Note 118 — Chapter IX

“He (the savage) would not express himself according to our English order of construction, Give me fruit, but according to the Latin order, Fruit give me, Fructum da mihi, for this plain reason, that his attention was wholly directed towards fruit, the desired object. This was the exciting idea; the object which moved him to speak, and of course would be the first named. Such an arrangement is precisely putting into words the gesture which nature taught the savage to make, before he was acquainted with words; and therefore it may be depended upon as certain, that he would fall most readily into this arrangement. · · · · · · We might therefore conclude, à priori, that this would be the order in which things were most commonly arranged at the beginning of language, and accordingly we find, in fact, that in this order words are arranged in most of the antient tongues; as in the Greek and the Latin; and it is also said, in the Russian, the Sclavonic, the Gaelic, and several of the American tongues.” Blair.

The arrangement of words in the Chayma is such as is found in every language of both continents, which has preserved a certain air of youth. The object is placed before the verb, the verb before the personal pronoun. The object on which the attention should be principally fixed, precedes all the modifications of that object.

The American would say; “liberty complete love we;” instead of we love complete liberty; “Thee with happy am I”—instead of I am happy with thee. Humboldt’s Personal Narrative, vol. 3, p. 261.