A Record of Study in Aboriginal American Languages Part 3

Nos. (45), (46), (47), (49) and (54), have been already mentioned.

The term _Chilan balam_, which may be freely rendered "the inspired speaker," was the t.i.tle of certain priests of the native Mayas. Many records in the Maya tongue, written after the conquests, go by the name of "the Books of Chilan Balam." They have never been published, but copies of them, made by Dr. Berendt, are in my possession. Their purpose and contents were described in (50).

There are reasons for believing that previous to the arrival of the Cakchiquels in Guatemala its area was largely peopled by Xincas. Of this little-known stock I present in (58) three extended vocabularies, from unpublished sources, with comments on the "culture-words."

Some apparent but no decisive affinities between the Otomi of Mexico and the Tinne or Athapascan dialects are shown in (55); and in (59) the ancient Guetares of Costa Rica are proved, on linguistic evidence, to have been members of the Talamancan linguistic stock.

The Matagalpan is an interesting family, first defined in _The American Race_, and in (60) more fully discussed, as they survive in San Salvador.

In (61) some unpublished vocabularies from the tribe of the Ramas, on the Mosquito coast, place them as members of the Changuina stock, most of whom dwelt on the Isthmus of Panama.

IV. SOUTH AMERICAN AND ANTILLEAN LANGUAGES.

62. Remarks on the MS. Arawack Vocabulary of Schultz. In _Proceedings_ of the American Philosophical Society, 1869.

63. The Arawack Language of Guiana in its Linguistic and Ethnological Relations. In _Transactions_ of the American Philosophical Society, 1871.

64. Studies in South American Languages. pp. 67. In _Proceedings_ of the American Philosophical Society, 1892.

65. Some words from the Andagueda dialect of the Choco stock. In _Proceedings_ of American Philosophical Society, November, 1897.

66. Vocabulary of the Noanama dialect of the Choco stock. In _Proceedings_ of the American Philosophical Society, November, 1896.

67. Note on the Puquina Language of Peru. In _Proceedings_ of the American Philosophical Society, November, 1890.

68. Further Notes on the Betoya dialects. In _Proceedings_ of the American Philosophical Society, October, 1892.

69. The Linguistic Cartography of the Chaco Region. In _Proceedings_ of the American Philosophical Society, October, 1898.

70. Further Notes on Fuegian Languages. In _Proceedings_ of the American Philosophical Society, 1892.

71. On two recent, uncla.s.sified Vocabularies from South America. In _Proceedings_ of the American Philosophical Society, October, 1898.

The library of the American Philosophical Society contains a MS. copy of the Arawack vocabulary of the missionary Schultz, the same work, apparently, which was edited from another copy by M. Lucien Adam in 1882. A study of this MS. led me to discover the ident.i.ty of the so-called "Lucayan" of the Bahamas, the language of Cuba, fragments of which have been presented, and the "Taino" of Haiti, with the Arawack.

They had previously been considered either of Mayan or Caribbean affinities. The results are presented in (63).

The "Studies" in (64) are ten in number. No. I. is on the Tacana language and its dialects, and is the only attempt, up to the present time, to determine the boundaries and character of this tongue. Texts and a vocabulary in five of its dialects are given. No. II. is on the Jivaro or Xebero tongue, and is entirely from unpublished sources. A grammatical sketch, texts and a vocabulary give a moderately complete material for comparison. No. III. presents the first printed account of the Cholona language on the River Huallaga, drawn from MSS. in the British Museum. In No. IV. is a discussion of the relations of the Leca language spoken on the Rio Mapiri. No. V. contains a text of some length in the Manao dialect of the Arawack stock, the original MS. being in the British Museum. The Bonaris are an extinct tribe of the Carib stock. No.

VI. contains the only vocabulary which has been preserved of their dialect. On a loose sheet in the British Museum, among papers on Patagonia, I found a short vocabulary in a tongue called "Hongote,"

which I could not locate and hence published it in No. VII. It subsequently proved to be one of the North Pacific Coast languages. The same "Study" presents a comparative vocabulary in fourteen Patagonian dialects, with notes (Tsoneca, Tehuelche, Puelche, Tekennika (Yahgan), Alikuluf, etc.). In Study No. VIII. are discussed the various dialects of the Kechua or Quichua tongue of Peru, with an unpublished text from the Pacasa dialect. No. IX. examines the affinities which have been noted between the languages of North and South America, especially in the Mazatec and Costa Rican dialects of the northern Continent. Finally, No. X. aims to define for the first time the linguistic stock to which belong the dialects of the Betoyas, Tucanos, Zeonas and other tribes on the rivers Napo, Meta, Apure and their confluents. Further information on this stock is given in (68).

