VII. THE PIMA, ÓPATA, AND CERI LANGUAGES…

VII. THE PIMA, ÓPATA, AND CERI LANGUAGES

PIMA ALTO AND BAJO -- PÁPAGO -- PIMA GRAMMAR -- FORMATION OF PLURALS -- PERSONAL PRONOUN -- CONJUGATION -- CLASSIFICATION OF VERBS -- ADVERBS, PREPOSITIONS, CONJUNCTIONS, AND INTERJECTIONS -- SYNTAX OF THE PIMA -- PRAYERS IN DIFFERENT DIALECTS -- THE ÓPATA AND EUDEVE -- EUDEVE GRAMMAR -- CONJUGATION OF ACTIVE AND PASSIVE VERBS -- LORD'S PRAYER -- ÓPATA GRAMMAR -- DECLENSION -- POSSESSIVE PRONOUN -- CONJUGATION -- CERI LANGUAGE WITH ITS DIALECTS, GUAYMI AND TEPOCA -- CERI VOCABULARY.

From the Rio Gila southward, in Sonora and in certain parts of northern Sinaloa, is found the Pima language, spoken in many dialects, of which the principal divisions are the Pima alto and Pima bajo, or upper and lower Pima, and it has generally been considered one of the chief languages of northern Mexico. North of the thirty-second parallel, the Pápago is the dominant dialect of the Pima; in Sonora there are the Sobaipuri and others more or less divergent.[VII'-1] The Pima as compared with the languages of their northern and southern neighbors is represented as complete, full, and harmonious.[VII'-2] Although frequently classified with the Yuma, it is nevertheless a distinct tongue. It is closely connected with the Aztec-Sonora languages, which may be proven no less by its grammatical coincidences, than by the similarity of many of its words.[VII'-3] Following is an extract from a Pima grammar. The alphabet consists of the following letters: a, b, c, d, g, h, i, j, m, n, o, p, q, r, rh, s, t, u, v, x, y. Nearly all words end with a vowel. To form the plural, the first syllable of the singular noun is duplicated--hota, stone; hohota, stones. Exceptions to this rule occur in some few cases;--vinoy, snake; vipinoy, snakes; tuaia, girl; tusia, girls; sisi, brother; sisiki, brothers; tuvu, hare; tutuapa, hares. Gender is expressed by means of the words ubi, female, and ituoti, male. Derivatives expressing something which partakes of the nature of the primitive are formed with the affix magui;--xaivori, honey; xaivorimaqui, honeyed. For the same purpose the terminal kama is also used;--hadunikama, related to. Kama is also employed to form names of places and patronymics. Abstract words are formed with the word daga;--humatkama, man; humatkamadaga, mankind; stoa, white; stoadaga, whiteness. The particle parha, affixed to nouns implies a past condition;--nigaga, my land for planting; nigaga parha, the land for planting which was mine.

[Sidenote: PIMA GRAMMAR.]

PERSONAL PRONOUNS.

SINGULAR.

FIRST PERSON. SECOND PERSON.

Nom. ani an'ani | Nom api ap'api Gen., Dat., ni | Gen., Dat., and Abl. mu and Abl. Acc. ni, nunu, nu | Acc. mumu, mu | Voc. api

PLURAL.

Nom. ati, at'ati | Nom., and Voc. apimu Gen., Dat.,ti | Gen., Dat., and Abl. amu and Abl. Ac., ti, tutu, tu | Ac. amumu, amu

THIRD PERSON.

He, or she, hugai huka | They, those, nugama, hukama

CONJUGATION OF THE VERB AQUIARIDA, TO COUNT.

PRESENT INDICATIVE.

I count, ani haquiarida | We count, ati haquiarida Thou countest, api haquiarida | You count, apimu haquiarida He counts, hugai haquiarida | They count, hugam haquiarida

IMPERFECT. PERFECT.

I counted, ani haquiarid cada | I have counted, an't' haquiari

PLUPERFECT.

I had counted, an't'haquiarid cada

FIRST FUTURE.

I shall count, ani aquiaridamucu, or an't'io haquiari

SECOND FUTURE.

I shall have counted, an't' io haquiari

IMPERATIVE.

Count thou, haquiaridani, or hahaquiarida Count you, haquiarida vorha, or gorha haquiarida

PRESENT SUBJUNCTIVE.

If I count, co'n'igui haquiaridana

PRESENT OPTATIVE.

O that I may count, dod' an' iki haquiaridana When I am counting haquiaridatu (speaking of one person only), Speaking of two persons, haquiaridada Having counted, haquiaridac When I count, or after counting, haquiaridaay He who counts, haquiaridadama He who counted, haquiaridacama He who has to count, haquiaridaaguidama, or io haquiaridacama

Verbs are divided into many classes, such as singular, plural, frequentative, applicative, and compulsive. Plural-verbs--murha, to run, one person; vopobo, to run, many. Frequentatives are formed with the verb himu, to go; for example, vaita, to call; vaitahimu, to call frequently. Applicatives are made by changing the terminal vowel of the verb into i, and adding the terminal da--tubanu, to lower; tubanida, to lower something. Compulsive verbs are formed with the affix tuda--hukiaridatuda, to compel to count. A large number of adverbs are used, of which I give only a few specimens:

Where ua, ubai Near here iavu Here ia High tai Here (moving) ay Yesterday taco Near mia How, as xa, astu, xaco Nearer miacu No pima

PREPOSITIONS.

Before vaita Since oiti For iquiti, vusio With bumata, buma Upon damana Of amidurhu In aba

CONJUNCTIONS.

And upu, cosi Or aspumusi, aspi But posa Then bunoga Because coiva Although apcada

Substantives are generally placed after the adjectives. To signify possession the name of the possessor is simply prefixed--Pedro onnigga, wife of Pedro. Prepositions are affixed.[VII'-4] Of the different dialects there are four specimens, of which one differs to such an extent as to be hardly recognizable. Neither the names of these dialects nor the places where they were spoken are given with any of them by the authorities. The first which I give is by the missionary Father Pfefferkorn, and differs most from any of the others.

Diosch ini mam, ami si schoic tat, wus in' ipudakit. God my dear, I very sorry am towards my heart of

Ant' apotuta si sia pitana, apt' um soreto I have done very much ugly, thou me punish wilt

taikisa pia humac tasch pia etonni tat. fire in no single time not burning is.

The next, a Lord's Prayer, is from a Doctrina Christiana:

T'oga ti dama ca tum' ami da cama s'cuga m'aguna mu tuguiga, tubui divianna simu tuodidaga. Cosasi m'huga cugai kiti ti dama catum' ami gusuda huco bupo gusudana ia duburh' aba. Siari vugadi ti coadaga vutu ica tas' aba cati maca. Vpu gat' oanida pima s'cugati tuidiga cos' as' ati pima tuguitoa t'obaga to buy pima s'cuga tuidiga. Pima t' huhuguida tudana vpu pima s'cuga tuidiga, co' pi ti duguvonidani pima scuga ami durhu. Doda hapu muduna Jhs.

The next is a Lord's Prayer from Hervás:

T'oca titauacatum ami dacama; scuc amu aca mu tukica; ta hui dibiana ma tuotidaca; cosassi mu cussuma amocacugai titamacatum apa hapa cussudana inatuburch apa mui siarim t'hukiacugai buto ca tu maca. Pim' upu ca tukitoa pima scuca ta tuica cosas ati pima tukitoa t'oopa amidurch pima scuca tuitic; pim' upu ca ta dakitoa co diablo ta hiatokidara; cupto ta itucuubundana pim scuc amidurch.

The fourth, also a Lord's Prayer, is from the collection of the Mexican Geographical Society:

Chóga dáma cáta diácamá izquiáma ña meitilla tabus matúyaga cosamacai yí, dama cata gussada imidirraba Sulit ecuadaga butis maca vupuc chuan yiga cosismatito chavaga tiapisnisquantillos pinitiandaná copetullañi imisquiandura dodá maduná cetús.

From the same source I also take a Pápago Lord's Prayer:

Pan toc momo tamcaschina apeta michucuyca Santo: anchut botonia ati chuyca: entupo hoyehui maetachui apo masima motepa cachitmo, mapotomal pami buemasitaapa, jummo tomae, boetoicusipua chuyechica, apomasi maza china sugocuita juann motupay assimi qui, jubo gibu matama cazi pachuichica, panchit borrapi. Amen.[VII'-5]

[Sidenote: THE DIALECTS OF THE ÓPATA LANGUAGE.]

Wedged in between the Pima alto and the Pima bajo, is the Ópata, or Teguima, with its principal dialect the Eudeve. Although the Ópata and Eudeve have generally been enumerated as distinct languages, after careful comparison I think with the missionaries who were conversant with both, that it will be safe to call the one a dialect of the other. An anonymous author even says that the difference between them is not greater than between the Portuguese and Castilian, or between the French and the Provençal.[VII'-6] Like the Pima, it is a branch of the Aztec-Sonora languages. As is most frequent on the Pacific Coast, classification differs greatly according to fancy; thus it is with the Ópata; its classifications have been many, and among others it has been placed with the Pima family. Many dialects are mentioned, but little is said of them. Of these there are the Teguis, Teguima, Coguinachi, Batuca, Sahuaripa, Himeri, Guazaba, and Jova.[VII'-7] The Ópata is represented as finished, easy to acquire, and abounding in eloquent expressions.[VII'-8] Of the Eudeve dialect I insert a few grammatical remarks. In the alphabet are wanting the letters f, j, k, w, x, y, and l; vowels are pronounced as in the Spanish; nouns are declined without the aid of articles. Verbal nouns are frequently used;--hiósguadauh, painting or writing, from hiósguan, I write. Nouns as names of instruments are formed from the future active of verbs, designating the action performed by the said instrument;--métecan, I chop; future, métetze, by changing its last syllable into siven, forms métesiven--as a noun, meaning axe or chopper. In some cases the ending rina is used instead of siven;--bícusirina, flute, from bicudan, I whistle, and bihirina, shovel, from bihán, I scrape. Abstract nouns are formed with the particles ragua or súra--váde, joyously, váderagua, joy; déni, good, déniragua, goodness; dóhme, man or people; dóhmeragua, humanity. All verbs are used as nouns, and as such are declined as well as conjugated;--hiósguan, I write, also means writer; nemútzau, I bewitch, is also wizard. Adjective nouns ending with téri and ei signify quality;--bavitéri, elegant; aresumetéri, different or distinct; tasúquei, narrow. The ending ráve denotes plenitude;--sitoráve, full of honey; sitóri, honey; and ráve, full. Endings in e, o, u, signify possession;--esé, she that has petticoats; nóno, he that has a father, from nónogua, father; sutúu, he that has finger-nails, from sutú. Ca prefixed to a word reverses its meaning;--cúne, married; cacúne, not married. Sguari, affixed, denotes an augmentative;--dotzi, old man; dotzísguari, very old man.

DECLENSION OF THE WORD SIIBI, HAWK.

Nom. siibi Acc. siibíc Gen. siiibíque Voc. siibí Dat. siibt Abl. sibítze

The plural of nouns is usually formed by duplication;--dor, man or male, plural dódor; hóit, woman, hóhoit, women. Some exceptions to this rule occur;--as, doritzi, boy, plural vus, applied to both sexes, but when intended only for males, it is dódorus. In some cases females employ different words from those used by the male sex; for example, the father says to his son, noguàt, to his daughter, mórqua; the mother says to either, nótzgua; the son says to the father, nonógua; and the daughter, mósgua.

[Sidenote: EUDEVE GRAMMAR.]

Personal pronouns are nee, I; nap, thou; id, at, or ar, he, or she; tamide, we; emet, or emíde, you; amét, or met, these or they. In joining pronouns with other words, elision takes place, the last letter or syllable of the pronouns being dropped.

CONJUGATION OF THE VERB HIÓSGUAN, I PAINT.

PRESENT INDICATIVE.

ACTIVE. PASSIVE.

I paint, nee hiósguan | I am painted, nee hiósguadauh Thou paintest, nap hiósguan | Thou art painted, náp hiósguadauh He paints, id, or | He is painted, id, or at hiósguan | at hiósguadauh We paint, tamide hiósguame | We are painted, tamide hiósguadagua You paint, emét hiósguame | You are painted, emét hiósguadagua They paint, amet hiósguame | They are painted, amet hiósguadagua

IMPERFECT.

I painted, nee hiósguamru | I was painted, nee hiósguadauhru

PERFECT.

I have painted, nee hiósguari | I have been painted, nee hiósguacauh or nee hiósguarit

PLUPERFECT.

I had painted, nee hiósguariru | I had been painted, nee hiósguacauhrutu

FIRST FUTURE.

I shall paint, nee hiósguatze | I shall be painted, nee hiósguatzidauh

Paint thou, hiósgua Paint ye, hiósguavu I will see that I paint, asmane hiósguatze I shall see that I be painted, asmane hiósguatzidauh Even though you paint, venésmana hiósguam I will that you paint, nee eme hiósguaco naquém I will that thou be painted, nee eme hiósguarico naquém Even though I may paint, venésmane hiósguam Even though I may be painted, venésmane hiósguadauh If I should paint, nee hiósguatzern I should be painted, nee hiósquatziudauhru

There are seven other kinds of verbs mentioned, such as frequentative, compulsive, applicative verbs, etc.

The numerals show more particularly a strong affinity to those of the Aztec language: 1. sei; 2. godum; 3. veidum; 4. nauoi; 5. marqui; 6. vusani; 7. seniovusáni; 8. gos návoi; 9. vesmácoi; 10. macoi.

THE LORD'S PRAYER.

Tamo Nóno, tevíctze catzi, cannè teguà, uéhoa vitzua terádauh. Tomo canne venè hasém amo quéidagua. Amo canne hinádocauh iuhtépatz éndaugh, teníctze endahtevèn. Quécovi tamo bádagua óqui tame mic. Tame náventziuh tame piuidedo tamo canáde émca; ein tamide tamo. Ovi tamo náven tziuhdahteven. Cana tótzi Diablo tatacóritze tame huétudenta; nassa tame hipùr cadénitzeuai.[VII'-9]

[Sidenote: ÓPATA GRAMMAR.]

Of the Ópata, there exists a grammar written by Natal Lombardo, from which a few remarks are here given. The alphabet: a, b, ch, d, e, g, h, i, k, m, n, o, p, r, rh, s, t, th, tz, u, v, x, z. Most words end with a vowel. Long words are not rare, as chumikanahuinaguat, name of a plant; kuguesaguataguikide, spring (season); makoisenignabussanibegua, seventeen. Gender is expressed either by the addition of the word, male or female, or by distinct words. The plural is formed by duplication; the manner of duplicating varies; sometimes the first, and at others the last syllable being repeated, and very frequently letters changed;--Temachi, lad; plural, tetemachi; höre, squirrel; plural, hohore; uri, male; plural, urini; vatziguat, brother; plural, vapatziguat; maraguat, daughter; plural, mamaraguat, daughters. Ten declensions are described; they may be recognized by different endings of the genitive, which are: te, ri, si, gui, ni, tzi, ki, ku, ku, pi. The greater number of words belong to the first declension. In the 2d, 3d, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, and 10th, the accusative and dative are the same as the genitive; in the 8th the genitive, which ends in ku, is formed from the accusative, while in the 9th, in which the genitive also ends in ku, the accusative and dative are like the nominative.

1st DECLENSION OF THE WORD TAT, THE SUN.

Nom. tät | Gen. tätte | Dat. or Acc. tätta

2d DECLENSION OF THE WORD KUKU, THE QUAIL.

Nom. kuku | Gen. kukuri | Dat. or Acc. kukuri

8th DECLENSION OF THE WORD CHI, THE BIRD.

Nom. chi | Gen. chimiku | Dat. or Acc. chimi

9th DECLENSION OF THE WORD TUTZI, THE TIGER.

Nom. tutzi | Gen. tutziku | Dat. or Acc. tutzi

Abstract terms are formed by the affix ragua;--massi, father; massiragua, paternity; naideni, good; naideniragua, goodness. The word ahka is used for a like purpose;--uri, man; uriahka, humanity; tossai, white; tossaiahka, whiteness. To express a local noun, the syllable de is added;--denide, place of light; neomachide, difficult place. Suraua, guëua, ena, en, essa, and otze, signify much, and are used to form superlatives. Personal pronouns are:--ne, I; ta, we; ma, thou; emido, you; i or it, he or she; me, they. Possessive pronouns are:--no, mine; tamo, ours; amo, thine; emo, yours; are, araku, his; mereki, theirs.

CONJUGATION OF THE VERB NE HIO, I PAINT.

PRESENT INDICATIVE.

I paint, ne hio | We paint, ta, or tamido hio Thou paintest, ma hio | You paint, emido hio He paints, i hio | They paint, me hio

IMPERFECT. PERFECT.

I painted, ne hiokaru | I have painted, ne hiosia, or ne hiove

PLUPERFECT. FIRST FUTURE.

I had painted, ne hiosiruta | I shall paint, ne hiosea

SECOND FUTURE.

I shall have painted, ne hioseave

IMPERATIVE.

Paint thou, hiotte | Paint you, hiovu Let him paint, hioseai | Let them paint, hioseame

Painting, hiopa, or hioko Having painted, hiosaru, or hiositzi Having to paint, hioseakoko, or hioseakiko He who shall paint, hioseakame He who paints, kiokame He who painted, hiosi

As in the Eudeve, there are in this language many classes of verbs, differing mostly in endings of certain persons. Prepositions and adverbs exist in great number. Finally I give a few of the conjunctions;--guetza, although; vesé, and; nemake, also; naneguari, why, etc.

THE LORD'S PRAYER.

Tamomas teguikaktzigua kakame amo tegua santo Of our father heaven in he who is of thee name holy

ah, amo reino tame makte, hinadoka iguati tevepa is, of thee kingdom to us give, thy will here earth on

ahnia teguikaktzi veri. Chiama tamo guaka veu be done heaven in so. Of all the days of us food now

tame mak, tame neavere tamo kainaideni ata api tamido to us give, to us forgive of us bad as also

neavere tamo opagua, kai tame taotidudare; kianaideni forgive of us enemy, not to us fall let; bad

chiguadu apita kaktzia.[VII'-10] of also deliver.

Following is the Lord's Prayer in the Jova dialect:

Dios Noiksa: Vantegueca cachi, sec jan itemijunalequa itemijunalequa motequán. Veda no parin, embeida mogitápejepa. Ennio ju güidade, naté, vite tevá, nate vanteguéca. Necho cuguírra, setata veté toomacá ento oreirá, en tobarurra, como ité yté topa oreira toon oreira seeján. Caa ton surratoga canecho jorrá sacu nuna dogüe seejan iguité caagüeta.

[Sidenote: SUPPOSED CERI AND WELSH SIMILARITIES.]

East of the Ópata and Pima bajo, on the shores of the gulf of California, and thence for some distance inland, and also on the island of Tiburon, the Ceri language with its dialects, the Guaymi and Tepoca, is spoken. Few of the words are known, and the excuse given by travelers for not taking vocabularies, is, that it was too difficult to catch the sound. It is represented as extremely harsh and guttural in its pronunciation, and well suited to the people who speak it, who are described as wild and fierce.[VII'-11] It is, so far as known, not related to any of the Mexican linguistic families. As in many other languages, some have fancied they saw Welsh traces in it; one writer thought he detected similarities to Arabic, but neither of these speculations are worth anything. The Arabic relationship has been disproven by Señor Ramirez, who compared the two, and the statement regarding the Welsh is given on the hearsay of some sailors, who are said to have stated that they thought they discovered some Welsh sounds, when hearing the Ceris speak.[VII'-12] I give here the only vocabulary which I have been able to find of this language:

Woman jidja Horse cai Population jiciri Room (chamber) migenman Milk junin More amen Wine amat Less tungurá Good tanjajipe Little jinás Better jipe

FOOTNOTES:

[VII'-1] 'Estos se parten en altos y bajos ... hasta los rios Xila y Colorado, aunque de otra banda de este hay muchos que hablan todavia el mismo idioma.' Alegre, Hist. Comp. de Jesus, tom. ii., p. 216. 'Los pimas bajos usan del mismo idioma con los altos, y estos con todas las demas parcialidades de indios que habitan los arenales y páramos de los pápagos, los amenos valles de Sobahipuris, las vegas de los rios Xila (á escepcion de los apaches) y Colorado, y aun el lado opuesto del último gran número de gentes, que á dicho del Padre Kino y Sedelmayr, no diferencian sino en el dialecto,' Sonora, Descrip. Geog., in Doc. Hist. Mex., série iii., tom. iv., pp. 534-5. 'Los opas, cocomaricopas, hudcoadan, yumas, cuhuanas, quiquimas, y otras mas allá del rio Colorado se pueden tambien llamar pimas y contar por otras tantas tribus de estar nacion; pues la lengua de que usan es una misma con sola la diferencia del dialecto.' Id., p. 554. Sonora, Estado de la Provincia, in Id., pp. 618-19; Sonora, Papeles, in Id., p. 772. 'Sobaypuris, y hablan en el idioma de los Pimas, aunque con alguna diferencia en la pronunciacion.' Villa-Señor y Sanchez, Theatro, tom. ii., p. 396; Ribas, Hist. de los Triumphos, p. 369. 'El idioma es igual, y con respecto al de los pimas se diferencian en muy determinadas palabras.' Velasco, Noticias de Sonora, p. 161; Zapata, Relacion, in Doc. Hist. Mex., série iv., tom. iii., p. 301, et seq. 'Las naciones Pima, Soba y sobaipuris ... es una misma y general el idioma que todos hablan, con poca diferencia de tal cual verbo y nombre' 'papabotas ... de la misma lengua.' Kino, Relacion, in Id., tom. i., pp. 292-3. Pimas 'usan todos una misma lengua, pero especialmente al Norte que en todo se aventaja á los demas, mas abundente y con mas primores que al Poniente y Pimería baja; todos no obstante se entienden.' Velarde, in Id., tom. i., p. 366. 'El pima se divide en varios dialectos, de los cuales ... el tecoripa y el sabagui.' Pimentel, Cuadro, tom. ii., p. 94. Orozco y Berra gives as dialects of the Pima, the Pápago, Sobaipuri, Yuma and Cajuenche. Geografía, pp. 58-9, 35-40, 345-53. Papàgos 'die mit den Pimas dieselbe Sprache reden.' Pfefferkorn, in Vater, Mithridates, tom. iii., pt iii., p. 159. 'Die Sprache der Sovaipure, als verwandt mit der Pima.' Id., p. 161. 'Aux Yumas ... se rattachent aussi, quant à la langue ... les Cocomaricopas et les tribus nombreuses qui, sous le nom de Pimos, s'étendent ... de la même souche paraissent venir aussi les Papayes ... mais dont la langue s'éloigne davantage de celle des Yumas.' Brasseur de Bourbourg, Esquisses, p. 30.

[VII'-2] 'Esta lengua distingue par flexion el singular del plural de los nombres sustantivos; coloca de las preposiciones despues de sus regímenes y las conjunciones al fin de las preposiciones: la sintáxis es muy complicada y del todo distinta de la de las lenguas Europeas.' Balbi, in Orozco y Berra, Geografía, p. 352; Bartlett's Pers. Nar., vol. ii., p. 262.

[VII'-3] 'Sie ist unfraglich und deutlich ein Glied des sonorischen Sprachstammes; aber wieder sehr eigenthümliches, selbständiges und wichtiges Idiom.' Buschmann, Pima-Sprache, p. 352. Family, Dohme.... Language, Pima.... Dialects, Opata, Heve, Nevome, Papagos, etc.' Hist. Mag., vol. v., p. 236. 'These tribes speak a common language, which is conceded to be the ancient Aztec tongue.' Davidson, in Ind. Aff. Rept., 1865, p. 131; Parker, in Id., 1869, p. 19.

[VII'-4] Arte de la Lengua Névome, que se dice Pima; Pimentel, Cuadro, tom. ii., pp. 93-118; Vater, Mithridates, tom. iii., pt iii., pp. 166-9; Coulter, in Lond. Geog. Soc., Jour., vol. xi., pp. 248-50; Parry, in Schoolcraft's Arch., vol. iii., pp. 461-2; Hist. Mag., vol. v., pp. 202-3; Buschmann, Pima-Sprache, pp. 357-69; Mofras, Explor., tom. ii., p. 401.

[VII'-5] Pfefferkorn, in Vater, Mithridates, tom. iii., pt iii., pp. 164-5; Pimentel, Cuadro, tom. ii., pp. 113-15; Doctrina Christiana, in Arte de la Lengua Névome, p. 3.; Buschmann, Pima-Sprache, p. 353; Col. Polidiómica Mex., Oracion Dominical, pp. 34-5.

[VII'-6] 'Á la Opata se pueden reducir los Edues y Jovas; aquellos, por diferenciar tan poco su lengua de la ópata, como la portuguesa de la castellana, ó la provenzal de la francesa.' 'La nacion Opata y Eudeve, que con muy poco diferencian en su idioma.' Sonora, Descrip. Geog., in Doc. Hist. Mex., série iii., tom. iv., pp. 534, 494. 'A las opatas se reducen los tovas y eudeves, poco diferentes en el idioma.' Alegre, Hist. Comp. de Jesus, tom. ii., p. 216.

