Proceedings of the New York Historical Association [1906]

by New York State Historical Association. Meeting

To the Algonquian dialects spoken in the valley of Hudson's River at the time of the discovery, was added later the Mohawk—Iroquorian, to some extent, more particularly on the north, where it appears about 1621-6, as indicated in the blanket deed given by the Five Nations to King George in 1726. Territorially, in the primary era of European invasion, the Eastern Algonquian prevailed, in varying idioms, on both sides of the river, from a northern point to the Katskills, and from thence south to the Highlands a type of the Unami-Minsi-Lenape or Delaware. That spoken around New York on both sides of the river, was classed by the early Dutch writers as Manhattan, as distinguished from dialects in the Highlands and from the Savano or dialects of the East New England coast. North of the Highlands on both sides of the river, they classed the dialect as Wapping, and from the Katskills north as Mahican or Mohegan, preserved in part in what is known as the Stockbridge. Presumably the dialects were more or less mixed and formed as a whole what may be termed "The Hudson's River Dialect," radically Lenape or Delaware, as noted by Governor Tryon in 1774. In local names we seem to meet the Upper-Unami and the Minsi of New Jersey, and the Mohegan and the Natick of the north and east, the Quiripi of the Sound, and the dialect of the Connecticut Valley. In the belt of country south of the Katskills they were soft and vocalic, the lingual mute t frequently appearing and r taking the place of the Eastern l and n. In the Minsi (Del.) Zeisberger wrote l invariably, as distinguished from r, which appears in the earliest local names in the valley of the Hudson. Other dialectic peculiarities seem to appear in the exchange of the sonant g for the hard sound of the surd mute k, and of p for g, s for g, and t for d, st for gk, etc. Initials are badly mixed, presumably due in part at least, to the habit of Indian speakers in throwing the sound of the word forward to the penult; in some cases to the lack of an "Indian ear" on the part of the hearer.

In structure all Algonquian dialects are Polysynthetic, i. e., words composed wholly or in part of other words or generic roots. Pronunciations and inflections differ as do the words in meaning in many cases. In all dialects the most simple combinations appear in geographical names, which the late Dr. J. H. Trumbull resolved into three classes, viz.: "I. Those formed by the union of two elements, which we will call adjectival and substantival, or ground-word, with or without a locative suffix, or post-position word meaning 'at,' 'in,' 'on,' 'near,' etc. [I use the terms 'adjectival' and 'substantival,' because no true adjectives or substantives enter into the composition of Algonquian names. The adjectival may be an adverb or a preposition; the substantival element is often a verbal, which serves in composition as a generic name, but which cannot be used as an independent word—the synthesis always retains the verbal form.] II. Those which have a single element, the substantival, or ground-word, with locative suffix. III. Those formed from verbs as participials or verbal nouns, denoting a place where the action of the verb is performed. Most of these latter, however," he adds, "may be shown by strict analysis to belong to one of the two preceding classes, which comprise at least nine-tenths of all Algonquian local names which have been preserved." For example, in Class I, Wapan-aki is a combination of Wapan, "the Orient," "the East," and aki, "Land, place or country," unlimited; with locative suffix (-ng, Del., -it, Mass.), "In the East Land or Country." Kit-ann-ing, Del., is a composition from Kitschi, "Chief, principal, greatest," hanné, "river," and ing locative, and reads, "A place at or on the largest river." The suffix -aki, -acki, -hacki, Del., meaning "Land, place, or country, unlimited," in Eastern orthographies -ohke, -auke, -ague, -ke, -ki, etc., is changed to -kamik, or -kamike, Del., -kamuk or -komuk, Mass., in describing "Land or place limited," or enclosed, a particular place, as a field, garden, and also used for house, thicket, etc. The Eastern post-position locatives are -it, -et, -at, -ut; the Delaware, -ng, -nk, with connecting vowel -ing, -ink, -ong, -onk, -ung, -unk, etc. The meaning of this class of suffixes is the same; they locate a place or object that is at, in, or on some other place or object, the name of Which is prefixed, as in Delaware Hitgunk, "On or to a tree;" Utenink, "In the town;" Wachtschunk, "On the mountain." In some cases the locative takes the verbal form indicating place or country, Williams wrote "Sachimauónck, a Kingdom or Monarchy." Dr. Schoolcraft wrote: "From Ojibwai (Chippeway) is formed Ojib-wain-ong, 'Place of the Chippeways;' Monominikaun-ing, 'In the place of wild rice,'" Dr. Brinton wrote "Walum-ink, 'The place of paint.'" The letter s, preceding the locative, changes the meaning of the latter to near, or something less than at or on. The suffixes -is, -it, -os, -es mean "Small," as in Ménates or Ménatit, "Small island." The locative affix cannot be applied to an animal in the sense of at, in, on, to. There are many formative inflections and suffixes indicating the plural, etc.

