History of the Indian Tribes of Hudson's River
each
will
sufficiently
illustrate.
Man,
in
Long
Island,
is
wonnun (white man) in Wappinoo or Massachusetts, lenno. wosketomp-, in Mahican neemanoo; in Delaware and Minsi, run ;
Mother,
in
Long
Island,
is
cwca-y in Massachusetts, okaooh ;
APPENDIX.
Minsi, guy; in Delaware, gabowes. Stone, in Long Island, is sun ; in Massachusetts, bussun; in Ma
in
Mahican, okegan ; thaunaumka;
hican,
in
in
achsun, in
Minsi,
akbsm
Earth, in Long Island, is keagb ; in
(stone), pemapukhk (rock).
Massachusetts, abke; in
Delaware,
Mahican, akek;
in
in
Minsi, acbgi;
Delaware, aki, akbki. But while the peculiar dialects of the valley have been lost, or have at best an imperfect preservation, the principles upon
which they were based have been written.
Gallatin
u The fundamental characteristics of the Indian
:
says
languages of America appear to be a universal tendency to express in the same word, not only all that modifies or relates to the same object, or action, but both the action and the object ; thus con centrating in a single expression a complex idea, or several ideas
among which there is a natural connection. tures of the principle.
All the other fea
language seem
to be subordinate to that general view has been attained by various
The object in
means of the same tendency and often blended together
:
a
multitude of inflections properly so called ; a still greater num ber of compound words, sometimes formed by the coalescence
of primitive words not materially altered,' more generally by the union of many such words in a remarkably abbreviated form,