The Seri Indians. (1898 N 17 / 1895-1896 (pages 1-344*))

by W J McGee

In the pronominal lists the eight pronominatives I, we, thou, ye, he, they, that, and this are compared. The comparison reveals no satisfactory evidence of relationship between the two tongues represented therein. In the list headed “Thou”, there is, it is true, a vague resemblance between some of the examples cited; but this is the extent of the agreement among the pronominative elements.

Along with these pronominal lists comparative tables of fifty conceptual terms have also been made. The vocables have been subjected to a discriminating analysis which fails to show any trustworthy evidence of genetic relationship between the Seri and the Yuman languages. These tables will be found at the end of the numeral lists.

The comparative pronominal lists follow:

SERIAN
	I	We	Thou	Ye
B.	ive	óve	me	move
C.	eve, ivve	ove	me	movve
D.	ibe, i, in
YUMAN
I.	ya	e-é	ba	me-é
II.	bu	kélballa	mu	mugutí
2.	nyaa	mági	maa	yamakámvi
4.	n’yep	b’dowwaánge	man	n’yátches
5.	enyip	mateshehámk	mainye	hanyís
7.	inyeeippa		mahinye
8.	ainyapi	ainyepi	howanye	inak
9.	inyétc	inyétcabĭtc	mantc	mantcawitc
6.	iniepa	huatcva	manya
10.	anyáa		maa
12.	n’yat		mantz
13.	nyet	nyetchelechaml	manya	koonyemitch
14.	inyau	ikhin	nyau	vuyau-khumau
24.	n’ya	n’yawaâp	ma	n’yawaâp
16.	enyahpah	n’yeahpah	mahpah
17.	nyat	nawot	mat	manyawapa
19.	nyät, nía		mät	mad
20.	n’ñép		mañ	mandchequedíc
22.	nyá	nyaä´		mätche
23.	nyapa	panyapa	m’apa	pamaba
15.	n’yàpa	n’yawa	m’apa	m’awa
SERIAN
	He	They	That	This
B.	imk’	move (for imkove)	imke	ipké
C.	imki	imkove	imki
D.	itam		itam
YUMAN
I.			kwumba	k’hu
II.	ugutá	ugultí	ugutá	yamú
2.	ma	bémi, maniûsi	owá	bémi, n’wagi
4.	v’dán	awatches	abányim	b’dan
5.	sewaínye	hanyís	wedaín	sewaín
6.	huványa		hoványe	vitanya
7.	mánya	paichsama	kuucha, “What do you say?”	n’yaveoh
8.	howanméeme	nayew	howai	howanmiimi
9.	huvatce	iuyéteawĭntc	nyanya	viçanya
10.	nyuée			viyáa
12.	habuitzk
13.	abilkoowan	sakewauk	nyasl	badam
14.	itcham	kitchámuyú	pú	piyáa
15.	pu	pu-wîiptch	pu-witch	p’yà
16.			memuchu	nepte
17.	nyip	nyeep	kooacha	mop
19.	net	íet, iät		iät, íet
20.	abáñ	s’tubáñ	s’tubáñ	cezáñ, vedáñ
22.	yetháha	nihátchewa
23.	ẖápa	pachawit	nyepat	miẖi
24.	maîs	mawápa	púaisis	piyaís

Vocabulary Lists of Serian Numerals

The following comparative table of Serial numerals represents all the accessible number-names in existing records of Serian linguistic material. M Pinart records two lists of number-names from “one” to “ten”, and says of the first list, “Quando se cuenta seguido”, for counting consecutively.

It will be of interest to note the fact that the forms of the digit “eight”, in the vocabularies of Professor McGee and Mr Bartlett, with the latter’s “eighteen”, differ wholly from the elements representing “eight” in their terms for “eighty”. The term employed by them is recorded by M Pinart in his second list and also by Sr Pimentel. Another peculiarity to be noted in the vocabulary of Mr Bartlett is the fact that for the numbers “thirteen” and “eighteen” he writes the same form. The latter is evidently miswritten, as the two are composed of identical elements. The explanation of this seems to be that in the former there is a subaudition of the element “ten”, and in the latter of the element “fifteen”.

It is equally instructive to mark the fact that the terms denoting “two, three, four, five” retain or preserve their fuller forms in their multiples, as in “twenty, thirty, forty, and fifty”.

The lists follow:

	McGee	Pinart		Bartlett	Pimentel (citing Tenochio)
1.	tó‘χun	tokχom tashsho	tohom	taso,	tujon
2.	ghá‘kom	kaχ´kum	kookχ´	kahom	kokjl, kujom
3.	pháum	p’χ´ao	kapχ´a	phraom	kupjtku
4.	sâ´hkūm	shoχ´kum	kshuχ´kŭă	scochhom	{kosojkl {kosojhl
5.	kwáetūm	kuaotom	kooχtom	huavat’hom	kouton
6.	náhpsūk	napshoχ´	imapkasho	napk’schoch	snapkashroj
7.	káhkwūū	kaχkχue	tomkaχkue	kachqhue	tomkujkcui
8.	páhkwūū	p’χakχue	kshoχolka	phraque	osrojoskum
9.	ksókhŭnt	soχanthe	ksovikanlχ´	sohántl	ksobbejoaul
10.	khóhnŭtl	χonalχ´	kanlχ´	honachtl	taul
11.				tantasóque
12.				tanchltoque
13.				tanchtaphraqhue
14.				[tanchltascochhom][333]
15.				tanchlhuavat’hom
16.				tanchlischnapk’schoch
17.				tanchltumkachqhue
18.				tanchlphraqhue
19.				tanchlsóvihantlqhue
20.	ŭntçkō´k		kanlχ´kookχ´	eanslkoch	taul jaukl
30.	ŭntçkō´pka			eans’lkapka
40.	ŭntçksō´k			eans’lscoch
50.	ŭntçkóitum			eanslkovat’hom
60.	ŭntçěsnŭpkŭ´schōp			eansly’schnapk’schoch
70.	ŭntçtŭngŭ`kwŭ´k			eansltumkachqhue
80.	ŭ´ntçkuschohotkŭm			eanslhschoholchkom
90.	ŭntçksegŭnt			eanslsovikakt’l
100.	ŭntçgŭntl			hiantlkantl	taul taul
200.	ŭnz-ŭ´ntç-kō´k
300.	ŭnz-ŭntç-kŏ´pka
400.	ŭnz-ŭntç-kŭkschō´k
500.	ŭnz-ŭntç-kóitum
600.	ŭnz-ŭntç-ŭsnŭpkŭ´schos
700.	ŭnz-ŭntç-diŭnkwŭŭk
1000.	ŭnz-untç kŭ´nz