﻿12 
  NEW 
  YORK 
  STATE 
  MUSEUM 
  

  

  this 
  he 
  may 
  have 
  referred 
  to 
  a 
  few 
  early 
  names 
  of 
  towns 
  preserved 
  

   in 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  condoling 
  songs, 
  but 
  of 
  which 
  no 
  further 
  tradition 
  

   remains. 
  Some 
  reservation 
  is 
  necessary 
  in 
  this 
  statement. 
  

  

  AUTHORITIES 
  ON 
  LANGUAGE 
  

  

  A 
  number 
  of 
  accessible 
  works 
  treat 
  the 
  general 
  subject 
  of 
  Iroquois 
  

   words, 
  their 
  composition 
  and 
  modifications, 
  these 
  having 
  many 
  

   interesting 
  features, 
  some 
  of 
  which 
  will 
  be 
  mentioned 
  incidentally. 
  

   The 
  leading 
  ones 
  to 
  be 
  remembered 
  here 
  are 
  the 
  lack 
  of 
  labials, 
  

   the 
  use 
  of 
  prefixes 
  and 
  suffixes, 
  and 
  the 
  position 
  of 
  the 
  adjective. 
  

  

  About 
  1675 
  Father 
  Jacques 
  Bruyas 
  wrote 
  a 
  treatise 
  on 
  the 
  radical 
  

   words 
  of 
  the 
  Mohawk 
  language, 
  including 
  a 
  valuable 
  lexicon, 
  much 
  

   used 
  in 
  defining 
  names. 
  It 
  dealt 
  mostly 
  .with 
  verbs 
  and 
  their 
  

   derivatives, 
  and 
  a 
  synopsis 
  of 
  his 
  grammatical 
  scheme 
  follows. 
  

  

  There 
  are 
  four 
  simple 
  tenses, 
  from 
  which 
  the 
  others 
  are 
  formed 
  : 
  

   infinitive, 
  present 
  indicative, 
  the 
  future 
  of 
  affirmation 
  and 
  the 
  

   negative. 
  From 
  the 
  present 
  the 
  imperfect 
  is 
  formed 
  by 
  an 
  addition 
  

   at 
  the 
  end. 
  The 
  preterit, 
  terminating 
  like 
  the 
  infinitive, 
  the 
  pluper- 
  

   fect, 
  the 
  future 
  compounded 
  with 
  the 
  preterit, 
  are 
  the 
  cognate 
  

   tenses 
  from 
  the 
  same 
  paradigm. 
  The 
  pluperfect 
  adds 
  nen 
  to 
  the 
  

   preterit. 
  The 
  future 
  of 
  affirmation 
  and 
  the 
  aorist 
  present 
  of 
  the 
  

   potential 
  mood 
  terminate 
  alike. 
  The 
  double 
  future 
  of 
  negation 
  is 
  

   like 
  the 
  indicative 
  present. 
  With 
  one 
  exception 
  the 
  tenses 
  of 
  the 
  

   optative 
  do 
  not 
  difTer 
  from 
  the 
  potential 
  mood 
  and 
  those 
  of 
  the 
  

   subjunctive 
  are 
  similar. 
  

  

  Verbs 
  whose 
  infinitives 
  end 
  in 
  a 
  usually 
  terminate 
  the 
  present 
  

   with 
  ou, 
  imperfect 
  akone, 
  future 
  en, 
  negative 
  with 
  mine. 
  Gaienna, 
  

   to 
  take, 
  is 
  an 
  exception. 
  Verbs 
  in 
  e 
  have 
  commonly 
  the 
  present 
  in 
  

   c, 
  imperfect 
  ekoue, 
  future 
  eg, 
  negative 
  sere, 
  seg 
  or 
  the. 
  They 
  add 
  

   tenses 
  from 
  several 
  verbs 
  and 
  have 
  some 
  exceptions. 
  

  

  Verbs 
  in 
  i, 
  signifying 
  plentitude, 
  have 
  the 
  present 
  in 
  i, 
  imperfect 
  

   innen, 
  future 
  ig 
  or 
  isere. 
  Relatives 
  ending 
  in 
  i 
  have 
  the 
  present 
  isk, 
  

   imperfect 
  iskoue, 
  future 
  nien, 
  negative 
  nire. 
  OH 
  and 
  onni 
  and 
  

   their 
  compounds 
  are 
  exceptions. 
  

  

  Verbs 
  in 
  aon 
  have 
  the 
  present 
  in 
  as, 
  imperfect 
  ask 
  one, 
  future 
  anne, 
  

   with 
  some 
  exceptions. 
  Some 
  have 
  the 
  imperfect 
  kaouas, 
  future 
  kao, 
  

   negative 
  ouasere. 
  W 
  may 
  take 
  the 
  place 
  of 
  on 
  in 
  many 
  cases. 
  

   Verbs 
  in 
  enon 
  have 
  the 
  present 
  in 
  ens, 
  imperfect 
  enskoue, 
  future 
  

  

  