Nanticoke is an extinct Algonquian language formerly spoken in

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent ...

and

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean t ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. The same language was spoken by several neighboring tribes, including the

Nanticoke Nanticoke may refer to: * Nanticoke people in Delaware, United States * Nanticoke language, an Algonquian language * Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape, a state-recognized tribe in New Jersey Place names Canada * Nanticoke, Ontario ** Nanticoke Generating S ...

, which constituted the paramount chiefdom; the Choptank, the Assateague, and probably also the Piscataway and the Doeg.

Vocabulary

Nanticoke is sometimes considered a dialect of the Delaware language, but its vocabulary was quite distinct. This is shown in a few brief glossaries, which are all that survive of the language. One is a 146-word list compiled by Moravian

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...

John Heckewelder in 1785, from his interview with a Nanticoke chief then living in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

. The other is a list of 300 words obtained in 1792 by

William Vans Murray William Vans Murray (February 9, 1760 – December 11, 1803) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman. He served in the Maryland House of Delegates from 1788 to 1790, and in the United States House of Representatives from 1791 to 1797. ...

, then a US Representative (at the behest of

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 18 ...

.) He compiled the list from a Nanticoke speaker in

Dorchester County, Maryland Dorchester County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland. At the 2020 census, the population was 32,531. Its county seat is Cambridge. The county was formed in 1669 and named for the Earl of Dorset, a family friend of the Calverts ( ...

, part of the historic homeland.

Nanticoke vocabulary

These words are some of the listings in Murray's glossary. In the letter that accompanied his glossary, Murray noted that the Nanticoke were "not more than nine in number," and also stated that "they have no word for the personals 'he' and 'she.'" The exclamation point (!) indicates a "peculiar, forcible, explosive, enunciation" of a syllable in this phoneticization.

Modern Nanticoke

With the assistance of a native speaker, Myrelene Ranville née Henderson of the Sagkeeng First Nation in Manitoba Canada, who speaks a similar language, Anishnabay, a group of

Nanticoke people The Nanticoke people are a Native American Algonquian people, whose traditional homelands are in Chesapeake Bay and Delaware. Today they live in the Northeastern United States and Canada, especially Delaware; in Ontario; and in Oklahoma. Th ...

Millsboro, Delaware Millsboro is a town in Sussex County, Delaware, United States. Millsboro is part of the Salisbury metropolitan area. History Millsboro's earliest European settlers were of English family origin; though most were second generation colonists who ...

, assembled to revive the language in 2007, using the vocabulary list of Thomas Jefferson. It had been "more than 150 years since the last conversation in Nanticoke took place." Similar efforts made by the

Nanticoke Indian Association The Nanticoke Indian Association is a group of Nanticoke who have their headquarters in Millsboro, Delaware. They were recognized as a Native American tribe by the state of Delaware in 1922. The Nanticoke are one of few state-recognized Nati ...

are also being taken through partnership with local linguists.

Notes

External links

Custom lexicon: The Interactive ALR
– includes all known Nanticoke data

* ttp://www.bigorrin.org/archive26.htm_Nanticoke_Language_ ttp://www.bigorrin.org/archive26.htm_Nanticoke_Language_[archive/nowiki>">rchive.html"_;"title="ttp://www.bigorrin.org/archive26.htm_Nanticoke_Language_[archive">ttp://www.bigorrin.org/archive26.htm_Nanticoke_Language_[archive/nowiki>br>OLAC_resources_in_and_about_the_Nanticoke_language
{{Native_Americans_in_Maryland Nanticoke_tribe.html" ;"title="rchive/nowiki>.html" ;"title="rchive.html" ;"title="ttp://www.bigorrin.org/archive26.htm Nanticoke Language [archive">ttp://www.bigorrin.org/archive26.htm Nanticoke Language [archive/nowiki>">rchive.html" ;"title="ttp://www.bigorrin.org/archive26.htm Nanticoke Language [archive">ttp://www.bigorrin.org/archive26.htm Nanticoke Language [archive/nowiki>br>OLAC resources in and about the Nanticoke language
{{Native Americans in Maryland Nanticoke tribe">* Eastern Algonquian languages Indigenous languages of the North American eastern woodlands Native American history of Delaware Native American history of Maryland Native American history of Virginia Native American language revitalization Extinct languages of North America Indigenous languages of Maryland Languages extinct in the 1840s

Vocabulary

Nanticoke vocabulary

Modern Nanticoke

See also

Notes

External links