Munsee language

Names for the speakers of Munsee are used in complex ways in both English and in Munsee. The Unami language is sometimes treated as "Delaware" or "Delaware proper", reflecting the original application of the term Delaware to Unami speakers,[21] but Munsee speakers use Delaware as a self-designation in English.[22] The term Delaware was originally applied by British colonists to Unami speakers living along the Delaware River, which is named after Lord De La Warr, the first governor of Virginia. The term was gradually extended to refer to all Delaware groups.[23][24]

The Munsee in Ontario are sometimes referred to as "Ontario Delaware" or "Canadian Delaware".[25] Munsee-speaking residents of Moraviantown use the English term Munsee to refer to residents of Munceytown, approximately 50 km (31 mi) to the east. In English, Moraviantown residents call themselves Delaware, and in Munsee /lənáːpeːw/ 'Delaware person, Indian'.[26]

Some Delaware at Moraviantown also use the term Christian Indian as a preferred self-designation in English.[27] The equivalent Munsee term is ké·ntə̆we·s ('one who prays, Moravian convert').[19] Munsee speakers refer to Oklahoma Delaware as Unami in English or /wə̆ná·mi·w/ in Munsee.[28] The English term Lenape is of Unami origin,[29] and is used in English as a self-designation by speakers of Unami;[17][30][31]

Exceptionally among scholars, Kraft uses Lenape as an English-language cover term to refer to all Delaware-speaking groups, while noting that this usage is "not entirely appropriate".[32]

Munsee speakers refer to their language as /hə̀lə̆ni·xsəwá·kan/, literally 'speaking the Delaware language'.[33]

The southern boundary of Munsee territory was the area north of the Delaware Water Gap, following the river system southeast along the Raritan River to the Atlantic Ocean.[34] To the south of the Munsee were the Unami Delaware. To the north were the Algonquian Mahican, and to the east were the Eastern Long Island peoples, who also spoke Algonquian languages, such as Unquachog (also spelled Unkechaug)[35] and southern New England languages, such as Quiripi. (Quiripi and Unquachog are likely members of a dialect continuum of a single language.)[36][37]

Aboriginally, and for a period subsequent to the arrival of Europeans, Munsee was spoken within a series of small and largely autonomous local bands, located primarily within the drainage of the Hudson and upper Delaware rivers, the major river systems of the area. The general pattern, found throughout the Eastern Algonquian area, was one in which indigenous groups resided along the drainages of major river systems, with divisions between upriver and downriver groupings.[38] Named groups were found on the major tributaries; they developed larger sites on the main streams and smaller camps at the headwaters and on feeder streams.[39] Estimates vary, but these local groups may have had a population of up to two hundred people each.[5] These groups spoke localized varieties of the language now called Munsee, but there is little information on dialect variation within the Munsee-speaking area.[40]

The primary known named Munsee groups, from north to south on the west side of the Hudson River, were the

• Esopus, west of the Hudson River in the Hudson River watershed (with subgroups the Waoranecks, Warranawankongs, and others);
• Minisink (above the Delaware Water Gap);
• Haverstraw, Tappan, and Hackensack, south of the Hudson Highlands west of the Hudson River;
• Raritan, who originally resided on the lower Raritan River and moved inland;
• Wiechquaeskeck, from east of the Hudson who migrated to the lower Raritan after 1649; with the
• Navasink, to the east along the north shore of New Jersey east of the Delaware River.

The Wappinger were to the east of the upper Hudson; below them going north to south on the east bank of the Hudson were the

• Kichtawank;
• Sinsink;
• Rechgawawank;
• Nayack;
• Marechkawieck, with the Canarsee and Rockaway on western Long Island; and
• Massapequa and Matinecock on central Long Island, who may have been Munsee or perhaps were the predecessors of the Unquachog group identified in the eighteenth century.[41]

The disruptions resulting from the entry of European settlers, fur traders, and explorers led to the displacement of these local groups. They gradually consolidated into larger groups that brought together speakers from the different groups within the Munsee-speaking area.[5]

Munsee has the following inventory of consonants; International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) values are given in brackets.[44]

Some loan words from English contain /f/ and /r/: fé·li·n 'there is a fair going on'; ntáyrəm 'my tire.'[43]

Different analyses of the Munsee vowel system have been proposed. Goddard (1979) presents an analysis in which Munsee and Unami have the same vowel system, unchanged from the Proto-Eastern-Algonquian vowel system (discussed in the History section below).[44] In this analysis, there are four long vowels /i·, o·, e·, a·/ and two short vowels /a, ə/. Vowel length is indicated with a raised dot (·). However, in modern Munsee there are several sources of new short /i, o, e/ that arise from such sources as reduplication, loan words, and other various phonological changes, and that cannot be derived from other underlying vowels. Hence an analysis in which there are four positions that have contrastive vowel length as well as /ə/, is appropriate.[43]