[VII'-7] 'É vero, che fra alcune di queste lingue si scorge una tale affinità, che da tosto a divedere, che esse son nate da una medesima madre, sicome l'Eudeve, l'Opata, e la Tarahumara nell'America settentrionale.' Clavigero, Storia Ant. del Messico, tom. iv., p. 21; Hervás, Catálogo, tom. i., p. 333; Salmeron, Relaciones, in Doc. Hist. Mex., série iii., tom. iv., p. 68. 'Auch von den, nachher anzuführenden Opata und Eudeve sieht man aus Pfefferkorn, dass sie von eben denselben Missionären bedient wurden, wie die Pima: gleichwohl sind die Sprachen derselben, so weit sich aus den V. U. schliessen lässt, sehr verschieden.' Vater, Mithridates, tom. iii., pt iii., p. 161. Eudeve 'Ihre Verwandtschaft mit dem sonorischen Sprachstamme, als eines ächten Gliedes, mit erfreulicher Bestimmtheit beweisen.' 'Man kan sie (Opata) mit Ruhe und ohne viele Einschränkung als ein Glied in den sonorischen Sprachstamm einreihen.' Buschmann, Spuren der Aztek. Spr., pp. 227, 235; Orozco y Berra, Geografía, pp. 343-5.

[VII'-8] 'El idioma de los ópatas es muy arrogante ó elocuente en su espresion, fácil de aprender, y tiene muchas voces del castellano.' Velasco, Noticias de Sonora, p. 154.

[VII'-9] Smith's Gram. Heve Lang.; Hervás, in Vater, Mithridates, tom. iii., pt iii., pp. 165-6; Pimentel, Cuadro, tom. ii., pp. 154-67; Buschmann, Spuren der Aztek. Spr., pp. 222-9.

[VII'-10] Lombardo, in Pimentel, Cuadro, tom. i., pp. 407-445; Hervás, in Vater, Mithridates, tom. iii., pt iii., p. 166; Buschmann, Spuren der Aztek. Spr., pp. 229-236; Pimentel, in Soc. Mex. Geog., Boletin, tom. x., pp. 288-313; Col. Polidiómica Mex., Oracion Dominical, p. 11.

[VII'-11] 'Posee un idioma gutural muy dificil de aprender.' Velasco, Noticias de Sonora, p. 131. 'Los guaimas ... de la misma lengua.' Alegre, Hist. Comp. de Jesus, tom. ii., p. 216. 'Poco es la distincion que hay entre seri y upanguaima, ... y unos y otros casi hablan un mismo idioma.' Gallardo, in Doc. Hist. Mex., série iii., pp. 889; Sonora, Descrip. Geog., in Id., p. 535.

[VII'-12] 'Por su idioma ... se aparta completamente de la filiacion de las naciones que la rodean.' Orozco y Berra, Geografía, pp. 42, 353-4. 'Their language is guttural, and very different from any other idiom in Sonora. It is said that on one occasion, some of these Indians passed by a shop in Guaymas, where some Welsh sailors were talking, and on hearing the Welsh language spoken, stopped, listened, and appeared much interested; declaring that these white men were their brothers, for they had a tongue like their own.' Stone, in Hist. Mag., vol. v., p. 166; Lavandera, quoted by Ramirez, in Soc. Mex. Geog., Boletin, tom. ii., p. 148, and Ramirez, in Id., p. 149.

VIII. NORTH MEXICAN LANGUAGES

THE CAHITA AND ITS DIALECTS -- CAHITA GRAMMAR -- DIALECTIC DIFFERENCES OF THE MAYO, YAQUI, AND TEHUECO -- COMPARATIVE VOCABULARY -- CAHITA LORD'S PRAYER -- THE TARAHUMARA AND ITS DIALECTS -- THE TARAHUMARA GRAMMAR -- TARAHUMARA LORD'S PRAYER IN TWO DIALECTS -- THE CONCHO, THE TOBOSO, THE JULIME, THE PIRO, THE SUMA, THE CHINARRA, THE TUBAR, THE IRRITILA -- TEJANO -- TEJANO GRAMMAR -- SPECIMEN OF THE TEJANO -- THE TEPEHUANA -- TEPEHUANA GRAMMAR AND LORD'S PRAYER -- ACAXÉE AND ITS DIALECTS, THE TOPIA, SABAIBO, AND XIXIME -- THE ZACATEC, CAZCANE, MAZAPILE, HUITCOLE, GUACHICHILE, COLOTLAN, TLAXOMULTEC, TECUEXE, AND TEPECANO -- THE CORA AND ITS DIALECTS, THE MUUTZICAT, TEACUAEITZICA, AND ATEACARI -- CORA GRAMMAR.

We now come to the four Aztec-Sonora languages before mentioned, the Cora, the Cahita, the Tepehuana, and the Tarahumara, and their neighbors. I have already said that notwithstanding the Aztec element contained in them, they are in no wise related to each other.

[Sidenote: NUMEROUS LANGUAGES IN SINALOA.]

In the northern part of Sinaloa, extending across the boundary into Sonora, the principal language is the Cahita, spoken in many dialects, of most of which nothing is transmitted to us. Numerous languages, which were perhaps only dialects, are named in this region, and by some classed with the Cahita, but the information regarding them is vague and contradictory. No vocabularies or other specimens of them can be obtained, nor can I find anywhere mention that any were ever written. Of these there are the Zoe, the Guazave, the Vacoregue, the Batucari, the Aibino, the Ocoroni, which are mentioned as related, as also the Zuaque and Tehueco, and the Comoporis and Ahome. There are also the Mocorito and Petatlan, both distinct; the Huite, the Ore, the Varogio, the Tauro, the Macoyahui, the Troe, the Nio, the Cahuimeto, the Tepague, the Ohuero, the Chicorata, the Basopa, and two distinct tongues spoken at the Mission San Andres de Conicari, and four at the Mission of San Miguel do Mocorito.[VIII'-1] The only dialects of the Cahita, regarding which a few notes exist, and which at the same time appear to have been the principal ones, according to the best authorities, are the Mayo, Yaqui, and Tehueco.[VIII'-2] The Cahita language is copious, but will not readily express polite sentiments.[VIII'-3] Father Ribas says that the Yaquis always speak very loudly and arrogantly, and that when he asked them to lower their voice, they answered: "Dost thou not see that I am a Yaqui?" which latter word signifies, 'he who speaks loudly.'[VIII'-4]

A grammar of the Cahita was written in the year 1737, of which I give here an extract. The alphabet consists of the following letters: a, b, ch, e, h, i, j, k, l, m, n, o, p, r, s, t, u, v, y, z, tz.

There are three declensions; two for nouns, and the third for adjectives. To the first belong those words which end in a vowel, and also the participles ending with me and u; to the second, those ending with a consonant. Nouns ending with a vowel, and adjectives, form the plural by appending an m to the singular;--tabu, rabbit; tabum, rabbits. Those ending with a consonant affix im, and those ending with t affix zim;--paros, hare; parosim, hares; uikit, bird; uikitzim, birds. The personal pronouns are: inopo, neheriua, neheri, nehe, ne, I; itopo, iteriua, itee, te, we; empo, eheriua, eheri, ehee, e, thou; empom, emeriua, emeri, emee, em, you; uahaa, uahariua, uahari, he; uameriua, uameri, uamee, im, they.

CONJUGATION OF THE VERB TO LOVE.

PRESENT INDICATIVE.

I love, ne eria | We love, te eria Thou lovest, e eria | You love, em eria He loves, eria | They love, im eria

IMPERFECT. PERFECT.

I loved, ne eriai | I have loved, ne eriak

PLUPERFECT. FIRST FUTURE.

I had loved, ne eriakai | I shall love, ne erianake

SECOND FUTURE.

I shall have loved, ne eriasunake

IMPERATIVE.

Love thou, e eria, or e eriama Let him love, eria, or eriama Love you, em eriabu, or em eriamabu Let them love, im eriabu, or im eriamabu

PRESENT SUBJUNCTIVE.

If I love, ne eriauaua, or eriana

OPTATIVE.

O that I may love, netziyo eriayo

PRESENT PARTICIPLE.

Loving, eriakari, eriayo, eriako, or eriakako

INFINITIVE PASSIVE.

To be loved, erianaketeka, or erianakekari

He who loves, eriame | He who was loved, eriau He who has loved, eriakame | He who had loved, eriakau He who will love, erianakeme |

Of the many prepositions I only insert the following:--

To ui Below vetukuni, tukuni In tzi Toward venukutzi, patiua With ye For vetziu Before uepatzi, patzi Within uahiua Above vepa Whence kuni, uni

CONJUNCTIONS.

Also vetzi, suri, As if siua huneri, soko Although mautzi Thus huleni But vitzi, tepa Besides ioentoksoko, ientoik Not even tepesan If sok

The dialectic differences between the Mayo, Yaqui, and Tehueco are as follows;--the Yaquis and Mayos use the letter h, where the Tehuecos use s when it occurs in the middle of a word, and is followed by a consonant;--tuhta, by the Tehuecos is pronounced tusta. Other words also, by some are pronounced short, while others pronounce them long. The interjection of the vocative is with some hiua, and with others me. The pronoun nepo, the Yaquis use instead of inopo. The Mayos use the imperfect as before given; the Tehuecos end it with t, and the Yaquis with n. The pluperfect of the Tehuecos ends with k; that of the Yaquis with kam; that of the Maya with kai.

To illustrate dialectic differences, I insert a short comparative vocabulary, made up from a dictionary, a doctrina, and from words of the Mayo and two Yaqui dialects:

DICTIONARY. DOCTRINA. MAYO. YAQUI. YAQUI.

Father achai atzai hechai achay achai Our itom itom itom itom itom Be katek katek katek katek katek Respected aioiore ioiori llori llori iori Thine em em em em em Name tehua tehuam tegam teguam teguam Bread buahuame buaieu buanakem buailem buaye Daily matzukve makhukve makehut matehui machuk Give amaka amika amika amika mika To day ieni ieni hene ian hien Of vetana betana betana betana betana

The Lord's Prayer in the Cahita:

Itom atzai teuekapo katekame emtehuam checheuasu Our father heaven in he who is thy name very much

ioioriua, itom ipeisana emiauraua emuarepo imbuiapo be respected, to us that he may come thy kingdom thy will earth in

anua aman teuekapo anua eueni. Makhukve itom let it be done also heaven in is done as. Each day our

buaieu ieni itom amika, itome sok alulutiria itom bread to-day to us give, to us also forgive us

kaalanekau itome sok alulutiria eueni itom beherim sins we also we forgive as our enemies

kate sok itom butia huena kutekom uoti: emposi not and to us lead fall temptation in: thou

aman itom ioretua katuri betana. also us save no good (bad) of.

The Lord's Prayer in the Yaqui dialect:

Ytoma chay teque canca tecame emteguam cheheguasullorima yem iton llejosama. Emllauragua embalepo ynim buiajo angua. Aman teguecapo anguaben matehui itom buallem yan sitoma mica. Sor y toma a hitaria cala ytom á hitaria y topo á litariame ytom begerim catuise ytom bulilae contegotiama, ca juena cuchi emposu juchi aman ytom lloretuane caturim betana. Amen Jesus.[VIII'-5]

[Sidenote: GRAMMAR OF THE TARAHUMARA LANGUAGE.]

East of the Cahita, in the states of Chihuahua, Sonora, and Durango, an uncivilized and barbarous people inhabit the Sierra Madre, who speak the Tarahumara tongue, which contains the same Aztec element as the Cahita, but is otherwise, as previously stated, a distinct language. The principal dialects are the Varogio, Guazapare and Pachera.[VIII'-6] The Tarahumara is a rather difficult language to acquire, mainly owing to its pronunciation. The final syllables of words are frequently omitted or swallowed, and sometimes even the first syllables or letters. The accentuation also differs much, nouns generally being accentuated on the penultimate, and verbs on the ultimate. The alphabet consists of the following letters: a, b, ch, e, g, i, j, k, l, m, n, o, p, r, s, t, u, v, y. These letters, and also the following grammatical remarks refer specially to the language as spoken in Chinipas. Other dialects have the letter h in place of j or r, and z for s. The plural of nouns is formed by duplicating a syllable;--mukí, woman; mumukí, women; or, in some cases an adverb, indicating the plural, is appended. Patronymics form the plural, by duplicating the last syllable. The particle gua also indicates the plural. The possessive case is formed by annexing the syllable ra to the thing possessed;--Pedro bukúra, house of Pedro. Comparatives are expressed by adding the terminal be;--gara, good; garabé, better; and superlatives by simply putting a heavier accent on the comparative terminal;--reré, low; rerebé, lower; rerebéé, lowest. Personal pronouns are: nejé, I; mujé, thou; senú, he; tamujé or ramujé, we; emejé or emé, you; güepuná, they.

CONJUGATION OF THE VERB TO COUNT.

PRESENT INDICATIVE.

I count, nejé tará | We count, ramujé tará Thou countest, mujé tará | You count, emejé tará He counts, senú tará | They count, guepuná tará

PERFECT. PLUPERFECT.

I have counted, nejé taráca | I had counted, nejé tarayéque

FIRST FUTURE. SECOND FUTURE.

I shall count, nejé tarára | I shall have counted, nejé taragópera

IMPERATIVE.

Count thou, tará | Let them count, tarára Count you, tarási | Do not count, caté tarási Let us count, tarayéque |

PRESENT SUBJUNCTIVE.

If I count, sonecá tarára | If we count, sotamenecá tarára If thou count, somucá tarára | If they count, sopucá tarára If he count, sosenucá tarára |

IMPERFECT.

If I did count, sonecá tarareyéque

He who counts, tarayámeque | They who have to count, taraméri Counting, taroyó | He who has to count, tarabéri Having counted, taraságo | [VIII'-7]

Of the different dialects there are five specimens, all Lord's Prayers, a comparison of which will show their variations. The first is from Father Steffel:

Tamí Nonó, mamú reguí guamí gatíkí, tamí noinéruje mú reguá seliméa rekíjena, tamí neguáruje mú jelalikí henná guetschikí, mapú hatschíbe réguega quamí. Tamí nutútuje hipelâ, tamí guecáuje tamí guikelikí, matamé hatschíbe réguega tamí guecáuje putsé tamí guikejámeke, ké tá tamí sátuje, telegatígameke mechcá hulá. Amen.

The second is from Tellechea, who lived in Chinipas and at Zapópan:

Tamú nonó repá regiiegáchi atígameque muteguárarí santo níreboa, mu semárarí regiiegáchi atigá, tamú jurá muyerarí jenagiiichíqui mapú regiiegá eguarígua repá regiiegáchi. Sesenú ragiiê tamú nitugára, jipe ragiiê tamí nejá, tami cheligiie tamucheína yorí yomá matameregiiegiá, cheligué tamú ayoriguámeque uché mapú requí chàti ju mecá mu jurá, mapú tamí tayoràbua quéco.

The third is in the dialect spoken in the district of Mina:

Taminonó tehuastiqui tehuara santi riboa razihuachi tamuperá arimihuymira nahuichi chumiricá tehuanehuario teamonetellá sinerahué hiperahuí tamenejá. Seoriqui cahuillé chumaricá cahuillé quiamoqué tarubé chimerá chiniariqui mastí nahuchimoba. Amen Jesus.

[Sidenote: TARAHUMARA LORD'S PRAYERS.]

For the next two no localities are given:

Tami nono guami repá reguegachi atiame: tá cheiquichi ju, màpu müreg uéga repá asagá mu atiqui: Jená ibi, guichimòba quima neogarae mu naguára; mu llelá litae guichimòba mü llolára guali mü cii mollenara, mi, repá reguegachi. Amen Jesus.

Hono tami niguëga matu ati crepa: guebrucá nilrera que mubreguá. Tami nagüibra que munetebrichi, nilrelra que mu el rabrichi gená güichimoba: mapu breguegal repa. Brami goguáme epilri bragüe brame jipeyá, brami güecagüe. Mata igui güicá mapu bregüega bramegé. Güecagüe mapu brami güique ta nobri brami guichavari que chitichi natabrichi. Habri brami guaini mane brisiga equimé. Amen Isuis.[VIII'-8]

Although in possession of Tellechea's grammar, Gallatin denies the connection between the Tarahumara and the Aztec.[VIII'-9] I give here some of their grammatical resemblances. These are, the incorporation of the noun with the verb in some cases; the combination of two verbs, the dropping of the original end-syllables when joining or incorporating several words together, the formation of the plural by duplication, and the traces of a reverential end syllable. All these are important points, and combined with the similarity--in some cases even identity--of a great number of words, they make the relationship or traces of the Aztec language in the Tarahumara incontestable.[VIII'-10]

* * * * *

Passing to the north-eastern part of Mexico I enter a totally unknown region, of whose languages mention is made, but nothing more. Neither vocabularies, nor grammars, nor any other specimens of them exist, and in most cases it is even difficult to fix the exact geographical location of the people who are reported to have spoken them. Of these I name first the Concho, which language is reported to have been a dialect of the Aztec, but this is denied by Hervás, who had his information from the missionary Palacios, although the latter admits that the people spoke the Aztec. Their location is stated to have been near the Rio Concho.[VIII'-11] In the Bolson de Mapimi, the Toboso language is named. This people are reported to have understood the language of the Zacatecs and the Aztecs; and furthermore, to have had their own distinct tongue.[VIII'-12] Other idioms mentioned near the same region are the Hualahuise, Julime, Piro, Suma, and Chinarra.[VIII'-13] Of the Piro I find the following Lord's Prayer:

Quitatác nasaul e yapolhua tol húy quiamgiana mi quiamnarinú. Jaquie mugilley nasamagui hikiey quiamsamaé, mukiataxám, hikiey, hiquiquiamo quia inaé, huskilley nafoleguey, gimoréy, y apol y ahuléy, quialiey, nasan e pomo llekey, quiale mahimnague yo sé mahi kaná rrohoy, se teman quiennatehui mukilley, nani, nani emolley quinaroy zetasi, nasan quianatehuey pemcihipompo y, qui solakuey quifollohipuca. Kuey maihua atellan, folliquitey. Amen.

The Irritila, which was spoken by a number of tribes, called by the Spaniards the Laguneros, inhabiting the country near the Missions of Parras, is another extinct tongue.[VIII'-14] In Coahuila, the Tejano or Coahuiltec language is found. A short manual for the use of the priests was written in this language by Father García, and from it a few grammatical observations have been drawn by Pimentel.

[Sidenote: EXTRACT FROM THE COAHUILTEC GRAMMAR.]

The letters used are a, c, ch, e, g, h, i, j, l, m, n, o, p, q, s, t, u, y, tz. The pronunciation is similar to that of some of the people who inhabit the Northwest Coast, as the Nootkas, Thlinkeets, and others. A kind of clicking sound produced with the tongue, which García designates by an apostrophe, thus--c', q', t', p', l'. The c', and q', are pronounced with a rasping sound from the root of the tongue; t' with a click with the point of the tongue against the teeth, etc. There is no plural in the language except such as is expressed by the words many, all, and some. Pronouns are tzin, I; jamin, or am, thou; nami, mine; ja, thine; jami, ours. Interrogation is expressed by the letter e after the verb;--japtû pôé? are you a father? po being the verb. Negation is expressed by ojua, if it stands for 'no' alone, but if it is joined to a verb it is expressed by ajâm following the verb, and if the verb ends with a vowel, by yajâm. The Tejano is divided into several dialects which vary chiefly in the different pronunciation of some words: as for che they say chi, or so for se, cue instead of co, etc. The following soul-winning dogma with the translation is given as a specimen of the language.

Mej t' oajâm pitucuêj pînta pilapâm chojâi pilchê guatzamôjuajâmaté, pilâpajuáj sauj chojai: Mej t' oajâm pitucuêj pilapôujpacô san paj guajátam atê; talôm apnán pan t' oajâm tucuet apcué tucué apajái sanché guasáyajám: sajpám pinapsá pitachîjô, mai cuân tzam aguajtá, namo, namo t' oajâm tucuém mâisájâc mem; t' ájacat mem jatâlam ajam é?

And there in hell there is nothing to eat, nor any sleep, nor rest; there is no getting out of hell; the great fire of hell will never be finished. If thou hadst died with those sins, thou wouldst be already there in hell; then, why art thou not afraid?[VIII'-15]

The Tubar is another idiom which was spoken near the head-waters of the Rio Sinaloa. Ribas affirms that two totally distinct languages are spoken by this people. From a Lord's Prayer preserved in this tongue Mr Buschmann after careful comparison has concluded that the Tubar is another member of the Aztec-Sonora group, showing, as it does, unmistakeable Aztec traces. I insert the Lord's Prayer with translation.

Ite cañar tegmuecarichin catemat imit tegmuarat Our father heaven in art thy name

militurabà teochigualac; imit huegmica carin iti be praised; thy kingdom us to

bacachinassisaguin, imit avamunarir echu nañigualac imo cuigan come, thy will here be done as well as

amo nachic tegmuecarichin; ite cokuatarit essemer taniguarit there is done heaven; our bread daily

iabba ite micam; ite tatacoli ikiri atzomua ikirirain to-day us give; our sins forgive as we forgive

ite bacachin cale kuegmua nañiguacantem caisa us against evil previously have done not

ite nosam baca tatacoli bacachin ackirò muetzerac ite.[VIII'-16] us lead in sin of evil deliver us.

The following is a Lord's Prayer of the Tubar dialect spoken in the district of Mina in Chihuahua.

Hite cañac temo calichin catema himite muhará huiturabá santoñetará himitemoh acarí hay sesahui hitebacachin hitaramaré hechinemolac amo cuira pan amotemo calichin hítecocohatari éseme tan huaric. Llava hitemicahin tatacoli higuíli hite nachi higuiriray hitebacach in calquihuan nehun conten hitehohui caltehue cheraca tatacol bacachin hiqu ipó calquihuá ñahuité baquit ebacachin calaserac. Amen Jesus.[VIII'-17]

[Sidenote: TEPEHUANA GRAMMAR.]

In the state of Durango and extending into parts of Jalisco, Chihuahua, Coahuila and Sonora, is spoken the Tepehuana language.[VIII'-18] Like the Tarahumara it is guttural and pronounced in a rather sputtering manner. The Tepehuanes speak very fast, and often leave off or swallow the end syllables, which occasioned much trouble to the missionaries, who on that account could not easily understand them. Another difficulty is the accentuation, as the slightest variation of accent will change the meaning of a word.[VIII'-19] The following alphabet is used to represent the sound of the Tephuana, a, b, ch, d, e, g, h, i, j, k, l, m, n, o, p, q, r, s, sc, t, u, v, y. In the formation of words many vowels are frequently combined, as, ooo, bone; iiuie, to drink. Long words are of frequent occurrence as--soigulidadatudadamo, difficult; meit sciuguidodadaguitodadamoe, continually. The letter d appears to be very frequently used, as in the word--toddascidaraga, or doadidamodaraga, fright. To form the plural of words, the first syllable is duplicated. Personal pronouns are;--aneane, or ane, I; api, thou; eggue, he; atum, we; apum, you; eggama, they; in, mine; u, thine; di, or de, his; ut, ours; um, yours.

CONJUGATION OF THE VERB TO SAY.

PRESENT INDICATIVE.

I say, aneane aguidi | We say, atum aguidi Thou sayest, api aguidi | You say, apum aguidi He says, eggue aguidi | They say, eggam aguidi

IMPERFECT. PERFECT.

I said, aneane aguiditade | I have said, aguidianta or | aneaneanta aguidi

FIRST FUTURE. SECOND FUTURE.

I shall say, aneane aguidiague | I shall have said, aneane aquidiamokue

IMPERATIVE.

Let me say, aguidiana ane Say thou, aguidiani, or aguidiana api Let him say, aguidiana eggue Let us say, aguiuiana atum Say you, aguidiana apum, or aguidavoramoe Let them say, aguidiana eggam

I may say, aneane aguidana I should say, aneane aguidaguitade I should have said, aneane aguidaguijatade If I should say, aneane aguidaguiague

PARTICIPLE.

Saying, aguidimi He is saying, aguidimijatade Having said, aguidati

In some places the ending of the imperfect indicative is kade instead of tade.

CONJUNCTIONS.

And amider As if appia na Also jattika, kat And for that ikaidiatut Or sciupu Although tumasci, tume For which ukaidi

THE LORD'S PRAYER.

Utogga atemo tubaggue dama santusikamoe uggue Our father who in heaven above sanctified be he

ututugaraga duviana uguiere api odduna gutuguitodaraga thy name come thy kingdom thou do thy will

tami dubur dama tubaggue. Udguaddaga ud as well earth above heaven. Our food to us

makane scibi ud joigudane ud sceadoadaraga addukate give to-day to us forgive our sins as

joigude jut jaddune maitague daguito ud.[VIII'-20] we forgive our debtors not tempt us.

The roughest and most inaccessible part of the Sierra Madre, in the state of Durango, is the seat of the Acaxee language, which from this centre spreads, under different names and dialects, into the neighboring states. Among these dialects are mentioned the Topia, Sabaibo, Xixime, Hume, Mediotaquel and Tebaca.[VIII'-21] Some writers claim that the Acaxee with all its differences is related to the Mexican, while others, among them Balbi, make it a distinct tongue. As neither vocabularies nor other specimens of it exist, the real fact cannot be ascertained. The missionaries say that the Aztec language was spoken and understood in these parts. In Zacatecas is mentioned as the prevailing tongue the Zacatec, besides which some authors speak of the Cazcane as a distinct idiom, while others aver that the Cazcanes and Zacatecs were one people. Besides these there are adjoining them the Mazapile, Huitcole, and Guachichile, of none of which do I find any specimens or vocabularies.[VIII'-22] I also find mentioned in Zacatecas the Colotlan, and in Jalisco the Tlaxomulteca, Tecuexe, and Tepecano.[VIII'-23]

* * * * *

[Sidenote: THE CORA LANGUAGE AND ITS DIALECTS.]

