Mohegan-Pequot (Mohegan-Pequot, Mohegan-Pequot-Montauk) is the dead language of the Indian Mohegan and Pecot tribes who lived in the states of New York and Connecticut . The language belongs to the eastern branch of the Algonkin subfamily. Currently, descendants are making efforts to restore the language.
| Mohegan pecot | |
|---|---|
| Self name | Mohegan |
| Country | |
| Regions | USA, New York, Connecticut |
| Status | extinct |
| Classification | |
| Category | Languages of North America |
Algian languages
| |
| Writing | latin |
| Language Codes | |
| ISO 639-1 | - |
| ISO 639-2 | - |
| ISO 639-3 | |
| WALS | |
| Ethnologue | |
| IETF | |
| Glottolog | |
Content
Genealogical and areal information
The Mohegan Pecot language belongs to the group of languages of the south of New England, the eastern branch of the Algonkin subfamily. Several Native American tribes spoke the language: Mohegan, Pekot, Montazh, Niantic, Shinnekok. Tribes lived in the area east of the Hudson River (New York State) to the Thames River (Connecticut). Each tribe spoke its own dialect of language. It is assumed that dialects can be divided into two groups, which were distinguished by numeral systems.
The restoration of the language takes place on the basis of the dialect of the Mohegan tribe, since it alone was documented.
The tribes and languages of the Mohegan and Magikan are often confused. This is due to errors in the pronunciation of European immigrants. "Mahican" comes from Muheconneok "People of the River." While the name "mohegan" comes from the word Mahiingan "wolf".
Sociolinguistic Information
The language is extinct. The last carrier was Fidelia Hoskott Fielding (1827-1908). She spoke the language with her grandmother Martha Uncas. After herself, she left four diaries, which are now used to reconstruct the Mohegan and related languages.
Language restoration work is being done by Stefanie Fielding, a descendant of Fidelia Fielding. In 2006, she published the Dictionary of the Mohegan Modern Language. Since 2012, a language distribution program has been running, including its teaching in reservation schools, as well as the possibility of online learning through the site. The texts of prayers and songs are also translated into the language at the traditional ceremonies of the Mohegan tribe.
Mohegan did not have a written language. Now Latin is used to record the language. According to some reports, in the seventeenth century the number of carriers was maximum: about 6 thousand people.
Typological Characteristics
Grammar Type Expression Type
Mohegan is a polysynthetic language. Grammatical meanings are expressed by related morphemes.
| ka-kitusu-w |
| always-read-3Sg.F |
| She always reads. |
| nám piwáhc-uk upihsháw |
| see .3Sg (to be small) -Conj.Sg flower |
| He sees that the flower is small. |
The nature of the boundary between morphemes
The language is agglutinative. Mohegan language has prefixes, suffixes, as well as circumfixes, which are various combinations of prefixes and suffixes.
| Nu-wiki-moh-ômun-ônak |
| 1Sg-love- (eat it) -3Sg (Acc) -Pl |
| We (but not you) love to eat them. |
The prefix nu- has the value 1 person singular , the suffix -ônak is the indicator of plurality , circumfix [nu- ... -ônak] has the value 1 person is plural exclusive.
Marking Type
Naming Marking
Marking in a noun phrase is vertex. Grammatical indicators reflecting syntactic relations are attached to the top of the IG.
| Aposuwin wu-sihs-ah |
| Uncle-his cook (circ.) |
| Cook uncle |
Prediction Marking
Marking in prediction vertex. The verb marks the face of the subject, as well as the face of the object of the action, if the object is expressed by a pronoun.
| Kutomáwin niht-ôw kutomáwôk |
| Singer Learn-3Sg Song |
| The singer is learning a song. |
| Pumshá-wak |
| travel-3Pl |
| They traveled. |
| Ku-mic-unash |
| 2Sg-is-3Pl |
| You eat them. |
Role Encoding Type
The coding strategy is neutral.