The Choco stock extends widely over the northwest angle of the southern continent. In (65) and (66) I have printed short vocabularies of some of its dialects secured for me from living natives by Mr. Henry G.

Granger.

The Puquina language of Peru was quite unknown to linguists when, in 1890, I published the article (67) containing material in it from the extremely rare work of Geronimo de Ore, ent.i.tled _Rituale Peruanum_ (Naples, 1607). Since then an extended essay upon it has been written by M. de la Gra.s.serie.

In the "Further Notes on the Fuegian Languages" (70), I have printed an Alikuluf vocabulary of 1695, with comparisons, and given a vocabulary of the idiom of the Onas, pointing out some affinities with the Yahgan.

Few linguistic areas on the continent have been more obscure than that called "El Gran Chaco," in northern Argentina and southern Bolivia. In (69) I have mapped the area from 20 to 30 south lat.i.tude and 56 to 66 west longitude, defining the boundaries of each of the seven linguistic stocks which occupied it, to wit, the Ennima, Guaycuru, Lule, Mataco, Quechua, Samucu and Tupi, with discussions of some uncertain dialects, as the Calchaqui, Lengua, Querandi, Charua, Payagua.

In (70) recent vocabularies of the Andoa and Cataquina tongues are examined and their linguistic relations discussed.

Many of the above articles, written previous to 1890, were collected by me in that year and published in a volume ent.i.tled "Essays of an Americanist" (pp. 489. Philadelphia). For the convenience of those who may wish to refer to them I add here a complete list of the essays which it contains.

PART I.--ETHNOLOGIC AND ARCHaeOLOGIC.--A Review of the Data for the Study of the Prehistoric Chronology of America. On Palaeoliths, American and others. On the alleged Mongolian Affinities of the American Race. The Probable Nationality of the Mound-Builders of the Ohio Valley. The Toltecs of Mexico and their Fabulous Empire.

PART II.--MYTHOLOGY AND FOLK-LORE.--The Sacred Names in the Mythology of the Quiches of Guatemala. The Hero-G.o.d of the Algonkins as a Cheat and Liar. The Journey of the Soul in Egyptian, Aryan and American Mythology. The Sacred Symbols of the Cross, the Svastika and the Triqetrum in America. The Modern Folk-lore of the Natives of Yucatan. The Folk-lore of the Modern Lenape Indians.

PART III.--GRAPHIC SYSTEMS AND LITERATURE.--The Phonetic Elements in the Hieroglyphs of the Mayas and Mexicans. The Ikonomatic Method of Phonetic Writing used by the Ancient Mexicans. The Writings and Records of the Ancient Mayas of Yucatan. The Books of Chilan Balam, the Sacred Volume of the Modern Mayas. Translation of the Inscription on "The Stone of The Giants" at Orizaba, Mexico. The Poetry of the American Indians, with Numerous Examples.

PART IV.--LINGUISTIC.--American Aboriginal Languages, and why we should study them. Wilhelm von Humboldt's Researches in American Languages. Some Characteristics of American Languages. The Earliest Form of Human Speech, as Revealed by American Languages. The Conception of Love, as expressed in some American Languages. The Lineal Measures of the Semi-Civilized Nations of Mexico and Central America. The Curious Hoax about the Taensa Language.

FOOTNOTES:

[6-1] _Beitrage zur Lehre der Wortzusammensetzung._ Leiden. 1896.

[6-2] In this connection I would refer students to an instructive pa.s.sage of Heinrich Wrinkler on "Die Hauptformen in den Amerikanischen Sprachen," in his work _Zur Sprachgeschichte_ (Berlin, 1887) and to his essay on the Pokonchi Language in his _Weiteres zur Sprachgeschichte_, (Berlin, 1889).

[6-3] See my remarks on this tongue in the _American Anthropologist_, August, 1898, p. 251.

[6-4] Interesting examples in the Preface to S. T. Rand's _Micmac Dictionary_ (Halifax, 1888).

[6-5] Notably with Steinthal's _Charakteristik des hauptsachlichsten Typen des Sprachbaues._

[12-1] _The Myths of the New World_ (third edition, 1896); _American Hero Myths_ (1881).

[12-2] _Life and Traditions of the Red Man_ (Bangor, 1893).

[12-3] _New Views of the Origin of the Tribes of America_ (Philadelphia, 1798).

[13-1] _Actas del Congreso Internacional de Americanistas_, Tom. II., pp. 310-315.

[13-2] See the article "The Curious Hoax of the Taensa Language," in my _Essays of an Americanist_, pp. 452-467. (Philadelphia, 1890.)

[13-3] In Tome XI., of the _Bibliotheque Linguistique Americaine_.

[13-4] Privately printed, 1867.

[16-1] See Garrick Mallery in _10th Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology_, pp. 133, sqq. (Washington, 1893).