APPENDIX 175 



an object, in this lecture to pursue t iceptioos into their minutest ram- 



'lications, than to sketch broad rules, applicable, ii* n<»t t<> » \ cry word, |Q at 

 4 a majority of words in the language. 



There is, howen r, one exception from the general use of number, so 

 diario u»» -IT. that not to point Bout, would be an unpardonable ren 



the outlines of ■ language, in which it is an object, n<i- 



thai to extenuate faults, nor to orerrate beauties. Tliis exception 



d the want of number in the third person of the declensions of 



animate nouns, and the conjugation of animate verbs. Not, that PUch 



wordi aumber, in their simple forms, or when used un- 



ci r cirenmstanees requiring no change of these simple forms — no 

 prefixes and no in!: But it will be sen. at a glance, h<»w very 



limited such an application of words must be, in a transpositive Ian- 



Thus mang and k&g (loon and porcupine) take the plural inflection 

 \^ ig, becoming mang wug and kag wug (loons and porcupines.) So, 

 in their pronominal declension — 



My b 



Xi mang 



oom 





Thy loon 



Ki mang 



com 





My porcupine 



Ni gag 



o -m 





Thy porcupine 



B g 







My 1 



Xi mang 



oom 



ng 



Thy ! 



Ki mang 



>:n 



■* 



My porcupines 



Xi g 



oom 



ng 



Thy porcupines 



Ki i 



oom 



u g 



But his loon, or loons, (o mang oom un) his porcupine or porcupines, 

 •in) are without number. The rule applies equally to ma 



class of words, in which the pronouns are inseparable/ Thus, my father 

 and thy father, DOS and kos, L> come my lathers and thy lathers, by the 

 numerical inflection Ug, forming nOSUgand koaug. But osun, his father 

 or fat!i rue, and does not indicate whether there be one lather 



ty fathers. The inflection un, merely denotes the object The 

 rule also applies equally I i, in which the noun is gOfd RM d by. 



Whether we say, [saw a bear — ningi wabumi 



mukwah, or a bear saw me — mukwah ningi wabumig, the noun. 



. i r i ir« ■ , and its number is definite. I. | i _-: wabiun-an 



muk-wun, be saw bear, is indefinite, although both the rerb and the noon 



have changed their endings. And if the narrator do. g ,., ,t sul isquently 



,•• number, the hearer is either left in doubt, or must ■ 

 it by a . In fine* the whole acts of the third 



