Etchemin language facts for kids

Etchemin was a language of the Algonquian language family, spoken in early colonial times on the coast of Maine. The word Etchemin is thought to be either French alteration of an Algonquian word for 'canoe' or a translation of Skidijn, the native word for people in use by the inhabitants of the St. John, Passamaquoddy and St. Croix Rivers.

The only known record of the Etchemin language is a list of the numbers from one to ten recorded by Marc Lescarbot in the early 17th century and published in his book The History of New France (1609). The numerals in the list match those of Malecite-Passamaquoddy, Eastern Abenaki, as well as languages of southern New England such as Wampanoag, but as a set they do not match any other Algonquian language. The Etchemin language disappeared not long after Lescarbot's visit, and it is unknown what became of the tribe. All other language records called 'Etchemin', under more detailed analysis, appear to be the neighboring Malecite-Passamaquoddy language.