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.”