SIXTH TRANSITION.
| Singular. | Plural. |
|---|---|
| Elink, what they tell me,, | elgeyenk, what they tell us, |
| elquonnik, what they tell thee, | elgeyek, what they tell you, |
| elaachtit, what they tell him. | elatschik, what they tell us. |
Thus I have given myself the pleasure of transcribing this single tense of one of the moods of this beautiful verb, which I find is used also in the sense of “as I tell thee,” &c., and is a striking example of the astonishing powers of this part of speech in the Delaware language. Can you tell me where those powers end? Is there anything which a Delaware verb will not express in some form or other? I am no longer astonished to find that Mr. Zeisberger has not displayed in his grammar all the richness of this idiom. A single verb, with its various forms and transitions, would almost fill a volume, and there are no less than eight conjugations, all of which were to be explained and illustrated by examples!
But it is not in the verbs alone that consist the beauties of this language. The other parts of speech also claim our attention. There I find, as well as in the verbs, forms and combinations of which I had not before conceived an idea. For instance, Zeisberger tells us that there are nouns substantive in the Delaware which have a passive mood! Strange as this may appear to those who are unacquainted with Indian forms, it is nevertheless a fact which cannot be denied; for our author gives us several examples of this passive noun, all ending with the substantive termination wagan, which, as you have informed me, corresponds with the English ness, in “happiness,” and the German heit or keit, in the numerous words ending with these syllables. Permit me to select some of the examples given by Zeisberger.
Machelemuxowagan, honour, the being honoured. Gettemagelemuxowagan, the receiving favour, mercy, tenderness. Mamschalgussiwagan,[309] the being held in remembrance. Witahemgussowagan, the being assisted or helped. Mamintochimgussowagan,[310] the being esteemed. Wulakenimgussowagan, the being praised. Machelemoachgenimgussowagan, the receiving honour and praise. Amangachgenimgussowagan, the being raised or elevated by praise. Schingalgussowagan, the being hated. Mamachtschimgussowagan, the being insulted.
You will, I am afraid, be disposed to think that we have changed places, and that I am presuming to give you instruction in the Delaware language; but I am only repeating to you the lessons that I have learned from Zeisberger, to save you the trouble of explaining what I can obtain from another source; to be corrected, if I have committed mistakes, and to receive from you the information which my author does not give. Besides, as our correspondence is intended for the use of the Historical Committee, my occasional extracts from Zeisberger, and the observations to which they give rise, are addressed to them as well as to you, and under your correction, may contribute to give them a clearer idea of the forms of the Indian languages. Our letters thus form a kind of epistolary conference between the scholar and his master, held before a learned body, who profit even by the ignorance of the student, as it draws fuller and more luminous explanations from the teacher. Had I proceeded otherwise, your task would have been much more laborious and troublesome, and it would have been ungenerous to have exacted it from you.
In this manner I have relieved you from the trouble of explaining the passive substantives of Zeisberger, unless I should have mistaken his meaning, in which case, you will, of course, set me right. But this author does not tell us whether there are on the other hand active substantives, such as “the honouring,” “the favouring,” “the remembering,” “the praising,” “the insulting,” “the hating.” Here I beg you will be so good as to supply his deficiency, and explain what he has left unexplained.
I find also that there are diminutive words in the Delaware, as in the Italian, such as lennotit, a little man, (from lenno); amementit, a little child, (from amemens); wiquames, a little house, (from wiquam), &c. Pray, are there also augmentatives? Is there any difference between the diminutive terminations tit and es, and what is it?
I have been told that you intend soon to visit Philadelphia; I shall rejoice to find it true, and to form a personal acquaintance with you, which, I hope, will produce a lasting friendship.
I am, &c.
LETTER XXVI.
FROM MR. HECKEWELDER.
Bethlehem, 10th October, 1816.
Dear Sir.—I have hesitated whether I should answer your favour of the 1st inst., being very soon to set out for Philadelphia, where I shall be able to explain to you verbally everything that you wish to know in a much better manner than I can do in writing. As there are, however, but few questions in your letter, and those easily answered, I sit down to satisfy your enquiry, which will for the present close our correspondence. If you think proper to resume it after my return to this place, you will find me as ready as ever to continue our Indian disquisitions.
In the first place, it cannot, I think, properly be said that substantives in general in the Delaware language have a passive mood; but there are substantives which express a passive situation, like those which you have cited, after Mr. Zeisberger. I do not know of any words which express the same thing actively, except the infinitives of active verbs, which are in that case substantively used. Such are,
Shingalgundin, to hate; or the hating. Machelemuxundin, to honour; or the honouring. Mamachkimgundin, to insult (by words); or the insulting.
The diminutive forms in the Indian are tit and es; the former is generally applied to animate, and the latter to inanimate things. Thus we say lennotit, a little man; amementit, a little child; wiquames, a small house; and amocholes, a small canoe. This rule does not hold, however, in all cases; for the little fawn of a deer, although animate, is called mamalis, and a little dog among the Minsi is called allumes, (from allum, a dog.) Chis or ches, is also a diminutive termination, which is sometimes applied to beasts; achtochis and achtoches, “a small deer.”
Augmentatives are compounded from the word chingue, which signifies large; and sometimes the two words are separately used.
Chingue, or m’chingue puschis, a large cat. Chingewileno (for chingue lenno), a tall stout man. Chingotæney (for chingue otæney), a large town. Chingi wiquam, a large house. Chingamochol, a large canoe. Chingachgook, a large snake, &c.
There are a few augmentatives formed in a different manner; for instance, from pachkshican or kshican, “a knife,” are formed pachkschicanes, “a small knife,” and m’chonschicanes,[311] “a large knife;” still it is easy to see that m’chon, in the latter word, is derived from chingue, large or great, which, with a little variation, brings it within the same rule with the others.
You have, no doubt, observed in Zeisberger the terminations ink and unk, which express the idea of locality, coupled with a substantive, as for instance:
Utenink, or otænink, from otæney, a town; in the town. Utenink n’da, I am going to town, or into the town. Utenink noom, I am coming from within the town. Sipunk, (from sipo) to or into the river. M’bink, (from m’bi) in the water. Hakink, (from hacki) in or on the earth. Awossagamewunk, (from awossageme), in heaven. Wachtschunk n’da, I am going up the hill. Wachtschunk noom, I come from the hill. Hitgunk, on or to the tree. Ochunk, at his father’s.
As you must have observed that many of our Indian names of places end with one or other of these terminations, such as Minisink, Moyamensing, Passyunk, &c., you will understand that all these names are in what we might call the local case, which accounts for the great number of those which end in this manner.
I beg you will not write to me any more for the present, as I do not know how soon I may have the pleasure of seeing you. I anticipate great satisfaction from your acquaintance, and hope it will be improved into a true Indian friendship.
I am, &c.
J. HECKEWELDER.
