CHAPTER X. GRAMMAR AND VOCABULARY OF THE HLINGIT By WILLIAM A. KELLY and FRANCES H. WILLARD. Training School, Sitka, Alaska. PREFACE. The authors are aware that the scientific orthography, in which the vowels have their continental sounds and the consonants their English pronunciation, is now in general use by ethnologists. But as this grammar is intended for colloquial use only, we have adhered mainly to the Websterian orthoepy and phonetic principles of spelling. To assist the student in acquiring the pronunciation of difficult sounds we have made use of a few extra diacritical points. The student should aim at mastery of the Hlingit pronunciation. He must drill, drill, drill, until he acquires facility in intonation, enunciation, and pronunciation. The ear must be accustomed to hear and the tongue to express the native sounds. Hlingit is a harsh, guttural language, and requires much practice to train the organs of speech to new positions. The tongue is used breadth-wise as well as length-wise. Go slowly from the easy to the hard. Do not attempt too much at first. Leave all hard words and forms of expression until a good command of easy words and sentences has been gained. X. Adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions, and interjections. 744 747 The letters b, f, m, p, r, and v are wanting. Only the hard sound of g and c is used; viz, go, get, car, cat; k is always guttural. (For guttural sounds of g see opposite page.) The mark indicates the obscure sound shě, blood; tě, stone. ē-ē represents a prolonged sound of long e. It has no equivalent in English. Hlingit example, yê-ē, your. oo frequently forms the termination of certain guttural sounds, such as the German CH and guttural g's. This combination of sounds is indicated thus: CHoo, g`oo, ÿoo, etc. Pronounce the guttural, but hold the lips in position as if to give the oo sound. Examples: szäcн, hat; si-äg`\00, bitter. CONSONANT COMBINATIONS. All the consonant sounds and their combinations occurring in Hlingit may be divided into four classes, viz: guttural, palatal fortis, dental fortis, and lateral fortis sounds. The true pronunciation of these sounds must be learned from a native, as there are no English equivalents. Guttural sounds, or sounds made by the root of the tongue and the soft palate, using little breath. There are six kinds of this class, and are marked as follows: 4, k, h, j, ÿ, q. ķu-hlu-yāhl', a lie, falsehood. 1. ķ as in ķu-nŭsh-gōv-dā', poor. ku-tahl, pitcher. To form this sound the extreme root of the tongue is pressed gently up against the soft palate and the breath released with a decided click or snap. Lips apart. 2. k as in kä, man. kooc, box, trunk. ěk, copper. The root of the tongue is pressed hard up against the soft palate and the breath released with a soft, explosive sound. Lips apart. 3. 'h as in 'hi, yellow cedar. 'he, burden, pack. ooh, tooth, teeth. The diacritic mark indicates the rough breathing sound. This is a good example of the guttural aspirate. The root of the tongue is relaxed a little, barely touching the soft palate, and the breath driven out forcibly, making a sound not unlike a snore. 4. g as in gun, look here. gunch, tobacco. g has not the sound of j, but the hard sound, as in go. This is the softest guttural that occurs in Hlingit. Contract the tongue until the throat cavity is filled. Expel breath gently. 5. ÿ as in ÿän, fire. ÿäc, valley. ge, mouth. This sound is not unlike the third guttural sound, 'h, except that the breath is forced out more slowly, making a harsh, rasping sound. 6. g as in quän, inhabitants. nä'-qu, cuttle fish, squid. tla'-qu, berries, fruit. This sound is formed much like the second guttural sound k, except that the lips are held as if to sound q. Palatal fortis sounds, or sounds made by the middle of the tongue being pressed up against the roof of the mouth and the breath forced out between. There are three palatal fortis sounds, marked as follows: g`, g′, CH. 1. g' as in g`än, anger. g`äg`, apple. goog, paper, book. 2. g' as in eg', brother (female speaking). ceg', younger brother or sister. g'oondis, potatoes. 3. CH as in снă'-doo, comb. CHOON, north wind. Cнä'-nä, evening. CH is equivalent to the German сн in äсн. ch is equivalent to ch, as in church. Dental fortis sounds, or sounds made by the tongue being pressed against the teeth and gums, the breath being released with a sharp, explosive sound. There are four dental fortis sounds, viz: dt, dj, dts, sz. 1. dt as in dtä, floor, board. dteg', ice, hard. g'uädt, eggs. 2. dj as in djäg', eagle. dja' qu, long ago. hoodj, all gone. 3. dts as in dtsä, fragrance. g'oondts, potatoes. dtsu-dtse', bird. 4. sz as in szĭsä, sail, cloth. 8zāk, smoke. szec, black bear. Lateral fortis sounds, or sounds made by the tongue used breadth-wise, and the breath expelled along the sides of the tongue. There are four lateral fortis sounds, as follows: DL, dl, hl, tl. 1. DL as in DLäc, dress. DLễ, blanket. ȧDL, salt. 2. dl as in dlook, sore. dlak, finger. dlut'c, land, country. 3. hl as in Hlingit, person, people. hloo, nose. hli, don't. 4. tl as in tlag', no. tlag, one. ä-tlän, large, much. II.—NOUNS: NUMBER, GENDER. NUMBER OF NOUNS. Nearly all Hlingit nouns have two number forms, singular and plural, although in some instances the plural form is rarely or never used. The plural of nouns is formed by adding the sound g` to the singular. |