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are applicable to every stem, and secondly as a derivative
besides the general signification resulting from its composition
can have a peculiar sense too. The number of affixes existing
in Greenlandish can be rated at 200. The number which can
be attached to the same stem or embodied in one derivative is
restricted by no distinct rule, but hardly exceeds, and very
rarely reaches 10.
I have tried TO CALCULATE HOW MANY WORDS IN THIS WAY
COULD BE DERIVED FROM A STEM, but did not complete the
experiment on account of the appalling increase of the number
on each subsequent addition of an affix. I selected the word
igdlo a house, and running over the affixes I found about 80
of them able to be added immediately to this stem, giving 80
derivatives. Again at random I took one of these and found it
susceptible of 61 immediate additions. I submitted the 61
derivatives of second, or stems of third degree to the same
experiment and got 70 derivatives of the third degree out of
one of them, and so on I got 8 of the 4th, 10 of the 5th, and
10 of the 6th degree. But here I stopped and considered what
could have been the result, if each time instead of choosing
one, I had tried all the others of the same class too, found
them equally prolific and finally had summed up all the numbers
obtained in this way within the limits of each class: THE
FORMIDABLE SUM to which I was led deterred me from completing
this arithmetical problem, which would have required all the
combinations in question to be actually tried and for this
purpose all written down excepting perhaps the last class. Such
a process would be necessary, as several rules have to be
observed with regard to the order in which a series even of
moveable affixes can be appended to a stem, and especially
because the applicability of an affix in each case before all
depends on its sense. But even if an ample allowance is made
for these restrictions, the remaining number will still be so
large THAT ONLY THE AMERICAN SO CALLED POLYSYNTHETIC
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