He considered polysynthesis to be a general characteristic of American languages .
He did qualify the statement by mentioning that certain languages such as Otomi and the Tupi - Guarani languages had been claimed to be basically analytic .
He considered polysynthesis to be a general characteristic of American languages , but he did qualify the statement by mentioning that certain languages such as Otomi and the Tupi - Guarani languages had been claimed to be basically analytic .