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SECOND

APPENDIX

ΤΟ

MR. BRAINERD'S JOURNAL:

CONTAINING AN ACCOUNT OF HIS

METHOD OF LEARNING THE INDIAN LANGUAGE, AND OF INSTRUCTING THE INDIANS;

TOGETHER

WITH THE DIFFICULTIES

WHICH LIE IN THE WAY OF THEIR CONVERSION.

METHOD

OF

LEARNING THE INDIAN LANGUAGE,

&c.

INTRODUCTION.

I should have concluded what I had at present to offer, upon the affairs respecting my mission, with the preceding account of the money collected and expended for the religious interests of the Indians, but that I have not long since received from the Reverend President of the correspondents, the copy of a letter directed to him from the Honourable Society for propagating Christian knowledge, dated at Edinburgh, March 21, 1715. Wherein I find it is expressly enjoined upon their missionaries, "That they give an exact account of the methods they make use of for instructing themselves in the Indians' language, and what progress they have already made in it. What methods they are now taking to instruct the Indians in the principles of our holy religion. And particularly that they set forth in their Journals what difficulties they have already met with, and the methods they make use of for surmounting the same."

As to the two former of these particulars, I trust that what I have already noted in my Journals from time to time, might have been in a good measure satisfactory to the Honourable Society, had these Journals arrived safely and seasonably, which I am sensible they have not in general done, by reason of their falling into the hands of the enemy, although I have been at the pains of sending two copies of every Journal, for more than two years past, lest one might miscarry in the passage. But with relation to the latter of these particulars, I have purposely omitted saying any thing considerable, and that for these two reasons. First, because I could not oftentimes give any tolerable account of the difficulties I met with in my work, without speaking somewhat particularly of the VOL. III.

3 I

causes of them, and the circumstances conducing to them, which would necessarily have rendered my Journals very tedious. Besides, some of the causes of my difficulties I thought more fit to be concealed than divulged. And, secondly, because I thought a frequent mentioning of the difficulties attending my work, might appear as an unbecoming complaint under my burdens; or as if I would rather be thought to be endowed with a singular measure of self denial, constancy, and holy resolution, to meet and confront so many difficulties, and yet to hold on and go forward amidst them all. But since the Honourable Society are pleased to require a more exact and particular account of these things, I shall cheerfully endeavour something for their satisfaction in relation to each of these particulars: although in regard of the latter, I am ready to say, Infandum-jubes renovare dolorem.

SECT. I.

Method of learning the Indian Language.

The most successful method I have taken for instructing myself in any of the Indian languages, is, to translate English discourses by the help of an interpreter or two, into their language, as near verbatim as the sense will admit of, and to observe strictly how they use words, and what construction they will bear in various cases; and thus to gain some acquaintance with the root from whence particular words proceed, and to see how they are thence varied and diversified. But here occurs a very great difficulty; for the interpreters being unlearned, and unacquainted with the rules of language, it is impossible sometimes to know by them what part of speech some particular word is of, whether noun, verb, or participle; for they seem to use participles sometimes where we should use nouns, and sometimes where we should use verbs in the English language.

But I have, notwithstanding many difficulties, gained some acquaintance with the grounds of the Delaware language, and have learned most of the defects in it; so that I know what English words can, and what cannot be translated into it. I have also gained some acquaintance with the particular phraseologies, as well as peculiarities of their language, one of which I cannot but mention. Their language does not admit of their speaking any word denoting relation, such as, father, son, &c. absolutely; that is, without prefixing a pronoun-passive to it,

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