Narragansett language facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Narragansett
Native to	United States
Region	Rhode Island
Extinct	~18th-19th century (?) No known L1 speakers today. Ethnic population: 1,400 of Narragansett and Mohegan-Pequot (1977 SIL).
Language family	Algic Algonquian Eastern Narragansett
Linguist List	xnt
The location of the Narragansett tribe and their neighbors, c. 1600

Narragansett /ˌnærəˈɡænsɪt/ is an Algonquian language formerly spoken in most of what is today Rhode Island by the Narragansett people. It was closely related to the other Algonquian languages of southern New England like Massachusett and Mohegan-Pequot. The earliest study of the language in English was by Roger Williams, founder of the Rhode Island colony, in his book A Key Into the Language of America (1643).

Name

The word Narragansett means, literally, "(People) of the Small Point." The "point" may be located on the Salt Pond in Washington County. (Great Salt Pond Archeological District).

History

Martha Simon, Last of the Narragansetts, oil painting from 1857 by Albert Bierstadt.

Traditionally the tribe spoke the Narragansett language, a member of the Algonquian language family. The language became almost entirely extinct during the centuries of European colonization in New England through cultural assimilation.

The tribe has begun language revival efforts, based on early-20th-century books and manuscripts, and new teaching programs. The Narragansett spoke a "Y-dialect", similar enough to the "N-dialects" of the Massachusett and Wampanoag to be mutually intelligible. Other Y-dialects include the Shinnecock and Pequot languages spoken historically by tribes on Long Island and in Connecticut, respectively.

In the 17th century, Roger Williams, a co-founder of Rhode Island, learned the tribe's language. He documented it in his 1643 work, A Key Into the Language of America. Williams gave the tribe's name as Nanhigganeuck.

American English has absorbed a number of loan words from Narragansett and other closely related languages, such as Wampanoag and Massachusett. Such words include quahog, moose, papoose, powwow, squash, and succotash.

Language revival efforts

According to Dr. Frank Waabu O'Brien, who has taught the language for the Aquidneck Indian Council, "Narragansett was understood throughout New England." He states that "Scholars refer to Massachusett and Narragansett as dialects of the same language," and has created a diagram of the relationships between the languages as described in their source documentation as well as instructional materials. A Facebook page entitled "Speaking Our Narragansett Language" has provided alphabet and vocabulary of the language.

Orthography

A, Ch, E, H, I, K, M, N, P, Q, S, Sh, T, Ty, U, W, Y

• a - [a]
• ã - [ã]
• ch - [t͡ʃ/t͡ʃ̬]
• e - [ə]
• h - [h]
• i - [ɪ]
• k - [k/k̬]
• m - [m]
• n - [n]
• p - [p/p̬]
• qu - [kʷ/k̬ʷ]
• s - [s]
• sh - [ʃ]
• t - [t/t̬]
• ty - [tʲ/t̬ʲ]
• u - [u]
• w - [w]
• y - [j]

Phonology