Pre-European contact distribution of the Iroquoian languages.
As of 2020, all surviving Iroquoian languages are severely or critically endangered, with only a few elderly speakers remaining. The two languages with the most speakers, Mohawk in New York and Cherokee, are spoken by less than 10% of the populations of their tribes.[2][3]
Labeled map showing pre-contact distribution of the Iroquoian languages
South Carolina-Georgia dialect (aka Lower dialect) (*)
North Carolina dialect (aka Middle or Kituwah dialect) (severely endangered)
Oklahoma dialect (aka Overhill or Western dialect) (definitely endangered)
(*) — language extinct/dormant
Evidence is emerging that what has been called the Laurentian language appears to be more than one dialect or language.[4] Ethnographic and linguistic field work with the Wyandot tribal elders (Barbeau 1960) yielded enough documentation for scholars to characterize and classify the Huron and Petun languages.
The languages of the tribes that constituted the tiny Wenrohronon,[a] the powerful Conestoga Confederacy and the confederations of the Neutral Nation and the Erie Nation are very poorly documented in print. The Neutral were called Atiwandaronk, meaning 'they who understand the language' by the Huron (Wyandot people). They are historically grouped together, and geographically the Wenro's range on the eastern end of Lake Erie placed them between the larger confederations. To the east of the Wenro, beyond the Genesee Gorge, were the lands of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy and southeast, beyond the headwaters of the Allegheny River, lay the Conestoga (Susquehannocks).[5] The Conestoga Confederacy and Erie were militarily powerful and respected by neighboring tribes.[5] By 1660 all of these peoples but the Conestoga Confederacy and the Haudenosaunee Confederacy were defeated and scattered, migrating to form new tribes or adopted into others—the practice of adopting valiant enemies into the tribe was a common cultural tradition of the Iroquoian peoples.[5]
The group known as the Meherrin were neighbors to the Tuscarora and the Nottoway (Binford 1967) in the American South and may have spoken an Iroquoian language. There is not enough data to determine this with certainty.
As of 2012, a program in Iroquois linguistics at Syracuse University, the Certificate in Iroquois Linguistics for Language Learners, is designed for students and language teachers working in language revitalization.[6][7]
^Historical examination of the Jesuits records suggest that, following the Seneca conquest of Oil Spring in 1638, the Wenro may have had as few as three villages sandwiched between Buffalo & Rochester (i.e., between the Niagara and Genesee Rivers).[5]
^"UNESCO Interactive Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger". unesco.org. Retrieved December 17, 2017.
^. languagegeek.com. February 22, 2008. Archived from the original on February 23, 2012. Retrieved August 9, 2015.
^"Laurentian Language and the Laurentian Indian Tribe (Stadaconan, Kwedech, Hochelagan)". www.native-languages.org. Retrieved April 11, 2020.
^ abcdEditor: Alvin M. Josephy, Jr., by The editors of American Heritage Magazine (1961). pages 188-219 (ed.). The American Heritage Book of Indians. American Heritage Publishing Co., Inc. LCCN 61-14871. {{cite encyclopedia}}: |author= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^"Certificate in Iroquois Linguistics for Language Learners". University College. Retrieved September 6, 2012.
^Gale Courey Toensing (September 2, 2012). . Indian Country Today Media Network. Archived from the original on September 4, 2012. Retrieved September 6, 2012.
^"University Program". Six Nations Polytechnic. Retrieved December 3, 2021.
^Bueckert, Kate (August 17, 2017). "Mohawk language course to be offered for 1st time at UW". CBC News. Retrieved August 17, 2017.
Further reading
Linguistics
Barbeau, C. Marius (1960), Huron-Wyandot Traditional Narratives in Translations and Native Texts, National Museum of Canada Bulletin 47; Anthropological Series 165, [Ottawa]: Canada Dept. of Northern Affairs and National Resources, OCLC 1990439.
Binford, Lewis R. (1967), "An Ethnohistory of the Nottoway, Meherrin and Weanock Indians of Southeastern Virginia", Ethnohistory, Ethnohistory, Vol. 14, No. 3/4, vol. 14, no. 3/4, pp. 103–218, doi:10.2307/480737, JSTOR 480737.
Chilton, Elizabeth (2004), "Social Complexity in New England: AD 1000–1600", in Pauketat, Timothy R.; Loren, Diana Dipaolo (eds.), North American Archaeology, Malden, MA: Blackwell Press, pp. 138–60, OCLC 55085697.
Goddard, Ives, ed. (1996), Handbook of North American Indians, Vol. 17: Languages, Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution, ISBN0-16-048774-9, OCLC 43957746.
Lounsbury, Floyd G. (1978), "Iroquoian Languages", in Trigger, Bruce G. (ed.), Handbook of North American Indians, Vol. 15: Northeast, Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution, pp. 334–43 [unified volume Bibliography, pp. 807–90], OCLC 58762737.
Martin, Scott W. J. (July 2008). "Languages Past and Present: Archaeological Approaches to the Appearance of Northern Iroquoian Speakers in the Lower Great Lakes Region of North America". American Antiquity. Cambridge University Press. 73 (3): 441–463. doi:10.1017/S0002731600046813. JSTOR 25470499. S2CID 151035122.
