190 APPENDIX* 



A gun Pashkizzigun Pashklzzig-ans. 



A house Wakyiguu Wakyig-ans. 



In the four last examples, the letter n, of the diminutive, retains its 

 full sound 



The use of diminutives has a tendency to give conciseness to the lan- 

 guage. As far as they can be employed they supersede the use of 

 adjectives, or prevent the repetition of them. A nd they enable the 

 speaker to give a turn to the expression, which is often very successfully 

 employed in producing ridicule or contempt. When applied to the 

 tribes of animals, or to inorganic objects, their meaning, however, 

 is, very nearly, limited to an inferiority in size or age. Thus, in the 

 above examples, pizhik-ees, signifies a calf, omim-ees, a young pigeon, 

 and ossin-e s, a pebble &c. But inin-ees, and ogim-as, are connected 

 with the idea of mental or conventional as well as bodily inferiority. 



1. I saw a little chief, standing upon a small island, with an inferior 

 medal about his n^ck. 



Ogimas n'gi wabuma. nibowid minnisainsing onabikowan shoniasun. 



2. Yamoyden threw at a young pigeon. 

 Ogi pukkita.wun omimeesun Yamoyden. 



3. A buffalo calf stood in a small stream, 

 Pizhikees ki nibowi sibeesing. 



4. The little man fired at a young moose. 

 Inineesogi pashkizwan mozosun. 



5. Several diminutive looking bass were lying in a small bowl, upon 

 a sma'l table. 



4*Mopowinaising attai onagans abbiwad ogasug. 



Some of these sentences afford instances of the use, at the same time, 

 of both the local and diminutive inflections. Thus the word minnisains- 

 ing, signifies literally, in the little island ; seebecs ing, in the little stream; 

 addopowinais ing, on the small table, 



3. The preceeding forms are not the only ones by which adjective 

 qualit es are conferred upon the substantive. The syllable ish when 

 added to a noun indicates a bad or dreaded quality, or conveys the idea 

 of imperfection or decay. The sound of this inflection is sometimes 

 changed to eesh oosh, or aush. Thus, Chiman, a canoe, becomes Chi- 

 manish, a bad canoe ; Ekwai, a woman, Ekwaiwish, a bad woman ; 

 nibi, water, becomes nibeesh, turbid or strong water ; mittig, a tree, be- 

 comes mittigoosh, a decayed tree ; akkik, a kettle, akkikoosh, a worn- 

 out kettle. By a further change, wibid, a tooth, becomes wibiddsft, a 