In that portion of the state of Jalisco which is known by the name of Nayarit, the Cora language is spoken. It is divided into three dialects; the Muutzicat, spoken in the heart of the mountains; the Teacuaeitzica, on the mountain slopes; and the Cora, or Ateacari, near the mouth of the Rio Nayarit, or Jesus María.[VIII'-24] The Aztec element, which is stronger and more apparent in the Cora than in any other of the three Aztec-Sonora languages, has been recognized by many of the earliest writers.[VIII'-25] The Cora language is intricate and rather difficult to learn, as indeed are the other three.[VIII'-26] Following are a few grammatical notes taken from Ortega's vocabulary.

The letters of the alphabet are a, b, ch, e, h, i, k, m, n, o, p, r, t, u, v, x, y, z, tz. The pronunciation is hard; there is no established way of expressing the gender. The names of animated beings, as well as inanimate objects form the plural by the affixes te, eri or ri, tzi or zi, and also with the preposition mea, although there are some exceptions to this rule; for example;--zearate, bee; zearateri, bees; kanax, sheep; kanexeri, sheep; ukubihuame, orator; ukubihuametzi, orators; teatzahuateakame, he who is obedient, of which the plural is teatzahuateakametzi; kurute, crane; kurutzi, cranes; teaxka, scorpion; teaxkate, scorpions. Verbal nouns designating a person who performs an action, are formed by affixing to the verb the syllable kame, or huame;--hukabihuame, advocate (he who pleads); timuacheakame, lover, (he who loves); tichuikame, singer, (he who sings).

[Sidenote: CORA GRAMMAR AND LORD'S PRAYER.]

Personal pronouns are;--neapue, nea, I; apue, ap, thou; aehpu, aehp, he; iteammo, itean, we; ammo, an, you; aehmo, aehm, they; but in conjugating the following are used:--ne, I; pe or pa, thou; te, we; ze, you; me, they. Of the conjugation of the verb, it is only stated that there is no infinitive, and the following example of the present indicative is given:

I love, nemuache Thou lovest, pemuache He loves, muache We love, te muache You love, ze muache They love, me muache

There are plural and singular verbs;--tachuite, to give a long thing; taihte, to give long things.

Prepositions are:--hetze, tzahta, in; keme, with, for; apoan, above; tihauze, before. The peculiarity of the Muutzicat dialect is the frequent use of the letter r, which is either appended, or placed in the middle of the word at pleasure;--for huihma, they say ruihma; for earit, erarit. The Teakuaeitzicai dialect has many distinct words not used in any of the others, so that at times they are not at all understood by those speaking the other dialects. As a specimen I insert the Lord's Prayer:

Tayaoppa tahapoa petehbe cherihuaca eiia teaguarira; Our father heaven be sanctified be thy name;

chemeahaubeni tahemi eiia chianaca cheaguasteni eiia come to us thy world done be thy

jevira iye chianakatapoan tup up tahapoa. Ta hamuit will as earth as heaven. Our bread

huima tahetze rujeve ihic ta taa; huatauniraca always us by wanting to-day us give; forgive

ta xanacat tetup iteahmo tatahuatauni titaxanakante ta our sin as we we forgive our debtors us

vaehre teatkai havobereni xanakat hetze huavaehreaka help that not let us fall sin in help

tecai tahemi rutahuaja tehai eu ene che enhuata that not us reach not what good so be it.

hua.[VIII'-27]

FOOTNOTES:

[VIII'-1] Mocorito, Petatlan and Ocoroni are 'gentes de varias lenguas.' Ribas, Hist. de los Triumphos, p. 34. Ahome are 'gente de diferente lengua llamada Zoe.' Zoes 'son de la misma lengua con los Guaçaues.' Id., p. 145. 'Comoporis los quales aunque eran de la misma lengua de los mansos Ahomes.' Id., p. 153. 'Huites de diferente lengua' from the Cinaloas. Id., p. 207. Zuaques and Tehuecos 'ser todos de una misma lengua.' Batuca 'de una lengua no dificil, y parecida mucho á la de Ocoroiri.' Alegre, Hist. Comp. de Jesus, tom. ii., pp. 10, 186. 'La lengua es ore.' 'Varogia y segun se ha reconocido es lo mismo que la taura, aunque varia algo principalmente en la gramática.' 'La lengua es particular macoyahui con que son tres las lenguas de este partido.' In San Andres de Conicari 'la lengua es particular y distinta de la de los demas pueblos si bien todos los demas de ellos entienden la lengua tepave, y aun la caita aunque no la hablan.' 'La lengua es particular que llaman troes.' 'La gente en su idioma es guazave.' 'La lengua es distinta y particular que llaman nio.' 'Conversan entre sí distintas las lenguas de cahuimetos y ohueras.' 'Lenguas que hablan entre sí y son chicurata y basopa.' San Miguel de Mocorito 'de cuatro parcialidades y distintas lenguas.' Zapata, Relacion, in Doc. Hist. Mex., série iv., tom. iii., pp. 363-409. 'Los misioneros ... colocaban en las misiones de la lengua cahita á los sinaloas, hichucios, zuaques, biaras, matapanes y tehuecos.' 'El ahome y el comopori son dialectos muy diversos ó lenguas hermanas del guazave.' Orozco y Berra, Geografía, p. 35; Vater, Mithridates, tom. iii., pt iii., pp. 154-7; Hassel, Mex. Guat., p. 175.

[VIII'-2] 'La nacion Hiaqui y por consecuencia la Mayo y del Fuerte, ... que en la sustancia son una misma y de una propia lengua.' Cancio, in Doc. Hist. Mex., série iv., tom. ii., p. 246. Mayo and Yaqui: 'Su idioma por consiguìente es el mismo, con la diferencia de unas cuantas voces.' Velasco, Noticias de Sonora, p. 82. Mayo 'su lengua es la misma que corre en los rios de Çuaque y Hiaqui.' Yaqui 'que es la mas general de Cinaloa.' Ribas, Hist. de los Triumphos, pp. 237, 287; Laet, Novus Orbis, p. 286. 'La lengua cahita es dividida en tres dialectos principales, el mayo, yaqui y tehueco; ademas hay otros secundarios.' Pimentel, Cuadro, tom. i., p. 485. 'Tres dialectos principales, el zuaque, la maya y el yaqui.' Balbi, in Orozco y Berra, Geografía, p. 35; Brasseur de Bourbourg, Esquisses, p. 31.

[VIII'-3] 'Su idioma es muy franco, nada dificil de aprenderse, y susceptible de reducirse á las reglas gramaticales de cualquiera nacion civilizada.' Velasco, Noticias de Sonora, p. 75.

[VIII'-4] 'En hablar alto, y con brio singulares, y grandemente arrogantes.' 'No vès que soy Hiaqui: y dezianlo, porque essa palabra, y nombre, significa, el que habla a gritos.' Ribas, Hist. de los Triumphos, p. 285.

[VIII'-5] Pimentel, Cuadro, tom. i., pp. 456-91, Hervás, in Vater, Mithridates, tom. iii., pt iii., pp. 157-8; Buschmann, Spuren der Aztek. Spr., pp. 211-18; Ternaux-Compans, in Nouvelles Annales des Voy., 1841, tom. xcii., pp. 260-87; Col. Polidiómica Mex., Oracion Dominical, p. 49.

[VIII'-6] 'Varogia y segun se ha reconocido es lo mismo que la taura aunque varia algo principalmente en la gramática.' Guazapare 'la lengua es la misma aunque ya mas parecida á la de los taraumares.' Zapata, Relacion, in Doc. Hist. Mex., série iv., tom. iii., pp. 388, 390, 334, et seq.; Steffel, in Murr, Nachrichten, pp. 296-300; Ribas, Hist. de los Triumphos, p. 592; Pimentel, Cuadro, tom. i., p. 363; Orozco y Berra, Geografía, p. 34.

[VIII'-7] Tellechea, Compendio Gram. del Idioma Tarahumar, pp. 2-3.

[VIII'-8] Tellechea, Compendio Gram. del Idioma Tarahumar; also in Soc. Mex. Geog., Boletin, tom. iv., pp. 145-68, and in Pimentel, Cuadro, tom. i., pp. 366-400; Steffel, Tarahumarisches Wörterbuch, in Murr, Nachrichten, pp. 296-374; Ternaux-Compans, in Nouvelles Annales des Voy., 1841, tom. xcii., pp. 260-287; Vater, Mithridates, tom. iii., pt iii., pp. 144-54; Col. Polidiómica Mex., Oracion Dominical, pp. 40-43.

[VIII'-9] 'Have no resemblance with the Mexican.' Gallatin, in Amer. Ethno. Soc., Transact., vol. i., p. 4. 'This (the Tarahumara) has not in its words any affinity with the Mexican; and the people who speak it have a decimal arithmetic.' Id., p. 203. 'Ihre Aehnlichkeit mit dem Mexikanischen ... ist doch gross genug.' Vater, Mithridates, tom. iii., pt iii., p. 143; Wilhelm von Humboldt, in Buschmann, Spuren der Aztek. Spr., pp. 46-50.

[VIII'-10] Wilhelm von Humboldt, in Buschmann, Spuren der Aztek. Spr., pp. 50.

[VIII'-11] Alegre, Hist. Comp. de Jesus, tom. ii., p. 58; Orozco y Berra, Geografía, pp. 324-5; Buschmann, Spuren der Aztek. Spr., p. 172.

[VIII'-12] Villa-Señor y Sanchez, Theatro, tom. ii., p. 348; Pascual, in Hist. Doc. Mex., série iv., tom. iii., p. 201; Buschmann, Spuren der Aztek. Spr., p. 172; Orozco y Berra, Geografía, pp. 308-9.

[VIII'-13] Orozco y Berra, Geografía, pp. 309, 327; Col. Polidiómica Mex., Oracion Dominical, p. 36.

[VIII'-14] Orozco y Berra, Geografía, p. 309.

[VIII'-15] Pimentel, Cuadro, tom. ii., pp. 409-413.

[VIII'-16] 'Tienen estos indios dos lenguas totalmente distintas: la una, y que mas corre entre ellos, y demas gente, es de las que yo tengo en este partido, con que les hablo, y me entienden ... la otra es totalmente distinta.' Hervás, Catálogo, tom. i., p. 320. Ribas, Hist. de los Triumphos, p. 118; Vater, Mithridates, tom. iii., pt iii., p. 139. 'Zwar voll von Fremdheit und sehr für sich dasteht, aber doch als ein wirkliches sonorisches Glied, bei bestimmten Gemeinschaften mit den anderen und als vorzugsweise reich an aztekischen Stoff ausgestattet.... Ihre Ähnlichkeiten neigen abwechselnd gegen die Cora, Tarahumara, und Cahita, besonders gegen die beiden letzten, auch Hiaqui; der Tepeguana bleibt sie mehr fremd.' Buschmann, Spuren der Aztek. Spr., pp. 164, 170-1.

[VIII'-17] Col. Polidiómica Mex., Oracion Dominical, p. 47.

[VIII'-18] Ribas, Hist. de los Triumphos, p. 673; Alegre, Hist. Comp. de Jesus, tom. i., p. 319; Museo Mex., tom. iii., p. 269; Zapata, Relacion, in Doc. Hist. Mex., série iv., tom. iii., pp. 310-315; Orozco y Berra, Geografía, pp. 34, 320; Vater, Mithridates, tom. iii., pt iii., p. 138; Pimentel, Cuadro, tom. ii., p. 43; Buschmann, Spuren der Aztek. Spr., p. 162; Hervás, Catálogo, tom. i., p. 327.

[VIII'-19] 'La pronunciacion es muy gutural y basta el mas ligero cambio en ella para que cambien de sentido las palabras.' Rinaldini, Gramatica, in Pimentel, Cuadro, tom. ii., p. 46; Buschmann, Spuren der Aztek. Spr., p. 36.

[VIII'-20] Pimentel, Cuadro, tom. ii., pp. 46-68.

[VIII'-21] Sabaibos 'eran de la misma lengua y Nacion Acaxee.' Ribas, Hist. de los Trivmphos, pp. 471, 491. Sabaibos 'distinta nacion, aunque del mismo idioma'--Acaxee. Alegre, Hist. Comp. de Jesus, tom. i., p. 422. 'Humes, nacion distinta de los xiximes aunque tienen una misma lengua.' Alonso del Valle, in Doc. Hist. Mex., série iv., tom. iii., p. 96. 'Me parece que tienen afinidad las lenguas topia, acajee y tepehuana, las quales, como tambien la de Parras, son dialectos de la Zacateca.' Hervás, Catálogo, tom. i., p. 327. 'Im Norden von Tepehuana enthält die gebirgige Provinz Topia um den 25° N. Br. ausser der lingua Topia und der damit verwandten Acaxee, noch im Norden der letzteren die Xixime, Sicuraba, Hina und Iluime als Sprachen ebenso vieler verschiedener in der Nähe der Topia und Acaxee wohnenden Völkerschaften.' Vater, Mithridates, tom. iii., pt iii., pp. 138-9. Castañeda mentions in these regions the Tahus, Pacasas, and Acaxas languages, in Ternaux-Compans, Voy., série i., tom. ix., pp. 150-3; Zapata, Relacion, in Doc. Hist. Mex., série iv., tom. iii., pp. 415-17; Orozco y Berra, Geografía, pp. 12-13, 319-20; Buschmann, Spuren der Aztek. Spr., pp. 173-4.

[VIII'-22] 'Indios cascanes que son los Zacatecas.' 'Xuchipila que entendian la lengua de los Zacatecos.' Padilla, Conq. N. Galicia, MS., p. 234; Bernardez, Descrip. Zacatecas, p. 23. 'Cazcanes, qui ad fines Zacatecarum degunt, lingua moribusque á caeteris diversi: Guachachiles itidem idiomate differentes; Denique Guamaroe, quorum idioma supra modum concisum, difficilime addiscitur.' Laet, Novus Orbis, p. 281. 'La lengua mexicana que es la generica de toda la Provincia.' Arlegui, Chrón. Zacatecas, p. 52. 'Sobre el Cascon ó Zacateco, no creo que hubiera sido ni aun dialecto del mexicano, sino que era el mismo mexicano hablado por unos rústicos que estropeaban las palabras y que les daban distínto acento.' Huacbichiles, Tejuejue and Tlajomolteco 'Sobre estos idiomas, ó si les considera dialectos, juzgo que no existieron.' Romero Gil, in Soc. Mex. Geog., Boletin, tom. viii., p. 499; Ribas, Hist. de los Triumphos, p. 676; Hassel, Mex. Guat., p. 159.

[VIII'-23] Orozco y Berra, Geografía, p. 61.

[VIII'-24] Apostólicos Afanes, cap. vii., p. 56. 'Dentro de Reyno de la Galicia quedaron algunos otras Naciones como son los Cocas, Tequexes, Choras, Tecualmes y Nayaritas, y otras que despues de pacíficada la tierra han dejado de hablarse por que ya reducidos los de la lengua Azteca, que era la major nacion se han mixturado de suerte que ya todos las mas hablan solo una lengua en toda la Galicia excepta en la Provincia del Nayarit.' Padilla, Conq. N. Galicia, MS., p. 8. 'La lengua Cora, que es la del Nayar.' Arricivita, Crónica Seráfica, p. 89; Orozco y Berra, Geografía, pp. 39, 281-2; Vater, Mithridates, tom. iii., pt iii., pp. 131-2.

[VIII'-25] 'La lengua mas comun del pais es la chota aunque muy interpolada y confundida hoy con la Mexicana.' Alegre, Hist. Comp. de Jesus, tom. iii., p. 197. 'Muchos vocablos de la lengua mexicana, y algunos de la castellana, los han corisado hacièndolos propios de su idioma tan antiguamente; que ya hoy en dia corren, y se tienen por Coras.' Ortega, in Soc. Mex. Geog., Boletin, tom. viii., p. 563. 'No carezco totalmente de datos para creer que los indios nayares son pimas, ó al menos descendientes de ellos.' Orozco y Berra, Geografía, p. 39. 'Es idioma hermano del azteca, tal vez fundado en algunas palabras que tienen la forma ó las raices del mexicano; nosotros creemos que estas semejanzas no provienen de comunidad de orígen de las dos lenguas, sino de las relaciones que esas tribus mantuvieron por espacio de mucho tiempo.' Id., p. 282. 'La core offrent très-peu d'affinité avec les autres langues américaines.' Malte-Brun, Précis de la Géog., tom. vi., p. 449. 'Die Cora ... bewährt ihre Verwandtschaft vornehmlich durch die unverkennbare Gleichheit einer nur diesen beiden Sprachen gemeinschaftlichen Formations-Weise des Verbum in seinen Personen und die Bezeichnung ihrer Beziehung auf ein leidendes Object, wie die Vergleichung des grammatischen Charakters beyder Sprachen deutlich zeigen wird.' Vater, Mithridates, tom. iii., pt iii., pp. 87, 89. 'Für verwandte Sprachen, wie sie allerdings scheinen, haben die Cora und die mexicanische grosse Verschiedenheiten in ihrem Lautsystem.' Wilhelm von Humboldt, in Buschmann, Spuren der Aztek. Spr., pp. 48-9.

[VIII'-26] 'La lengua Cora ... es tan dificil, que si no se está entre ellos muchos años, no se puede aprender y tiene de particular, que no se asemeja á otra de las naciones que tiene vecinas.' Cavo, Tres Siglos, tom. ii., p. 117.

[VIII'-27] Ortega, Vocabulario, in Soc. Mex. Geog., Boletin, tom. viii., pp. 561-602; Pimentel, Cuadro, tom. ii., pp. 71-88; Vater, Mithridates, tom. iii., pt iii., pp. 131-8; Buschmann, Die Lautveränderung Aztek. Wörter in den Sonor. Spr.; Id., Gram. der Sonor. Spr.

IX. THE AZTEC AND OTOMÍ LANGUAGES

NAHUA OR AZTEC, CHICHIMEC, AND TOLTEC LANGUAGES IDENTICAL -- ANÁHUAC THE ABORIGINAL SEAT OF THE AZTEC TONGUE -- THE AZTEC THE OLDEST LANGUAGE IN ANÁHUAC -- BEAUTY AND RICHNESS OF THE AZTEC -- TESTIMONY OF THE MISSIONARIES AND EARLY WRITERS IN ITS FAVOR -- SPECIMEN FROM PAREDES' MANUAL -- GRAMMAR OF THE AZTEC LANGUAGE -- AZTEC LORD'S PRAYER -- THE OTOMÍ A MONOSYLLABIC LANGUAGE OF ANÁHUAC -- RELATIONSHIP CLAIMED WITH THE CHINESE AND CHEROKEE -- OTOMÍ GRAMMAR -- OTOMÍ LORD'S PRAYER IN DIFFERENT DIALECTS.

The Nahua, Aztec, or Mexican, is the language of Mexican civilization, spoken throughout the greater part of Montezuma's empire, extending from the plateau of Anáhuac, or valley of Mexico, as a centre, eastward to the gulf of Mexico, and along its shores from above Vera Cruz east to the Rio Goatzacoalcos; westward to the Pacific, and upon its border from about the twenty-sixth to the sixteenth parallel, thus forming an irregular but continuous linguistic line from the gulf of California south-east, across the Mexican plateau to the gulf of Mexico, of more than four hundred leagues in extent. Again, it is found on the coast of Salvador, and in the interior of Nicaragua, and we have before seen its connection with the nations of the north. Within the limits of the ancient Mexican empire many other languages besides the Aztec were spoken, as for instance the Otomí, Huastec, Totonac, Zapotec, Miztec, and Tarasco, about twenty in all. It has been claimed by some that the languages of the Toltecs and Chichimecs were different from each other, and from the Aztec; it has even been intimated that traces of a language more ancient than any of these have been found. Pedro de los Rios mentions two words of a song used in the religious ceremonies at Cholula, tulanian hululaez--which he says belong to a language not understood by the Mexicans, and Alexander von Humboldt thinks they may be the remains of some pre-Mexican language.[IX'-1] Others, and among them the Abbé Brasseur de Bourbourg, claim greater antiquity for the Maya, affirming that it was spoken in Mexico before the Nahua-speaking people reached that country.

From a careful examination of the early authorities, I can but entertain the opinion that the Toltec, Chichimec, and Aztec languages are one, that the Nahua, or Aztec, is the oldest known language of Anáhuac, and that contrary conclusions arrived at by certain later writers are merely speculative. All of the many different peoples mentioned as aboriginal in ancient Anáhuac are said to have spoken the Aztec, as the Ulmecs, Xicalancas, Tecpanecs, Colhuas, Acolhuas, Nahuas, etc. Ixtlilxochitl, the native Tezcucan historian, relates that by order of the ruler, Techotlalatzin, the Chichimecs dropped their own tongue and adopted that of the Aztecs.[IX'-2]

[Sidenote: ORIGINALITY OF THE AZTEC TONGUE.]

Furthermore, internal evidence is all in favor of the originality of the Aztec tongue. Throughout the great empire of Anáhuac it was the dominant stock language. Towards the north, as we have seen, sprinklings of it are found in many places, but nowhere does it appear in that direction as a base. Far to the south, in Nicaragua, it is again found as the stock tongue, yet with a dialectic rather than an aboriginal appearance, so that the testimony of language is all in favor of the plateau of Anáhuac having been the primal centre of the Aztec tongue, rather than its having been introduced within any measurable epoch by immigration.

That the Mexican nation did its utmost to extend the language is certain. It was the court language of American civilization, the Latin of medieval and the French of modern times; it was used as the means of holding intercourse with non-Aztec speaking people, also by all ambassadors, and in all official communications; in all newly acquired and conquered territories it was immediately introduced as the official language, and the people were ordered to learn it. It, or its kindred dialects, can be said to have been the common vernacular in the whole interior of Anáhuac, and over a large part of the Aztec plateau, although within these limits other tongues were in vogue. Southward, it again appears along the shores of the Pacific Ocean. It was spoken as far as Guatemala, in the interior of which it appeared in the shape of various dialects more or less corrupted. It can also be traced into Tabasco, and even into Yucatan on the Atlantic coast. It is again encountered in the gulf of Amatique, whence lines extend connecting with the branches of the Aztec in Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. It is also possible that it may at one time have been used even east of the Mississippi, as will appear from the following statements of Acosta and Sahagun. The latter says that the Apalaches living east of the Mississippi extended their expeditions and colonies far into Mexico, and were proud to show to the first conquerors of their country the great highways on which they traveled. Acosta affirms that the Mexicans called these Apalaches, Tlatuices or mountaineers. Sahagun, speaking of them, says "they are Nahoas, and speak the Mexican language."[IX'-3] This is by no means improbable, as the Aztec is found eastward in the present states of Tamaulipas and Coahuila, and thence the distance to the Mississippi is not so very far.[IX'-4]

[Sidenote: THE AZTEC LANGUAGE EAST OF MEXICO.]

Of all the languages spoken on the American continent, the Aztec is the most perfect and finished, approaching in this respect the tongues of Europe and Asia, and actually surpassing many of them by its elegance of expression. Although wanting the six consonants, b, d, f, r, g, s, it may still be called full and rich. Of its copiousness the Natural History of Dr Hernandez gives evidence, in which are described twelve hundred different species of Mexican plants, two hundred or more species of birds, and a large number of quadrupeds, reptiles, insects, and metals, each of which is given its proper name in the Mexican language.[IX'-5] Mendieta says that it is not excelled in beauty by the Latin, displaying even more art in its construction, and abounding in tropes and metaphors. Camargo calls it the richest of the whole land, and the purest, being mixed with no foreign barbaric element; Gomara says it is the best, most copious, and most extended in all New Spain; Dávila Padilla, that it is very elegant and graceful, although it contains many metaphors which make it difficult; Lorenzana, that it is very elegant, sweet, and complete; Clavigero, that it is copious, polite, and expressive; Brasseur de Bourbourg, that from the most sublime heights it descends to common things with a sonorousness and richness of expression peculiar only to itself. The missionaries found it ample for their purpose, as in it and without the aid of foreign words they could express all the shades of their dogmas, from the thunderings and anathemas of Sinai to the sublime teachings of the Christ.

Although the Spaniards usually employed the word Dios for God, the Aztecs offered one as fit, their Teotl, and Tloque Nahuaque, signifying invisible supreme being. The many written Aztec sermons, catechisms, and rituals also attest the copiousness of the tongue.[IX'-6] The Mexican, like the Hebrew and French, does not possess superlative nouns, and like the Hebrew and most of the living European languages, it has no comparatives, their place being supplied by certain particles. The Aztec contains more diminutives and augmentatives than the Italian, and is probably richer than any other tongue in the world in verbal nouns and abstracts, there being hardly a verb from which verbal nouns cannot be formed, or a substantive or adjective of which abstracts are not made. It is equally rich in verbs, for every verb is the root from which others of different meanings spring. Agglutination or aggregation is carried to its widest extent, and words of inordinate length are not uncommon. In agglutinating, end-syllables or letters are usually dropped, principally for the sake of euphony. A prayer to the Virgin of Guadalupe, which is to be found in the Promptuario Manual of Paredes, I insert here as a curious specimen of long words:

* * * * *

[Sidenote: SPECIMEN OF LONG AZTEC WORDS.]

