Tonight I burn the midnight oil to read “The Historical Phonology of Munsee”. I would prefer to print it and make it light reading as I curl into the bed, but alas I have to read it online through JSTOR. ‘Murica.
This paper was written by Ives Goddard and published in the International Journal of Linguistics in 1982. As is becoming my habit, this leads me to create a reaction post while I read. I’m not even past page two and already I have a thought, which may or may not be confirmed. Or denied.
While referencing the Munsee peoples’ migration patterns, Goddard said, “There are at least fragmentary data from all of these places except Wisconsin” in regard to the Munsee language. I have to ask is that still the assumption today, or is the fact that the Brotherton were speaking the language *and* that many words have been recorded as “Brotherton words” finally taken into account? Unless those words are Mohican.
If the Brotherton words were from the Munsee language, then that would be data out of Wisconsin as the Brotherton picked up the language during their time with the Munsee especially around the region of Stockbridge, Wisconsin.
“‘Delaware'” is also the preferred self-designation in English of the Oklahoma Delawares, whose language is mutually unintelligible with Munsee”- I’m including my reaction to this because the entire Lenape language can get a little confusing because of how the information is presented out there.
The Lenape Languages, also known as the Delaware languages, are two separate languages under one “Lenape” umbrella. They are Munsee and Unami.
The problem is that on any one website dedicated to learning the “Lenape” language, they aren’t specifying which of the two they mean. I’ve reached out to a few places in the hopes of learning Munsee only to be told they’re speaking Unami. To be honest, I’d be willing to learn Unami instead especially since Goddard considers it to be so close. I have compared words from time to time, and I’ve only found minor differences. It would be a good way to get pronunciation down: the bane of my existence.
So far if the site or organization is saying they’re speaking Lenape, they probably mean Unami. On a personal note, I do wish they’d not use the word Lenape as they only mean it by family and not exactly. It would save a lot of heartache, the preciseness.
“But Munsee has changed little from Common Delaware, while Unami has undergone extensive
phonological evolution” – Even with as little I know of the languages, I have already come across this. It minds me of what I had noticed about Modern Mohegan versus Pequot. In Lenape/Unami, the word for ‘yes’ has crept in so that a person might say, “e’eh”. It’s a word of affirmation. But I have been told by someone in the know that Munsee does not have such a word. It is true that when I tried to find it, I could not.
Reading on, I am now personally thinking Unami is Lenape Lite. LOL – these are the jokes, folks. To explain, apparently Munsee has retained a lot from the mother language that Unami has not. Such is language. It evolves.
“homorganic nasal” – for those that, like me, are not PhD linguists I just want to share that this phrase is not as dirty as it sounds. A homorganic nasal is a nasal sound made in the same place of the mouth as another nasal. English ‘p’ and ‘b’ are two homorganic nasals. They’re best friends.
This is actually an indepth article with the bulk of it covering pronunciation, including a comparison from one period of time to another. There’s a lot to learn from this point on, but not as much to react to unless you want to see a lot of “oohs” and “aaahs”.
