428 



THE ARAWACK LANGUAGE OF GUIANA 



in manuscript in (.lie library of the Moravian community at Paramaribo, Schumann died in 1700, and as lie was the 

 first to compose such works, the manuscript dictionary in the possession of Bishop Wullschlagel, erroneously referred 

 by the late Professor von Martins to the first decade of the last, century, is no doubt a copy of Schumann's. 



In 1807 another missionary, C. Quandt, published a NacUricM •von Surinam, the appendix to which contains the 

 best published grammatical notice of the tongue. The author resided in Surinam from L769 to 1780. 



Unquestionably, however, the most complete and accurate information in existence concerning both the verbal 

 wealth and grammatical structure of the language, is contained in the manuscripts of the Rev. Theodore Schultz, now 

 in the library of the American Philosophical Society. Mr. Shultz was a Moravian missionary, who was stationed 

 among the Arawacks from 1700 to 1802, or thereabout. The manuscripts referred to are a, dictionary and a grammar. 

 The former is a, quarto volume of (123 pages. The first, 585 pages comprise an Arawack- German lexicon, the 

 remainder is an appendix containing the names of trees, stars, birds, insects, grasses, minerals, places, and tribes. 

 The grammar, Orammattikaluche BUlze von der Aruwakkiechen SpraoTie, is a 12mo volume of 178 pages, left in an 

 unfinished condition. Besides these he left at bis death a translation of the Acts of the Apostles, which was pub- 

 lished in 1850 by the America,!] Bible Society under the title Act Apostelnu. If is from those hitherto unused sources 

 that I design to illustrate the character of the language, and study its former extension. > 



PHONETICS. 



The Arawack is described as "the softest of all the Indian tongues." 2 It is rich in vowels, and tree from 

 gutturals. The enunciation is distinct and melodious. As it lias been reduced to writing by Germans, the Gorman 

 value must be given to the letters employed, a fact which must always Ik; borne in mind in comparing it with I be 

 neighboring tongues, nearly all of which are written with the Spanish orthography. 



Tin; Arawack alphabet has twenty letters : a, b, d, e, g, h, i, j, k, 1, m, n, o, p, q, r, s, t, n, w. 



Besides these, they have a, semi-vowel written , the sound of which in words of the masculine gender approaches 

 1, in those of the neuter gender r. The and u, and the t and d, are also frequently blended. The w has not the 

 German but the soft English sound, as in toe. The German dipthongs bb, oc, eu, ei, ii, are employed. The accents 

 are the long % the acute ", and that indicating the emphasis '. The latter is usually placed near the commencement 

 of the woi'd, and must be carefully observed. 



NOUNS. 



Like most Indians, the Arawack rarely uses a noun in the abstract. An object in bis mind is always connected 

 with some person or thing, and this connection is signified by an affix, a, suffix, or some change in the original form 

 of the word. To this rule there are some exceptions, as bahii a, bouse, iiba a, stone, Ititini a woman. Ddddikdn hiitru, 

 I see a woman. Such nouns are usually roots. Those derived from verbal roofs are still more rarely employed inde- 

 pendently. 



Numhuus. The plural has no regular termination, Often the same form serves for both numbers, as is the ease 

 In many English words. Thus, {time fish and fishes, eiba stone and stones, kSnsiti a lover and lovers. The most 

 common plural endings are ati, Uti, and unit, connected to the root by a, euphonic letter; as uju mother, vjunuti 

 mothers, itti father, ittinaii fathers, kaneisria a loved oik?, kansiesiannu loved ones. 



Of a dual there is no trace, nor does there seem to be of what is called the American plural (exclusive or in- 

 elusive of those present). But there is a peculiar plural form with a singular signification in the language, which is 



i Since reading this article before the Society, Prof, S. S. HaUleman has shown me a copy of a work willi the title : " Die Gfeachichte von der Martanooehe, 

 Attferttehung und Himme]faJvri tmwf &erm and Heilandea Jean ChrUH. tteberaetzt in die Aruwaclciache Sprache und erJelarend wmechriebeni Philadelphia : <•<<!. 



rwsU i"!i Carl lint, 1799," s-vo, puses 21.",, the e Wank leaf, then hi pages of " Amnerkungen." There is also a second title, In Arawack, ami neither title 



page is Included In the pagination. The Arawack title begins: " Wadatyahun Wwtaaada goanti, Wappuaaida goanti baddia Jeaua Ghrietua," etc, The remarks 



at the end are chiefly grai atlcal and critical, and contain many valuable hints to the student of the language. I have no doubt this book Is the Life of 



Christ mentioned In the text. The name of the translator or editor Is nowhere mentioned, but i have no doubt Mr. Schultz wrote the " Anmerkungen," and 

 read the proof, as not only are his grammatical signs ami orthography adopted throughout, hut also wo know from other sources that he was in Philadelphia 

 at that time. 



« Brett, The Indian Triha: of Qitriana, p„ 117 (London, 1808). 



