The Serian vocable for “tooth” is a compound term, being composed of elements denoting “mouth” and “stone”. In the Seri word-collection of Professor McGee attě´nn signifies “mouth”; atta-moχ, “lower lip”, possibly “down about the mouth”; attahk, “saliva” (“water of the mouth”); attahkt, “the chin”; takōps, “upper lip”; attěms, “beard”; ata`st, “tooth”; and a`st, “rock, stone”. Mr Bartlett, in his vocabulary, recorded îten, “mouth”; ita-mocken, “beard”; and hast, “stone”. M Pinart, in his Seri word list, wrote hiten, “mouth”; hita-mokken, “beard”; and hast, “stone”. Lastly, Sr Tenochio wrote iten, “mouth”, and ahste, “stone”, in ahsteka “large, high stone, rock”. Sr Tenochio also recorded obeke, “hair, down (pelo)”. One of the peculiarities of the sounds represented by the letters m and b is that in many instances they grade one into the other. There is here, seemingly, a case in point. The moχ of Professor McGee, the mocken of Mr Bartlett, the mokken of M. Pinart, and the obeke of Sr Tenochio appear to be cognates. Substituting m for the b in obeke, omeke results, which is approximately the moχ, mocken, mokken cited above. Hence, hita-mokken and its congeners, it seems, signify “down of the mouth”. In attahk, “saliva”, the element combining with attě (for it is plain that the final -n is dropped in compounding) is `ahk or `akh, “water”, so that this compound signifies, literally, “water of the mouth”. These analyses show that attě´nn, iten, and hiten, dropping the final n-sound, unite with other elements in the form attě, ite, and hite, respectively. Now, these, in combination with a`st or ast, “stone”, become, respectively, atta`st, itast, and hitast, the forms of the word for “tooth” recorded by Professor McGee, Mr Bartlett, and M Pinart, in the order given. The Seri name for “tooth” signifies, then, literally “stone of the mouth” or “stones of the mouth”. This analysis demonstrates the lack of relationship between the Serian and Yuman names for tooth.
The comparative schedules of names for “foot” in the Serian and the Yuman languages show no accordances of a phonetic character tending to show any genetic relationship between the two groups compared.
| SERIAN | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arm | Hand | Finger(s) | Thumb | Fingernail(s) | |||||
| A. | mĭ`noŭllt` | A. | {ŭnollk, {ŭnlŭhss` {unlă’hss` | A. | ŭnut- | A. | ŭnultekōk | A. | ŭnosk |
| B. | inoyl | B. | inosiskersk | B. | inosshack | B. | B. | inósk’l | |
| C. | innolχ´ | C. | intl̃ash | C. | inol’tis | C. | inol’vekoχ | C. | inoskl̃χ´ |
| D. | inls | D. | D. | D. | D. | ||||
| YUMAN | |||||||||
| 2b. | sote (White) | 10. | sal | 3. | ainchaho (Heintzelman) | 1. | sal-kövatéa | 6. | salgolyoho |
| 1. | t’hótii | 11. | sal | 6. | salgoharaba | 10. | sal-guvetee | 23. | salẖow |
| 10. | thutii | 21. | sál | 21. | salsělawhó= “fingernail” | 11. | {săl-qovutéh {sal-guviteye | 21. | sál saleehó |
| 11. | thutiya (Gilbert) | 18. | säl | 23. | salchepa | 18. | säl-kuběté | 7. | saltilyoho (Gibbs) |
| 18. | thudí | 22. | sále | 11. | {săltiqĭ {saltida | 21. | sal-kŭbité | 9. | hisalyekělyěhó |
| 13. | mevee | 1. | sálle | 10. | saltídya | 9. | hisalye-kûbûtá | 8. | isalculyiho |
