Loading ...
Global Do...
News & Politics
86
0
Try Now
Log In
Pricing
<p> Understanding Indian Place Names In Southern New England Frank Waabu O’Brien, Ph.D. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data O’Brien, Francis Joseph, Jr. (Frank Waabu O’Brien) Understanding Indian Place Names In Southern New England p. cm. Includes bibliographical references. 1. Eastern Algonquian Indian Languages. 2. American Indian Place Names, southern New England—etymology I. The Massachusett-Narragansett Language Revival Project. Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: Copyright © 2003, 2009 by Francis J. O’Brien, Jr., Aquidneck Indian Council, 12 Curry Avenue, Newport, RI 02840-1412, USA. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written permission of the author, except as permitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act. Printed in the United States of America. To the memory of ╬ Peeyaûtam Understanding Indian Place Names in Southern New England ╬ Massachusett-Narragansett Revival Program A project for the reconstruction of the extinct American Indian Languages of Southeastern New England Dr. Frank Waabu O’Brien Aquidneck Indian Council 12 Curry Avenue Newport, RI 02840-1412 e-mail: francis28@cox.net WUNNOHTEAONK ☼ MAY PEACE BE IN YOUR HEARTS This project was funded [in part] by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (National Archives and Records Administration), The Rhode Island Council [Committee] for the Humanities/National Endowment for the Humanities, The Rhode Island Foundation, The Rhode Island Indian Council, and the Aquidneck Indian Council. Front Cover: Colonial Map of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. In Rider, S. S. (1904). The Lands of Rhode Island and Massachusetts as They were known to Counounicus and Miantunnomu When Roger Williams Came in 1636. Providence, RI: S. S. Rider. Courtesy of the Rhode Island Historical Society. ✜ TABLE OF CONTENTS FOREWORD…………………………………………………………………………………………...……… XXX INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………………………………..………….. XXX American Indian Place Names In Rhode Island: Past & Present………………………………………………………………………………………………... The Dictionary……………………………………………….................................................................... XXX Examples……………………………………………………………………………………………………..…… XXX More Examples………………………………………………………………………………………..…..… XXX End Note: Dialectical Differences in Speech…………………...…………………………….. XXX AMERICAN INDIAN PLACE NAMES IN RHODE ISLAND: PAST & PRESENT (Revised)……………………………... XXX ALGONQUIAN DICTIONARY……………….…………………..……………… XXX APPENDIX I Translation of Aquidneck (by Ives Goddard)…….………………… ……………… XXX APPENDIX II: Glossary of Roots & Translation of Some Indian Place Names in Southern New England…………….…………………………………………………………………. XXX SOURCES AND REFERENCES………………………………………………….. XXX LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS MAP 1. Ancient Tribal Territories in Southern New England……….. XXX MAP 2. Map of Indian Localities About Narragansett and Mount Hope Bays……………………………………………………………………………………. XXX FIGURE 1. Place Name Analysis for Aquidneck…………………………………….... XXX FIGURE 2. Place Name Analysis for Mattaposiett……………………………….…. XXX FIGURE 3 Place Name Analysis for Swampscott………………………………….… XXX FIGURE 4. Place Name Analysis for Canopaug……………………………………….. XXX FIGURE 5. Place Name Analysis Practice……………………………………….……..…... XXX The author is an autodidact in some fields including those subjects traditionally taught in secondary public schools in the United States. Since early 1990s I have added to my list Algonquian Studies (southern New England). I am trained formally in philosophy, social science, and applied mathematics. My Ph.D. dissertation at Columbia was on the language of Black Americans. As a Native American educator, I bring a different perspective to American Indian toponymy in lower New England. Toponymy is the scientific study of place names, their origins, meanings, use, etc. It is the topic of this book. It is a difficult area of research for Indian names of southern New England. Not much progress has been made since the 19th century in the interpretation of the numerous Indian names that populate our States, maps, cities and towns, institutions, waterways, thoroughfares, and so much more. The most frequently consulted secondary source reference for Indian toponyms in New England is the book, Indian Place Names of New England, 1962, Prof. John H. Huden. A few professional linguists criticize this work. In particular, they question the reliability and validity of some of Prof. Hudens’ Algonquian translations. I suspect this is due in part to the inherent nature of the task—extracting “signal” from a sea of linguistic “noise” (i.e., interfering or corrupting factors that mask or disguise a true reading of meaning—the signal). Since few other toponymic linguists put forth alternative interpretations, it seems reasonable to conclude that local Indian place name analysis is partly a voyage through turbulent chaos. Alas, some fields of inquiry do not readily admit of tidy, clean “closed-form” solutions! Serious efforts are required to filter the noise and recover the signal structure of these aboriginal tongues so poorly documented in the written records. The modern-day Algonquian linguist desires Indian place name translations that can be justified by appeal to the theoretical framework of Proto-Algonquian analysis (the interpretation of “Connecticut” is an oft-quoted example). Ideally, the source of the name to analyze should be a 17th century full-blooded fluent Algonquian speaker, and the translator/recorder