Tlahuemmanaliztli; ic momoztlê tictocemmacazque in Tlâtocacihuapilli Santa Maria de Guadalupe. Tlâtocacihuapillê, Notlazomahuiznantzinê, Santa Mariae, nican mixpantzinco ninomayahui, ninocnotlaza, ihuan mochi Noyollotica, Nanimatica nimitzhohuêcapanilhuia, nimitznomahuiztililia, nimitznotlazotilia, ihuan nimitznotlazocamachitia ipampa in nepapan in motetlaocolilitzin; ic in Tehuâtzin otinechmomacahuililitzino. Auh ocyecenca ipampa ca Tehuâtzin, Notzopelicanantziné, otinechmopiltzintitzino, ihuan, otinechmoconetitzinô. Auh ic ipampa in axcan ihuan yê mochipa nimitznocemmacatzinoa, Notetlaocolicanantzinê, inic in Tehuâtzin nimitznotlazotiliz, ihuan inic áic nimitznoyoltequipaehilhuiz. Auh in Tehuâtzin, nimitznotlátlauhtilia: in ma in nonemian, ihuan in nomiquian xinechmopalchuili, ma xinechmochimalcaltili, ihuan ma in motetlaocolilizcuexantzinco xinechmocalaquili; inic qualli ic ninemiz, ihuan nimiquiz; inic çatepan nimitznomahuizalhuiz, in ompa in Ilhuicac; in ompa in Dios Itlâtocatecpanchantzinco in Gloria. Amen.[IX'-7]

* * * * *

A word of sixteen syllables, the name of a plant, occurs in Hernandez--mihuiittilmoyoiccuitlatonpicixochitl.[IX'-8] Though the Aztecs made verses, no specimens of their poetry have been preserved except in a translated form. One, composed by the great Tezcucan, King Nezahualcoyotl, translated in full in the preceding volume, gives us an exalted idea of the advanced state of the language.[IX'-9]

The Mexican language employs the following letters: a, ç, ch, e, h, i, k, l, m, n, o, p, q, t, tl, tz, u, v, x, y, z. The pronunciation is soft and musical, and free from nasal sound. The a is clear; ch before a vowel is pronounced as in Spanish; but before a consonant, or when a terminal, it differs somewhat; e is clear; h is an aspirate, in general soft, being strong only when it precedes u. No word commences with the letter l; ll is pronounced as in English. The t is sometimes silent, but not when it comes between two l's; tl in the middle of a word is soft, as in Spanish, but as a terminal it is pronounced tle, the e half mute; tz is similar to the Spanish s, but a little stronger; the v is by the women pronounced as in Spanish, but men give it a sound very similar to hu in Spanish; x is soft, like sh in English; z is like s in Spanish, but less hissing.

[Sidenote: AGGLUTINATION IN THE AZTEC LANGUAGE.]

By compounding, the Mexicans make many long words, some even of sixteen syllables; but there are also some non-compounded words that are very long. Words are compounded by uniting a number of whole words, and not alone by simple juxtaposition, since, with much attention to brevity and euphony, letters and syllables are frequently omitted. For instance;--tlazotli, loved; mahuiztik; honorable, or reverend; teopixqui, priest; tatli, father; no, mine; of which is composed notlazomahuizteopixcatzin, that is to say, my very esteemed father and reverend priest. This also presents an example of the ending tzin, which simply signifies respect. Teopixqui is composed of teotl, God, and pia, to guard. There are two particles which may be appropriately called ligatures, as they serve to unite words in certain cases; they are ca and ti. Kualani, to irritate, to anger; itta, consider, reflect; nikualanicaitta, to observe with anger, angrily.

By reason of these compounded words, the meaning of a whole sentence is often contained in a single word, as;--tlalnepantla, in the middle of the earth, or, situated in the middle; popocatepetl, smoking mountain; atzcaputzalli, ant-hill, or, place where there are many people moving--alluding to a dense population; cuauhnahuac, (Cuernavaca) near to the trees; atlixco, above the water; tepetitlan, above the mountain, etc.

There are several ways of expressing the plural. As a rule, plurals are applied only to animate objects. Inanimate objects seldom change in the plural, as;--ce tetl, one stone; yei tetl, three stones; miec tetl, many stones. In exceptional cases the plural of inanimate objects is expressed by terminals. One of these exceptions is when the object is connected with persons, as;--zoquitl, mud; tizoquime, we are earth; but there are again exceptions to this rule, as for instance;--ilhuicame, the heavens; tepeme, mountains; zitlaltin, stars. Sometimes inanimate things also form the plural by doubling the first syllable;--tetla, place full of stones; tetetla, places full of stones; calli, house; cacalli, houses. These various terminations may be reduced to the following rules. Primitive words have the plural in me, tin, or que, as;--ichcatl, a sheep; ichcame, sheep; zolin, a quail, zoltin, quail; cocoxqui, sick; cocoxque, sick (plural); topile, constable; topileque, constables. Derivatives form the plural as follows: those called reverentials, ending with tzintli, have in the plural tzitzintin. Diminutives, ending in tontli, have in the plural totontin, and diminutives ending in ton and pil, augmentatives in pol, and reverentials in tzin, double the terminal, as;--tlacatzintli, person; tlacatzitzintin, persons; ichcatontli, a lamb; ichcatatontin, lambs; ichcapil, lamb; ichcapipil, lambs; chichiton, a little dog; chichitoton, little dogs; huehuetzin, old man; huehuetzitzin, old men.

Words into whose composition the possessive pronoun enters, whether primitive or derivative, have for the plural van or huan;--noichcahuan, my sheep; noichcatotonhuan, my little sheep. The words tlcatl, man, ciuatl, woman, and those which imply an official or professional position, form the plural simply by leaving off the last letters, as;--mexicatl, plural, mexicá; in which case, however, the ultimate syllable is accented. Some words, to form the plural, double the first syllable, and also use terminals, as;--teotl, God; teteo, gods; zolin, quail; zozoltin, quails; zitli, hare; ziziltin, hares. Telpochtli and ichpochtli, double the syllable po.

Some adjectives have several plurals, as;--miec, much; plural, miectin, miecintin, or miecin. Gender is expressed by adding the words oquichtli or ciuatl, male and female, except in such words as in themselves indicate the gender. A father speaking of his son says, nopiltzin, and a mother of her daughter, noconeuh.

[Sidenote: AZTEC GRAMMAR.]

There are no regular declensions; in the vocative case, an e is added to the nominative, or words ending in tli or li, change the i into e. Those ending in tzin may change to tze or add an e, but the latter is only used by males. The genitive is denoted by the possessive pronoun or by the juxtaposition of the words, as;--teotl, God; tenahuatilli, emanating; teotenahuatilli, precept of God. The dative is indicated by verbs called applicatives; the accusative, by certain particles which accompany the verb, or by juxtaposition; as;--chihua, to have; tlaxcalli, bread; nitlaxcalchihua, I have bread. The ablative is indicated by certain particles and prepositions. Diminutives are formed by the terminals tontli and ton, as;--chichi, dog; chichiton, small dog; calli, house; cacontli, small house. Augmentatives take the syllable pol. The terminals tla, and la, serve as collectives; --xochitl, flower; xochitla, flower-bed. Words ending with otl are abstracts, as;--qualli, good; qualotl, goodness. Those ending with va (hua) and e indicate possession;--ilhuicatl, heaven; ilhuicahua, master of heaven, (applied to God). Comparatives and superlatives have no particular terminations, but their place is supplied by adverbs, as;--achi, ocachi, etc., which mean 'more.' Pedro is better than Juan, ocachiqualli in Pedro ihuan amo Juan; here the adverb is connected with quallo, good. Words derived from active, neuter, passive, reflective and impersonal verbs, having various significations, terminate in ni, oni, ya, ia, yan, can, yau, ian, tli, li, liztli, oca, ca, o, tl; as;--cochini, he who sleeps; tlaxcalchihuani, he who has bread; motlaloani, he who runs; chihualoni, practicable; neitoniloni, something producing perspiration; notlachiuaya, my instrument; amotlanequia, our will; tlacualoyan, eater; micoayan, place to sleep; itepatiayan, hospital; tlachihualli, created, produced; tetlazotlatiztli, love; nachihualoka, creation.

Personal pronouns are;--nehuatl, nehua, ne, I; tehuatl, tehua, te, thou; yehuatl, yehua, ye, he or somebody; tehuantin, tehua, we; amehuantin, amehuan, you; yehuantin, yehuan, they. Possessives;--no, mine; mo, thine; i, his; to, ours; amo, yours; in or im, theirs; te, belonging to others.

The above-mentioned possessives are used in compounded words, and change the final syllable of the word to which they are joined;--teotl, God; noteuh, my God; huehuetl, old man; amohuehuetcauh, our old man.

The verb has indicative, imperative, optative, and subjunctive moods--present, imperfect, perfect, pluperfect, and future tenses.

CONJUGATION OF THE VERB TEMICTIA, TO KILL.

PRESENT INDICATIVE.

I kill, nitemictia | We kill, titemictiâ Thou killest, titemictia | You kill, antemictiâ He kills, temictia | They kill, temictiâ

IMPERFECT. PERFECT.

I killed, nitemictiaya | I have killed, onitemicti | We have killed, otitemictiquê

PLUPERFECT.

I had killed, onitemictica

FIRST FUTURE. SECOND FUTURE.

I shall kill, nitemictiz | I shall have killed, yeonitemictli We shall kill, titemictizquê |

IMPERATIVE.

Kill thou, maxictemicti | Kill you, maxitemictican

OPTATIVE.

Would that I might kill, manitemictiani

PASSIVE FORMS.

I am killed, nimictilo I was killed, onimictiloya

PASSIVE FORMS.

I have been killed, onimictiloc I had been killed, onimitiloca I shall be killed, nimictiloz I shall have been killed, ye onimictiloc O that I may be killed, manimictilo O that I had been killed, manimictiloni I ought to be killed, nimictilozquia He who is killed, inmictilo

OTHER FORMS.

If I had killed, intlaonitcmictiani If I had not killed, intlacamo onitemictiani If I should kill, intlanitemictiz He who kills, intemictia I come to kill, onitemictico I will come to kill, nitemictiquiuh May I come to kill, manitemictiqui I went to kill, onitemictito I will go to kill, nitemictiuh May I go to kill, manitemiciti

[Sidenote: AZTEC IRREGULAR VERBS.]

There are but few irregular verbs in the Aztec language and the following are all that Pimentel could find;--ka and mani, to be; icac, to be on foot; onoc, to be lying down; yauh, to go; huallauh and huitz, to come; mazehualti, icnopilti, and ilhuilti, to obtain a benefit.

The following words are always used as affixes:

For pal, pampa Of, from tech Behind icampa, tepotzco, Toward huic cuitlapan Between tzalan With huan, pa, copa, ca In the midst nepantla Belonging to tloc Together nahuac Within co, c Above icpac On the other side nalko, nal Before ixco, ixpan, ixtlan, ixtla Underneath tlan Inside itic, itec Under tzintlan

THE LORD'S PRAYER.

Totatzine ynilhuicac timoyeztica, mayectenehualo Our revered father who heaven in art, be praised

inmotocatzin, mahualauh inmotlatocayotzin machihualo thy name, may come thy kingdom be done

intlalticpac inmotlanequilitzin, inyuhchichihualo inilhuicac, earth above thy will as is done heaven in,

intotlaxcalmomoztlac totech monequi maaxcan our bread every day to us is necessary to-day

xitechmomaquili, maxitechmetlapopohuili intotlatlacol, give us, forgive us our sins,

iniuh tiquintlapopolhuia intechtlatla calhuia, as we forgive those who us offend,

macamoxitechmomacahuili inicamo ipan tihuetzizque thou not us lead that not in we fall

inteneyeyecoltiliztli: çanye xitechmomaquixtili inyhuicpa in temptation: but deliver us against

inamoqualli. Maiuhmochihua.[IX'-10] from not good.

Many comparisons between the Aztec and the tongues of Asia and Europe have been made, and relationship claimed with almost every prominent language, but under analysis all these fancied affinities vanish. Similarities in words, in common with all tongues, are found between the Aztec and others, but at best they can be called only accidental. Still, a few remarkable word-analogies have been noticed, among the chief of which are the following. The Aztec like the Greek and Sanskrit, uses the privative preposition a, which in the Celtic has been changed to an, in Latin to in, or im, and in the German to un;--Greek, athanatos; Aztec, amiquini, immortal. Further, in the perfect tense, and sometimes in the imperfect, o is used in the Aztec, like the Sanskrit a, and the Greek e. But the most remarkable coincidence is the word teotl, which is as near as possible to the Greek Théos. Kingsborough and Mrs Simon see in the Aztec the language of the Jews; Jones that of the ancient Tyrians; Lang, that of the Polynesians. García makes comparisons with the Hebrew, Spanish, Phœnician, Egyptian, Japanese, and German, and for a relationship with these and many others he finds claimants. Until further light is thrown upon American philology, the Aztec must stand alone, as one of the independent languages of the world.[IX'-11]

* * * * *

The Otomí, held to be next to the Aztec the most widely extended language in Mexico, was spoken by a rough and barbarous people who inhabit the mountains encircling the valley of Anáhuac, but more particularly those towards the north-west. Thence it extended into the present state of San Luis Potosí, was spoken throughout Querétaro and the larger part of Guanajuato, and in places in Michoacan, Vera Cruz, and Puebla.[IX'-12] From the Journal and Proceedings of the fourth Provincial Council, held in Mexico in the year 1771, it appears that the language was spoken in four dialects, varying so much that it was only with the greatest difficulty that the several tribes could hold intercourse.[IX'-13] The only dialect of which particular notice has been taken is the Mazahua, spoken in the ancient province of Mazahuacan. Of the others the only specimens are a few Lord's Prayers.

[Sidenote: HYPOTHETICAL OTOMÍ AND CHINESE RELATIONSHIP.]

The Otomí claims attention in one particular; it is the only true monosyllabic language found in the Pacific States, and this alone has led many to claim relationship between it and the Chinese.

This Chinese relationship has been mainly advocated by Señor Nájera, a native Otomí, who in furtherance of his peculiar views wrote an excellent Otomí grammar, in an appendix to which he gives an extensive comparison between the two idioms. But, taking up the words which he declares to be similar, we are at once struck with important omissions on his part. The first is that he has not at all taken into consideration the difficulty of comparing monosyllabic languages, in which a word frequently has ten or more significations, distinguishable only by pronunciation and accentuation, and at times having scarcely these distinguishing features. Secondly, the words which he adduces to be similar, are wanting in the very essentials that constitute a relationship, for in most instances they are not even similar in sound, a requisite to which more attention ought to be paid in monosyllabic languages than in those which are polysyllabic. The few words that in reality are similar are probably only accidental resemblances, and the question of relationship between the Otomí and Chinese cannot be said to have been established as yet.[IX'-14]

Mr Bringier branches out in another direction in search of a relationship, and fancies he finds it in the Cherokee, basing his whole argument on a hypothetical resemblance of perhaps half a dozen words, which in fact do not resemble each other at all.[IX'-15]

Like other monosyllabic tongues the Otomí is rather difficult to acquire, its pronunciation being rough, guttural, with frequently occurring nasals and aspirates.[IX'-16]

[Sidenote: OTOMÍ GRAMMAR.]

As before stated, many words having distinct meanings, are distinguished only by various sounds, or intonations of the same vowel; many words even having the same sound and intonations have different meanings. The words of this language are of one or two syllables; a few of them have three. In words compounded of more than one syllable, each syllable preserves its original meaning. The words whether noun or verb, are inflexible. Neither substantive nor adjective nouns have any gender. The same word may be a substantive, adjective, verb, and adverb, as in the following sentence;--na nho nho ye na nho he nho, which means, the goodness of man is good and becomes him well. Nouns have neither declension nor gender, which are expressed either by distinct words, or by ta, or tza, male, and nsu or nxu, female;--tayo, the dog; nxuyo, slut. The particle na has the property of the article and, prefixed to the noun, distinguishes the singular. In the plural, ya affixed, or e prefixed, is substituted. Adjectives are always placed before substantives;--ka ye, holy man. Comparatives are expressed by the words nra, more, and chu, less;--nho, good; nra nho, better. Superlatives are in like manner shown by the word tza, or tze, prefixed, meaning very much, excessively, exceedingly;--tza nho, best; tze ntzo, worst, or very bad. The particle ztzi, or ztzu, prefixed, marks a diminutive;--ztzi hensi, a small paper. In abstract nouns of quality the prefix na is changed into sa;--na nho yeh, a good man; sa nho, that which is good. Personal pronouns are;--nuga, nugaga, nugui, I; gui, ki, me, for me; nugué, nûy, thou; y, hi, to thee, for thee; nunu, he; bi, ba, ki, him, for him, to him; nugahé, nugagahé, nuguihé, we, or us; nuguégúi, nuguehu, nûygúi, nûyhu, you, to you; nuyu, they; ma, mine; ni, thine; na, his.

Verbs are conjugated with the assistance of particles, which designate tense and person. Every tense has three persons, also a singular, and a plural. The plural is always designated by the syllable hé, we; wi, gúi, or hu, you; yu, they. All nouns may also be verbs, for the Otomís, unable to segregate the abstract idea of existence from the thing existing, confound both and have no substantive verb;--nho, good; di nho, I good, or I am good.

CONJUGATION OF THE VERB NEE, I WILL.

PRESENT INDICATIVE.

I will, di nee | We will, di nee hé Thou willest, gui nee | You will, gui nee gúi He wills, y nee | They will, y nee yu

IMPERFECT. PERFECT.

I willed, di nee hma | I have willed, xta nee, or da nee

PLUPERFECT.

I had willed, xta nee hma

FIRST FUTURE. SECOND FUTURE.

I shall will, ga nee | I shall have willed, gua xte nee

IMPERATIVE.

Will thou, nee | Will you, nee gúi nee hu[IX'-17]

[Sidenote: OTOMÍ AND MAZAHUA LORD'S PRAYERS.]

LORD'S PRAYER.

Ma tà he ni bùy mahetsi da ne ansu ni huhu My father we thou house heaven call holy thy name name

da ehe ga he ni bùy da kha ni hnee ngù thy will come towards us thy house thy will do thy will as

gua na hày te ngù mahètsi ma hme he ta nà pa here the earth as also heaven the bread us every day

rà he nar a pa ya ha, puni he ma dupatè he give us one day new and forgive us our debts

tengù di puni he u ma ndupatè he ha yo gui he he as we forgive now debtors ours and avoid the permit us

ga he kha na tzò cadi ma na pehe he hin nhò. do us in bad action but save us no good.

Do kha. Thy will do.

The same in another dialect. Still another version of the same.

Go ma ta he | Ma tà ki he To guí bùy | Gue gui bùy Hé tsi | Kha hetsi Da ma ka ni hu | Kha ni hu Na di ni hne | Da di hnec Hày he heisi | Bi kho na hày Ma hme he ta pa | Ba ña kha mahetsi Sa da ke ni | Da da sê he Ha pu ní ma thày he | Ma hme he Ngù y pu ma thày tè he | Yo ga zo he gee tzò di. Ha yo he | He ga zà tzò di. |

The grammar of the Mazahua dialect is very nearly the same as that of the Otomí, and I therefore insert the Lord's Prayer only to illustrate the connection between the two languages.

Mi yho me ki obuihui ahezi tanereho ni chuu ta ehe Our father is heaven sanctified thy name come

ni nahmuu ta cha axoñihomue cho ni nane makhe thou kingdom do earth ? thy will as

anzi ocha ahezi. Ti yak me mi bech me choyazmue, also is done heaven. Give us our bread every day,

ti chotkhe me mo huezok me makhe anzi tigattotpue forgive us our faults as also we forgive

me mache i zokhegue me pêkhecho gueguetme tezoxkhemeyo those who offend us not us must lead in

huezok hi tipe yeziz one macho yoñene macho sins deliver us from all

tenxi higaho.[IX'-18] evil.

FOOTNOTES:

[IX'-1] 'Les Cholulains chantoient dans leur fêtes en dansant autour du téocalli, et que ce cantique commençoit par les mots Tulanian hululaez, qui ne sont d'aucune langue actuelle du Mexique. Dans tous les parties du globe, sur le dos des Cordillères, comme à l'île de Samothrace, dans la mer Egée, des fragmens de langues primitives se sont conservés dans les rites religieux.' Humboldt, Vues, tom. i., p. 115.

[IX'-2] 'Les Culhuas, les Tecpanèques, les Aculhuaques, les Chalmecas, les Ulmecas les Xicalancas ... parlaient la même langue, quoique dans chaque province avec un autre dialecte; la principale différence consistait dans la prononciation.' Camargo, Hist. Tlax., in Nouvelles Annales des Voy., 1843, tom. xcviii., p. 138. 'Les Ulmecas, les Xicalancas et les Zacatecas ... avaient les mêmes moeurs et la même langue.' Id., p. 137. 'Car la langue de ce pays (Xalisco) est le chichimeque, et Marina parlait mexicain. On se servait, à la verité, aussi dans ce pays d'un Mexicain grossier et barbare, tandis que Marina le parlait avec beaucoup d'élégance.' Id., tom. xcix., p. 143. Techotlalatzin 'fue el primero que usó hablar la lengua nahua, que ahora se llama Mexicana, porque sus pasados nunca la usaron; y asi mandó que todos los de la nacion Chichimeca la hablasen, en especial todos los que tuviesen oficio y cargos de republica.' Ixtlilxochitl, Hist. Chich., in Kingsborough's Mex. Antiq., vol. ix., p. 217. 'Los Mexicanos ... son de los mismos de Colhua ... por ser la lengua toda una.' Motolinia, Hist. Indios, in Icazbalceta, Col. de Doc., tom. i., p. 5. 'La lengua de los Mexicanos es la de los Nahuales.' Id., p. 187. 'La principal lengua de la Nueva España que es de nahuatl.' Id., p. 231; see also pp. 10-11. 'Los Tetzcucanos (llamados Aculhuaques) y los Mexicanos, ... eran de vn Lenguage.' 'La propia, y antigua Lengua, de los Chichimecas Antiguos ... es esta que aora corre, con comun Nombre de Mexicana.' Torquemada, Monarq. Ind., tom. i., pp. 31, 33, 44. Tecpaneca, Otomí y Acolhua. 'El lenguage de estas tres naciones era diverso, no lo era rigorosamente hablando el de la tecpaneca y aculhua, ni pueden llamarse tales y distintos de la lengua nahuatl ó mejicana, sino solamente en el dialecto y frasimos, al modo que el portuguez respecto del castellana. La Otomi se diferencia mas de la nahuatl.' Veytia, Hist. Ant. Mej., tom. ii., p. 44. Ulmecs; 'su lengua era la Nahuatl que hoy llaman mejicana, y se tiene por madre; y esta fué de la nacion tolteca, y he oido decir á personas bien instruidas en este idioma, que en algunos pueblos que aun subsisten en nuestros dias conocidas por de la nacion ulmeca.' Id., tom. i., p. 154. 'Los Nahoas, eran los que hablaban la lengua mexicana, aunque no la pronunciaban tan clara, como los perfectos mexicanos; y estos Nahoas tambien se llamaban Chichimecas.' 'De estos Chichimecas unos habia que se decian Nahuazchichimecas llamándose de Nahóas y de Chichimecas porque hablaban algo la lengua de los Nahóas ó Mexicanos y la suya propia Chichimeca.' Sahagun, Hist. Gen., tom. iii., lib. x., pp. 120, 130, 147. 'Lengua Nàhuatl ... se entiende ser en lengua Mexicàna; aunque la que al presente hablan y hablaron en la Gentilidad los Mexicànos no es suya, sino aprehendida de las otras antecedentes Naciones, y mas bien se debia llamar Tultèca, porque esta Nacion la traxo desde su peregrinacion, haviendola perfeccionado en la tercera Edad.' Boturini, Catálogo, p. 95. 'Los tlaxcaltecos, que tienen la mesma lengua nahual de México y Tezcuco.' Mendieta, Hist. Ecles., p. 147. 'Le nahuatl est sans nul doute une langue déjà ancienne dans l'Amérique centrale, et plus ancienne même que l'empire dont Montézuma fut le chef.' Brasseur de Bourbourg, Lettre, in Nouvelles Annales des Voy., 1855, tom. cxlvii., pp. 154, 153. 'Io però non dubito, che la lingua propria dei Cicimechi antichi fosse la medesima degli Acolhui, e Nahuatlachi, cioe messicana.' Clavigero, Storia Ant. del Messico, tom. i., p. 153. 'Los Mexicanos, ó por mejor decir Aztlanecas, no es su natural lengua la que hablan ahora, ... es la que aprendieron en Tezcuco.' Ixtlilxochitl, Relaciones, in Kingsborough's Mex. Antiq., vol. ix., p. 345. 'Que el lenguage mexicano se usó por las antiquísimas naciones de los Toltecas y Chichimecas.' Hervás, Catálogo, tom. i., p. 298. 'Xochimilcas, Chalqueños, Tepanecas, Colhuas, Tlahuicas, Tlazcaltecas y Mexicanos ... todas hablan un mismo idioma.' Heredia y Sarmiento, Sermon, p. 86. 'Mehr oder minder zahlreiche Sprachreste aus dem Mexikanischen Sprachstamme ... sind Zeugen von der ehemaligen Verbreitung der Tolteken im Süden.' Müller, Amerikanische Urreligionen, p. 525. 'Chichimecs ... same family with the Toltecs, whose language they appear to have spoken.' Prescott's Mex., vol. i., p. 14. 'Die Chichimeken welche aztekisch reden.' Mühlenpfordt, Mejico, tom. ii., pt ii., p. 364; Wappäus, Geog. u. Stat., pp. 34-5. 'Dass sie Eines Ursprunges mit den Tolteken, ... waren, beweist die allen gemeinschaftliche Sprache, welche noch die aztekische heisst.' Buschmann, Ortsnamen, p. 6. 'The Aztecs, Acolhuas, and other kindred tribes ... were of the same language ... as the Toltecs.' Gallatin, in Amer. Ethno. Soc., Transact., vol. i., p. 203. 'Lengua mexicana, llamada tolteca.' Orozco y Berra, Geografía, p. 86. 'Toltecas y las siete tribus nahuatlacas tenian un mismo orígen y hablaban la misma lengua, que era el mexicano, nahuatl ó azteca; pero de ninguna manera succede esto respecto á los chichimecas, aunque hasta hoy por un error muy comun se cree lo contrario.' Pimentel, Cuadro, tom. i., p. 154; Grijalua, Crón. Augustin, fol. 32. 'Les rares traditions qui nous sont restées de l'empire des Votanides, antérieurement à l'arrivée des Nahoas, ne donnent aucune lumière sur les populations qui habitaient, à cette époque, les provinces intérieures du Mexique.... Ce que nous pensons, toutefois, pouvoir avancer avec une conviction plus entière, c'est que la majeure partie des nations qui en dépendaient parlaient une seule et même langue.' 'Cette langue était suivant toute apparence le Maya ou Yucatèque.' Brasseur de Bourbourg, Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. i., p. 102; Heller, Reisen, p. 379, et seq.