Mohawk or Iroquoian names, while polysynthetic, differ from Algonquian in construction. "The adjective," wrote Horatio Hale, "when employed in an isolated form, follows the substantive, as Kanonsa, 'house;' Kanonsa-kowa, 'large house;' but in general the substantive and adjective coalesce." In some cases the adjective is split in two, and the substantive inserted, as in Tiogen, a composition of Te, "two," and ogen, "to separate," which is split and the word ononté, "mountain," or hill, inserted, forming Te-ononté-ogen, "Between two mountains," "The local relations of nouns are expressed by affixed particles, such as ke, ne, kon, akon, akta. Thus from Onónta, mountain, we have Onóntáke, at (or to) the mountain; from Akéhrat dish, Akehrátne, in or on the dish," etc. From the variety of its forms and combinations it is a more difficult language than the Algonquian. No European has fully mastered it.

No attempt has been made to correct record orthographies further than to give their probable missionary equivalents where they can be recognized. In many cases crude orthographies have converted them into unknown tongues. Imperfect as many of them are and without standing in aboriginal glossaries, they have become place names that may not be disturbed. No two of the early scribes expressed the sound of the same name in precisely the same letters, and even the missionaries who gave attention to the study of the aboriginal tongues, did not always write twice alike. Original sounds cannot now be restored. The diacritical marks employed by Williams and Eliot in the English alphabet, and by Zeisberger and Heckewelder in the German alphabet, are helpful in pronunciations, but as a rule the corrupt local record orthographies are a law unto themselves. In quoting diacritical marks the forms of the learned linguists who gave their idea of how the word was pronounced, have been followed. It is not, however, in the power of diacritical marks or of any European alphabet to express correctly the sound of an Algonquian or of an Iroquoian word as it was originally spoken, or write it in European characters. Practically, every essential element in pronunciation is secured by separating the forms into words or parts of words, or particles, of which it is composed, (where the original elements of the composition cannot be detected) by syllabalizing on the vowel sounds. An anglicized vocalism of any name may be readily established and an original name formed in American nomenclature, as many names in current use amply illustrates. Few would suspect that Ochsechraga (Mohawk) was the original of Saratoga, or that P'tuk-sepo (Lenape) was the original of Tuxedo.

A considerable number of record names have been included that are not living. They serve to illustrate the dialect spoken in the valley as handed down by European scribes of different languages, as well as the local geography of the Indians. The earlier forms are mainly Dutch notations. A few Dutch names that are regarded by some as Indian, have been noticed, and also some Indian names on the Delaware River which, from the associations of that river with the history of the State, as in part one of its boundary streams, as well as the intimate associations of the names with the history of the valley of Hudson's River, become of especial interest.

In the arrangement of names geographical association has been adopted in preference to the alphabetical, the latter being supplied by index. This arrangement seems to bring together dialectic groups more satisfactorily. That there were many variations in the dialects spoken in the valley of Hudson's River no one will deny, but it may be asserted with confidence that the difference between the German and the English alphabets in renderings is more marked than differences in dialects. In so far as the names have been brought together they form the only key to the dialects which were spoken in the valley. Their grammatical treatment is the work of skilled philologists.

Credit has been given for interpretations where the authors were known, and especially to the late eminent Algonquian authority, J. Hammond Trumbull. Special acknowledgment of valuable assistance is made to the late Dr. D. G. Brinton, of Philadelphia; to the late Horatio Hale, M. A., of Clinton, Ontario, Canada; to the late Prof. J. W. Powell, of the Bureau of Ethnology, Washington, D. C, and his successor, William H. Holmes, and their co-laborers, Dr. Albert S. Gatschet and J. B. N. Hewitt, and to Mr. William R. Gerard, of New York.

The compilation of names and the ascertaining of their locatives and probable meanings has interested me. Where those names have been preserved in place they are certain descriptive landmarks above all others. The results of my amateur labors may be useful to others in the same field of inquiry as well as to professional linguists. Primarily the work was not undertaken with a view to publication. Gentlemen of the New York Historical Association, with a view to preserve what has been done, and which may never be again undertaken, have asked the manuscript for publication, and it has been given to them for that purpose.

E. M. RUTTENBER.

Newburgh, January, 1906.