr; 

 pronounced how, wau-hone-weh. 



"Points are used as in English. 



" Figures are applied as they are in English, 

 but with the Indian names to each. 



' ' This system may be applied to the English, 

 or to any other language." 



Key to the Ottawa Aiphabet. 

 [From Meeker's Ottawa first book, 1838.] 



a 



a.s 



a 



in 



far 



e 



" 



e 



" 



me 



i 



' 



i 



" 



pin 



o 



• 



o 





note 



u 



' 



u 





tub 



r 



' 



e 





met 



h 



' 



ch 





church 



m ' 



' 



m 





maim 



n ' 



' 



n 





nun 



3 



1 



. 



8 

 8h 





sister 

 sheepish 



Meeker (J.) — Continued. 



f as ng in finger 



w " w " we, now 



k " k " kick 



p " p " pipe 



t " t .1 trout 



"The Ottawa Alphabet may be divided into 

 three classes, viz. vowels, semi- vowels, and 

 mutes. The six first letters are vowels, which 

 have a full and invariable sound. The semi- 

 vowels are seven in number; they have each 

 an indistinct sound, which is exactly the same 

 tJiat is heard when the words containing those 

 letters are spoken. The three last letters are 

 mute«, and are only known by the position of 

 the organs, without any sound. 



" Example.— Post— Kere the word begins 

 with a mute, followed by a vowel and semi- 

 vowel, and ends with a mute ; so that when the 

 learner endeavors to name the various letters 

 in it, he begins by placing his lips tightly to- 

 gether, pressing upon them with his breath; 

 he then lets his voice open on the vowel o ; 

 then looks on the third letter, and makes barely 

 a hissing sound; then to express the last letter 

 he stops all sound by the poiut of his tongue — 

 therefore by naming the various letters in a 

 word he articulates distinctly the word itself." 

 The following is a summary of the Indian 

 books printed at the Shawanoe mission press 

 by Mr. Meeker and Mr. Pratt, according to the 

 new system : 



In the Delaware language : Fifty copies of 

 the alphabet in March, 1834 ; three small books 

 by Mr. Blauchard in the same year (see Lina- 

 pie) ; and a harmony of the four gospels in 

 1837 (see Zeisberger (D.) and Blanchard (I. 

 D.) ; all printed by Mr. Meeker. A Iso, a second 

 edition of the primer in 1842 (see Blanchard 

 (I. D.), printed by Mr. Pratt. According to 

 Mr. McCoy, four books had been printed in 

 Delaware on this press before 1839, "three of 

 which were small, and one large; the latter 

 being a Harmony of the Gospels. " 



In the Shawanoe language: Fifty copies of 

 the alphabet in March, 1834; two editions or 

 issues of a primer in the same year ; a period- 

 ical entitled Shau-wau-nowe Kesauthwau or 

 "Shawanoe Sun," from March Ist, 1835, to 

 1837 or 1838, semi-monthly and monthly; a small 

 hymn book of sixteen pages in 1835 or 1836; 

 and a portion of the gospel of Matthew in 1836; 

 all printed by Mr. Meeker. Also, a second 

 edition of the primer in 1838; the complete gos- 

 pel of Matthew in 1842 ; and a second edition 

 of the hymn book in the same year; printed by 

 Mr. Pratt. According to Mr. McCoy, three 

 books had been printed in Shawanoe on this 

 press before 1839, "and part of the Gospel by 

 Matthew. A second edition of one of these 

 books has been printed; also, one book in 

 Shawanoe, for the Methodists." See Lykins (J.) 

 In the Putawatomie language : Probably fifty 

 copies of the alphabet in March, 1834; a primer 

 of thirty-two pages in the same year ; and a 

 hymn book and catechism of eighty-four pages 