[IX'-3] Acosta, Hist. Nat. Ind., p. 600; Sahagun, Hist. Gen., tom. iii., lib. ix., cap. 9; Brasseur de Bourbourg, Palenqué, p. 39.

[IX'-4] Herrera, Hist. Gen., dec. ii., lib. v., cap. v., lib. vi., cap. xii., dec. iii., lib. iii., cap. ix., lib. iv., cap. vii., dec. iv., lib. ix., cap. xiii.; Dávila Padilla, Hist. Fvnd. Mex., p. 64. 'Nicaragua sea y esté poblada de Nahuales, que son de la lengua de México.' Motolinia, Hist. Indios, in Icazbalceta, Col. de Doc., tom. i., pp. 10-11, 231; Oviedo, Hist. Gen., tom. iii., p. 103, tom. iv., pp. 35-37, 108; Solis, Hist. Conq. Mex., tom. i., p. 118. 'Seine Herrschafft, Lands-Sprach, und Glaubens-Sect erstreckten sich einer seits biss zu dem Markflecken Tecoantepec, das ist zweyhundert, anderseits biss gehn Guatimala dass ist dreyhundert Meil sehr von der Statt Mexico.' Hazart, Kirchengeschichte, tom. ii., p. 499. 'Esta lengua mexicana es la general que corre por todas las provincias de esta Nueva España, puesto que en ella hay muy muchas y differentes lenguas particulares, de cada provincia, y en partes de cada pueblo, porque son innumerables.' Mendieta, Hist. Ecles., p. 552. 'Sie haben viererley Sprach darinnen, unter welchen der Mexicaner am lieblichsten vnd gebräuchlichsten (in Nicaragua).' West und Ost-Indischer Lustgart, p. 390; Grijalua, Crón. Augustin, p. 12. 'La lengua general del pais, que era la Mejicana.' Beaumont, Crón. Mechoacan, MS., p. 89; Arnaya, Carta, in Doc. Hist. Mex., série iv., tom. iii., p. 67. 'Celui de Mexico est regardé comme le dialecte original.' Camargo, Hist. Tlax., in Nouvelles Annales des Voy., 1843, tom. xcviii., p. 138; Burgoa, Geog. Descrip., tom. ii., fol. 341; Laet, Novus Orbis, p. 252; Gottfried, Newe Welt, p. 285; Juarros, Hist. Guat., p. 224; Chevalier, Mex. Ancien et Mod., p. 160; Museo Mex., tom. iii., p. 269; Palacio, Carta, p. 20; Squier, in Id., note iii., p. 100; Squier's Monograph of Authors, p. ix.; Id., Cent. Amer., pp. 320, 327-9, 339, 413; Stephens' Cent. Amer., vol. ii., p. 190; Froebel, Aus Amerika, tom. i., p. 285; Conder's Mex. Guat., vol. ii., p. 178; Romero, Noticias para formar la Historia de Michoacan, p. 5; Alegre, Hist. Comp. de Jesus, tom. i., pp. 89-90; Baril, Mexique, p. 212; Brasseur de Bourbourg, Id., Esquisses, p. 24; Gallatin, in Amer. Ethno. Soc., Transact., vol. i., pp. 3, 8; Orozco y Berra, Geografía, pp. 54-5; Vater, Mithridates, tom. iii., pt iii., p. 85; Pimentel, Cuadro, tom. i., p. 158; Anales del Ministerio de Fomento, 1854, tom. i.; Acosta, Hist. Nat. Ind., p. 584; Id., Hist. de las Ynd., p. 530.

[IX'-5] Hernandez, Nova Plant.

[IX'-6] See Juan de la Anunciacion, Doctrina Christiana muy cumplida, donde se contiene la exposicion de todo lo necessario para doctrinar a los Indios y administralles los Sanctos Sacramentos. Compuesta en lengua Castellana y Mexicana. Mex., 1575. Juan de la Anunciacion, Sermonario en lengua Mexicana. Mex., 1577. Joan Baptista, Advertencias para los Confesores de los Naturales. Mex., 1600. Rosales, Loa en Obsequio de la Aparicion de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe, Poem, 1582. Ioan de Mijango, Espejo Diuino, en lengua Mexicana. Mex., 1607. Martin de Leon, Camino del Cielo, en lengua Mexicana. Mex., 1611. Martin de Leon, Manual breve y forma de administrar los Santos Sacramentos á los Indios. Mex., 1640. Carlos Celedonio Velasquez de Cardenas y Leon, Breve Practica, y Regimen del Confessionario de Indios en Mexicano. Mex., 1661. Ignacio de Paredes, Promptuario Manual Mexicano. Mex., 1759. Francisco de Avila, Platica para hazer a los Indios. Mex., 1717. Antonio Vasquez Gastelu, Confessionario Breve en lengua Mexicana, Catecismo Breve. Puebla, 1716, and 2d edition, 1826, 1838, also 1860. Lecciones Espirituales para las Tandas de Ejercicios. Puebla, 1841. Pequeno Catecismo en el idioma Mex. Puebla, 1819. Juan Romualdo Amaro, Doctrina. Mex. 1840.

[IX'-7] Paredes, Promptuario Manual Mexicano, p. xc.

[IX'-8] Buschmann, Ortsnamen, p. 24.

[IX'-9] 'La mexicana no es menos galana y curiosa que la latina, y aun pienso que mas artizada en composicion y derivacion de vocablos, y en metáforas, cuya inteligencia y uso se ha perdido.' Mendieta, Hist. Ecles., p. 552. 'La langue mexicaine est la plus riche de toute contrée: elle est aussi la plus pure, car elle n'est pas mélangée d'aucun mot étranger.' Camargo, Hist. Tlax., in Nouvelles Annales des Voy., 1843, tom. xcix., p. 136. 'Lengua Mexicana y Nahuatl, que es la mejor, mas copiosa y mas estendida que ay en la nueva España.' Gomara, Conq. Mex., fol. 293; Purchas his Pilgrimes, vol. iv., fol. 1135. 'La lengua Mexicana, que aunque es muy elegante y graciosa, tiene por su artificio y agudeza muchas metaforas, que la hazen dificultosa.' Dávila Padilla, Hist. Fvnd. Mex., p. 31. 'Malgrado la mancanza di quelle sei consonanti é una lingua copiosissima, assai pulita, e sommamente espressiva.' Clavigero, Storia Ant. del Messico, tom. ii., p. 171. 'Es muy elegante este idioma, dulce, y muy abundante de Frases, y composiciones.' Cortés, Hist. Nueva España, p. 5; Laet, Novus Orbis, pp. 240-1; Carbajal Espinosa, Hist. Mex., tom. i., p. 635; Müller, Reisen, tom. iii., pp. 105-8. 'Su lengua es la mejor y mas polida.' (Tezcuco.) Herrera, Hist. Gen., dec. iii., lib. ii., cap. x. 'La mas elegante la Tezcucana como la Castellana en Toledo.' Vetancvrt, Teatro Mex., pt ii., p. 14; Boturini, Idea, p. 142; Humboldt, Vues, tom. ii., pp. 382-3. 'Esta lengua mas elegante y expressiva que la Latina, y dulce que la Toscana.' Granados y Galves, Tardes Amer., p. 401. 'La langue mexicaine est riche comme les autres langues indiennes; mais, comme elles, elle est matérielle et n'abonde pas en mots significatifs d'idées abstraites; comme elles, elle est synthétique dans sa structure, et n'en diffère, quant à ses formes, que par les détails qui n'affectent point son génie et son caractère. Elle abonde en particules intercalées,' Du Ponceau, Mémoire, p. 255; Sonneschmid, Remarks on Mex. and the Mex. Lang., in Amer. Monthly Mag., vol. iii., p. 118; Lang's Polynesian Nat., pp. 95-7. 'The Mexican tongue abounded in expressions of reverence and courtesy. The style and appellations used in the intercourse between equals, would have been so unbecoming in the mouth of one in a lower sphere, when he accosted a person in higher rank, as to be deemed an insult.' Robertson's Hist. Amer., vol. ii., pp. 278-9. 'The low guttural pronunciation of the Mexican, or Aztec.' Ward's Mex., vol. i., p. 31; Galicia Chimalpopocatl, Dissertacion, in Museo Mex., tom. iv., p. 517, et seq.; Heller, Reisen, p. 377. 'Des hauteurs les plus sublimes, de la métaphysique, elle descend aux choses les plus vulgaires; avec une sonorité et une richesse d'expression qui n'appartiennent qu'à elle.' Brasseur de Bourbourg, Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. i., p. 103; Prescott's Mex., vol. i., p. 108, vol. iii., p. 395. 'The language of the Mexicans is to our apprehension harsh in the extreme.' Helps' Span. Conq., vol. i., p. 288.

[IX'-10] Pedro de Arenas, Vocabulario Manual de las Lenguas Castellana y Mexicana. Mex., 1583. Manuel Perez, Arte del Idioma Mexicano. Mex., 1713. Antonio Vasquez Gastelu, Arte de la Lengua Mexicana. Puebla, 1716, and 2d edition, 1838. Francisco de Avila, Arte de la Lengua Mexicana. Mex., 1717. Carlos de Tapia Zenteno, Arte Novissima de Lengua Mexicana. Mex., 1753. Horacio Carochi, Compendio del Arte de la Lengua Mexicana. Mex., 1759. Molina, Vocabulario. Mex., 1571. Rafael Sandoval, Arte de la Lengua Mexicana. Mex., 1810. Pedro de Arenas, Guide de la Conversation. Paris, 1862. Gallatin, in Amer. Ethno. Soc., Transact., vol. i., pp. 214-245; Pimentel, Cuadro, vol. i., pp. 164-216; Vater, Mithridates, tom. iii., pt iii., pp. 85-106; Buschmann, Ortsnamen, pp. 20-37.

[IX'-11] 'Es ist nicht möglich von einer Verwandtschaft der mexicanischen Sprache mit den Sprachen anderer Erdtheile zu reden.' Buschmann, Ortsnamen, p. 20; Garcia, Origen de los Ind., pp. 118-21, 187, 232-5, 241, 269; Jones' Hist. Anc. Amer.; Simon's Ten Tribes, pp. 163, 173; Lang's Polynesian Nat., pp. 96-8, et seq; Quarterly Review, 1816, p. 415; Humboldt, Vues, tom. ii., p. 229, et seq.

[IX'-12] Orozco y Berra, Geografía, p. 17; Alegre, _Hist. Comp. de Jesus_, tom. i., p. 282; Pimentel, Cuadro, tom. i., p. 118; Vater, Mithridates, tom. iii., pt iii., p. 113.

[IX'-13] 'Concòrdandose en que no se entienden los mismos Otomites de diversos Pueblos, aun Vecinos, de que diò una prueba concluyente el Obispo de Puebla, con el hecho de haver juntado quatro Curas estindantes de su sierra Otomì los que mutuamente se improbaban por hereticas, a disparatadòs sus esplicaciones de los Mysterios de nrã Religion.' Concilio Provincial Mexicano, iv., 1771, Julio 31, MS.

[IX'-14] Naxera, Dis. sobre la lengua Othomí; Warden, Recherches, in Antiq. Mex., pp. 125-9.

[IX'-15] Bringier, Lettre, in Silliman's Jour., vol. iii., pp. 35-6.

[IX'-16] 'La Otomí, lengua bárbara cuasi enteramente gutural, y que á pénas cede al estudio y á la mas séria aplicacion.' Alegre, Hist. Comp. de Jesus, tom. i., p. 90. 'La Otomi, que se dilata casi tanto como la Mexicana, y en la difficultad, y obscuridad le haze grandes ventajas.' Grijalua, Crón. Augustin, fol. 74. 'Loro linguaggio è assai difficile, e pieno d'aspirazioni, che fanno parte nella gola, e parte nel naso ma peraltro è abbastanza copioso ed espressivo.' Clavigero, Storia Ant. del Messico, tom. i., p. 148. 'Une langue pleine d'aspirations nasales et gutturales.' Humboldt, Essai Pol., tom. i., p. 255. 'Die Sprache der Othomi zeichnet sich durch die Einsylbigkeit oder wenigstens Kürze ihrer meisten Wörter, durch Härte und Aspiration aus.' Vater, Mithridates, tom. iii., pt iii., p. 114. 'Leur langue, rude comme eux, est monosyllabique: embrassant à la fois tous les sons, mais dénuée d'ornements, elle montre, néanmoins, dans sa simplicité quelque chose de majestueux qui rappelle les temps antiques.' Brasseur de Bourbourg, Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. i., p. 157. 'Es dura, seca, ingrata á la lengua y mal al oido: todo lo de ella es rústico, vasto, sin pulidez.' Naxera, Dis. sobre la lengua Othomí, p. 23. 'Su lenguage es muy duro y corte.' Herrera, Hist. Gen., dec. iii., lib. v., cap. xix.; Duponceau, Mémoire, pp. 68-71; Torquemada, Monarq. Ind., tom. i., p. 33, tom. ii., p. 82; Müller, Reisen, tom. iii., p. 45; Hassel, Mex. Guat., p. 152; Mühlenpfordt, Mejico, tom. ii., pt ii., p. 364; Conder's Mex. Guat., vol. ii., p. 119.

[IX'-17] Yoaquin Lopez Yepes, Catecismo y Declaracion de la Doctrina Cristiana, en lengua Otomí. Francisco Perez, Catecismo de la Doctrina Cristiana, en lengua Otomí. Naxera, Disertacion sobre la lengua Othomi. Gallatin, in Amer. Ethno. Soc., Transact., vol. i., pp. 286-98; Vater, Mithridates, tom. iii., pt iii., pp. 115-24; Pimentel, Cuadro, vol. i., pp. 120-50; Antonio Guadalupe Ramirez, Breve Compendio ... Dispuesto en lengua Othomí. See also Lond. Geog. Soc., Jour., vol. iii., p. 355; Luis de Neve y Molina, Grammatica Della Lingua Otomí.

[IX'-18] Pimentel, Cuadro, tom. ii., pp. 194-201.

X. LANGUAGES OF CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN MEXICO

THE PAME AND ITS DIALECTS -- THE MECO OF GUANAJUATO AND THE SIERRA GORDA -- THE TARASCO OF MICHOACAN AND ITS GRAMMAR -- THE MATLALTZINCA AND ITS GRAMMAR -- THE OCUILTEC -- THE MIZTEC AND ITS DIALECTS -- MIZTEC GRAMMAR -- THE AMUSGO, CHOCHO, MAZATEC, CUICATEC, CHATINO, TLAPANEC, CHINANTEC, AND POPOLUCA -- THE ZAPOTEC AND ITS GRAMMAR -- THE MIJE -- MIJE GRAMMAR AND LORD'S PRAYER -- THE HUAVE OF THE ISTHMUS OF TEHUANTEPEC -- HUAVE NUMERALS.

North-eastward of the Otomí, is a language called the Pame, spoken in three distinct dialects; the first in San Luis de la Paz, in the Sierra Gorda; the second, near the city of Maiz, in San Luis Potosí; and the third in Purísima Concepcion de Arnedo, and also in the Sierra Gorda. I have at hand only the Lord's Prayer in three dialects; nor can I find mention of any vocabulary or grammar. It is described as difficult to acquire, principally on account of the many dialectic variations.[X'-1]

[Sidenote: PAME AND MECO LORD'S PRAYER.]

FIRST DIALECT.

Tata mícagon indis bonigemajá: indis unajá grotztacuz: Quii unibó: Nage eu nitazá, unibó ubonigí: Urroze paricagon uvinguí ambogón bucon gatigí bajir gomór, como icagon gumorbon quipicgo hicnangó: nenanguí nandazó pacunimá: imorgo cabonjá pajanor. Amen Jesus.

SECOND DIALECT.

Caucan xugüenan, que humiju cantau impains, achscalijon gee nigiu yucant gee cumpó. Chaucat gee quimang, ac-gi cumpó acgi cantau impain. Senté caucan senda gunó yucant chiné iguadcatan caucan humunts, ac-gipain caucan hujuadptan á caucan humunts. Y mi negenk do guaik guning cacaa yeket vali ening, ac-ge-bo.

THIRD DIALECT.

Ttattahghuhggg ighegh ddih uhvoh hinh gghih qquihhmissches: ughgnjuhgh ttahghgihh innddisseh Qquihihihh uhggúho uhghg gühihh rrehhino, Ih qquih üghgghihghh wohlluhn ttáh ighschchahh, Assi uhggüghh commo ub vóhnnihghh. Uhnghehddi uhvrá hhvíhn qquihhphpohggühuhh, yhchihh uh vehvéhh ihghgühohgühuhh ih qqih ih chi wchveh ihhumhurhggühuhh uhhohddi nuch hêhôhuág. Assi commo ahpe hpâhhddi ihec âhggühuhh kuhmhûhrûhhg uhonnddi ahphpiggühúhh. Ih qquihngnahghnhêhrrggühuhh phpahagh, Ahnâhssuhqquih huhnhéhh. Mahhsséhh Uihbbráhrhr ihhehggühuhh. Ihghgôhttahhehrêh Ggéhssúhs.

It will be observed that the third dialect displays a most singular combination of letters. It is a manifest absurdity. Pimentel does not mention where he obtained it, nor does he intimate what sounds are produced from this huddling of consonants. I give it more as a curiosity than with the idea that philologists will ever derive any benefit from it.[X'-2]

In the Sierra Gorda and in Guanajuato, another language is mentioned, called the Meco, or Serrano, of which no specimen but a Lord's Prayer exists:

Mataíge gui bu majetzi, qui sundat too, da guê rit tû jû da ne pa quecque ni moc canáni, ne si dac-kaá na moccanzû; tanto na sinfai, tengû, majetzi. Mat tumeje tá, át mapa, rac-je pilla, ne si gi pungagé, mat-oigajé, tengû si didi pumjéé, too dit-tuc-je, nello gijega je gatac-je ratentacion; man-aa juêgaje, gat-tit-jov llaizoonfenni.[X'-3]

Still less is said concerning the languages spoken in the state of Tamaulipas; of them nothing is known but the names, and it cannot be ascertained whether they are correctly classified or not, as no specimens exist. The languages which I find spoken of are the Yuê, Yemé, Olive, Janambre, Pisone, and a general one named Tamaulipeco.[X'-4]

The Tarasco, the principal language of Michoacan, can be placed almost upon an equality with the Aztec, as being copious and well finished. It is particularly sweet-sounding, and on this account has been likened to the Italian; possessing all the letters of the alphabet.

Each syllable usually contains one consonant and one vowel; the letter r is frequent.[X'-5] From the different grammars I compile the following:

[Sidenote: TARASCO GRAMMAR.]

In the alphabet there is neither f, v, nor l; no words begin with the letters b, d, g, and r; k, has a sound distinct from that of c, being pronounced stronger. The letter s is often intercalated for euphony; it must be inserted between h and i, when a word ends with h, and the next begins with i. At the end of a word it signifies same, or self; hi, I; his, I myself. When a word ends in s and the next begins with h, the letter x is substituted for both. The letter x at the end of a word indicates the plural. Ph is never pronounced like f; the h after p only indicates an aspiration of the vowel which follows:--p-hica. Hati, third person singular of the pronoun used in conjugations, may be converted into ndi. The p immediately following m is converted into b. The r and t next following n are converted into d; and e and q next following n are converted into g. There are three kinds of nouns--rational, irrational, and inanimate. The last two are indeclinable in the singular. The plural of irrational animals is formed simply by the addition of the particle echa. Two other particles are used to express the plural of inanimate things;--uan, and harandeti, many, much. Five words of this species use, however, the particle echa in the plural; uata, mountain; ambocuta, street; ahchiuri, night; tzipaé, morning; hosqua, star.

DECLENSION OF THE WORD FATHER.

SINGULAR. PLURAL.

Nom. tata | Nom. tata ecba Gen. tataeueri, or hihchiuiremba | Gen. tata echa eueri Dat. tata ni | Dat. tata echa ni Acus. tata ni | Acus. tsta echa ni Voc. tata e | Voc. tata eche e Abl. tata ni himbo | Abl. tata echa ni himbo

CONJUGATION OF THE VERB POMI, TO TOUCH.

PRESENT INDICATIVE.

Active. Passive. I touch, pohaca | I am touched, pogahaca Thou touchest, pohacare | Thou art touched, pogahacare He touches, pohati | He is touched, pogahati We touch, pohacachuchi | We are touched, pogahacachuchi You touch, pohacarechuchi | You are touched, pogahacuchuchi They touch, potix | They are touched, pogatix

IMPERFECT.

I touched, pohambihca | I was touched, pogahambihca

PERFECT.

I have touched, poca | I was touched, pogaca

PLUPERFECT.

I had touched, pophihca | I had been touched, pogaphica

FIRST FUTURE.

I shall touch, pouaca | I shall be touched, pagauaca

SECOND FUTURE.

I shall have touched, thuvin pouaca I shall have been touched, thuvin pogauaca

IMPERATIVE.

Let me touch, popa | Let us touch, popacuche Touch thou, po | Touch you, paue Let him touch, poue | Let them touch, pauez

I might touch, popiringa | I might be touched, pogapiringa[X'-6]

LORD'S PRAYER.

Tata huchaeueri thukirehaca auándaro santo arikeue Father our thou who art heaven in holy be said

thucheueti hacangurikua uuehtsini andarenoni thucheueti thy name make us arrive thy

irechekua ukeue thucheueti uekua iskire auándaro kingdom be done thy will as in heaven in

umengahaca istu umengaue ixu echerendo. Huchaeueri it is made as it be made as earth in. Our

curinda anganaripakua instcuhtsini iya canhtsini uepouachetsnsta bread daily give us to-day and to us forgive

huchaeueri hatzingakuareta iski hucha uehpouacuhuantstahaca our fault as also we forgive

huchaeueri hatsingakuaecheni ca hastsini teruhtatzemani our debtors and not us lead us

terungutahperakua himbo. Euahpentstatsini caru casingurita temptation but deliver us also evil

himbo.[X'-7] of.

[Sidenote: MATLALTZINCA GRAMMAR.]

West of the valley of Anáhuac, in the ancient kingdom of Michoacan, and in the district which is now called Toluca, was an independent nation, the Matlaltzincas, whose language, of which there are several dialects, notwithstanding the assertion of some writers that it was connected with or related to the Tarasco, must still stand as an individual and distinct tongue. Comparisons may develop a few phonetic similarities, but otherwise the two do not approach one another in the least.[X'-8]

There are twenty-one letters used in the Matlaltzinca language:--a, b, ch, d, e, g, h, i, k, m, n, o, p, q, r, t, tz, th, u, x, y, z. Compounded words are frequently used and are considered very elegant;--kimituhoritakimindutzitzi, to look for something to eat; kituteginchimuthohuinikuhumbi, I give a good example. Gender is expressed and there is also a declension. There is a singular, a dual, and a plural; the dual is designated by the preposition the;--huema, the man; thema, the two men. The plural is designated by the preposition ne;--nema, the men; but there are some inanimate substantives with which this latter preposition is not used.

The personal pronouns are:--kaki, I; kakuehui, kakuebi, kakuehebi, we two; kakohuiti, kakehebi, we; kahachi, thou; kachehui, you two; kachohui, you; inthehui, he; inthehuehui, they two; inthehue, they. Possessives:--niteyeh, mine; kaxniyeh, thine; niyeh inthehui, his.

CONJUGATION OF THE VERB TO LOVE.

PRESENT INDICATIVE.

SINGULAR.

I love, kitututochi Thou lovest, kitutochi, or kikitutochi He loves, kitutochi

DUAL.