should be highly proficient like Rev. John Eliot, who provided the first Bible translation in America. But rarely is this information available. Hence, the Babel, which leaves many frustrated and unhappy. Since I published the first edition (2003) of my research on American Indian place names in Rhode Island on the Internet, over 66,000 “hits” have been registered on the Rhode Island genealogy website. This indicates a high degree of interest in the footprints that the ancient peoples have left in this region. It is with the hope of adding some useful information in this field that I have agreed to disseminate this decade-long work through the Bäuu Institute Press in Colorado. I thank Dr. Peter N. Jones, Editor, for his continued support. In this volume we attempt to provide a methodology for interpreting regional American Indian place names that challenge translation. The audience is the layperson and scholar interested in our shared experience of early American civilization. The book will also appeal to those who like word puzzles and decoding verbal material, especially for things they see on a daily basis. Understanding Indian Place Names in Southern New England consists of two major chapters. First, an updated summary is presented of the database of Indian place names in Rhode Island. This is supplemented by the Dictionary which provides a glossary of the most common vocabulary words and phrases that make up place name terminology, and a longer listing of the corrupted spellings of those elements seen in the modern names on maps &c throughout southern New England. Related books by the author (Moondancer or O’Brien) are listed in the References section. Those works pertain to the history, language and culture of American Indians in southern New England. In particular we recommend the comprehensive book, A Cultural History of the Native Peoples of Southern New England (Moondancer & Strong Woman), Bäuu Press, 2007. Frank Waabu O’Brien Newport, Rhode Island July 27, 2009 http://www.docstoc.com/profile/waabu THEY WANT TO DRY THE TEARS THAT DROWNED THE SUN THEY WANT LAUGHTER TO RETURN TO THEIR HEARTS THEY WANT TO GO HOME -- TO MOTHER AND GRANDMOTHER THEY WANT TO HEAR THEIR ANCESTRAL VOICES ‘ROUND THE FIRE ✜ …[T]he Indian aimed at extreme precision. His words were so constructed as to be thoroughly self-defining and immediately intelligible to the hearer. ——J. H. Trumbull, “On the Best Method of Studying the North American Languages,” 1869-1870, p. 78. INTRODUCTION American Indian Place Names in Rhode Island: Past and Present (Revised) The revised and updated database of American Indian Place Names in Rhode Island is a continuation of the Massachusett-Narragansett Language Revival Program. This ongoing research effort is coordinated under the aegis of the Aquidneck Indian Council in Newport, RI, and documented in the publications held by the U.S. Library of Congress. The first chapter of this volume details the Native American historical contributions to the landscape of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. The Federal Government, under the agency of the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) is responsible by law for standardizing all geographic name usage for the United States Government. This complex system currently possesses about 5,665 names of “features” wholly or partially in Rhode Island. Of this population, the author counted about 187 names that are, or believed to be, of American Indian origin (primarily the Narragansett language, with contributions from Wampanoag, the Niantic dialect and Nipmuck). Extending a records search back to Colonial times (circa 1636) offered the possibility of cataloguing an historical database. Approximately 534 names of Indian origin were traceable back to the now extinct languages, synthesized from various and sundry sources (listed in the Sources & References). This number is a better estimate of the Native American contributions to the historical and geographical landscape of Rhode Island1. When variant spellings are accounted for in the records, about 1,600 individual entries are documented. The structure of the place-names listing is straightforward. The text is presented in tabular format, consisting of three columns with headers Names, Historical and Geographical Information, and Translation. On the left side is given the Native American place name; each variant spelling is included separately with a reference back to a primary entry which contains information in each column. The middle column is important. Approximately 400 of the entries in this column were abstracted from Dr. Usher Parson’s 1861 book, since this source provides more elaborate data that any other single source. But it must be remembered that, while Parsons is cited nearly verbatim, his historical reference point is up to only the year 1861, and some information listed 1 Based on these data, it is significant to note that only 1/3rd of the Indian place names in our recorded State history have survived to the present day in official government data bases. It seems that 2/3rds have failed the test of time, and the dynamic forces of historical and political evolution. may not apply to the year 2003 and beyond. It was included because of its historical significance to the place name literature. Moreover, Parson’s linguistic data must be discounted almost entirely since Algonquian linguistics was not a mature science in his day. The right hand column provides linguistic translation(s) for a given place name. I have drawn heavily from the standard comprehensive work of Prof. Huden, with a modest