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.

QUICHÉ PRONOUNS.

PRONOUNS.

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.

INTERROGATIVES.

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

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.

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.

CONJUGATION OF THE VERB OYOBEH, TO WAIT.

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

There are further mentioned a reciprocal and a distributive verb.

Of the former the following is an example.

Of the second form this is an example.

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.

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.

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.

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, ɔ, 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 ɔ is pronounced as if spelled dj, ɔib 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.

MAYA CONJUGATIONS.

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.

RECIPROCAL PRONOUNS.

CONJUGATION OF THE AUXILLARY VERB TENI, TO BE.

FIRST CONJUGATION OF THE VERB NACAL, TO ASCEND.

SECOND CONJUGATION CAMBEZAH, TO INSTRUCT.

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

THE LORD'S PRAYER.

Cayum ( Our father ) ianeeh ( who art ) ti ( in ) càannob ( heaven ) cilichthantabac ( blessed be ) akaba: ( thy name; ) tac ( it may ) a ( come ) ahaulil ( thy kingdom ) c' ( us ) okol. ( over. ) Mencahac ( Be done ) a ( thine ) uolah ( will ) uai ( as ) ti ( on ) luun ( earth ) bai ( as ) ti ( in ) caanè. ( heaven. ) Zanzamal ( Daily ) uah ( bread ) ca ( us ) azotoon ( give ) heleae ( to-day ) caazaatez ( us forgive ) c' ( our ) ziipil ( sins ) he bik ( as ) c' ( we ) zaatzic ( forgive ) uziipil ( their sins ) ahziipiloobtoone ( to sinners ) ma ix ( not also ) appatic ( let ) c' ( us ) lubul ( fall ) ti ( in ) tuntah, ( temptation ) caatocoon ( us deliver ) ti ( from ) lob.[XI'-9] ( 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.

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.

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

The difference between the three dialects may be seen:

The Lord's Prayer in the dialect of Naolingo:

Kintlatkane ( Our father ) nak ( in ) tiayan ( heaven ) huil ( art ) takollalihuakahuanli ó ( sanctified be ) mimaokxot ( thy name ) nikiminanin ( come ) ó mintakakchi ( thy kingdom ) tacholakahuanla ( be done ) ó minpahuat ( thy name ) cholei ( as ) kaknitiet ( world ) chalchix ( as ) nak ( in ) tiayan. O ( heaven. ) kinchouhkan ( Our bread ) lakalliya ( daily ) nikilaixkiuh ( give us ) yanohue ( to-day ) kakilamatzankaniuh ( forgive us ) kintakallitkan ( our faults ) chonlei ó ( as we ) kitnan ( ourselves ) lamatzankaniyauh ( we forgive ) ó kintalakallaniyan ( our debtors ) ka ( and ) ala ( not ) kilamaktaxtoyauh ( us lead ) nali ( that ) yoyauh ( we be ) naka ( in ) liyogni. ( temptation. ) Chon ( So ) tacholakahuanla. ( 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]

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.

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 ( Father ) anitquahat ( art ) tiaeb, ( heaven ) quaquauhlu ( holy said ) anabi, ( thy name ) cachich ( come ) anatzalletal. ( thy kingdom. ) Katahan ( Be done ) analenal ( thy will ) têtitzabal, ( on the earth ) nuantiani ( as ) huatahab ( to have ) tiaeb. ( heaven. ) Ani ( And ) tacupiza ( thou give ) xahue ( to-day ) cailel ( each day ) yabacanil ( our bread ) ani ( and ) tacupaculamchi ( thou forgive ) antuhualabchic, ( sins ) antiani ( as ) huahua ( we ) tupaculamchial ( forgive ) tutomnanchixlomchik, ( debtors ) ani ( and ) ib ( not ) takuhila ( lead ) tincal ( that we ) ib ( not ) cucuallam ( fall us ) tin ( in ) exextalab. ( temptation. ) Timat ( But ) taculouh ( save us ) timbâ ana ( from ) ib ( no ) cuacua. ( holy (evil) ) Anitz ( so ) catahan. ( 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.

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

HUAZTEC LORD'S PRAYER.

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]

CHAPTER XII.
LANGUAGES OF HONDURAS, NICARAGUA, COSTA RICA, AND THE ISTHMUS OF DARIEN.

The Carib an Imported Language—The Mosquito Language—The Poya, Towka, Seco, Valiente, Rama, Cookra, Woolwa, and other Languages in Honduras—The Chontal—Mosquito Grammar—Love Song in the Mosquito Language—Comparative Vocabulary of Honduras Tongues—The Coribici, Chorotega, Chontal and Orotiña in Nicaragua—Grammar of the Orotiña or Nagradan—Comparison between the Orotiña and Chorotega—The Chiriquí, Guatuso, Tiribi, and others in Costa Rica—Talamanca Vocabulary—Diversity of Speech on the Isthmus of Darien—Enumeration of Languages—Comparative Vocabulary.

