Native American Words in American

Native American Words in American English

Native American Influence on American English

American society evolved through the interactions of many different cultures and peoples who came to America to make a new life. Our language today is the result of blending that occurred as these immigrants tried to communicate and conduct their daily business. Communication represents an agreement among two people about the meaning that is attached to a certain word, phrase or non-verbal gesture. In the beginning, the two communicators struggle to discover each other's meaning, but as time goes on they soon develop a unique form of communication that is based on agreed meanings.

When the first immigrants arrived in the New World they discovered that it was not empty. They found a unique and rich culture of many nations. Native American tribes share many common traits, but they are each very different in many ways. Tribes living next to each other might speak a language that is from a different root language than that of their neighbors. Linguists have argued the origins of Native American language, but none can agree as to the root of the languages. Some languages resemble Asian languages; others are more closely related to the Aleuts. However, for the most part, the language has evolved to a form that it no longer recognizable from its roots.

The existence of tow very dissimilar tribes suggests movement and conquest. It does not suggest a gentle spread of language and a gradual distancing from the roots. For instance in North Carolina one can find evidences of Siouan, Iroquoian, and Algonquin language families all living next to each other. Other related languages are spread out in other parts of the country.

The first prominent immigrants of whom we have a complete record are the pilgrims that arrive in the early 1600s. We have a relatively complete record of these people and their linguistic characteristic. They left poetry, prayer books, letters and diaries from which to glean their language traits. This group of people had much opportunity for contact with the native population. They learned to plant crops, eat new and unfamiliar plant foods, and many other skills necessary for survival. The first mutual language more than likely developed out of a need for survival and consisted of words that were necessary to carry out those tasks.

On the new continent there were many new plants and animals that the newcomers had never seen. In stead of making up a new word to describe them they adopted the native word for the new plant or animal. This is one probable theory as to why there are so many Native American words to describe plants and animals. The same can be said for place names. One must consider who was the first to give directions. They would have learned the local names for geographic marker such as rivers and waterfalls. Eventually an English word may have developed for these places, but in the beginning, the native names would have more likely prevailed.

The American settlers had contact with both the Native population and people from their home in England. They wrote many letters and had much contact with their homeland. As they tried to describe this new land, they inadvertently introduce the native words that they learned into the proper English language. A few examples of Native American words that found their way back to England via correspondence by the settlers are creek, fat pine, green corn, and papoose from Massachusetts (AHD, 2000). From the Virginia colony we get catfish, corn (maize), mock[ing]bird, polecat (skunk), and raccoon (AHD, 2000). It might be noted that many of these plants and animals are native to the North American continent and would have been completely unfamiliar to the English.

The American Heritage Dictionary lists many words found in early American writings that are uniquely Native American in origin. From tribes in Rhode Island we get the word grocery (store) and hotcakes (corn cakes). From Connecticut we get settlement and swampland. From South Carolina we get the word for hickory nut. New Jersey tribes are responsible for the word frontier and pilot (meaning a guide over land route). The Chippewa provided the words for caribou, and toboggan. It might be noted that the word canoe is not of Native American origin, but came into the lexicon from the West Indies through the Spanish (AHD, 2000).

Many place names were named after the tribes that occupied the location. Some examples are Chippewa, Manhattan, and Miami. We get the names for several regions such as Appalachia and the Alleghenies. The names of the great lakes are also of Native American origin, Erie, Ontario, Huron, Michigan, and Superior. Many erroneously think that Superior is of English origin. However, the name of this lake comes from the Ojibwa word gitchi, which means "great." This became translated into French and became "Superior." (AHD, 2000). Some place names are a blend of Native American words and the immigrants that first moved to that area. Native American Place names cover the continent. A few examples are Minneapolis from Dakota minne, "water" + Greek/English (a)polis, "city"; and Bayou La Batre from Choctaw bayuk, "creek" + French de la Batre, "of the [artillery] battery"

Other place names are the result of direct English translations of Native American words, such as Spearfish in South Dakota, Ten Sleep in Wyoming, and Yellow Dirt Creek in Georgia. Alabama and Dakota are both words for "people." Minnesota is a combination of the Dakota words minne (water) + sota (white). As one can see there are several different methods by which Native American words enter into the English language. There was not one method by which Native American words became a part of the American vernacular.

The Lumbee

Robeson County, North Carolina is home to a group of unique Native Americans that speak a language that is distinct from both of their Anglo and African-American neighbors (Torbert, 2001). The Lumbee tribe has several linguistic markers that distinguish themselves from other Robeson County residents. The Lumbee transitioned from their native language to English some time in the distant past (Torbert, 2001). This is an indication that they had early contact with the first English speakers on the continent. However, the exact date and details of this contact are lost from history.

Consonant Cluster Reduction has been examined as a part of the Lumbee language. The Lumbee have many more consonant cluster reductions than their Anglo neighbors. Consonant Cluster Reduction is apparent in the local dialect of Robeson County. An example of consonant cluster reduction is the pronunciation of "ol" for Old, "min" for mind, or "lef" for left. The consonant cluster reduction of the Lunbees has come to represent the accepted language of the region. When one hears someone using this type of reduction they can almost immediately pinpoint them to the region.

An exploration of the Lumbee language is important to the understanding of how English and Native languages became blended and formed the unique language that is known as American English. One of the most telling phrases in the Lumbee language with still survives from the ancestral language is "Ep ta tay wa nay wasin." This phrase translates, "Creator, I love you." However, the phrase is most typically translated, "Jesus, I love you." This translation is quite old and tells us an important detail about how old the Lumbee blending with English occurred. According to Torbert,

It is a telling phrase, for it sums up the dual existence the Lumbee must continually negotiate: a people with an intense sense of their Native American identity who have survived in a world dominated by Anglo people, "(Torbert, p. 370).