| 4. | mibiísch | 23. | esal | 15. | selchkasow | 19. | shál-gubdé | 16. | asshatlkay-show (o as in bough) |
| 7. | {meebeenya {(Mowry) {hibí (Gibbs) | 24. | esalch | 23. | sal-kootai | ||||
| 12. | eesálche | 2. | shal-kóta | ||||||
| 7. | eesarlya (Mowry) | ||||||||
| 9. | hivipúk | 15. | selchpayén | 12. | esalche serap | 13. | shal-kserap | 12. | eesalche calla hotche |
| 2a. | vuyeboka | 7. | hisála (Gibbs) | 24. | esalchqualy- umas | 5. | hisháltye- watásh | 13. | meshalkleho |
| 21. | sál | 9. | hisalkothar̃ápa | 8. | isalcusirape | 20. | ishallchevetá | 7. | meesarlquilyoho (Mowry) |
| 11. | (sál)hănōvă =“right hand” (Renshawe) | 14. | isalgh | 9. | hisalkothar̃- ápa | I. | ginyakyuqui | 15. | selchkawaoh |
| 26. | satl` | 8. | isalsicon | 17. | shaẖ | 25. | hasuth-kapatai | 14. | selkeshau |
| 15. | selch | 17. | shaẖ (ẖ=χ) | 3. | shawas (Peabody) | 26. | sakl-pĭtai | 18. | sělěhó |
| 24. | esalch | 19. | shál | 4. | eshaki- sharábish | 19. | shělahó | ||
| 12. | {eeseth´l, {èsee´l | 2. | shala | 19. | shál | 20. | shallglojó | ||
| 23. | esílmok | 5. | shalkeseráps | 5. | shalkeseráps shèndish | 1. | siluw`or | ||
| 6. | isálya | 4. | eshalish | 13. | shalkeserap | 2. | shalahuó | ||
| 8. | isale | 20. | eshallchag- hpeyén | 2. | shalagaite =“thumb” | 25. | silyawhó | ||
| 14. | isalgh | 13. | meshal | 20. | eshallque- sharáp | 17. | shaẖnepool | ||
| 17. | shaẖ (ẖ=χ) | 16. | asshatl | 16. | asshalscarap | 10. | setehóa | ||
| 19. | shál | 25. | h`asătlkwia- yěl | 25. | hasuthkwaiimut | 11. | sĭtăhwóû | ||
| 20. | eshall | 6. | hathbink | 7. | {meesarlqui- thahrapa (Mowry) {sequaharapa (Gibbs) | 5. | keshliwoχósh | ||
| 5. | ishalísh | I. | ginyak | I. | ginyakyuqui | 3. | elcawho´p (Peabody) | ||
| 16. | asshatl | II. | naganná | II. | ignimbal | 4. | eshekiohoósh | ||
| 25. | h`asath` | III. | naganná | III. | ignimbal | 24. | esalchqualyu- how | ||
| I. | ginyakpak | IV. | naganná | IV. | ìñimbal | I. | ginyakka | ||
| II. | guenebí | 14. | enepul | II. | geneka | ||||
| 3. | {shawarra (Peabody) {arowhur | ||||||||
Prominent among the data set forth to establish an alleged genetic linguistic relationship between the Serian and the Yuman tongues has been the word “hand” as represented in the languages in question.
A discriminating examination, however, of the accompanying comparative schedules, comprising the words “arm, hand, finger, thumb, and fingernail,” fails to reveal any evidence that any genetic relationship exists between the languages here subjected to comparison.
It has been suggested that the relationship is established through the Yuman sal (shala, isalgh=isalχ), “hand”, etc., and the Serian name for “wing” as recorded by M. Pinart, namely, isselka; but Mr. Bartlett wrote this word iseka without the l, so this sound may or may not be genetic. But it has not been shown that isselka or iseka ever signified “hand, arm, finger, thumb, fingernail”, to a Seri, or that it is a component element in any one of these five terms in the Serian tongue; and so it is apparently futile, in the absence of historical evidence, to attempt to employ this term iseka or isselka, “wing”, as an assumed cognate of the Yuman sal, to establish linguistic relationship between the languages.