The short vowel /i/ has the phonetic value [ɪ]. Short /a/ has values centring on [ʌ], with [a] occurring before [hC] (where 'C' represents any stop or the lateral consonant). Short /o/ has values centring on [ʊ]. The long vowels /iː, eː, aː, oː/ have the primary values [iː], [ɛː], [aː], and [oː], with /a/ varying to [ɑ], and [ɒ] after labial consonants.[45]

Syllable weight plays a significant role in Munsee phonology, determining stress placement and the deletion of certain short vowels. All syllables containing long vowels are strong. Any short vowel in a closed syllable (i.e. (C)VC) is strong. Counting left to right, in a sequence of two or more open syllables containing short vowels, the odd-numbered syllable is weak and the even-numbered syllable is strong.[46] As well, certain syllables containing short vowels (frequently such syllables occur in reduplicated syllables and loan words) must exceptionally be marked as strong.

In words longer than two syllables, the final syllable is excluded from consideration of stress placement, i.e. is extrametrical, and the last strong syllable preceding the final syllable in the word receives the main stress.

(a) payaxkhı́·kan 'rifle' (strong penultimate, receives primary stress)

(b) né·wake 'if I see him' (weak penultimate, preceding syllable receives primary stress)

In disyllabic words a strong penultimate syllable receives primary stress.

(a) á·mwi·w 's/he gets up from lying down' (disyllabic Strong-Strong)

In a disyllable with a weak penultimate syllable, the final syllable is strong, and receives primary stress.

(a) ăsə́n 'stone' (disyllabic Weak-Strong)

The table below presents a sample of Munsee words, written first in a linguistically oriented transcription, followed by the same words written in a practical system.[51] The linguistic system uses a raised dot (·) to indicate vowel length. Although stress is mostly predictable, the linguistic system uses the acute accent to indicate predictable main stress. In addition predictable voiceless or murmured /ă/ is indicated with the breve accent (˘). Similarly, the breve accent is used to indicate an ultra-short [ə] that typically occurs before a single voiced consonant followed by a vowel.[52]

The practical system indicates vowel length by doubling the vowel letter and maintains the linɡuistic system's practices for marking stress and voiceless/ultra-short vowels. The practical system uses orthographic ⟨sh⟩ for the phonetic symbol /š/, and ⟨ch⟩ for the phonetic symbol /č/.[53]

Nouns and verbs that end in -i•w, -e•w and -a•w; some speakers often dropped the -w. This drop also carried over into "careful speech".[55]

A large class of particles and pre-words that are usually heard with final /-ɘ/ retained the original /-i/ in the speech of some speakers.[55]

Words that end with the negative suffix /-wi/ or the subjunctive suffix /-e/ had variants with final /-ɘ/.[55]

Another large class of particles and pre-words are found in older sources ending in /-Í·wi/, e.g.[56]

Some words have variation between underlying | a | and | ə |.[56] It is possible to determine which vowel is older and which might be the innovation by using evidence from other Algonquin languages, other Munsee communities and earlier sources.[56]

An initial and three words show variation between short and long vowels.[57] These words are:

ans ~ a·ns - 'scoop': ánsham ~ á•nsham 'he dips up water'

me•xalapó•ti•s ~ me•xa•làpó•ti-s 'spider'

wekó•li•s ~ we•kó•li•s 'whippoorwill'

yankw(ǎ)té•ho•n ~ ya•nkw(ă)té•ho•n 'apron'

Two words have | nš | varying with | nč |.[57]

These words are xwaskó-nšəy ~ xwaskó-nčəy 'corncob' and sànǎkó-nšə̃yak ~ sànǎkó-nčə̃yak 'elderberries'.[57]

A number of cases are present where one segment varies or is variably present.[58]

For example, /t/ is replaced by /k/ in le•làpatíhte•k (etc.) ~ le•làpatíhke•k (etc.) 'juneberry'.[58]

Some nouns are found with and without a final /-əw/.[59]

In two bird names, | l | varies with | n |.[59]

For example: taskãmális ~ taskamáni•s 'kingfisher'; ši•wa•pé•kăli•š ~ ši•wa•pé•kăni•š 'bluebird'.[59]

Some words have more complex patterns of variation. For example: the word 'table' – e•həntáxpwi•nk is the original. The word is sometimes changed to e•həntáxpo•n which is the same word but it is reshaped as a derived noun.[60]

Some cases involve different words or "highly divergent variants" used as synonyms. For example, there are four ways to say 'eyelashes' that are seen in the personal dialects.[61]

There is no community norm, as the more widely used variants do not define a community norm for either the speakers or the linguist. Additionally, some variants cannot be rated as more and less popular or acceptable. "Even a normative description would have to give both or all of them".[62]

Some variation originates externally. Some usages can be traced directly to the Northern Unami language that was earlier spoken by some members of the Munsee community.[63]

Some variation originates internally. These pronunciations and grammatical tendencies are likely to have emerged in the not too distant past.[63]