We two love, kikuentutochi You two love, kichentutochi They two love, kikuentutochi

PLURAL.

We love, kikuchentutochi You love, kichehentutochi They love, kirontutochi

IMPERFECT. PERFECT.

I loved, kimitututochi | I have loved, kitabutochi

FUTURE.

I shall love, kirutochi, or takimitututochi

IMPERATIVE.

Let me love, kutochi

PASSIVE.

I am loved, kitochikikaki | We are loved, kitochikakehebi We two are loved, kitochihuehuikakuebi|

REFLEXIVE.

I love myself, kitutecochi

He who loves, inmututochi | He who will love, inkakatutochi

LORD'S PRAYER.

Kabotuntanki kizhechori ypiytiy tharehetemeyuhbutohui Father our thou art above in heaven sanctified be

inituyuh tapue nitubeye tharetehehui inunihami thy name come thy kingdom do above the earth

inkituhenahui ipuzka hetehehui ypiytiy. Achii ripahkehbi thy will as it is done in heaven. To-day give us

inbotumehui indahmutze dihemindikebi inbotubuchochi our bread every day forgive us our fault

pukuehentukahmindi indorihuebikeh nuximenkarihechi as we forgive our debtors let us not fall

kehbi muhe dishedanita kehbi pinita us and deliver us from

inbuti.[X'-9] evil.

A language spoken in Toluca, the Ocuiltec, is mentioned by Sahagun and Grijalua, about which, excepting the name only, no information can be obtained.[X'-10]

* * * * *

[Sidenote: DIALECTS OF THE MIZTEC LANGUAGE.]

Principally in the state of Oajaca, but also in parts of the present states of Puebla and Guerrero, the Miztec language is spoken even to this day. Of this language there are many dialects, of which the following are mentioned as chief;--the Tepuzculano, the Yangüistlan, the Miztec bajo, the Miztec alto, the Cuixlahuac, the Tlaxiaco, the Cuilapa, the Mictlantongo, the Tamazulapa, the Xaltepec, and the Nochiztlan. As related to the Miztec, the Chocho, or Chuchon, also an Oajaca idiom, is mentioned.[X'-11] As the Miztecs are generally classed among the autochthones of Mexico, their language is considered as of great antiquity, being spoken of in connection with that of the Ulmecs and Xicalancas.[X'-12] Almost all of the old missionaries complained of the difficulty of acquiring this tongue and its many dialects, which necessitated often a threefold or fourfold study.[X'-13]

The Miztec may be written by means of the following letters:--a, ch, d, e, h, i, j, k, m, n, ñ, o, s, t, u, v, x or ks, gs, y, z, dz, nd, tn, kh. The pronunciation is very clear; the h is aspirated; v is as in English; kh, nd, and tn, are nasal. Long words are of frequent occurence. I give two of seventeen syllables each;-- yodoyokavuandisasikandiyosanninahasahan, to walk stumbling; and yokuvuihuatinindiyotuvuihuatusindisahata, to conciliate the good graces of a person. Words are compounded or agglutinated in five different ways;--First, without changing either of the component words, as;--yutnù, tree; and kuihi, fruit; yutnukuihi, fruit-tree. Second, one of the component words changes, as;--huaha, good, and ñaha, no; ñahuaha, bad. Third, words which are first divided and cut up, are afterward, so to say, patched together again. Fourth, one word is intercalated with another; as;--yosinindi, I know; mani, an estimable thing; yosinimanindi, I love or esteem.

There are many words in this language which express quite different things, according to the connection in which they are used, as;--yondakandi, I accompany somebody, means also I ask; yoyuhuindi, I counsel, signifies also, I go to receive somebody on the road; also, let us go; etc. Reverential terms are of frequent occurrence, necessitating almost a separate language when addressing superiors. For instance;--noho, teeth; yeknya yuchixa, teeth of a lord; dzitui, nose; dutuya, nose of a lord; dzoho, ears; tnahaya, ears of a lord. There is no regular plural, but plurality is expressed by the word 'many,' or the number. Personal pronouns are;--I, speaking to inferiors or equals, duhu, ndi; I, speaking with superiors, ñadzaña, ñadza, ñdza; thou, doho, ndo; thou, used by females speaking to their children, diya, nda; you, or your honor, disi, maini, ni; he, ta, tay, yukua; she, ña, (also used by women speaking of men); he or she, speaking respectfully, ya, iya; we, ndoo; you, doho; they, ta, tay, yukua. The pronouns, ndi, ndo, ta, are affixed to the verb; and the pronouns, duhu, doho, and tai, are prefixed; ñadzaña, is usually prefixed; ñadza or ndza, affixed; disi, and maini, are generally prefixed, ni is affixed; diya, is prefixed and ña, ndoo, and ya, are affixed.

[Sidenote: MIZTEC GRAMMAR AND LORD'S PRAYERS.]

CONJUGATION OF THE VERB TO SIN.

PRESENT INDICATIVE.

I sin, yodzatevuindi | He sins, yodzatevuita Thou sinnest, yodzatevuindo | We sin, yodzatevuindoo

IMPERFECT. PLUPERFECT.

I sinned, nidzatevuindi | I had sinned, sanidzatevuindi

FIRST FUTURE. SECOND FUTURE.

I shall sin, dzatevuindi | I shall have sinned, sadzatevuikandi

IMPERATIVE.

Let me sin, nadzatevuindi | Let us sin, nadzatevuindoo Sin thou, dzatevui | Sin you, chidzatevui Let him, or them sin, nadzatevuita

Verbal nouns are formed by prefixing the syllable sa, or sasi, to the present indicative of the verb. Regarding the dialects of the Miztec, Pimentel quotes the following from Father Reyes' grammar. All the dialects may be grouped into two principal languages, which are those of Tepuzculula and Yangüitlan. That of Tepuzculula is the best understood throughout the district of Mizteca.

The Pater Noster in the Tepuzculula dialect is as follows.

Dzutundoo yodzikani andevui nakakunahihuahandoo, Our father thou art heaven let us praise,

sananini nakisi santoniisini nakuvui ñuuñayevui inini thy name come thy kingdom be done (in the) world thy will

dzavuatnaha yokuvui andevui. Dzitandoo yutnaa yutnaa as also be done (in) heaven. Our bread each day

tasinisindo huitno dzaandoui kuachisindoo dzavuatnaha give us much to-day forgive us our sins as well as

yodzandoondoo suhani sindoo huasa kivuiñahani nukuitandodzondoo we forgive debtor ours not lead us we will fall

kuachi tavuiñahani sañahuahua. Dzavua in sin deliver you from evil. So

nakuvui. be it made.

For the purpose of illustrating the difference between the dialects, I insert two other Pater Nosters, the first of Miztec bajo, and the second of the alto dialect:

Dútundo hiadícani andívi ñacùú hii ña nániní: naquíxidíca satónixiní: nacúu ndúdu ínìní ñunahívi yóhò daguatnaha yo cúu ini andivi. Ditàndo itián itían taxinia nundi vichi: te dandooni cuachindi dagua tnaha dandoondi naa ni dativi nundi: te maza dáñani ntziuhu uncaguandi ña dativindi: te cuneguahanindi nuu nditaca ña unguaha. Duha na cuu Jesus.

Dzutuyo iyoxicani andivi nacui hii ñanánini. Naquixi xatòniixini. Nacúhui ndudzuinìni uñaiviyóhò, sahuatna yocúhui ini andivi. Dzitàyo itian itian taxini nundi vichi: sandoo-ni cuáchiyo, sahuatanha yo sandondi nanidzativi nundi taun-sayáhani ñacanacahuandi zadzativindi. Sacacunino ñahani nuu nditaca ña hunhua. Dzaa nacuu Iya Iesus.[X'-14]

Another language, said to be connected with the Miztec is the Amusgo. Wedged in between the Miztec and Zapotec are several tongues, of which, excepting a few Lord's Prayers, I find nothing mentioned but the names; it is not improbable that some of them were only dialects of either the Miztec or Zapotec. These are the Mazatec, Cuicatec, and Chinantec, which latter is described as a very guttural tongue, with a rather indistinct pronunciation, so that it is difficult to distinguish the vowels; further there are mentioned the Chatino, Tlapanec, and Popoluca.[X'-15] Orozco y Berra declares that the following names designate the Popoluca in different states. Thus the Chocho, Chochona, or Chuchon, is said by him to have been called--in Puebla, the Popoluca; in Guerrero, the Tlapanec; in Michoacan, the Teco; and in Guatemala, the Pupuluca.[X'-16] Of these languages I have the following Lord's Prayers:

CHOCHO OR CHUCHON.

Thañay theeñingarmhi athiytnuthu y ñay dithiñi achuua dinchaxiñi atatçu ndithetatçu caguñi, nchiyatheetatçu ngarmhi andaatatçu saçermhi y tçama caatuenesacaha cahau atzizhuqhee caa tuënesacaha di ëñihay a taanguyheene cagüñi, ditheethaxengaqhine tuënesacaha nchiyaquichuu, ditheetaanguyheene cagüquichuu ... sacaha, thiytheecheëxengaqhine quichuu sacaha netçanga yhathamiñi çixitçeyasacaha yhee cheecaamiñi cheecaaqhi nemiñi caatuënesacaha caanenndiñaña andataazu.

[Sidenote: MAZATEC AND CUICATEC LORD'S PRAYERS.]

Of the Mazatec there are two specimens, which do not appear to accord, thus showing how little regard was paid to names:

Nadminá Nainá ga tecni gahami, sandumí ili ga tirrubanajin nanguili. Cuaha catama janimali, jacunit dic nangui cunit gahami. Niño rrajinna tey quitaha najin; qntedchatahanajin gadchidtonajin jacunitgajin nedchata alejin chidtaga tedtunajin. Guquimit tacuntuajin, tued tinajin cuacha ca tama.

* * * * *

Tata nahan xi nacá nihaseno: chacuca, catoma ñieré; catichová rico manimajin. Catoma cuazuare, donjara batoó cor nanguí, bateco, nihasen: niotisla najin ri ganeihinixtin, tinto najin dehi; nicanuhi ri guitenajin donjara batoo, juirin ni canojin ri quiteisjajin, quiniquenahi najin ri danjin quis anda nongo niqueste. Meé.

* * * * *

Of the Cuicatec there are also two dialects:

Chidao, chicane cheti jubí chintuico ña; cobichi, jubi ña; chichií, chicobi no ns: ñendi ña; cobichi ñenoña. Duica ñahán, ñahán tando cheti jubi. Nondo ñecno; chi jubi, jubi; techi ni nons: má dinenino, ni chi canticono, dinen, tandonons; dineninono chi canti co ñehen nons, ata condicno; na tentac ioñ, ante danhi, dinenino ni chin que hé danhi.

* * * * *

Chida deco, chicanede vae chetingue cuivicu duchi dende cuichi nusun dende vue chetingue cui, tundube vedinun dende tica nañaa, tandu vae chetingue yn dingue deco de huehue techide deco guema yna dechecode deco ducue ticu tica, tandu nusun nadecheco deevioducue chichati cusa yati, tumandicude cuitao vendicuido nanguaedene ducue chiguetae.[X'-17]

* * * * *

[Sidenote: ZAPOTEC GRAMMAR AND LORD'S PRAYER.]

The ancient kingdom of Zapotecapan, in which the Zapotec language was spoken, extended from the valley of Oajaca as far as Tehuantepec. The different dialects were, the Zaachilla, Ocotlan, Etla, Netzicho, Serrano de Ixtepec, Serrano de Cajones or Beni-Xono, and Serrano de Miahuatlan.[X'-18] The Zapotec is a more harmonious language than the Miztec, and is spoken with considerable elegance, metaphors and parables abounding.[X'-19] Yet it is in some places pronounced indistinctly; so much so that Juan Córdova, the author of a grammar, complains that the letters a and o, e, y, and i, o and u, b and p, and t and r, are often confounded. The h is used only as an aspirate. The following letters of the alphabet represent the sounds of the Zapotec: a, b, ch, e, g, h, i, k, l, m, n, ñ, o, p, r, t, u, y, x, z, th. There are also five diphthongs: æ, oe, ei, ie, ou. The plural is expressed either by numerals or by adjectives;--pichina, deer; ziani pichina, many deer. Like the Aztec, Miztec, and others, the Zapotec has reverential terms. The personal pronouns are;--naa, ya, a, I; lohui, loy, looy, lo, thou; yobina, your honor (when speaking to superiors); nikani, nike, nikee, ni, ke, he or they; yobini or yobina, he, (speaking respectfully); taono, tono, tonoo, tona, no, noo, we; lato, to, you.

Possessives;--xitenia, mine; xitenilo, thine; xitenini, his; xitenitono or xitenino, ours; xitenito, yours. Interrogatives used with animate beings, are;--tuxa or tuia, tu or chu; and with inanimate things: xiikaxa, xiixa, xii; koota is used for either animate or inanimate objects.

There are four conjugations, which are distinguished by the particles with which they commence. The first uses, in the present, ta, in the past, ka, and in the future, ka; the second has te, pe, and ke; the third, ti, ko, ki; and if they are passives, ti, pi, ki, or ti, ko, and ka; the fourth uses to, pe, and ko.

CONJUGATION OF THE VERB TO DIG.

PRESENT INDICATIVE.

I dig, tanaya | We dig, tieenano Thou diggest, tanalo | You dig, tanato He digs, or they dig, tanani |

IMPERFECT. PERFECT.

I dug, tanatia, konatia, or konaya | I have dug, zianaya

PLUPERFECT.

I had dug, huayanaya, konakalaya, zianakalaya, or, huayanakalaya

FIRST FUTURE.

I shall dig, kanaya

IMPERATIVE.

Dig thou, kona Let us dig, lakeyanano, or kolakieenano Dig you, kolakana

OTHER FORMS.

If I would dig, nianalayaniaka If I have dug, zianatilaya If I shall dig, nikanaya

The following is an example of the differences between the dialects. Child in the Zaachilla is batoo; in the Ocotlan, metho; in the Etla, binnito; in the sierra, bitao; in the tierra caliente, bato.

The Pater Noster with literal translation taken from the Catecismo of Leonardo Levanto, reads as follows.

Bixoozetonoohe kiiebaa nachiibalo nazitoo ziikani Father our heaven thou who art above great has been done

laalo kellakookii xtennilo kita ziika ruarii nitizigueelalo thy name kingdom thine will come here thy will

ziika raka kiaa, kiiebaa laaniziika gaka ruarii as is done above, heaven as be done here

layoo. Xikonina kixee kixee peneche ziika anna chela earth. The bread of all us to-morrow give also to-day and

a kozaanañaaziikalo tonoo niiani ya kezihuina: peziilla not lead us us that we sin: deliver

zika tonoo niiaxtenni kiraa kellahuechiie. Gaga ziiga also us of all evil. Will be done so

ziika.[X'-20] so.

Between the head waters of the Rio Nexapa and Goatzacoalco the Mije language is spoken. It is described as guttural and rough, and by some as poor in words, necessitating auxiliary gestures. The bishop of Oajaca, to whose diocese they belonged, in a letter to Archbishop Lorenzana stated that he had a people under him, who could only converse during daylight, for at night they could not see their gestures and without these were unable to understand each other.[X'-21] The following alphabet is used by Pimentel in writing this language;--a, b, ch, e, h, i, k, m, n, ñ, o, p, t, u, v, x, y, tz. Two and more consonants frequently follow one another in the same syllable, as;--akx, epx, itzp, otzk, mma, mne, mpi, mto, mxu, etc. Vowels are also frequently double, as;--kôô, arms; teikkaa, and tinaak, stomach. In declensions the genitive is formed by prefixing the letter i;--xêuh, name; dios ixêuh, name of God. The plural is formed by the terminal toch;--toix, woman; toixtoch, women.

PRONOUNS.

I ôtz, n, nôtz Thou ix, mitz, mi, mim, n Thou, speaking with reverence mih He t, i He, or they who hudiiphee, hudii He, or they who (affixed) phee, hee This, these phee, hee, yaat Who pôn We ôôtz, n They yâó Mine nôtz Thine m, mitzm His i Our, ours ôôtzn, nôôtz, n

[Sidenote: MIJE ADVERBS, PREPOSITIONS, AND CONJUNCTIONS.]

ADVERBS, PREPOSITIONS, AND CONJUNCTIONS.

Here ya No katii Thence heem Always xûma Never kahundiin More niik Then hueniit When ko For, in, to, above, with kûxm Of kûxmit, it In, between hoitp In huiñ With môôt Inside, within akuuk Before huindui Why, what for heekûxm That huen As much, so that ixtanôm Not yet katiinam How, since ixta

THE LORD'S PRAYER.

Nteitôôtz tzaphoitp mtzônaiphee konuikx itot mitzm Father our in heaven who lives blessed be thy

xêuh momoikôôtz mitzm konkion itunot mitzm tzokn name give us thy kingdom be done thy will

ya naxhuiñ ixta ituiñu tzaphoitp. Oôtzn kaik opomopomit as in earth as is done in heaven. Our bread daily

momoikôôtz yoniit etz moyaknitokoikôôtzn give us to-day and forgive us

pokpa ixta ôôtz niaknitokoi ôôtzn yachotmaatpa etz sin as we forgive our offender and

katii ôôtz ixmomatztuit heekuxm katii ôôtz nkedai not as lead that not as let us carry

huinonn kûxn. Etz mokohuankôôtz nañihum kaoiaphee temptation in. And deliver all evil

kuxmit.[X'-22] from.

The language of the Huaves spoken on the isthmus of Tehuantepec, is, according to tradition, not indigenous to the country. It is related that these people came by water from a place down the coast, although the locality whence they came is not given.[X'-23] I have only the following numerals as a specimen of the language.

One anoeth | Ten agax-poax Two izquieó | Eleven agax-panocthx Three areux | Twelve agax-pieuhx Four apequiú | Thirteen agax-par Five acoquiaú | Fourteen agax-papeux Six anaiú | Fifteen agax-pacoigx Seven ayéiú | Twenty nicumaio Eight axpecaú | Thirty nieumiaomcaxpó Nine axqueyeú | One hundred anoecacocmiau[X'-24]

FOOTNOTES:

[X'-1] 'Es mucha la dificultad del idioma, porque en treinta vecinos suele haber cuatro y cinco lenguas distintas, y tanto, que aun despues de mucho trato no se entienden sino las cosas muy ordinarias.' Alegre, Hist. Comp. de Jesus, tom. i., p. 282.

[X'-2] Pimentel, Cuadro, tom. ii., p. 267; Col. Polidiómica Mex., Oracion Dominical, pp. 31-3.

[X'-3] Pimentel, Cuadro, tom. ii., p. 267.

[X'-4] Berlandier, Diario, p. 144; Orozco y Berra, Geografía, p. 296.

[X'-5] Mendieta, Hist. Ecles., p. 552. 'Tarascum, quod hujus gentis proprium erat et vulgare, concisum atque elegans.' Laet, Novus Orbis, p. 267. 'La Tarasca, que corre generalmente en las Prouincias de Mechoacan, esta es muy facil por tener la mesma pronunciacion que la nuestra: yassi se escriue con el mesmo abecedario. Es muy copiosa, y elegante.' Grijalua, Crón. Augustin, fol. 75; Herrera, Hist. Gen., dec. iii., lib. iii., cap. ix.; Alegre, Hist. Comp. de Jesus, tom. i., pp. 90-1; Acosta, Hist. Nat. Ind., p. 506. 'La loro lingua è abbondante, dolce, e sonora. Adoperano spesso la R soave: le loro sillabe constano per lo più d'una sola consonante e d'una vocale.' Clavigero, Storia Ant. del Messico, tom. i., p. 149. 'Les Tarasques ... célèbres ... par l'harmonie de leur langue riche en voyelles.' Humboldt, Essai Pol., tom. i., p. 255; Beaumont, Crón. de Mechoacan, p. 43; Mühlenpfordt, Mejico, tom. ii., pt ii., p. 364; Romero, Noticias Michoacan, p. 5; Heredia y Sarmiento, Sermon, p. 83; Anales del Ministerio de Fomento, 1854, p. 185, et seq.; Wappäus, Geog. u. Stat., p. 35; Hassel, Mex. Guat., p. 152. 'Die Sprache in dieser Provinz wird für die reineste und zierlichste von ganz Neu-Spanien gehalten.' Delaporte, Reisen, pp. 313-4; Vater, Mithridates, tom. iii., pt iii., p. 125. 'Tarasca een nette en korte spraek, die eigentlijk alhier te huis hoort.' Montanus, Nieuwe Weereld, p. 256. Ward, speaking of the Tarasco, has made the serious mistake of confounding it with the Otomí, and seems to think that they are both one and the same. Two languages could hardly be farther apart than these two. Mexico, vol. ii., p. 681. Raffinesque, the indefatigable searcher for foreign relationships with Mexican languages, claims to have discovered an affinity between the Tarasco, Italian, Atlantic, Coptic, Pelasgic, Greek, and Latin languages. He writes that he was 'struck with its evident analogy' with the above and with the 'languages of Africa and Europe both in words and structure, in spite of a separation of some thousand years.' In Priest's Amer. Antiq., p. 314.

[X'-6] Pimentel, Cuadro, tom. i., pp. 275-309; Gallatin, in Amer. Ethno. Soc., Transact., vol. i., pp. 245-52; Moxo, Cartas Mejicanas, p. 68; Vater, Mithridates, tom. iii., pt iii., p. 126; Manuel de San Juan Crisostomo Nájera, Gram. Tarasca, in Soc. Mex. Geog., Boletin, 2da época, tom. iv., pp. 664-684.

[X'-7] Pimentel, Cuadro, tom. i., p. 304; Vater, Mithridates, tom. iii., pt iii., pp. 126-7; Araujo, Manual de las Santos Sacramentos en el Idioma de Michuacan.

[X'-8] 'Estos tolucas, y por otro nombre Matlatzincas, no hablaban la lengua mexicana, sino otra diferente y obscura ... y su lengua propia de ellos, no carece de la letra R.' Sahagun, Hist. Gen., tom. iii., lib. x., p. 129; Grijalua, Crón. Augustin, fol. 75; Brasseur de Bourbourg, Esquisses, p. 33.

[X'-9] Pimentel, Cuadro, tom. i., pp. 499-539; Guevara, Arte Doctrinal, in Soc. Mex. Geog., Boletin, tom. ix., pp. 197-260; Vater, Mithridates, tom. iii., pt iii., p. 126.

[X'-10] 'Ocuiltecas, viven en el distrito de Toluca, en tierras y terminos suyos, son de la misma vida, y costumbre de los de la Toluca, aunque su lenguage es diferente.' Sahagun, Hist. Gen., tom. iii., lib. x., p. 130. 'Ocuilteca, que es lengua singular de aquel pueblo, y de solo ocho visitas, que tenia sujetas àsi, y assi somos solos, los que la sabemos.' Grijalua, Crón. Augustin, fol. 75.

[X'-11] 'Y aunque la lengua los haze generalmente à todos vnos en muchos partes la han diferenciado en sylabas, y modo de pronunciarlas, pero todos se comunican, y entienden.' Burgoa, Geog. Descrip., tom. i., fol. 127, 130; Grijalua, Crón. Augustin, p. 75; Brasseur de Bourbourg, Esquisses, pp. 34-6; Laet, Novus Orbis, p. 260; Herrera, Hist. Gen., dec. iii., lib. iii., cap. xii-xiii.; Orozco y Berra, Geografía, pp. 189-96; Villa-Señor y Sanchez, Theatro, tom. ii., p. 137; Remesal, Hist. Chyapa, p. 712.

[X'-12] Torquemada, Monarq. Ind., tom. i., p. 32. 'Ein Volk, das zu den Autochthonen von Mexico gehört.' Buschmann, Ortsnamen, p. 18.

[X'-13] 'Mistica, cuya entera pronunciacion se vale algunas vezes de las narizes, y tiene muchos equiuocos que la hazen de mayor dificultad.' Dávila Padilla, Hist. Fvnd. Mex., p. 64. 'La lengua dificultosissima en la pronunciacion, con notable variedad de terminos y vozes en vnos y otros Pueblos.' Burgoa, Palestra, Hist., pt i., fol. 211. 'Que como eran Demonios se valian de la maliciosa astucia de variar las vozes y vocablos en esta lengua, asi para los Palacios de los Caziques con terminos reuerenciales, como para los Idolos con parabolos, y tropos, que solos los satrapas los aprendian, y como era aqui lo mas corrupto.' Id., Geog. Descrip., tom. i., fol. 156. 'La lengua de aquella nacion, que es dificultosa de saberse, por la gran equiuocacion de los bocablos, para cuya distincion es necessario vsar de ordinario del sonido de la nariz y aspiracion del aliento.' Remesal, Hist. Chyapa, p. 321. 'Ser la Lengua dificultosa de aprender, por las muchas equiuocaciones que tiene.' Dávila, Teatro Ecles., tom. i., p. 156.

[X'-14] Pimentel, Cuadro, tom. i., pp. 41-79; Vater, Mithridates, tom. iii., pt. iii., pp. 31-41; _Catecismo del P. Ripaldo, traducida al Misteco; Catecismo en idioma Mixteco_.

