The Dakotan Languages, and Their Relations to Other Languages Part 5

The p.r.o.nouns, prepositions and suffixes herein given seem to indicate that the Dakotas did not separate from the Teutonic family till long after the latter separated from the South European family. The fact that the Dak resembles the Icelandic and Gothic in vocabulary and in structure much more than it resembles the older Latin, points in the same direction. The laws of consonantal change in many cases produce the same result as Grimm's law, but the laws themselves are entirely different. It _is certain_, therefore, that the Dakota has not been connected with the Teutonic since the development of Grimm's law made any considerable progress. I have studied the question less, yet I think I have enough evidence in the system of consonantal change _to prove_ that the Dakota has not been connected with the Slavonic or Lithuanian since they separated from each other, or for some time previously. It is possible so far as I can now say that the Dak may have borrowed material from some language not I E, but I have found no evidence of it.

Undoubtedly the adoption of prisoners has introduced a considerable percentage of Algonkin blood. It is also certain that they have adopted some Chippewa religious observances, but even in these they do not appear to have adopted any Chippewa words.

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote J: A word of this kind used every day by the ma.s.ses of all Teutonic people, and corresponding to the princ.i.p.al languages in such a variety of meanings, could not possibly be derived from the Latin finitum. Our fine may be in part from finitum, but fin--I E pin is certainly a Teut word.]

[Footnote K: Words varied by inflection are cla.s.sed as different words.]

[Footnote L: Except that in accordance with euphonic laws initial k becomes ch sixteen times, and final a e seven times.]