In Honduras there is a long list of tribal names, to each of which is attributed a distinct tongue. Vocabularies have been taken of three or four only, and one, spoken on the Mosquito coast, has had its grammatical structure reduced to writing. It is therefore impossible to make comparisons and therefrom to determine how far their number might be reduced by classification. The first which I introduce is generally conceded to have been imported. It is the Carib, spoken on the shores of the bay of Honduras and on the adjacent islands, and has been proven to be almost identically the same as the one spoken on the West India Islands. From Cape Honduras to the Rio San Juan, and extending inland as far as Black River, the Mosquito language is in general use. Of it I shall insert a few grammatical remarks. In the Poya Mountains a like-named tongue is spoken; on the headwaters of the Patook River is the Towka, and on the Rio Secos, the Seco. Further in the mountains, near the boundary of Nicaragua, and extending into that state are the Valiente and Rama, said to be both separate tongues; and in the interior of the state there are the Cookra and Woolwa, the latter spoken in the province of Chontales. Others mentioned are the Tonglas, the Lenca, the Smoo, the Teguaca, the Albatuina, the Jara, the Taa, the Gaula, the Motuca, the Fantasma, and the Sambo. Of these nothing but the names can be given. The oldest authorities mention, as a principal language the Chontal, the name of a people and language met in many variations in almost every state from Mexico to Nicaragua. As there are no specimens of this language existing, it is impossible to say whether one people and language extended through all this territory or whether certain wild tribes were designated by this general name, as, according to Molina's Mexican dictionary, chontalli means stranger or foreigner; and popoluca, which seems to be also used like chontalli, is defined as barbarian, or man of another nation and language. I am therefore of the opinion that no such nations as Chontals or Popolucas exist, but that these names were employed by the more civilized nations to designate people speaking other and barbarous tongues.[XII'-1]

MOSQUITO ADJECTIVES AND DECLENSIONS.

Of the Mosquito language, which is understood throughout the whole Mosquito Coast, and of which I here give a few grammatical remarks, Mr Squier remarks that "it is not deficient in euphony, although defective in grammatical power."[XII'-2] There is but one article, the numeral adjective kumi, one, used also for a and an. The adjectives are few in number, having no uniform termination, and are discovered only by their signification, except when participles, when they always terminate in ra or n. Adjectives form the comparative by adding kara to the positive and the superlative by adding poli except in two words, uia and silpe, which have distinct words for each degree of comparison, thus;—silpe, small; uria, smaller; katara, smallest; uia, much; kara, more; poli, most. Comparison is usually formed in the manner following;—yamne, good; yamne kara, better; yamne poli, best; konra, strong; konra kara, stronger; konra poli, strongest.

In composition, to express excess or diminution, comparison is sometimes formed in this manner;—Jan almuk, Samuel almuk apia: John is old, Samuel is not old.

ADJECTIVES.

THE PERFECT TENSE USED AS AN ADJECTIVE.

The gender is commonly marked by adding waikna for the male and mairen for the female, or, for beasts, wainatka for the male, and mairen, as before, for the female. Thus;—lupia waikna, a son; lupia mairen, a daughter; bip wainatka, a bull; bip mairen, a cow. In nouns relating to the human species the plural is formed by adding nani to the singular; as;—waikna, a man; waikna nani, men; yapte, mother; yapte nani, mothers. Other nouns have the plural the same as the singular, although sometimes a plural is formed by adding ra to the singular;—inska, a fish; inskara, fishes.

There are four cases, distinguished by their terminations, the nominative, dative, accusative, and ablative.

DECLENSION OF THE WORD AIZE, FATHER.

To form the possessive case of nouns, the word dukia, signifying 'belonging', is added. The word, being subject to a declension peculiar to itself, is on that account not put as an affix in the usual declension of nouns.

DECLENSION OF THE WORD DUKIA, BELONGING, POSSESSION.

There are twelve pronouns, mostly declinable. Six of them are personal.

Three are relative, and three adjective.

The first three are declined alike; thus

DECLENSION OF THE WORD YUNG, I

DECLENSION OF THE WORD MAN, THOU.

DECLENSION OF THE WORD WETIN, HE.

Affixes are also joined to pronouns to increase, vary, or change their signification, such as sa, ne, ra, am, and others, as well as prepositions and adverbs.

There are but three interjections: alai! alas! kais! lo! and alakai! O dear!

MOSQUITO ADVERBS AND PREPOSITIONS.

Adverbs are numerous, and admit of certain variations in their signification by the use of affixes, thus;—nara, here; narasa, here it is; lama, near; lamara, nearer.

There are twenty-eight prepositions. Some of them are also used as conjunctions; and some, like the adverb, admit of a variation.

CONJUGATION OF THE VEEB KAIA, TO BE.

CONJUGATION OF THE VERB DAUKAIA, TO MAKE.

In the same way every tense forms the plural, having no difference in the terminations.