I had never heard before I received your letter that there existed a country where the men and the women spoke a different language from each other. It is not the case with the Delawares or any Indian nation that I am acquainted with. The two sexes with them speak exactly the same idiom. The women, indeed, have a kind of lisping or drawling accent, which comes from their being so constantly with children; but the language which they speak does not differ in the least from that which is spoken by their husbands and brothers.
The question you ask about n’petageep and n’petagunewoakup, both of which Zeisberger translates by sie haben mir gebracht, is easily answered. The translation is correct in both cases, according to the idiom of the German language, from which alone the ambiguity proceeds. N’petageep means “they have brought to me,” but in a general sense, and without specifying by whom the thing has been brought. Es ist mir gebracht worden, or “it has been brought to me,” would have explained this word better, while n’petagunewoakup is literally rendered by “they,” (alluding to particular persons,) “have brought to me,” or sie haben mir gebracht. You have here another example of the nicely discriminating character of the Indian languages.
I believe I have never told you that the Indians distinguish the genders, animate and inanimate, even in their verbs. Nolhatton and nolhalla, both mean “I possess,” but the former can only be used in speaking of the possession of things inanimate, and the latter of living creatures. Nolhatton achquiwanissall, “I have or possess blankets;” cheeli kœcu n’nolhattowi, “many things I am possessed of,” or “I possess many things;” woak nechenaunges nolhallau, “and I possess a horse,” (and a horse I possess.) The u which you see at the end of the verb nolhalla, conveys the idea of the pronoun him, so that it is the same as if you said, “and a horse I possess him.” It is the accusative form on which you observed in one of your former letters and is annexed to the verb instead of the noun.
In the verb “to see,” the same distinction is made between things animate and inanimate. Newau, “I see,” applies only to the former, and nemen to the latter. Thus the Delawares say: lenno newau, “I see a man;” tscholens newau, “I see a bird;” achgook newau, “I see a snake.” On the contrary they say, wiquam nemen, “I see a house;” amochol nemen, “I see a canoe,” &c.
It is the same with other verbs; even when they speak of things lying upon the ground, they distinguish between what has life and what is inanimate; thus they say, icka schingieschin[305] n’dallemans “there lies my beast,” (the verb schingieschin[305] being only used when speaking of animate things;) otherwise they will say: icka schingieschen n’tamahican, “yonder lies my ax.” The i or the e in the last syllable of the verb, as here used in the third person, constitutes the difference, which indicates that the thing spoken of has or has not life.
It would be too tedious to go through these differences in the various forms which the verb can assume; what I have said will be sufficient to shew the principle and the manner in which this distinction is made.
I inclose a translation of the Lord’s Prayer into Delaware, with the English interlined according to your wishes. I am, &c.
THE LORD’S PRAYER IN THE DELAWARE LANGUAGE.
| Ki | Thou |
| Wetóchemelenk | our Father |
| talli | there |
| épian | dwelling |
| Awosságame, | beyond the clouds, |
| Machelendásutsch | magnified or praised be |
| Ktellewunsowágan | thy name |
| Ksakimowagan | thy kingdom |
| peyewiketsch | come on |
| Ktelitehewágan | thy thoughts, will, intention, mind, |
| léketsch | come to pass |
| yun | here |
| Achquidhackamike | upon or all over the earth, |
| elgiqui | the same |
| leek | as it is |
| talli | there |
| Awosságame | in heaven or beyond the clouds, |
| Milineen | give to us |
| eligischquik | on or through this day |
| gunagischuk | the usual, daily |
| Achpoan | bread, |
| woak | and |
| miwelendammauwineen | forgive to us |
| n’tschannauchsowagannéna | our transgressions (faults), |
| elgiqui | the same as |
| niluna | we (particular plural) we who are here |
| miwelendammáuwenk | we mutually forgive them, |
| nik | who or those |
| tschetschanilawequéngik | who have transgressed or injured us (past participle) |
| woak | and |
| kátschi | let not |
| n’páwuneen | us come to that |
| li | that |
| achquetschiechtowáganink | we fall into temptation; (ink, into), |
| shuckund | but (rather) |
| ktennineen | keep us free |
| untschi | from |
| medhicking | all evil |
| Alod | for |
| Knihillátamen | thou claimest |
| ksakimowágan[306] | thy kingdom |
| woak | and |
| ktallewussoágan | the superior power |
| woak | and |
| ktallowilissowágan | all magnificence |
| ne | from |
| wuntschi | heretofore |
| hallemiwi, | ever (always) |
| Nanne leketsch. | Amen. (so be it; so may it come to pass.) |