’is not an organic consonant, but, as in North German, an attack of initial vowel, hence' ’a-' is felt to be merely 'a-'. In A, however, as in Semitic, Nootka, Kwakiutl, Haida, and a great many other languages, such initials as ' ’a-' are felt to be equivalent to such consonant + vowel groups as 'ma-' or 'sa-'. Here is a type of pattern difference which even experienced linguists do not always succeed in making clear.
- Sapir (1925), a pag.39