It is next in order to consider to what degree the parts of speech are
differentiated in Indian languages, as compared with English.
Indian nouns are extremely connotive, that is, the name does more than
simply denote the thing to which it belongs; in denoting the object it
also assigns to it some quality or characteristic. Every object has many
qualities and characteristics, and by describing but a part of these
the true office of the noun is but imperfectly performed. A strictly
denotive name expresses no one quality or character, but embraces all
qualities and characters.
In _Ute_ the name for bear is _he seizes_, or _the hugger_. In this
case the verb is used for the noun, and in so doing the Indian names the
bear by predicating one of his characteristics. Thus noun and verb are
undifferentiated. In _Seneca_ the north is _the sun never goes there_,
and this sentence may be used as adjective or noun; in such cases noun,
adjective, verb, and adverb are found as one vocable or word, and the
four parts of speech are undifferentiated. In the _Pavaent_ language a
school-house is called _po-kunt-in-in-yi-kaen_.
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