| PRESENT. | IMPERFECT. | ||
| I speak, | yaws'thee | I spoke, | yawaylt'hee |
| Thou speakest, | yawnelt'hée | Thou spakest, | yayolt'hée |
| He speaks, | yawlt'hée | He spoke, | yalthee |
| We speak, | yawoult'hée | We spoke, | tayaolthee |
| You speak, | tayoult'hée | You spoke, | tayahelthee |
| They speak, | tayathee | They spoke, | tayolthee[II'-35] |
At the end of this chapter may be found a comparative vocabulary, comprising words selected from these and other dialects, belonging to this family.
THE KUTCHIN DIALECTS OF THE YUKON.
Crossing over to the country drained by the Yukon, we find the great Kutchin nation and to their north-east the Kenai. The Kutchins, according to Jones, are "divided into about twenty-two different tribes, each speaking a dialect of the same language." Hardisty affirms that "the Loucheux proper is spoken by the Indians of Peels River, thence traversing the mountains, westward down Rat River, the Tuk-kuth, and Van-tah-koo-chin, which extend to the Tran-jik-koo-chin, Na-tsik-koo-chin, and Koo-cha-koo-chin of the Youcon."[II'-36] The connection of the Kutchin language with the Tinneh has been, by early travelers, denied, and this denial re-echoed by writers following them;[II'-37] but later philological investigations have established the relationship beyond a question. Furthermore, to corroborate this fact there are persons, well acquainted with these people and their language, having lived in their country and traded with them for years, who are positive that the Kutchin is a dialect of the Tinneh. Some of them even affirm that the eastern Kutchin dialect bears a closer relationship to that of their neighbors, the Hares and Slavés, than do some of the dialects of the western Kutchins to each other, yet it is certain that all the Kutchin tribes of the Yukon and its tributaries understand one another, accentuation being the principal distinction between them.
A greater divergence from the stock language is observable in the dialect of the Tutchone Kutchin, which, with those of the Han Kutchin, the Slavé of Francis Lake and Fort Halkett, the Sicannis, the Abbato-tinneh of the Pelly and Macmillan Rivers, and the Nehanne of forts Liard and Simpson, might almost be called a dialectic division of the Tinneh language.[II'-38]
Richardson, following Murray, cautiously traces these relationships in the following words: "More resemblances, he thinks, might be traced through the Mountain Indian speech (Naha-'tdinnè or Dtchè-ta-ut'tinnè) than directly between the Kutchin and Dog-rib tongues. The Han-Kutchi of the sources of the Yukon, speak a dialect of the Kutcha-Kutchi language, yet they understand and are readily understood by the Indians of Frances Lake and the banks of the Pelly. Now these converse freely with the Naha- or Dtché-ta-ut'tinnè, and other Rocky Mountain tribes, whose language resembles the Dog-rib tongue, and who are, in fact, acknowledged members of the Chepewyan nation. Again, the Frances Lake Indians understand the Netsilley, or Wild Nation, who trade at Fort Halkett, on the River of the Mountains; these again are understood by the Sikanis; and the Sikanis by the Beaver Indians, whose dialect varies little from that of the Athabascans, the longest-known member of the 'Tinnè nation."[II'-39]
The Kutchins pride themselves on their oratorical powers, making long, windy, and allegorical speeches remarkable alike for native wit and eloquence. In public speaking their delivery is unique and effective; commencing in a low monotonous tone the voice slowly rises to a crescendo, then increases to a forte, and finally rolls forth in grand fortissimo, at which point, accompanied by striking gestures, it continues until sheer exhaustion compels the orator to pause for breath. The speech closes with a "most infernal screech," as Hardisty calls it, which is supposed to be a clincher to the most abstruse argument.
It was among these people, in the vicinity of the junction of the Tananah with the Yukon River that the before-mentioned broken Slavé jargon originated. Before the arrival of foreigners, the necessity of a trade, or intertribal, language was felt and met, the dialect spoken on the Liard River forming the basis. With the arrival of Russians, French, and English successively, each one of these nationalities contributed of its words to form the general jargon. Dall says that it is in use among all western Eskimos who have intercourse with the Tinneh. The European element in their jargon is very slight, much less than in the Chinook jargon, from the fact that but few Europeans have ever come in contact with the inland tribes of Alaska even in an indirect way.
Following the Tinneh tongue southward from Central Alaska, we strike the Pacific seaboard at Cook's Inlet and Prince William Sound, where we find the Kenai, with six or more dialects, stretching along the shores of the Ocean as far as Copper River. The word Kenai, or as they are sometimes called the Thnaina,[II'-40] meaning men, in signification and sound is almost identical with the word Tinneh, Dinneh, Tinné, Dinay, Tinna, with many other variations applied to this family.[II'-41] According to Sagoskin the Ingaliks, Unakatanas, and others of the Yukon and Nulato rivers call themselves Ttynaichotana.[II'-42] Veniaminoff, a high authority on matters coming under his immediate observation, draws erroneous conclusions from his comparisons of Kenai dialects. The Kenai language, he says, is divided into four dialects; the Kenai proper, the Atnah spoken by the Koltshanes and the people of Copper River, the Kuskoquim, and the Kwichpak.[II'-43] Baron von Wrangell is of the opinion that the Kenai are of Thlinkeet stock, affirming that although their idiom is different yet it comes from the same root;[II'-44] but Dall believes that it might be "more properly grouped with the Tinneh."[II'-45] The dialect of the Ugalenzes, Buschmann confidently asserts, belongs to the Tinneh family, although its connection with the Kenai is not strongly marked, while slight traces of the Thlinkeet tongue are found in it, but not the least shadow of the Aztec as Vater imagined.[II'-46] Long words are of frequent occurrence in the speech of the Ugalenzes; as for example, chakljtschejalsga, work; tekssekonachalek, enemy; kakujasliatenna, to divide; aukatschetohatle, to take away.