OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 



553 



the end of the noun or pronoun, it can hardly be considered an exception to 

 the rule. The Esquimaux had great difficulty in pronouncing Captain Lyon's 

 name, which it was more convenient to them to change into Nayon. The 

 letter I occurs perhaps more frequently than any other in the middle of 

 Esquimaux words. The letters r and s are never pronounced as with us, but 

 in a thick guttural manner, the former approximating to the Northumbrian 

 dialect, and the latter to the Scotch ch, (as in the word ''loch.") The mark 

 + over either of those letters in the Vocabulary is intended to express 

 that sound. The r at the beginning of a word is perhaps the least adapted 

 of any to their organs or habits of speech, and the combination of letters in 

 the word "spring" produced from them nothing nearer than " sh-pudding." 

 When the letter g is preceded by n, and followed by a vowel, as in anga and 

 jjingahiike, the g is sounded as in the English word " hanger," and not as 

 in " anger." 



It is common for the Esquimaux to vary the pronunciation of their words 

 at different times without altering the sense. The women, in particular, 

 seem frequently to make such alterations as conduce to the softness of the 

 words, as, for instance, by dropping the harsh final Jc which occurs so com- 

 monly, as Innialoo for Innialook ; by changing it into a vowel, as Ne-a-ko-a 

 for Neakoke, or by altering Oo-ee-ga into Oo-ing-a or Oo-ee-ma, and Hee-u* 

 tecga into Hee-ii-ting-a. Other examples of the same kind occur in the 

 Vocabulary. 



The nouns substantive have three numbers, singular, dual, and plural. 

 The dual generally terminates with a k, and the plural with a t or an n; to 

 these, however, there are some exceptions among the following words, 

 obtained by repeatedly using the words Attowsmlc (one), Madleroke (two), and 

 OonooMoot (a great many) respectively. 



Singular. 



Dual. 



Plural. 



Keiyak 



Kei-nia 



Keinian 



Igloo 



Iglook 



Igloot 



Ang-oot 



Angootik 



Angootit 



Pan-na 



Pan-nak 



Pannan 



Innuke 



In-nuke 



Innueet 



Ka-bloo-na 



Kabloonak 



Kabloonan 



Took-too 



Took-took 



Tooktoot 



Oo-ming-muk 



Oomingmak 



Oomingraei. 



In the construction of a sentence the nominative case usually precedes the 

 verb, except it be a personal pronoun, which appears always to follow the 



4 B 



