A dictionary of the Osage language / by Francis La Flesche.

Francis La Flesche

Date:: 1932

Credit: A dictionary of the Osage language / by Francis La Flesche. Source: Wellcome Collection.

10/416 page 2

$Personal names given in this volume are found among several gentes; these have the references as to meaning. There are many sayings appearing in the back of the book, which have been revised to the modern expressions, taken from a primer prepared by Raqua & Montgomery, published in 1834. These will be of great interest. While it has not been possible to give all words known to the Osage, those of greatest importance have been given. Some of the words and expressions of this tribe can not be rendered in English; that is, there is no English equivalent. Those taken from the rituals are of great importance, as the rites among the Osage are still held sacred. In many instances I have found it necessary to change the original spelling of the words to conform to modern times: s has been changed to 9 (as th in thin); rh has been elipiinated; 1 and j have also been dis¬ carded; the continental vowel is used entirely; the nasalized n is used, giving the French nasal sound in many of the words where the letter “n” is found, other than at the beginning of a word or syllable. In all words in the Osage language the most important item to be con¬ sidered is the accent; attention is called to the medial letters k, p, and \ which have a different sound than the plain letters in the English. A study of the phonetic key which follows will be of great assistance. Acknowledgment is here made of the courtesy of Chief Fred Look¬ out and his wife, who were very helpful; also of former Chief Bacon Rind and others, of Pawhuska, Okla., who gave me many facts that otherwise could not have been given in this book. While a guest in Oklahoma I found everyone willing to give the information that has made it possible for me to perform the task of writing this volume. I wish also to acknowledge to Grace D. Woodburn my appreciation for her untiring efforts in carefully and accurately continuing my work, without whose assistance this dictionary could not have been com¬ pleted. Few abbreviations have been recorded; those that have been used are self-explanatory. However, it is a simple matter to refer to them: Orn. same, Omaha same; f, feminine; m, masculine. All references for details will be found in the Thirty-sixth, Thirty- ninth, Forty-third, and Forty-fifth Annual Reports of the Bureau of American Ethnology. a_as in father. b_as in bad. g_as in thin. d____as in dog. e-as in prey. ’e_exploded e. g-as in go. h_as in he. i-as in pierce. Phonetic Key *i_exploded i. in_nasalized i. ’in_nasalized exploded i. k_as in kin. ^-a medial k (between k and g). m_as in man. n_as in no. °-nasalized n.$

A dictionary of the Osage language / by Francis La Flesche.

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