Lumbee language gives us many clues as to how languages are negotiated when two people meet and must interact. The Lumbee have retained a strong sense of Native American identity, while at the same time, trying to make their way in a world dominated by Anglican ideals and language. The Lumbee provide us with a living example of how blending may have occurred in other parts of the country as well.

Torbert notes that the primary languages surrounding Robeson County are Iroquoian and Siouan, which have no consonant clusters. Torbert does, however note that the frequency of consonant clusters in their language is a connection to an Algonquian past. Consonant clusters do exist in Algonquian languages. Torbert feels that the frequency of consonant cluster in Lumbee is the result of a migration from the Roanoke Island area. where they would have had a great deal of contact with the local Algonquian tribes there. This is the theory proposed by Torbert. However, there is another possibility that was not considered in the literature. This hypothesized connection may simply be an indication of heavy trading between the two peoples and may not indicate a migration from the area. However, this hypothesis cannot be proven without an extensive examination of archeological evidence. Searching for signs of trade and exchange in the archeological record may give us clues as to whether the language similarities are the result of extensive trade or a migration. If items from both areas continue to be found throughout the archeological record over an extended time, then it would indicate trade. However, if the archeological record indicates one massive wave of articles from the Roanoke area and then stops, it would be more indicative of a migration.

This approach was not considered in the literature found. However, it would be an excellent tool for supporting or disproving the theories proposed by Torbert. The language of the Lumbee is important in understanding how language exchange flowed in each direction. It tells us much about the early contact between culture and how these cultures began to communicate. Torbert was the only major researcher to have explored the Lumbee language for its ancestral connection. However, this work presents many more questions than it answers. For instance, why did the Lumbee transition to English. Torbert provides pervasive evidence that this transition occurred many years ago. When early settlers first moved to the area, they would have been the minority. It would make sense for the settlers to have adopted Lumbee language, not the other way around. How the transition occurred is one of the key questions that remain unanswered by Torbert's studies. The answer to this question, if it is ever found, may give us clues as to how the process of Native American acculturation began.

Torbert was able to locate early interviews with Lumbee that can give use clues as to the existence of traces of the ancestral language. For instance, a fieldworker in 1934 was conducting an interview with a Native American born in the Pembroke area in the 1860s. The interviewer had to abort the interview because the interviewee was unable to communicate effectively. The researcher noted that the subject "preserves traces of foreign speech" (Torbert, p. 372). This is am important comment because it demonstrates that at that time the ancestral language of the Lumbee was still around. This may suggest that the transition to English occurred more slowly over a longer period of time.

Isolation is required for the preservation of language. Torbert argues that school desegregation in Robeson County has led to a steady decline in the Lumbee language. Torbert's study compared the use of consonant clusters in the Lumbee, Anglo speakers, and African-Americans in Robeson County. This analysis demonstrated that consonant cluster reduction is not an ethno linguistic marker in Robeson County and that differences in prevalence among the Lumbee did not differ significantly from other populations in the area (Torbert, p. 378). Torbert explains that this may be a result of the disappearance of their ancestral language so long ago. The study found that consonant cluster reduction was greatest in the oldest members of the population. Torbert surmises that this may be a result of the transfer of their language in the past (Torbert, p. 383).

Schilling, (2000) focused on / ay / patterning in the Lumbee. Schilling found that the Lumbee in Robeson county can be divided into several dialects among themselves. Schilling also explored the presence of these distinctly Lumbee patterns in whites and African-Americans in the area as well. Schilling found that the Lumbee have managed to preserve some degree of linguistic uniqueness and that they have influenced native speakers from other ethnic groups in the area as well (Schilling, p, 168).

The Lumbee are the largest Native American group east of the Mississippi. The process of selective accommodation has allowed the Lumbee to develop their own unique language, even though their ancestral language was lost many years ago (Wolfram, 1996). Native Americans have been involved in contact with a number of different language groups. They were contact with English speaker, Spanish speakers, French speakers, Africans, German speaker, and many other language groups. The most interesting trait of the Lumbee language is that it demonstrates selectivity in the inclusion of elements from other languages (Wolfram, 1996). Another unique quality of Robeson County is that the three primary ethnic groups that live there choose to remain completely separate from one another. The development of cultural constructs in the area appears to be purposeful, rather than accidental.

What Does this Mean for Native American Words in American English?

The Lumbee and the unique social and cultural environment that they live provide an excellent setting for the study of how languages develop. The strong desire to preserve their cultural identity, although their ancestral language was lost long ago, demonstrates how the adoption of certain language elements can be purposeful, rather than entirely accidental. Several Lumbee words have worked their way into American English. The word kelvinator means refrigerator. The word "tote" means carry. Many Lumbee words are more familiar to those that speak the Southern dialect such as "cooter" for turtle, "younguns" for children, "mash" for push, and the phrase "sorry in the world" for not feeling well. The Lumbee refer to one that is more privileged as a "brick house Indian." This is still a prominent phrase in Southern English. These phrases have been a part of American English for centuries, but are more familiar in the southern U.S..

The purpose of this research is to explore the presence and importance of Native American language in the American English vernacular. We know that many names for flora and fauna have Native American roots. More interesting than the presence of Native American words in the English language, is the question of how they came into popular usage. We discovered that the first mode of entrance was more likely to be functional in nature. However, if the acceptance of new words were truly functional in nature, then the usage of them could be expected to diminish as the use of the new language became more prevalent. We have only touched on the number of words in American language that stem from Native American languages.