Double prediction | Active prediction | Inactive prediction | |
|---|---|---|---|
The object is soul. noun | The object is inanimate. noun | ||
| Winay takam skok-ah | Kutomáwin niht-ôw kutomáwôk. | Muks mitsu-w kipi. | N-ihsums kawi. |
| (Elderly woman) beat .3Sg snake-Obv | Singer Learn-3Sg Song | The wolf is-3Sg fast. | My- (younger brother) sleep.3Sg |
| An elderly woman beats a snake. | The singer is learning a song. | The wolf eats fast. | My little brother is sleeping. |
Basic Word Order
The basic word order is SVO.
| Akômak pát-ow manotá. |
| Akomak bring-3Sg basket |
| Akomak brings the basket. |
Phonology
Vowels Sounds
| Front | Medium | Rear | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Top | iː | uː | |
| Medium | ɔː ʌ | ||
| Lower | ɑː | ɒ |
Diphthongs
| Graphic recording | Diphthong |
|---|---|
| ay áy uy | ɑɪ |
| aw áw | aʊ |
| uw | əʊ |
Consonant Sounds
| Labial | Front lingual | Middle-speaking | Palatal | Back lingual | Glottal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Explosive | p | t | k | |||
| Nasal | m | n | ||||
| Slotted | s | ʃ dʒ | h | |||
| Affricates | tʃ | |||||
| Approximants | w | j |
Morphology
Personal pronouns
Personal pronouns are always incorporated into the verb word form, but may also be separately present in the sentence. The 3rd person pronoun is not differentiated by gender. The Mohegan language has two plurals of the 1st person: exclusive and inclusive.
| 1g | ni |
| 2sg | ki |
| 3sg | nákum |
| 1Pl (excl) | ni yawun |
| 1Pl (incl) | ki yawun |
| 2Pl | kiyaw |
| 3Pl | nákum ôw |
Nouns
Nouns are divided into two classes: animate and inanimate. The class of animated nouns includes words denoting persons, animals, celestial bodies, souls, as well as containers for liquids.
Many verbs have a form for each of the classes.
Kahôk piyô . The goose comes.
Mushoy piyômu-w . A boat comes (comes).
Indicators Joining Animate Nouns
| Indicator | Value | Different number |
|---|---|---|
| Obviative | Marks the pragmatically least distinguished participant, as well as the accessor. | Not |
| Locative | Designates a place. | Not |
| Absentive | Marks the participant who died, his belongings, inheritance. | Yes |
Indicators Joining Inanimate Nouns
| Indicator | Value | Different number |
|---|---|---|
| Locative | Designates a place. | Not |
Dependent and Independent
Dependent nouns must have a possessor. For example, the word -ik “house” is not used separately: it must have a prefix with the meaning of possessive pronoun.
Verbs
Verbs can have several bases depending on the animation of the actants and transitiveness. Moreover, if the verb is intransitive, the animation category is oriented to Agens, and if the verb is transitive, the animation category is oriented to Patients.
| "There is" | Transition | Intransitive |
| Inspiration | -moh- | -mitsu- |
| Inanity | -micu- | - |
Literature
- Fielding, Stephanie. “A Modern Mohegan Dictionary.” For the Council of Elders (2006).
- Fielding, Stephanie. “Modern Mohegan Dictionary and Grammar.” For Mohegan Tribe (2012).
Links
- https://www.jstor.org/stable/659295?seq=5
- http://www.bigorrin.org/mohegan_kids.htm
- https://web.archive.org/web/20141218020603/http://moheganlanguage.com/
- Mohegan Pecot at Ethnologue
- Mohegan Language Project , website with assorted Mohegan Language resources
- A Modern Mohegan Dictionary (2006 Edition) —contains Guide to Using the Dictionary, Mohegan Grammar Paradigms, Mohegan to English Dictionary, and English to Mohegan Word Finder
- Mohegan-English Dictionary (November 2008 edition) (link not available) —update of the Mohegan to English Dictionary section of above
- Mahican vs. Mohegan
- OLAC resources in and about the Mohegan-Pequot language