re reputed to be versed in such matters. He professes
to have used his own judgment only when these authorities left him free
to do so.
His stated method in compiling the ethnographic map was to place before
him the map of a certain department, examine all his authorities bearing
on that department, and to mark with a distinctive color all localities
said to belong to a particular language. When this was done he drew a
boundary line around the area of that language. Examination of the map
shows that he has partly expressed on it the classification of languages
as given in the first part of his text, and partly limited himself to
indicating the geographic boundaries of languages, without, however,
giving the boundaries of all the languages mentioned in his lists.
1865. Pimentel (Francisco).
Cuadro Descriptivo y Comparativo de las Lenguas Indigenas de Mexico.
Mexico, 1865.
According to the introduction this work is divided into three parts: (1)
descriptive; (2) comparative; (3) critical.
The author divides the treatment of each language into (1) its
mechanism; (2) its dictionary; (3) its grammar. By "mechanism" he means
pronunciation and composition; by "dictionary" he means the commonest or
most notable words.
In the case of each language he states the localities where it is
spoken, giving a short sketch of its history, the explanation of its
etymology, and a list of such writers on that language as he has become
acquainted with. Then follows: "mechanism, dictionary, and grammar."
Next he enumerates its dialects if there are any, and compares specimens
of them when he is able. He gives the Our Father when he can.
Volume I (1862) contains introduction and twelve languages. Volume II
(1865) contains fourteen groups of languages, a vocabulary of the Opata
language, and an appendix treating of the Comanche, the Coahuilteco, and
various languages of upper California.
Volume III (announced in preface of Volume II) is to contain the
"comparative part" (to be treated in the same "mixed" method as the
"descriptive part"), and a scientific classification of all the
languages spoken in Mexico.
In the "critical part" (apparently dispersed through the other two
parts) the author intends to pass judgment on the merits of the
languages of Mexico, to point out their good qualities and their
defects.
1870. Dall (William Healey).
On the distribution of the native tribes of Alaska and the adjacent
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