The Jesuit Relations and Allied Documents, Vol. 7: Quebec, Hurons, Cape Breton, 1634-1635
History
The Jesuit Relations and Allied Documents, Vol. 7: Quebec, Hurons, Cape Breton, 1634-1635
Canada -- History -- To 1763 (New France); Indians of North America -- Canada; Jesuits -- Missions; Jesuits -- North America
En sixiesme lieu, vn seul de nos adiectifs en François se conioint auec
tous nos substantifs, par exemple, nous disons le pain est froid, le
petun est froid, ce fer est froid; mais en nostre Sauuage ces adiectifs
changent selon les diuerses especes des substantifs, _tabiscau
assini_, la pierre est froide, _tacabisisiou nouspouagan_, mon
petunoir est froid, _ta_k_hisiou_ k_hichtemau_, ce petun est froid,
_tacascouan misticou_, le bois est froid, si c'est quelque grande piece
_tacascouchan misticou_, le bois est froid, _siicatchiou attimou_, ce
chien a froid; voila vne estrange abondance.
In the sixth place, a single one of our adjectives in French is
associated with all our substantives. For example, we say, "the
bread is cold, the tobacco is cold, the iron is cold;" but in our
Savage tongue these adjectives change according to the different
kinds of substantives,--_tabiscau assini_, "the stone is cold;"
_tacabisisiou nouspouagan_, "my tobacco pipe is cold;" _takhisiou
khichtemau_, "this tobacco is cold;" _tacascouan misticou_, "the
wood is cold." If it is a large piece, _tacascouchan misticou_,
"the wood is cold;" _siicatchiou attimou_, "this dog is cold;" and
thus you see a strange abundance.
Remarquez en passant, que tous ces [179] adiectifs, voire mesme que
tous les noms substantifs se conjuguent comme les verbes Latins
impersonnels, par exemple, _tabiscau assini_, la pierre est froide,
_tabiscaban_, elle estoit froide, _cata tabiscan_, elle sera froide, &
ainsi du reste _Noutaoui_, c'est vn nom substantif, qui signifie mon
pere, _noutaouiban_, c'estoit mon pere, ou bien deffunct mon pere _Cata
noutaoui_, il sera mon pere, si on pouuoit se seruir de ces termes.
Observe, in passing, that all these [179] adjectives, and even all
the nouns, are conjugated like Latin impersonal verbs. For example,
_tabiscau assini_, "the stone is cold;" _tabiscaban_, "it was
cold;" _cata tabiscan_, "it will be cold;" and so on. _Noutaoui_,
is a noun which means, "my father;" _noutaouiban_, "it was my
father, or my deceased father;" _Cata noutaoui_, "it will be my
father," if such expressions could be used.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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