The characters ñ and ⁿ really indicate a difference in the quality of the preceding vowel. They differ between themselves only by reason of differences in sounds following.
In the vice-presidential address before cited may be found also a short sketch of the grammar of this language, probably the only one in existence. In the material left by Mr. Dorsey was a number of cards containing short grammatic notes, but none of these were in condition suitable for publication except two, on which were set forth the Biloxi imperatives in tabulated form, as follows:
| Sit! | Stand! | Walk! | Run! | Recline! | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| To a child | xahaˊ | siⁿˊhiⁿˊ | ni | taⁿhiⁿˊ | ṭohoˊ |
| Male to male | xiheˊ-kañḳoˊ | siⁿˊx-kañḳoˊ | niˊ-ṭaktaˊ | taⁿhiⁿˊ-ṭaktaˊ | ṭohoˊ-ṭaktaˊ |
| Male to female | xihe-tki | siⁿ-tki | niˊ-tki | taⁿˊhiⁿˊ-tkiˊ | ṭohoˊ-tki |
| Female to male | xihe-ṭe | siⁿ-dakṭeˊ | niˊ-taṭeˊ | taⁿhiⁿˊ-tạṭeˊ | ṭohoˊ-ṭeˊ |
| Female to female | xihe-tki | siⁿ-tki | niˊ-tkiˊ | taⁿˊhiⁿˊ-tkiˊ | ṭohoˊ-tkiˊ |
| Make it! | Carry it! | Make it! | Carry it! | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular. | Plural. | ||||
| To a child | oⁿniˊ | ki | To children | oⁿtuˊ | kiyuˊ |
| Male to male | oⁿ-tạtaˊ | ki-kañkoˊ | Male to males | oⁿ-tkañkoˊ | ki-tạkañkoˊ |
| Male to female | oⁿ-tkiˊ | ki-tkiˊ | Male to females | oⁿ-tutkiˊ | ki-tạtŭkiˊ |
| Female to male | oⁿ-ṭateˊ | ki-tạteˊ | Female to males | oⁿ-tạṭeˊ | ki-tạtŭteˊ |
| Female to female | oⁿ-tkiˊ | ki-tkiˊ | Female to females | oⁿ-tạtkiˊ | ki-tạtŭkiˊ |
Following is a list of the abbreviations made use of in this bulletin:
m., man, male; w., woman; masc., masculine; fem., feminine; sp., speaking; s. or sing., singular; du., dual; p. or pl., plural; coll., collective; cl., classifier; voc., vocative; st., sitting; std., standing; recl., reclining; cv., curvilinear; mv., moving; an., animate; intj., interjection; cf., compare; D., Dakota dialect; Ȼ., Omaha and Ponca dialect (Do1sey’s Ȼegiha); K., Kansa dialect; Os., Osage dialect; Kw., Quapaw dialect; Tc., Tciwere dialect (i. e., Iowa, Oto, and Missouri); H., Hidetsa dialect; G. indicates that the form to which it is appended was obtained through Dr. A. S. Gatschet; Bk. is placed after a word or sentence obtained from Banks or Bankston Johnson, one of Doxsey's Biloxi informants; Bj. indicates a word or sentence from Betsey Joe, another of Dorsey‘s informants; M. is placed after words or expressions obtained from Maria, daughter of the preceding; J. 0. D., James Owen Dorsey; J. R. S., John R. Swanton; + after a vowel indicates that it is lengthened, but between words in parentheses it shows that a word immediately preceding is compounded of them. ± is placed before syllables sometimes added to and sometimes omitted from a word immediately preceding. A grave accent
