190 ETHNOLOGY OF THE INDO-PAOIFIC ISLANDS. 



it may even be considered doubtful whether the harmonic develop- 

 meafc had commenced when the mother- dialect of the former was 

 first separated from the proper Chineae, Much of ita slight 

 agglutinative and harmonie power hoe probably been acquired since, 

 and Scythic may have had much influence on its progreas. In 

 another place the conclusioa was arrived at that the collocation of 

 Scythic was older than its harmonic phonology, and in Bbotian 

 have a partial example of its pro-harmonic condition, 



Tta general structure although Scythie when compared with 

 Chineae, Moa-Aaam, Asonesian, Semitico -African and Caucasian, 

 is not purely Scythic. 



The use of postfixed deflnitivee is an arebaic Turanian, Gattca- 

 sian, Semitico-Ijibyan and Indo-European tmit. The most com- 

 mon Tibetan postfix* ma, pa, tja, ba^ &c occurs frequently in 

 Ugrian vocabularies, and it ia also Scmitico-Libyan, Caucasian, 

 Indo-European and Dravirian, In Chinese it is a Brd pron. The 

 postfixes distinguish Bliotian strongly from Chinese and there can 

 be no hesifc-ation in considering thera as of Ugrian affinity. The 

 other Turanian postfixed definitives are na^ ni, ra, ^-c ; la, ol^ el, 

 er, tfc ; ha^ gti^ hj ^'C ; 9, f, dj ch, J ; which with the labials 

 comprise tbe whole range of the Tibetan* 



The prefixed consonants of Tibetan b or wt; /i, s, z; 1, r, d; 

 g are not prevalent In the Turanian languages^ but Hungarian 

 has az, as a separate proposed definitive, and in others vocalic 

 prefixes occur which are probably in many cases contractions* 

 TurkiaH appears to have prefixual t, ch ; I, s concreted. The 

 Teniseian languages will probably prove to be the chief existing 

 link between the proper Scythic and the N. E, Asian 'and Ameri* 

 can. In many respects they may be considered as entering with the 

 Samoiedean group into the Ugrian fatniiy. But with strong Ugrian 

 afliuities they combine independent traits, and others that are N. 



Asiaa and American. Amongst the latter is the retention of 

 prefixedj along with postfixed definitives, embracing' the entire 



■ I giv* a few examples in which both the root and the jM»tfix art Hit stme ha 

 ibt two iboililes. 



Leaft BhoL lama, Mordv. lapa ; 

 Fing^er^ Bhot »orm<j, Fin mrmi ; 

 Main, iihnl. charba, Sam^ msTwo. 