COMPARATIVE LIST OF SERIAN FINGER-NAMES
| McGee | Pinart | Bartlett | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thumb | ŭnŭltékok | inol´vekoχ | ||
| Forefinger | ŭnŭ´lstess | inol´tis | ||
| Middle finger | ŭnŭltemŭ´ka`p | inol´l´emakkap | ||
| Ring finger | ŭnŭlteépa | inol´tip | ||
| Little finger | ŭnŭlschálk | inol´shak | ||
| Arm | {mĭ´noŭllt {mĭnoŭlld | innolχ´ | i-noyl | |
| Wrist | ŭnuhpkĭht | inoliavap´χ´a | ||
| Hand | {ŭnollk {ŭnlŭ´hss`, ŭunlă´hss` | intl̃ash | i-nos-is-kersk | |
| Fingers | inol´tis | {i-nos-shack {i-nos-shack-itova= “toes” | ||
| Right hand | inol´l´apa | |||
| Left Hand | istl̃ik | |||
| Finger nails | ŭnosk` | inoskl̃χ´ | i-nósk´l | |
It would seem, that the term given by M Pinart for “fingers” is not accurate, since he has previously recorded it for “forefinger”, in which he is confirmed by Professor McGee. It seems probable that the literal signification of the term for “little finger” is “son (or offspring) of the hand.” Professor McGee writes i-sahk for “son” as said by the father, and M Pinart writes isaak for the same idea.
| SERIAN | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wing(s) | Feather(s) | Bird | |||
| A. | A. | A. | |||
| B. | iséka | B. | hrekina, = “bird feather” | B. | schaîk; (schek-)[337] |
| C. | isselka | C. | inna | C. | shek; (shiik-) |
| D. | D. | D. | |||
| YUMAN | |||||
| 2. | sha | 4. | shabílsh | 2. | tishá |
| 13. | eeshalk´sab̲i̲llus | 5. | shawílsh | 17a. | tăchā (San Tomas) |
| 7. | ibīlya (Gibbs) eebeelya (Mowry) | 7. | seebeelya (Mowry) siviya (Gibbs) | 19. | itisha; tyesha |
| 9. | hivílyě | 6. | sivílya | 22. | tesya |
| 11. | wă´lă | 9. | sivílya | 21. | tcĭsá |
| 18. | wálle | 8. | sewailye | I. | ic̲h̲a |
| 23. | oowaloo | 17. | shawalh | 14. | asha |
| 4. | melahótch | 12. | sahwith´l | 15. | asa |
| 20. | -millajo, (etsiyerre-)[338] | 13. | sab̲il; (sawillch[339]) | 18. | isá=“eagle” |
| 21. | wĭrawídă | 10. | seguala | 11. | {issā,=“raven” {ŭsă=“eagle” (Gilbert) |
| 24. | wirrawir | 19. | wála | 13a. | shuh |
| 17. | wurawir; (whīrrawhiuh[340]) | 23. | tewalooeme | 6. | atsiyéra |
| 16. | erwirry | 15. | hewirwírr | 16. | erwirry7.{cheeyura {achiéra (Gibbs) |
| 15. | -awirr (hewichitt-) | 24. | wirrawir | 9. | achiyěra = “small birds” |
| 8. | eyerk | 21. | apa-quirrh = “tail feather” | 17b. | cheeyara |
| I. | ic̲h̲quan | 18. | {wálle {mûséma=“quills” | 20. | etsiyerre |
| II. | goumó | 20. | -ěěmist (etsiyerre-) | 5. | teseyérekopaí |
| 26. | wŭrrawŭrra | 2. | mata | 23. | kewalo |
| I. | ic̲h̲quan | 4. | e-yê´rk | ||
| II. | nhamba | 8. | noosquivira | ||
| 16. | sohmay sharwattěl[341] | 10. | kipay | ||
| 26. | limith | II. | kabto | ||
| 13b. | ahermá | ||||
| 16. | sohquiah (i in like) | ||||
| 24. | sepa | ||||