Mithun, Marianne (1984), "The Proto-Iroquoians: Cultural Reconstruction from Lexical Materials", in Foster, Michael K.; Campisi, Jack; Mithun, Marianne (eds.), Extending the Rafters: Interdisciplinary Approaches to Iroquoian Studies, Albany: State University of New York Press, pp. 259–82, ISBN0-87395-781-4, OCLC 9646457.
Mithun, Marianne (1985), "Untangling the Huron and the Iroquois", International Journal of American Linguistics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 51, no. 4, pp. 504–7, doi:10.1086/465950, JSTOR 1265321, S2CID 143896562.
Mithun, Marianne (1999), The Languages of Native North America, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, ISBN0-521-23228-7, OCLC 40467402.
Rudes, Blair A. (1993), "Iroquoian Vowels", Anthropological Linguistics, vol. 37, no. 1, pp. 16–69.
General works
Driver, Harold E. 1969. Indians of North America. 2nd edition. University of Chicago Press. ISBN9780226164670
Ruttenber, Edward Manning. 1992 [1872]. History of the Indian tribes of Hudson's River. Hope Farm Press.
Snow, Dean R. 1994. The Iroquois. Blackwell Publishers. Peoples of America. ISBN9781557862259
Snow, Dean R.; Gehring, Charles T; Starna, William A. 1996. In Mohawk country: early narratives about a native people. Syracuse University Press. An anthology of primary sources from 1634–1810.
April 22, 2023
iroquoian, languages, language, family, indigenous, peoples, north, america, they, known, their, general, lack, labial, consonants, polysynthetic, head, marking, iroquoiangeographicdistributioneastern, north, americalinguistic, classificationone, world, primar. The Iroquoian languages are a language family of indigenous peoples of North America They are known for their general lack of labial consonants The Iroquoian languages are polysynthetic and head marking 1 IroquoianGeographicdistributioneastern North AmericaLinguistic classificationOne of the world s primary language familiesProto languageProto IroquoianSubdivisionsCherokee Northern IroquoianISO 639 2 5iroGlottologiroq1247Pre European contact distribution of the Iroquoian languages As of 2020 all surviving Iroquoian languages are severely or critically endangered with only a few elderly speakers remaining The two languages with the most speakers Mohawk in New York and Cherokee are spoken by less than 10 of the populations of their tribes 2 3 Labeled map showing pre contact distribution of the Iroquoian languages Contents 1 Family division 2 External relationships 3 Linguistics and language revitalization 4 See also 5 Notes 6 References 7 Further reading 7 1 Linguistics 7 2 General worksFamily division EditNorthern Iroquoian Lake Iroquoian Iroquois Proper Five Nations Seneca severely endangered Cayuga severely endangered Onondaga severely endangered Susquehannock or Conestoga Mohawk OneidaOneida severely endangered Mohawk dd dd Huronian Huron Wyandot Petun Tobacco dd dd Tuscarora Nottoway Tuscarora Nottoway dd UnclassifiedWenrohronon or Wenro Neutral Erie Laurentian dd dd Southern IroquoianCherokeeSouth Carolina Georgia dialect aka Lower dialect North Carolina dialect aka Middle or Kituwah dialect severely endangered Oklahoma dialect aka Overhill or Western dialect definitely endangered dd dd language extinct dormantEvidence is emerging that what has been called the Laurentian language appears to be more than one dialect or language 4 Ethnographic and linguistic field work with the Wyandot tribal elders Barbeau 1960 yielded enough documentation for scholars to characterize and classify the Huron and Petun languages The languages of the tribes that constituted the tiny Wenrohronon a the powerful Conestoga Confederacy and the confederations of the Neutral Nation and the Erie Nation are very poorly documented in print The Neutral were called Atiwandaronk meaning they who understand the language by the Huron Wyandot people They are historically grouped together and geographically the Wenro s range on the eastern end of Lake Erie placed them between the larger confederations To the east of the Wenro beyond the Genesee Gorge were the lands of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy and southeast beyond the headwaters of the Allegheny River lay the Conestoga Susquehannocks 5 The Conestoga Confederacy and Erie were militarily powerful and respected by neighboring tribes 5 By 1660 all of these peoples but the Conestoga Confederacy and the Haudenosaunee Confederacy were defeated and scattered migrating to form new tribes or adopted into others the practice of adopting valiant enemies into the tribe was a common cultural tradition of the Iroquoian peoples 5 The group known as the Meherrin were neighbors to the Tuscarora and the Nottoway Binford 1967 in the American South and may have spoken an Iroquoian language There is not enough data to determine this with certainty External relationships EditAttempts to link the Iroquoian Siouan and Caddoan languages in a Macro Siouan family are suggestive but remain unproven Mithun 1999 305 Linguistics and language revitalization EditAs of 2012 a program in Iroquois linguistics at Syracuse University the Certificate in Iroquois