The Philosophic Grammar of American Languages, as Set Forth by Wilhelm von Humboldt: With the Translation of an Unpublished Memoir by Him on the American VerbBrinton, Daniel G. (Daniel Garrison)
Philosophy
The Philosophic Grammar of American Languages, as Set Forth by Wilhelm von Humboldt: With the Translation of an Unpublished Memoir by Him on the American Verb
Brinton, Daniel G. (Daniel Garrison)
Grammar, Comparative and general; Humboldt, Wilhelm, Freiherr von, 1767-1835; Indians -- Languages
In the Mixteca language, the personal sign is the unchanged possessive
pronoun. If the verb is governed by a noun in the third person, the
possessive is dropped. It is left to the speaker to choose whether he
designates the person, either by prefixing the personal pronoun or
suffixing the possessive. The tense signs are prefixed syllables, but
the perfect and future signs are altogether different from those of
the present, and materially alter the verbal stem.
The Beto language prefixes the personal signs and also the possessive
pronouns to the nouns. As the latter are not fully known, we cannot
judge of their identity with the verbal pronouns. The latter do not
seem to differ much from the personal pronouns. The tense signs are
easily recognized suffixes.
Another conjugation of the same language, by the suffixed pronoun
without tense signs, and with the verb omitted, has been mentioned
above (I, 1), as forming a substantive verb.
A second substantive verb arises from the conjugation above explained,
with the tense signs.
These two forms may also be combined, and this illustrates with what
superfluous fullness grammatical forms spring up even among rude
nations. The conjugation with the tense sign is changed by a
participial suffix into a verbal, and then the pronoun is suffixed, as
in the conjugation without the tense sign. The latter, therefore,
stands twice in the form. The pronoun used in the conjugation with
tense signs may also be prefixed to a simple adjective, and the
pronoun used in the conjugation without tense sign is suffixed to
this, and the participial ending is then added. This is treated as a
verb with the substantive verb understood. But sometimes the verb “to
be” in the form without tense signs is added, and then the whole form
contains the pronoun three times, without gaining thereby any
additional meaning.
The Carib conjugation seems to have arisen from the forms of many
dialects or epochs, and is therefore more complicated and formal, and
less easy to analyze.
The personal signs are prefixed. In the substantive verb there are two
classes, of which only one is also common to attributive verbs. The
other indicates in the verb “to be” also the connection of persons
with the infinitive and gerund, and is therefore of the nature of a
possessive. It may also be that when it is combined with other tenses,
the notion among these nations is altogether a substantial one, as we
have already seen with the subjunctive.
The stem often receives the addition _r_ or _ri_, the meaning of which
is not known.
The structure of the Tamanaca conjugation also reveals a combination
of at least two separate structures. Some tenses use as their personal
signs entire pronouns, almost identical with the personals. Other
tenses merely change the initial letter of the verb, while there is
little similarity between these affixes and the pronouns. In the
plural some of the persons insert a syllable between the verb and the
tense sign.
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