The Bridgeport evening farmer. [volume] (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1866-1917, 1916-12-22
INDIAN TONGUES
NUMBER 1000 IN.
BOTH AMERICAS
Government Is Now Record
4 ing These Aboriginal
e. Languages

tf%saE.s.The Bureau of American Etho1ogy
hof the Smithsonian Institution, which
conducts studies and Investigations
among the Indians, is constantly bonn
barded with requests for '4the Indian
word" for this and that. It may be
worth while to explain to the public,
therefore that there is no one Ameri-
can Indian language. On the contrary
there are about 1000 languages IN two
Americas. and practically 500 distinct
Indian languages north of Mexico.
It becomes, then, impossible to give
"the" Indian word for any English
equivalent, and consequently it is US
ually chosen from the language Of the
tribe which inhabits, or once inhabit-
ID. the particular section Of the coun-
Try from which the request comes For
Example, the word may be chosen
Tom the Sioux, delaware, Cherokee,
6eneca. Zuni or other language.
One of the exhibits Of the Bureau of
American Ethno1ogy at the recent
Panama-Pacific Exposition at San
francisco was a large placard in tab
. ular form, intended to illustrate the
number and variety Of Indian lam
guages north of Mexico. Although
groups and 1877 different tribes. The
equivalent Of only one word was
sh own, the concept expressed by Latin
homo. human being"
y For example, member Of the
! Cherokee tribe says ''yunw1." while
his former neighber of the Creek tribe
Bays 'isti." The Delaware of the AL
gonauin says '1n's for naals person
and '1enno" or .1enape'' for human
being. The Eastern and Central Es-
kimo use the word t.inHit," meaning
people, Or 'inAk'', person. where his
not. far distant relative the Aleut. says
''aliwut." The Zuni Indian expresses
the word by "kwe'' and the Usage by
''nikasfiga." These few examples
show in how many ways, all different.
this one idea is expressed.
In fact. the Indian languages are
SO numerous and 50 difficult to record
that the American Anthfepelegica1
association appointed q committee
some time ago to devise a standard
method for transefibihg them. It's
report has just been published by the
Smithsonian Institution and is en-
titled Phonetic Transcription of In
dian Languages
1t goes into detail as the best and
most improved manner Of recording
and many Indian languages of this
country III d form that is feasible and
easily understood. The report is in+
tended primarily. for philelegists and
students OF phoneties and is designed
to show what is necessary in order to
record an Indian language properly.
Fortunately for the student Of In
dian lingl1istics, nearly all the tribal
and family languages may be classified
into groups, so that it is not necessary
for the philelogist to learn each Ian
guage; he studies the basic principles
of the speech Of a linguistic group.
I'D fo1low1nS esrtain rules and AK
captions, is able to comprehend much
of the speech of it's several branches.
He knows, according to Grimm s
law, evolved years ago by our old
friend the compiler of the fairy tales,
lat certain ceHsonahts correspond in
all related languages; as for example,
in German. the high German, "das"
becomes "dat' in low German, the
changing to t. The eensehants T.
n and r<are also readily interchange
able. Thus the scientist recognizes
the same word despite it's guises.
But tt is not with a view of dis
glaising or making his speech dis
finctive that an Indian Of one tribe
preneunces word differently from
one Of another tribe, but because he
Aeapno4 pEeaeuaee certain sounds The
IL q 3 4. - - = .