[X'-15] Remesal, Hist. Chyapa, p. 712. Chinantec 'con la dificultad de la pronunciacion, y vozes tan equiuocas que con vn mesmo termino mas blando ò mas reciò dicho significa disonante sentido.' 'Por que la locucion es entre dientes, violenta, y con los accentos de consonantes asperas, confusas las vocales, sin distincion vnas de otras que parecian bramidos, mas que terminos de locucion.' Burgoa, Geog. Descrip., tom. i., fol. 183., tom. ii., fol. 284, 286; Villa-Señor y Sanchez, Theatro, tom. ii., pp. 137, 141, 163, 187, 189, 197; Orozco y Berra, Geografía, pp. 187-197; Hakluyt's Voy., vol. iii., p. 497.

[X'-16] Sahagun, Hist. Gen., tom. iii., lib. x., p. 135; Pimentel, Cuadro, tom. ii., p. 262.

[X'-17] Pimentel, Cuadro, tom. ii., pp. 259-62.

[X'-18] Villa-Señor y Sanchez, Theatro, tom. ii., pp. 190-9; Museo Mex., tom. ii., p. 554; Mühlenpfordt, Mejico, tom. ii., p. 186; Wappäus, Geog. u. Stat., p. 36; Orozco y Berra, Geografía, p. 177; Burgoa, Geog. Descrip., tom. ii., fol. 312.

[X'-19] 'Su lenguage era tan metaforico, como el de los Palestinos, lo que querian persuadir, hablaban siempre con parabolas.' Burgoa, Geog. Descrip., tom. i., fol. 196. 'La langue Zapotèque est d'une douceur et d'une sonorité qui rappelle l'Italien.' Brasseur de Bourbourg, Esquisses, p. 35.

[X'-20] Pimentel, Cuadro, tom. i., pp. 321-60; Nouvelles Annales des Voy., 1841, tom. xcii., p. 260, et seq.

[X'-21] 'Expressa el Illm^o Señor Obispo de Oaxaca en su Pastoral, que en su Diocesis hay una Lengua, que solo de dia se entienden bien, y que de noche en apagándoles la luz, ya no se pueden explicar, porque con los gestos significan.' Lorenzana y Buitron, Cartas Pastorales, p. 96, note 1. 'Tambien su idioma tiene fuerça y energia.' Burgoa, Geog. Descrip., tom. ii., fol. 271. 'Lingua illorum, rudis et crassum quid sonans instar Allemanorum.' Laet, Novus Orbis, p. 262; Barnard's Tehuantepec, pp. 224-5; Villa-Señor y Sanchez, Theatro, tom. ii., pp. 155, 199-201; Mühlenpfordt, Mejico, tom. ii., p. 143; Museo Mex., tom. ii., p. 555; Orozco y Berra, Geografía, p. 176.

[X'-22] Pimentel, Cuadro, tom. ii., pp. 173-88.

[X'-23] 'Y se dixo antes, que la nacion destos Indios huabes avian venido de tierras muy lexanas, de allà de la Costa del Sur, mas cerca de la Eclyptica vezindad del Perù, y segun las circunstancias de su lengua, y trato de la Provincia ò Reyno de Nicarahua.' Burgoa, Geog. Descrip., tom. ii., fol. 396; 'El huave, huavi, guave, llamado tambien en un antiguo MS. guazonteca ó huazonteca, se habla en el Estado de Oaxaca, Los huaves son originarios de Guatemala; unos les hacen de la filiacion de los peruanos, fundándose en la semejanza de algunas costumbres, mientras otros les suponen hermanos de los pueblos de Nicaragua. La segunda opinion nos parece la mas acertada, y aun nos atreveriamos á creer que el huave pertenece á la familia maya-quiché.' Orozco y Berra, Geografía, pp. 44, 74. 'Il paraît démontré, cependant, que la langue des Wabi a de grandes analogies avec quelqu'une de celles qu'on parlait à Nicaragua.' Brasseur de Bourbourg, Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. iii., p. 36.

[X'-24] Sivers, Mittelamerika, p. 290.

XI. THE MAYA-QUICHÉ LANGUAGES

THE MAYA-QUICHÉ, THE LANGUAGES OF THE CIVILIZED NATIONS OF CENTRAL AMERICA -- ENUMERATION OF THE MEMBERS OF THIS FAMILY -- HYPOTHETICAL ANALOGIES WITH LANGUAGES OF THE OLD WORLD -- LORD'S PRAYERS IN THE CHAÑABAL, CHIAPANEC, CHOL, TZENDAL, ZOQUE, AND ZOTZIL -- POKONCHI GRAMMAR -- THE MAME OR ZAKLOPAHKAP -- QUICHÉ GRAMMAR -- CAKCHIQUEL LORD'S PRAYER -- MAYA GRAMMAR -- TOTONAC GRAMMAR -- TOTONAC DIALECTS -- HUASTEC GRAMMAR.

The languages of the civilized nations of Central America, being all more or less affiliated, may be not improperly classified as the Maya-Quiché family, the Maya constituting the mother tongue. Commencing in the neighborhood of the river Goazacoalco, thence extending over Tabasco, Chiapas, Yucatan, Guatemala, and portions of Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua, it occupies the same relatively important position in the south as the Aztec farther north. Besides spreading out over this immense area, there are two branches still farther north, isolated from the mother tongue, yet conterminous to each other, the Huastec and the Totonac of Tamaulipas and Vera Cruz. Without including the last mentioned, probably the fullest enumeration of all these languages, is given by the Licenciado Diego García de Palacio, in a letter addressed to the King of Spain, in the year 1576. Omitting the Aztec, which he includes in his catalogue, his summary is substantially as follows. In Chiapas, the Chiapanec, Tloque, Zotzil, and Zeldal-Quelen; in Soconusco, a tongue which he designates as the mother language and another called the Vebetlateca; in Suchitepec and Guatemala, the Mame, Achi, Guatemaltec, Chinantec, Hutatec, and Chirichota; in Vera Paz, the Pokonchi, and Caechicolchi; in the valleys of Acacebastla and Chiquimula, the Tlacacebastla, and Apay; and in the valley of San Miguel, the Poton, Taulepa, and Ulua. Other authors mention, in Guatemala the Quiché, the Cakchiquel, the Zutugil, the Chorti, the Alaguilac, the Caichi, the Ixil, the Zoque, the Coxoh, the Chañabal, the Chol, the Uzpanteca, the Aguacateca, the Quecchi; and in Yucatan, the stock language, the Maya. Among all these languages thus enumerated by different authors, it is not at all unlikely that some have been mentioned twice under different names.[XI'-1] Most, if not all of them, are related to, if indeed they did not spring from one mother tongue, the Maya, of which a dialect, called the Tzendal is said to be the oldest language spoken in any of these countries. In fact, they all appear to be dialects and variations of some few tongues of yet greater antiquity, which again have sprung from the oldest of all, the Maya. This latter, I may say, forms the linguistic centre, from which all the others radiate, decreasing in consanguinity according to the distance from this centre, losing, by intermixture, and the adoption of foreign words, their aboriginal forms, until on reaching the outer edge of the circle, it becomes difficult to trace their connection with the source from which they sprang.[XI'-2]

[Sidenote: THE MAYA LANGUAGE IN YUCATAN.]

The Maya, with its many affiliations, may be well compared in its grammatical construction and capacity to the Aztec. It has in this respect been likened to the ancient Greek which it is said to resemble in many points. Although monosyllabic words are of frequent occurrence, it has not, as is common to monosyllabic languages, many very harsh and guttural sounds, but is generally called soft and well-sounding. The dialects spoken on the coast of Yucatan and near Belize, are the purest and most elegant of the Maya family, and the greater the distance from this region, the greater are the variations from the pure Maya.[XI'-3] Some remarkable hypotheses, which, if proven, would revolutionize many existing theories, ethnologic and philologic, have latterly been brought forward by the Abbé Brasseur de Bourbourg. This gentleman, who has devoted himself to the study of ancient Central America and Mexico for many years, and who is fully conversant with the languages of Yucatan and Guatemala, the Maya and Quiché, claims to have discovered a close connection between the Maya, Quiché, Cakchiquel, Zutugil, and others, with most of the chief languages of Europe; prominent among which he places the Greek, but mentions also Latin, French, English, German, Flemish, Danish, and others. Although on examination many of the abbé's so-called roots display similarities, both phonetic and in meaning, with some European words, still a large majority are evidently twisted to conform to the writer's ideas, and it will require not alone further investigations, but unprejudiced studies, such as are not made for the purpose of proving any particular hypothesis, to substantiate his theories. Until such impartial comparisons are made, and a clearer light thrown upon the subject, these Central American languages must remain content to be treated as strangers to those of the old world.[XI'-4] Of the languages previously enumerated I have the following specimens.

* * * * *

The Lord's Prayer in Chañabal, spoken in Comitan, in the state of Chiapas:

Tattic hayá culchahan tanlinubal á vihil jacué eg bagtic á guajan acotuc á guabal hichuc ili luhum jastal culchahan. Yipil caltzil eg güiniquil tic aquitic sva yabanhi soc culanperdon eg multic hichuc qucj ganticon guazt culanticon perdon machá hay smul sigilticon soc mi ztagua concoctic mulil mas lec coltayotic scab pucuj jachuc.

* * * * *

[Sidenote: CHIAPANEC, CHOL, AND TZENDAL.]

Lord's Prayer in Chiapanec:

Pua manguemé nilumá cané nacapajó totomomo copamimé chambriomo chalaya guipumutamu; gadilojá istanacupu cajilucá nacopajó: cajilo baña yacameomo nuori may tarilu mindamu oguajime lla copomimemo taguajime nambucamuñeme cuqueme gadiluca si memu casimemu tagnagime nambucamuñeme copá tipusitumu bica tipucapuimu mujarimimuñame mangueme. Diusi mutarilú nitangame chacuillame caji Jesus.

* * * * *

Lord's Prayer in Chol:

Tiat te lojon, aué tipuchan utzat alvilacaval trictic tolejón han gracia chulee viliç á pucical vafchec ti paniumil chee tipanchan. Laa cual ti juun pel quin, de vennomelojón gualee sutven lasvet baschee mue sutvenlaa y vetob laspibulob. Llastel ti lolontecl cotanon melojon y chachan jaipel y tiué nialoloion. Amen Jesus.

* * * * *

Lord's Prayer in Tzendal, as spoken near the celebrated ruins of Palenque:

Tatic, ta nacalat tachulchan: chulalviluc te ajalalvilé: acatalúc te aguajualé: acapastayuc: te tuxacane tajich ta chulchan jichucnix ta valumilal. Ecuctae jujhan acabeyaotic te guag vixtum cuntic tajujun caal chaybeyaotic te multic achiotic chaybetic ate hay smul cagtojoltique soyoc mameaguac yalucotic ta mulil colta yaoticnax tastojol piscil te colae. Amen Jesus.

* * * * *

Lord's Prayer in Zoque, as spoken in Tabasco, Chiapas, and parts of Oajaca:

Theshata tzapguesmue itupue yavecotzamué mis nei, yaminé mis yumihacui, ya tuque mis sunoycui, yecnasquesi tzapquesmuese. Tesané hoimuepe homepe tzihete yshoy, yatocoyates mis hescova hes jaziquet mis atocoipasé thesquesipue jatzi huitemistetzaeu hocysete cuijomue ticomaye ya cotzocamisthe mumuyatzipue quesi, tese yatuque. Amen Jesus.

* * * * *

Lord's Prayer in Zotzil:

Totit ot-te nacal oi ta vinagel-utzilaluc á vi-acotal aguajualel-acopas huc á chul cano-echuc nox ta vinagel-eclusé ta valumil-acbeotic e cham-llocom llocomutic-ech xachaibeutic-cuie tag tojolic-ma á guae llalucuntic-ta altajoltic-ech xacolta utic nox ta stojol ti coloc. Amen Jesus.[XI'-5]

* * * * *

[Sidenote: POKONCHI GRAMMAR.]

Of the Pokonchi Language I have a short grammar, by Thomas Gage, which has also been used by Vater and Gallatin. Following are a few of its prominent features:

Nouns are declined by the aid of particles, of which there are two kinds, varying accordingly as the word to be declined commences with a consonant or with a vowel. For words commencing with a consonant the particles nu, a, ru, ca, ata, and quitacque are used; and for those commencing with a vowel, v, av, r, c, or q, ta, qu, and tacque. These particles are partly prefixed and partly affixed, as will appear in the following examples. So the word pat, house, and tat, father, are by Gage declined in the following manner.

My house nupat | Our house capat Thy house apat | Your house apatta His house rupat | Their house quipattacque

My father nutat | Our father catat Thy father atat | Your father atatta His father rutat | Their father quitattacque

The declension of the word acun, son, and ixim, corn, are given by Gage, as follows:

My son vacun | Our son cacun Thy son avacun | Your son avacunta His son racun | Their son cacuntaque

My corn vixim | Our corn quixim Thy corn avixim | Your corn avicimta His corn rixim | Their corn quiximtacque

Verbs in like manner change the particles, by means of which they are conjugated, accordingly as the word commences with a consonant or a vowel. For those commencing with a consonant the particles are;--nu, na, inru, inca, nata, inquitacque. Thus the word locoh, to love, is conjugated as follows:

CONJUGATION OF THE VERB LOCOH, TO LOVE.

PRESENT INDICATIVE.

I love, nulocoh | We love, incalocoh Thou lovest, nalocoh | You love, nalocohto He loves, inrulucoh | They love, inquilocohtacque

PRESENT PASSIVE.

I am loved, quiloconhi | We are loved, coloconhi Thou art loved, tiloconhi | You are loved, tiloconhita He is loved, inroconhi | They are loved, quiloconhitacque

PERFECT PASSIVE.

I have been loved, xinloconhi Thou hast been loved, ixtiloconhi He has been loved, ixloconhi We have been loved, xoloconhi You have been loved, ixtiloconhita They have been loved, xiloconhi tacque

IMPERATIVE.

Be thou loved, tiloconhi Let him be loved, chiloconho Let us be loved, chicaloconho Be ye loved, tiloconhota Let them be loved, chiquiloconho taque

I can love, inchoinulocoh I will love, inranulocoh I have been willing to love, ixnulocoh I have been able to love, ixcholixnulocoh I can love thee, tichol nulocoh I will love thee, tira nulocoh

Sometimes the verb I will is added to express the future;--inva, I will; nava, thou wilt; inra, he will.

Verbs beginning with a vowel have the following particles;--ino, nav, inr, inqu, or inc, nauta, inqu tacque, or inc tacque. Thus the verb eça, to deliver, is conjugated.

I deliver, inveça | We deliver, inqueça Thou deliverest, naveça | You deliver, naveçata He delivers, inreça | They deliver, inqueça tacque

Adjectives are indeclinable, and the plural of nouns cannot be distinguished from the singular, as;--kiro uinac, good man; kiro uinac, good men.

The following Lord's Prayer comes from the same source:

Catat taxah vilcat; nimta incaharçihi avi; inchalita avihauripau cana. Invanivita nava yahvir vacacal, he invataxab. Chaye runa cahuhunta quih viic; naçachtamac, he inçachve quimac ximacquivi chiquih; macoacana chipam catacchyhi, coaveçata china unche tsiri, mani quiro, he inqui. Amen.[XI'-6]

* * * * *

[Sidenote: MAME CONJUGATION.]

Of the Mame, or Zaklohpakap, the following extract is from a grammar written by Diego de Reynoso. The letters used are: a, b, ch, e, h, i, k, l, m, n, o, p, t, u, v, x, y, z, tz. There are no special syllables or signs to express gender, but distinct words are used, as;--mama, old man; ahkimikeia, old woman; mamail, old age of a man; keiail, or ahkimikil, old age of a woman. The plural of animate beings is expressed by the particle e prefixed to the word;--vuinak, person; evuinak, persons; but it is considered as elegant also to affix the same e;--kiahol, son; ekiahole, sons. For inanimate things, either numerals or adjectives expressing the plural are used;--abah, stone; ikoh abah, many stones. Personal pronouns are;--ain, I; aia, thou; ahu or ahi, he; ao or aoio, we; ae or aeie, you; aehu or aehi, they.

Me, to me, in me vuih Thee, to thee, in thee tiha Him, to him, in him tihu Us, to us, in us kiho You, to you, in you kihae Them, to them, in them kihaehu Of me, by me vuxm By thee tuma By him tumhi By us kumo By you kume By them kumhu By myself tipa By himself tiphi By ourselves kibo By yourselves kibe By themselves kibaehu or kibhu

CONJUGATION OF THE VERB TO BE.

PRESENT INDICATIVE.

I am, ain in, or ain inen Thou art, aia He is, ahu We are, ao, or aoia You are, ae, or aeie They are, aehu

IMPERFECT.

I was, ain took

PERFECT.

I have been, ain hi

PLUPERFECT.

I had been, ain tokem

FIRST FUTURE.

I shall be, in abenelem, or ain loiem

SECOND FUTURE.

I shall have been, ain lohi

IMPERATIVE.

Be, a u ia

CONJUGATION OF THE VERB XTALEM, TO LOVE.

PRESENT INDICATIVE.

I love, ain tzum chim xtalem Thou lovest, tzum xtalem a He loves, tzum xtalem hu We love, tzum ko xtalem o You love, tzum che xtalem e They love, tzum che xtalem hu

IMPERFECT.

I loved, tzum tok chim xtalem

PERFECT.

I have loved, ini xtalim, uni xtale, ma chim xtalim, ma ni xtale, or ma uni xtale

PLUPERFECT.

I had loved, ixtok chim xtalim

FIRST FUTURE.

I shall love, uni xtalibetz, or ain chim xtalem

SECOND FUTURE.

I shall have loved, ain lo in xtalem

IMPERATIVE.

Love thou, ixtalin o ia Let him love, ixtalin o hu Let us love, ko ixtalin o Love you, ixtalin ke ie Let them love, ixtalin ke hu[XI'-7]

Of the Quiché, there is an abundance of material. The letters used are;--a, b, c, e, g, h, i, k, l, m, n, o, p, q, r, t, u, v, x, y, z, tz, tch. Gender is expressed by prefixing the noun ixok, woman, to the word, as;--coh, lion; ixok coh, lioness; mun, slave; ixok mun, female slave. The sound ish expressed by the letter x denotes inferiority, and is therefore frequently used to express the feminine of inferior beings. U in the Quichè and ru in the Cakchiquel are either possessive pronouns or denote the possession of the word which follows. The particles re and ri are at times used for the same purpose;--u chuch ahpop, the mother of the prince; qui quoxtum tinanit, the ramparts of the town. Before the vowels a, o, and u, they are changed to c; and before e and i, to qu. Derivatives are formed with the preposition ah, either prefixed or affixed to the primitive noun;--car, fish; ahcar, the fisherman; tzih, word; ahtzih, the speaker; etc. No positive rule can be given for the formation of the plural, as there are several different methods in use. The most common appears to be by the affixes ab, eb, ib, ob, ub;--beom, merchant; plural, beomab; ixok, woman; plural, ixokib; ahau, lord; plural, ahauab. In the Cakchiquel language the last letter b is omitted, as;--ixokib, women, in Quiché, is ixoki in Cakchiquel. With adjectives the syllables ak, tak, ic, tic, etc., are used instead;--nim, great; nimak ha, great houses; rihi, old; rihitak vinak, old people; utz, good; utzic va, good eatables. Adjectives are always placed before the substantives;--zak, white; zaki ha, white house. Substantives are formed from adjectives by adding one of the particles, al, el, il, ol, ul;--nim, great; nimal, the greatness; zak, white; zakil, the whiteness; utz, good; utzil, the goodness. These same substantives can be turned into adjectives again by adding the particle ah;--nimalah mak, great sin; utzilah achi, good man. In the same manner all substantives may be turned into adjectives by adding one of the particles alah, elah, ilah, olah, ulah, etc.; ahau, king or lord; ahaualah, royal.

To express the comparative, the present participle of the verb iqou, to surpass, which is iqouinak, is used, and sometimes also the word yalacuhinak, from yalacuh, to exceed. For example;--nim, great, comparative, iqouinak chi nim, he who surpasses in greatness; iqouinak chi nim u hebeliquiil ka xokahau Gapoh maria chiqui vi conohel ixokib, (literally) surpasses in great beauty our Lady the Virgin Mary all other women. The superlative is expressed by the syllable maih, very great or much; nim, great or greatly; tih, xoo, quï, much; all of which are placed before the word and are followed by the syllable chi;--maih chi nim, very great; maih chi hebel, very fine; maih chi tinamit, very great city; xoo qatan, very great heat; tih nima ha, very great house. The adverb lavolo or lolo is also used for the same purpose--lavolo or lolo cou ch' a bana, hold it strong.

The names of colors are duplicated to express the superlative, as;--rax rax, very green; zak zak, very white.

The reverential syllables in use are lal and la--lal nu cahau, your excellency is my father; in alcual la, I am the son of your excellency.

[Sidenote: QUICHÉ PRONOUNS.]

PRONOUNS.

I, or me in, nu, nuv Thou at, a He are, ri, r' Myself xavi in Thyself xavi at Himself xavi are We oh You yx They e, he Ourselves xavi oh Yourselves xavi yx Themselves xavi e, he

When a noun commences with a consonant, nu, a, u, in the singular, and ka, y, qui, in the plural are used as possessive pronouns, but if it commences with a vowel, v, av', r, are employed in the singular, and k', yv', c', or qu', in the plural.

My slave nu mun Thy slave a mun His slave u mun Our slaves ka munib Your slaves y munib Their slaves oui munib

My wrath v' oyoual Thy wrath av' oyoual His wrath r' oyoual Our wrath k' oyoual Your wrath yv' oyoual Their wrath c' oyoual

INTERROGATIVES.

Who naki, achinak, apachinak Who am I apa-in-chinak Who art thou apa-at-chinak Who is this apachinak-ri Who is it naki-la Who would it be naki-lalo Who are we apa-oh-chinak Who are you apa-yx-chinak Who are they apa-e-chinak

The verb, to be, is expressed by either ux, or qo, or qohe. As an example of its conjugation I insert the indicative present.

I am, in ux or in qolic Thou art, at ux " at qolic He is, are ux " are qolic We are, oh ux " oh qolic You are, yx ux " yx qolic They are, e, or he ux " e, or he qolic

Four different kinds of verbs are given in the grammar compiled by the Abbé Brasseur de Bourbourg, which he calls active, absolute, passive, and neuter. The following sentences are given as specimens of each kind. Active;--can nu logoh v' ahtih, I love my master. Absolute;--qu' i logon, or logonic, I love; qu' i tzibanic, I write. Passive;--ta x-e tzonox rumal ahtzak, then they were interrogated by the creator. Neuter;--qu' i cam, or qui cam, I die; qu' in ul, I come; qu' i be, I go; qu' i var, I sleep.

[Sidenote: QUICHÉ CONJUGATIONS.]

Following I insert the conjugation of the active verb to love, in which the word logoh, love, commences with a consonant, and also the conjugation of the active verb oyohbeh, to wait, which commences with a vowel, thus showing the different particles used.

CONJUGATION OF THE VERB TO LOVE.

PRESENT INDICATIVE.

I love, ca nu logoh We love, ca ka logoh Thou lovest, c' a logoh You love, qu' y logoh He loves, c' u logoh They love, ca que logoh

PERFECT.

I have loved, x-in, xi-nu, or x-nu logoh, or nu logom

PLUPERFECT.

I had loved, nu, or x-nu logom-chic

FIRST FUTURE.

I shall love, ch' in, x-ch'in chi nu, or x-chi nu logoh

PRESENT SUBJUNCTIVE.

If I love, ca nu logoh-tah If I had loved, nu logom-chi-tah

PARTICIPLE.

Loving, logonel

CONJUGATION OF THE VERB OYOBEH, TO WAIT.

PRESENT INDICATIVE.

I wait, ca v'oyobeh Thou waitest, c' av' oyobeh He waits, ca r' oyobeh We wait, ca k' oyobeh You wait, qu' yv' oyobeh They wait, ca c' oyobeh

PERFECT.

I have waited, xi-v' oyobeh, or av' oyobem

SECOND FUTURE.

I shall have waited, chi v', or xchi v oyobeh

PRESENT SUBJUNCTIVE.

If I wait, ca v' oyobeh-tah

In the following three columns I give a specimen of the conjugation of the absolute, passive, and neuter verb.

ABSOLUTE.

I love, qu'i logon Thou lovest, c'at logon He loves, ca logon We love, koh logon You love, qu'y logon They love, que logon

PASSIVE.

I am loved, qu'i logox Thou art loved, c'at logox He is loved, ca legox We are loved, koh logox You are loved, qu'ix logox They are loved, que logox

NEUTER.

I roll, qu'i bol Thou rollest, c'at bol He rolls, ca bol We roll, koh bol You roll, qu' yx bol They roll, que bol

ABSOLUTE.

I have loved, x-i logon, or in logoninak

PASSIVE.

I was loved, x-i logox, or in logoxinak

NEUTER.

I have arrived, x-in ul, or in ulinak

FIRST FUTURE.

ABSOLUTE.

I shall love, x-qui logon

PASSIVE.

I shall be loved, x-qui logox

NEUTER.

I shall arrive, x-qu'in ul

There are further mentioned a reciprocal and a distributive verb.

Of the former the following is an example.

I love myself, ca nu logoh uib Thou lovest thyself, c'a logoh rib He loves himself, c'u logoh rib We love ourselves, ca ka logoh kib You love yourselves, qu'y logoh yvib They love themselves, ca qui logoh quib

Of the second form this is an example.