Linguistics for Language Learners is designed for students and language teachers working in language revitalization 6 7 Six Nations Polytechnic in Ohsweken Ontario offers Ogwehoweh language Diploma and Degree Programs in Mohawk or Cayuga 8 Starting in September 2017 the University of Waterloo in Waterloo Ontario started offering a credit course in Mohawk the classes are to be given at Renison University College in collaboration with the Waterloo Aboriginal Education Centre St Paul s University College 9 See also Edit Languages portal Wiktionary has a list of reconstructed forms at Appendix Proto Iroquoian reconstructions Proto Iroquoian languageNotes Edit Historical examination of the Jesuits records suggest that following the Seneca conquest of Oil Spring in 1638 the Wenro may have had as few as three villages sandwiched between Buffalo amp Rochester i e between the Niagara and Genesee Rivers 5 References Edit Mithun Marianne Grammaticalization and Polysynthesis Iroquoian PDF Johannes Gutenberg Universitat Mainz Archived from the original PDF on February 14 2020 Retrieved June 8 2015 a href Template Cite journal html title Template Cite journal cite journal a Cite journal requires journal help UNESCO Interactive Atlas of the World s Languages in Danger unesco org Retrieved December 17 2017 Iroquoian Languages languagegeek com February 22 2008 Archived from the original on February 23 2012 Retrieved August 9 2015 Laurentian Language and the Laurentian Indian Tribe Stadaconan Kwedech Hochelagan www native languages org Retrieved April 11 2020 a b c d Editor Alvin M Josephy Jr by The editors of American Heritage Magazine 1961 pages 188 219 ed The American Heritage Book of Indians American Heritage Publishing Co Inc LCCN 61 14871 a href Template Cite encyclopedia html title Template Cite encyclopedia cite encyclopedia a author has generic name help CS1 maint multiple names authors list link Certificate in Iroquois Linguistics for Language Learners University College Retrieved September 6 2012 Gale Courey Toensing September 2 2012 Iroquois Linguistics Certificate at Syracuse University Comes at Important Time for Native Languages Indian Country Today Media Network Archived from the original on September 4 2012 Retrieved September 6 2012 University Program Six Nations Polytechnic Retrieved December 3 2021 Bueckert Kate August 17 2017 Mohawk language course to be offered for 1st time at UW CBC News Retrieved August 17 2017 Further reading EditLinguistics Edit Barbeau C Marius 1960 Huron Wyandot Traditional Narratives in Translations and Native Texts National Museum of Canada Bulletin 47 Anthropological Series 165 Ottawa Canada Dept of Northern Affairs and National Resources OCLC 1990439 Binford Lewis R 1967 An Ethnohistory of the Nottoway Meherrin and Weanock Indians of Southeastern Virginia Ethnohistory Ethnohistory Vol 14 No 3 4 vol 14 no 3 4 pp 103 218 doi 10 2307 480737 JSTOR 480737 Chilton Elizabeth 2004 Social Complexity in New England AD 1000 1600 in Pauketat Timothy R Loren Diana Dipaolo eds North American Archaeology Malden MA Blackwell Press pp 138 60 OCLC 55085697 Goddard Ives ed 1996 Handbook of North American Indians Vol 17 Languages Washington DC Smithsonian Institution ISBN 0 16 048774 9 OCLC 43957746 Lounsbury Floyd G 1978 Iroquoian Languages in Trigger Bruce G ed Handbook of North American Indians Vol 15 Northeast Washington DC Smithsonian Institution pp 334 43 unified volume Bibliography pp 807 90 OCLC 58762737 Martin Scott W J July 2008 Languages Past and Present Archaeological Approaches to the Appearance of Northern Iroquoian Speakers in the Lower Great Lakes Region of North America American Antiquity Cambridge University Press 73 3 441 463 doi 10 1017 S0002731600046813 JSTOR 25470499 S2CID 151035122 Mithun Marianne 1984 The Proto Iroquoians Cultural Reconstruction from Lexical Materials in Foster Michael K Campisi Jack Mithun Marianne eds Extending the Rafters Interdisciplinary Approaches to Iroquoian Studies Albany State University of New York Press pp 259 82 ISBN 0 87395 781 4 OCLC 9646457 Mithun Marianne 1985 Untangling the Huron and the Iroquois International Journal of American Linguistics University of Chicago Press vol 51 no 4 pp 504 7 doi 10 1086 465950 JSTOR 1265321 S2CID 143896562 Mithun Marianne 1999 The Languages of Native North America Cambridge Cambridge University Press ISBN 0 521 23228 7 OCLC 40467402 Rudes Blair A 1993 Iroquoian Vowels Anthropological Linguistics vol 37 no 1 pp 16 69 General works Edit Driver Harold E 1969 Indians of North America 2nd edition University of Chicago Press ISBN 9780226164670 Ruttenber Edward Manning 1992 1872 History of the Indian tribes of Hudson s River Hope Farm Press Snow Dean R 1994 The Iroquois Blackwell Publishers Peoples of America ISBN 9781557862259 Snow Dean R Gehring Charles T Starna William A 1996 In Mohawk country early narratives about a native people Syracuse University Press An anthology of primary sources from 1634 1810 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Iroquoian languages amp oldid 1146971258, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