Thee I love, cat nu logoh He loves his father, cu ri, or are logoh a cahau You love us, koh y logoh Thee they love, cat que logoh

The prepositions--ma, man, or mana, and mave, are negatives. When man, or mana, is used with a verb, the particle tah must be added;--man ca v' il-tah, I do not see. Father Ximenez calls the following irregular verbs, qo, qoh, or qolic, pa, ux, or uxic; qaz, to live, and oh, or ho, to go.

The conjugation of the last mentioned is as follows.

INDICATIVE PRESENT.

I go, h'in | We go, o'ho Thou goest, h'at | You go, h'yx He goes, oh, or ho | They go, h'e

The Zutugil and Cakchiquel appear to bear a closer relationship to each other, than the Cakchiquel and Quiché. Some of the principal differences between the three are the following. The plural of nouns which in the Quiché is formed by the affixes ab, eb, ob, ib, ub, is in the Cakchiquel designated by simply affixing the vowels of the above syllables, and in the Zutugil by the affixes ay, or i. The pronouns which in the Quiché and Cakchiquel are in, I, etc., are in the Zutugil doubled, as;--in-in, I, etc. The possessive pronouns differ in all three of the languages. The Quiché has vech, mine; avecha, thine; rech, his; kech, ours; yvech, yours; quech, theirs. In the Cakchiquel these are;--vichin, avichin, richin, kichin, yvichin, quichin, and the Zutugil changes the ch of the Cakchiquel into n;--vixin, avixin, rixin, kixin, yvixin, quixin. The dative in the Quiché is chuvech, to me, in the Cakchiquel chuvichin, and in the Zutugil, chuvixin. Reciprocal pronouns in the Quiché are vib, avib, rib, kib, yvib, and quib, and in the Zutugil they are vi, avi, ri, ki, yvi, qui. The verb ganeh, which also means to love, is in the Cakchiquel and Zutugil conjugated as follows.

I love, tin ganeh | We love, ti ka ganeh Thou lovest, tah ganeh | You love, ty ganeh He loves, tu ganeh | They love, ti qui ganeh

There are also many other words which differ in one or more letters in the three languages, but it appears that they are nevertheless so much alike that the different people speaking them can understand one another.

* * * * *

[Sidenote: QUICHÉ AND CAKCHIQUEL LORD'S PRAYERS.]

Lord's Prayer in the Quiché:

Ka cachau chi cab lal qo-vi, r'auazirizaxic-tah bi la. Chi pe-tah ahauarem la. Chi ban-ta ahauam la, varal chuvi uleu queheri ca ban chi cah. Yah la chikech ka hutagihil va. Zacha la ka mak, queheri ca ka zacho qui mak rii x-e makun chike ruq m'oh ocotah la pa takchiibal mak, xata noh col-ta la pa itzel. Quehe ch'uxoc.

* * * * *

Lord's Prayer in Cakchiquel:

Ka tata r'at qoh chi cah, r'auazirizaxic-tah a bi. Ti pe-ta-ok av' ahauarem. Ti ban-tah av'ahoom vave chuvi uleu, quereri tan-ti ban chi cah. Ta yata-ok chike vacamic ka hutagihil vay. Ta zach-ta-qa-ok ka mak, quereri tan-ti ka zach qui mak riy x-e makun chike. Ruquin qa maqui-tah koh av'ocotah pa takchiibal mak, xatah koh a colo pan itzel. Quere ok t'ux.[XI'-8]

* * * * *

Of the Maya Grammar, the following is a brief compendium:

The following alphabet is used to write the Maya language: a, b, c, ç, z, tz, [c], cti, ch, e, h, i, y, k, l, m, n, o, p, pp, t, th, u, x.

The letter ç is pronounced like the English z, or as if for example the word cambeç, were spelled cambez. The [c] is pronounced as if spelled dj, [c]ib_ is pronounced as if written djib, to write; h, not aspirated, and very frequently omitted; k, rather guttural; pp and p, sharp and with force; th, hard, at the same time approximating slightly the English tt. The gender of rational beings is denoted by the prefixes ah, for masculine, and ix, for feminine;--ah cambezah, master; ix cambezah, mistress. With animals the particles xibil, for males, and chupul, for females, is prefixed. An exception to this rule is the word pal;--xibil pal, the boy; and chupal pal, the girl. Nouns form the plural by adding the particle ob;--ich, eye; ich ob, eyes. Adjectives ending in nac, in the plural lose their two last syllables and substitute for them the syllable lac;--kakatnác, an idle thing; kaklác, idle things. When an adjective and substantive are joined together, the adjective is always placed before the substantive, but the plural is expressed only in the substantive;--man, uinic; good, utzul; utzúl uinicob, good men. To form the comparative, the last vowel of the adjective with the letter l added to it is affixed; frequently, the particle il is simply affixed;--further, the pronoun of the third person u or y is always prefixed, in the comparative;--tibil, a good thing; ú tibilil, a better thing; utz, good; yutzil, or yutzul, better; lob, bad; ulobol, or ulobil, worse; kaz, ugly; ukazal, or ukazil, uglier. The superlative is expressed by the particle hach, which is prefixed;--lob, bad; hachlob, very bad. Il added to nouns and adjectives serves to make them abstracts, uinic, man; uinicil, humanity.

There are four kinds of pronouns used in the Maya, all of which are used in conjugating verbs. But the two last are also used, united with nouns, or as possessive pronouns, and never alone, or as absolute pronouns.

PRONOUNS.

I ten | We tóon Thou tech | You téex He lay | They lóob

I en | We on Thou ech | You ex He laylo | They ob

I, mine in | We, ours ca Thou, thine a | You, yours a-ex He, his ú | They, theirs ú-ob

Mine u | Ours ca Thine au | Yours au-ex His y | Theirs y-ob

RECIPROCAL PRONOUNS.

Myself in-ba | Ourselves ca-ba Thyself a-ba | Yourselves a-ba-ex Himself ú-ba | Themselves ú-ba-ob

[Sidenote: MAYA CONJUGATIONS.]

CONJUGATION OF THE AUXILLARY VERB TENI, TO BE.

INDICATIVE PRESENT.

I am, ten We are, tóon Thou art, tech You are, téex He is, lay They are, lóob

IMPERFECT.

I was, ten cuchi

PERFECT.

I have been, ten hi

PLUPERFECT.

I had been, ten hi-ili cuchi

FIRST FUTURE.

I shall be, bin ten-ac

SECOND FUTURE.

I shall have been, ten hi-ili coshom

IMPERATIVE.

Be, ten-ac

PRESENT SUBJUNCTIVE.

If I be, ten-ac en

IMPERFECT SUBJUNCTIVE.

If I were, hi ten-ac

FIRST CONJUGATION OF THE VERB NACAL, TO ASCEND.

PRESENT INDICATIVE.

I ascend, nacal in cah Thou ascendest, nacal a cah He ascends, nacal ú cah We ascend, nacal ca cah You ascend, nacal a-cau-ex They ascend, nacal ú-cah-ob

IMPERFECT.

I ascended, nacal in cah-cuchi

PERFECT.

I have ascended, nac-en

PLUPERFECT.

I had ascended, nac-eu ili-cuehi

FIRST FUTURE.

I shall ascend, bin nacac-en

SECOND FUTURE.

I shall have ascended, nac-en ili-cuchom

IMPERATIVE.

Ascend, nacac-en

SECOND CONJUGATION CAMBEZAH, TO INSTRUCT.

PRESENT INDICATIVE.

I instruct, cambezah in cah, or ten cambezic Thou instructest, cambezah á cah, " tech cambezic He instructs, cambezah ú cah, " lay cambezic We instruct, cambezah ca cah, " tóon cambezic You instruct, cambezah á cah-ez, " téex cambezic They instruct, cambezah ú cah-ob, " lóob cambezic

IMPERFECT.

I instructed, cambezah in cah cuchi

PERFECT.

I have instructed, in cambezah

PLUPERFECT.

I had instructed, in cambezah ili-cuchi

FIRST FUTURE.

I shall instruct, bin in cambez

SECOND FUTURE.

I shall have instructed, in cambezah ili-cochom

IMPERATIVE.

Let me instruct, in cambez Instruct thou, cambez Let him instruct, ú cambez Let us instruct, ca cambez Instruct you, á cambez ex Let them instruct, ú cambez ob

PRESENT SUBJUNCTIVE.

If I instruct, ten in cambez

The third and fourth conjugations not differing from the above, I do not insert them.

THE LORD'S PRAYER.

Cayum ianeeh ti càannob cilichthantabac akaba: Our father who art in heaven blessed be thy name;

tac a ahaulil c' okol. Mencahac a uolah uai it may come thy kingdom us over. Be done thine will as

ti luun bai ti caanè. Zanzamal uah ca azotoon on earth as in heaven. Daily bread us give

heleae caazaatez c' ziipil he bik c' zaatzic uziipil to-day us forgive our sins as we forgive their sins

ahziipiloobtoone ma ix appatic c' lubul ti tuntah, to sinners not also let us fall in temptation

caatocoon ti lob.[XI'-9] us deliver from evil.

To the two languages the Huaztec and Totonac spoken respectively in the states of Tamaulipas and Vera Cruz, great antiquity is ascribed. I include them both in this chapter, and classify them with the Maya family; the Huaztec because its relationship has already been satisfactorily established by Vater and his successors, and the Totonac on the statements of Sahagun and other good authorities.[XI'-10] Of both of these languages I insert some grammatical notes. The Totonac is divided into four principal dialects, named respectively that of the Sierra Alta or Tetikilhati, that of Xalpan y Pontepec, or Chakahuaxti, the Ipapana and the Naolingo or Tatimolo. The following grammar refers specially to the last dialect.

[Sidenote: TOTONAC GRAMMAR.]

The letters used are a, ch, e, g, h, i, k, l, m, n, o, p, t, u, v, x, y, z, tz, lh. Compounded or agglutinated words are of frequent occurrence; they seem to be joined without any particular system, although it appears that the last letter is oftentimes omitted. The following shows the composition of a word;--lioxilhmagatlakachalikihuin, to go prophesying; composed of the particle li, the verb oxilha, the adverb magat, the substantive lakatin, and the verbs chaan and likihuin. There are no particular signs or letters to express the gender, but in most cases the words huixkana, male, and pozkat, female, are prefixed to words.

The plural for animated beings is formed by one of the following terminations;--n, in, nin, itni, nitni, an, na, ne, ni, no, nu;--oxga, youth; oxgan, youths; agapon, heaven; agaponin, heavens; pulana, captain; pulananin, captains; makan, hand; makanitni, hands; ztako, star; ztakonitni, stars; xanat, flower; xanatna, flowers; etc., etc.; in and itni are used when the word ends with a consonant, and nin and nitni when it ends with a vowel.

PERSONAL PRONOUNS.

I akit Me kin Thou huix He amah, or huata We akin Us kila, or kinka You huixin They huatonin

CONJUGATION OF THE VERB IK-PAXKI-Y, I LOVE.

PRESENT INDICATIVE.

I love, ik-paxki-y | We love, ik-paxki-yauh Thou lovest, paxki-a | You love, paxki-yatit He loves, paxki-y | They love, paxki-goy

IMPERFECT.

I loved, xak-paxki-y

PERFECT.

I have loved, ik-paxki-lh, or ik-paxki-nit

PLUPERFECT.

I had loved, xah-paxki-nit

FIRST FUTURE.

I shall love, nak-paxki-y

SECOND FUTURE.

I shall have loved, ik-paxki lh nahuan, or ik-paxki-nit nahuan

IMPERATIVE.

Love, ka-paxki

PRESENT SUBJUNCTIVE.

If I love, kak-paxki-lh

IMPERFECT.

If I loved, xax-paxki-lh

The difference between the three dialects may be seen:

Heart nako alkonoko lakatzin World kiltamako katoxahuat tankilatzon Moon malkoyo papa laxkipap Maize koxi tapaxni kizpa Good tzey tlaan kolhana Truth ztonkua loloto tikxliana To believe akaeniy kanalay katayahuay

The Lord's Prayer in the dialect of Naolingo:

Kintlatkane nak tiayan huil takollalihuakahuanli ó Our father in heaven art sanctified be

mimaokxot nikiminanin ó mintakakchi tacholakahuanla thy name come thy kingdom be done

ó minpahuat cholei kaknitiet chalchix nak tiayan. O thy name as world as in heaven.

kinchouhkan lakalliya nikilaixkiuh yanohue kakilamatzankaniuh Our bread daily give us to-day forgive us

kintakallitkan chonlei ó kitnan lamatzankaniyauh our faults as we ourselves we forgive

ó kintalakallaniyan ka ala kilamaktaxtoyauh our debtors and not us lead

nali yoyauh naka liyogni. Chon tacholakahuanla. that we be in temptation. So be it done.

The descriptions or grammatical remarks of Vater and Pimentel, vary in many points. For instance, Vater says that the letters k and v are not used in this language, while Pimentel mentions them both as being used. The expression of the plural is also given differently by both, as are also several other points.[XI'-11]

* * * * *

[Sidenote: HUAZTEC GRAMMAR.]

From the grammar of Carlos de Tapia Zenteno, which was also used by Gallatin and Pimentel, I offer the following remarks on the Huaztec:

The letters used in writing this language are: a, b, ch, d, e, g, h, i, j, k, l, m, n, o, p, t, u, v, x, y, z, tz. The pronunciation is soft. Gender is denoted by the addition of the words imik, man, and uxum, woman;--tzalle, king; uxumtzalle, queen; tzejelinik, young man; tzejeluxum, young girl. The affix chick is used to express the plural;--atik, son; atikchick, sons; but there are a few exceptions to this rule. Diminutives are expressed by the preposition chichick, as;--te, tree; chichikte, small tree. In some cases the preposition tzakam, or the affix il, is used for this purpose. In the superlative the syllable le is used before the word, as;--pullik, great; lepullik, very great. Personal pronouns;--nana, I; tata, thou; jaja, he; huahua, we; xaxa, you; baba, they.

CONJUGATION OF THE VERB TAHJAL, TO HAVE.

INDICATIVE PRESENT.

I have, nana utahjal or intahjal Thou hast, tata atahjal or ittahjal He has, taja, intahjal We have, huahua yatahjal You have, xaxa yatahjal They have, baba tahjal

IMPERFECT.

I had, nana utahjalitz or intahjalitz

PERFECT.

I have had, nana utahjaitz or utahjamal, or utahjamalitz

PLUPERFECT.

I had had, nana utahjalak or utahjamalak, or utahjamalakitz

FIRST FUTURE.

I shall have, nana ku or kin, or kiatajah

IMPERATIVE.

Have, tata katahja

PRESENT SUBJUNCTIVE.

If I have, nana kutahja or kiatahja

IMPERFECT.

If I had, nana kin or intahjalak

INFINITIVE.

To have, tahjal

Verbal nouns and participles are formed by adding x or chix, to the infinitive, as;--tzobnal, to know; and tzobnax, he who knows. There are said to be several different dialects of this language in use. Following is the Pater Noster as given by Zenteno in his Doctrina, and as spoken in the mountains of the district of Tampico.

Pailomê anitquahat tiaeb, quaquauhlu anabi, cachich Father art heaven holy said thy name come

anatzalletal. Katahan analenal têtitzabal, nuantiani huatahab thy kingdom. Be done thy will on the earth as to have

tiaeb. Ani tacupiza xahue cailel yabacanil ani heaven. And thou give to-day each day our bread and

tacupaculamchi antuhualabchic, antiani huahua tupaculamchial thou forgive sins as we forgive

tutomnanchixlomchik, ani ib takuhila tincal debtors and not lead that we

ib cucuallam tin exextalab. Timat taculouh timbâ ana ib not fall us in temptation. But save us from no

cuacua. Anitz catahan. holy (evil) so be it done.[XI'-12]

Lord's Prayer in the dialect spoken in the Department of San Luis Potosí:

Tatu puilom huahuá, itcuajat, ti eb chie pelit santo jajatz abi cachic atzale tal ti eb al huahua: catajatz taculbetal hantzaná titzabal hantini tiaeb ani cap ud patalaguicha tacubinanchi, xoque ani tacupaculanchi; cal igualab, ani ela tegui tacupalanchi cal y at guitzab ani il tacujila cugualan cal junhi fataxtalb, maxibtaculohu cal ban atax mal tajana guatalel.

[Sidenote: HUAZTEC LORD'S PRAYER.]

Lord's Prayer in the dialect spoken in another part of the district of Tampico:

Pailon qüa que cuajat tiá el: tu cab tajal hanchaná enta bi ca chix hanti ca ilál cataja na aquiztal hanchana antich aval quinitine tiá el. An pan abalgüa ti patás hüicha ha, tu piza segue, tu placuanchi ni gualal anchaná jontinégüá y placuanchal in at qualablom, il tú en gila cu cualan anti atás cha lablal, tu en librari ti patas an ataz tabal, anchaná juntam. Anchanan catajan.[XI'-13]

FOOTNOTES:

[XI'-1] Palacio, Carta, p. 20; Juarros, Hist. Guat., p. 198; Registro Yucateco, tom. i., p. 166; Galindo, in Lond. Geog. Soc., Jour., vol. iii., pp. 95, 63; Gallatin, in Amer. Ethno. Soc., Transact., vol. i., pp. 4-7; Mühlenpfordt, Mejico, tom. ii., pp. 8, 17; Wappäus, Geog. u. Stat., p. 245; Herrera, Hist. Gen., dec. iv., lib. x., cap. ii-xiv.; Laet, Novus Orbis, pp. 277, 317, 325; Humboldt, Essai Pol., tom. i., p. 267; Heller, Reisen, p. 380; Galindo, in Antiq. Mex., p. 67; Norman's Rambles, p. 238; Haefkens, Cent. Amer., p. 412; Prichard's Nat. Hist. Man, vol. ii., p. 513; Behrendt's Report, in Smithsonian Rept., 1867, p. 425; Squier's Monograph, p. ix.; Villagutierre, Hist. Conq. Itza, p. 84.

[XI'-2] The languages of the Maya family are spoken in the old provinces of Soconusco, Chiapas, Suchitepec, Vera Paz, Honduras, Izalcos, Salvador, San Miguel, Nicaragua, Xerez de Choluteca, Tegucigalpa, and Costa Rica, says the Abbé Brasseur de Bourbourg, MS. Troano, tom. ii., p. vi. 'La plupart des langues de cette contrée, si multiples au premier aspect, se réduisent en réalité à un petit nombre. Ce sont des dialectes qui ne diffèrent les uns des autres que par le mélange de quelques mots étrangers, une certaine variété dans les finales ou dans la prononciation.' Brasseur de Bourbourg, in Nouvelles Annales des Voy., 1855, tom. cxlvii., p. 155. 'Il me paraît indubitable que la langue universelle des royaumes guatémaliens devait être, avant l'invasion des tribus que les Espagnols trouvèrent en possession de ces contrées, le maya d'Yucatan ou le tzendal qui lui ressemble beaucoup.' Ib. 'Lacandons ... les Mames, Pocomames, etc., qui parlent encore aujourd'hui une langue presqu'en tout semblable à celle des Yucatèques.' Id., p. 156. 'Le Tzendal ou Tzeldal et un dialecte de la langue zotzile dont il diffère fort peu.' Id., Palenqué, p. 34. 'Toutes sont issues d'une seule souche, dont le maya paraît avoir gardé le plus grand nombre d'éléments. Le quiché, le cakchiquel, le mame, le tzendal, sont marqués eux-mêmes au sceau d'une très-haute antiquité, amplement partagée par le mexicain ou nahuatl malgré les différences que comporte sa grammaire; car si ses formes et sa syntaxe sont très-distinctes de celles du maya, on peut dire, néanmoins, que tous ces vocables sont composés de racines communes à tout le groupe. Id., MS. Troano, tom. ii., pp. vii., viii. 'La langue primitive forme le centre; plus elle s'avance vers la circonférence, plus elle perd de son originalité la tangente, c'est-à-dire le point où elle rencontre un autre idiome, est l'endroit où elle s'altère pour former une langue mixte.' Waldeck, Voy. Pitt., pp. 24, 42. 'Les Taitzaes, les Cehatches, les Campims, les Chinamitas, les Locènes, les Ytzaes et les Lacandons. Toutes ces nations parlent la langue maya, excepté les Locènes, qui parlent la langue Chol.' Ternaux-Compans, in Nouvelles Annales des Voy., 1843, tom. xcvii., p. 50; Id., 1840, tom. lxxxviii., p. 6. 'La de Yucatan, y Tabasco, que es toda vna.' Bernal Diaz, Hist. Conq., fol. 25; Solis, Hist. Mex., tom. i., p. 89. 'Zoques, Celtales y Quèlenes, todos de lenguas diferentes.' Remesal, Hist. Chyapa, pp. 264, 299; also in Montanus, Nieuwe Weereld, p. 269; Helps' Span. Conq., tom. iii., p. 252; Squier, in Nouvelles Annales des Voy., 1855, tom. cxlviii., p. 275; Id., 1857, tom. cliii., pp. 175, 177-8. The natives of the island of Cozumel 'son de la lengua y costumbres de los de Yucatan.' Landa, Relacion, p. 12; Orozco y Berra, Geografía, pp. 18-25, 55-56.

[XI'-3] 'La simplicité originale de cette langue et la régularité merveilleuse de ses formes grammaticales, c'est la facilité avec laquelle elle se prête à l'analyse de chacun de ces vocables et à la dissection des racines dont ils sont dérivés.' Brasseur de Bourbourg, MS. Troano, tom. ii., pp. iii., vi., v. 'The Maya tongue spoken in the northern parts of Yucatan, is remarkable for its extremely guttural pronunciation.' Gordon's Hist. and Geog. Mem., p. 73. 'The whole of the native languages are exceedingly guttural in their pronunciation.' Dunn's Guatimala, p. 265. 'Diese Sprache war wohlklingend und weich.' Müller, Amerikanische Urreligionen, p. 453; Ternaux-Compans, in Nouvelles Annales des Voy., 1843, tom. xcvii., p. 32; Squier, in Id., tom. cliii., p. 178.

[XI'-4] 'Dans ces langues kakchiquèle, kichée et zutugile, les mots qui n'appartiennent pas au Maya, m'ont tout l'air d'être d'origine germanique, saxons, danois, flamands, anglais même.' Brasseur de Bourbourg, in Nouvelles Annales des Voy., 1855, tom. cxlvii., pp. 156-7. 'Je fus frappé, dès mon arrivée ... de la similitude qu'une quantité de mots de leur langue offrait avec celles du nord de l'Europe.' Id., Lettre à M. Rafn, in Id., tom. clx., 1858, pp. 263, 281-90. 'The fundamental forms and words of the languages of these regions (except the Mexican) are intimately connected with the Maya or Tzendal and that all the words, that are neither Mexican nor Maya, belong to our languages of Northern Europe, viz., English, Saxon, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, Flemish and German, some even appear to belong to the French and Persian, and altogether they are really very numerous and astounding.' Id., Letter in the New York Tribune, November 21, 1855.

[XI'-5] Pimentel, Cuadro, tom. ii., pp. 231-45.

[XI'-6] Gage's New Survey, pp. 465-477, et seq.

[XI'-7] Pimentel, Cuadro, tom. i., pp. 84-110.

[XI'-8] Brasseur de Bourbourg, Grammaire de la Langue Quiché; Pimentel, Cuadro, tom. ii., pp. 126-47.

[XI'-9] Beltran de Santa Rosa María, Arte; Ruz, Catecismo Historico; Id., Cartilla; Id., Gram. Yucateca; Gallatin, in Amer. Ethno. Soc., Transact., vol. i., pp. 252, et seq.; Heller, Reisen, p. 381, et seq.; Vater, Mithridates, tom. iii., pt iii., pp. 4-24; Pimentel, Cuadro, tom. i., pp. 5, 223, tom. ii., pp. 119, 229; Brasseur de Bourbourg, Grammaire, in Landa, Relacion, pp. 459-479; Id., in MS. Troano, tom. ii.

[XI'-10] 'Estos Totonaques ... decian ser ellas de Guastelas.' 'Otros hay, que entienden la lengua Guasteca.' Sahagun, Hist. Gen., tom. iii., lib. x., pp. 131-2. 'Im alten Centralamerika also waren die Sprachen der Totonaken, Otimier, Huasteken, Macahuer unter sich sowohl als auch mit der Sprache in Yucatan verwandt.' Müller, Amerikanische Urreligionen, p. 453; Mexikanische Zustände; tom. i., p. 143; Montanus, Nieuwe Weereld, p. 251; Hassel, Mex. Guat., p. 245; Almaraz, Memorio, pp. 18, 20; Villa-Señor y Sanchez, Theatro, tom. i., pp. 287-91; Gallatin, in Amer. Ethno. Soc., Transact., vol. i., p. 4; Ternaux-Compans, in Nouvelles Annales des Voy., 1840, tom. lxxxviii., p. 7; Vater, Mithridates, tom. iii., pt iii., p. 106; Orozco y Berra, Geografía, pp. 18-20, 204.

[XI'-11] Pimentel, Cuadro, tom. ii., pp. 223-68; Vater, Mithridates, tom. iii., pt iii., pp. 44-60.

[XI'-12] Zenteno, Lengua Huasteca; Gallatin, in Amer. Ethno. Soc., Transact., vol. i., pp. 276-85; Pimentel, Cuadro, tom. i., pp. 5-34.

[XI'-13] Col. Polidiómica Mex., Oracion Dominical, p. 8-10.