contribution by the author. The degree of orthographic corruption in some place names offers a real challenge to the linguist. Alternative translations for some names may seem peculiar, but the name “noise” sometimes permits only an approximation to the true language roots and the translation. This issue is described in more detail below. ✜ Map 1 shows the general region of discussion. The American Indian tribes of southern New England spoke similar2 languages/dialects comprising a uniform subset of the Eastern Algonquian Language Family (Goddard, 1978). These oral languages were highly structured, complicated and only imperfectly recorded before they passed into Silence3. Map 2 focuses on the Wampanoag (Pokanoket) region of Narragansett and Mount Hope Bays with some Indian place names interpreted. The Rhode Island map on the front cover is too big to reproduce legibly on one page. When viewed on the Internet each map can be magnified for enhanced readability. Understanding Indian Place Names in Southern New England is an extension of the contributions of Dr. James Hammond Trumbull (1881/1974) and Prof. John C. Huden (1962). Huden (pp. 300 ff.) provided a 68-page alphabetical glossary (by English) of Algonquian “roots” to aid in the interpretation of corrupted or arbitrary spellings (phonemes) seen in New England place names. Trumbull, the 19th century Algonquian philologist par excellence, previously published a similar compact listing (by Algonquian) for common language terms classified as “land names,” “water names,” and “adjectivals” for the Indian place names in Connecticut and parts of Rhode Island that he studied4. Such interpretive guides allow one to decipher or follow translations of some corrupted regional Indian place names by fuzzy linguistic decomposition (etymological analysis). Moreover, one is able to detect certain patterns in the misheard sounds of the Indian names which vary by dialect (see END NOTE, below). For example, the consonant sounds m or p were typically missed if they preceded a sibilant or mute sound like sh—thus Mashapaug becomes corrupted to the modern spelling “Shepaug”. Likewise the initial letter n was often misheard (i.e., dropped) as in “Ashaway” for Nashaue. Thus, dropped initial consonants or syllables is one phenomenon to attend to carefully in place name analysis. Other such systematic errors are replete in southern 2 The differences between “similar” languages—especially far removed in distance—prompts a neologism, “simerent” (similar + different) languages. 3 The Guinness Book of World Records lists an Algonquian language, Ojibwe, as the most complicated language world-wide to learn. 4 The Internet provides a good map showing the many northeastern Algonquian languages. See the green colored region on the map at, http://www.docstoc.com/docs/7072941/Map-AlgonquianIroquian-- Langauges. Map 1. Ancient Tribal Territories in Southern New England. The broad white lines in the grey region show tribal territories (ancestral homelands). A black square indicates a modern non Indian town. A large bold-type name refers to an Indian Nation (e.g., Massachusett), the smaller bold-type names indicate tribal subdivisions (e.g., Neponset), and present day State boundaries are indicated by dashed lines. State names are capitalized (e.g., MASSACHUSETTS), and geographical features are italicized (e.g., Atlantic Ocean). Source: Bruce G. Trigger (Volume Editor), Handbook of North American Indians, vol. 15 (Northeast), © 1978. Washington, DC: The Smithsonian Institution (Page 160). Used with permission. NOTE: “Wampanoag” is modern term for historic “Pokanoket”. Map 2. Map of Indian Localities about Narragansett and Mount Hope Bays. Source: Bicknell, Thomas W. (1908). Sowams. New Haven, CT: Associated Publishers of American Records. [Courtesy of the Rhode Island Historical Society Library]. New England American Indian toponyms. Figures 1 through 5, below, exemplify intuitively these principles of corruption. On another level, the poorly educated Colonists who were charged with interpreting and recording for posterity the Indian names they witnessed were also struggling with the erratic 17th cent. English language spelling system of the day. Remembering how unsettled and capricious English spelling in the seventeenth century was, how absolutely every clerk and recorder was a law unto himself, and how often we find a common English word spelled in three or four different ways by the same writer and perhaps on the same page, in early Colonial records,—uniformity in the spelling of Indian names was not to be expected. The variations which some of these names present are almost innumerable. Others have undergone complete transformation, retaining scarcely a suggestion of their original sounds. The strange sounds of a strange language were peculiarly subject to the operation of two causes of phonetic change,—error of the ear (otosis, as it has been termed,) a mis-hearing, or rather, mis-apprehension of the sounds uttered; and the universal tendency “to make the work of utterance easier to the speaker, to put a more facile in the stead of a more difficult sound or combination of sounds,” and “to get rid altogether of irregular and exceptional forms.” (Trumbull, 1881/1974, p. vi). To illustrate Trumbull’s point, we note the following examples of New England place names and their modern spellings: Oggusse-paugsuck Oxyboxy Tomheganompskut Higganum Wonococomaug Congamuck Wesquapaugset Boxet Nameock May Luck Papasquash Papoose Squaw Musquetaug Musqueto-hawk The translator works with right-hand column material and tries to return the left-hand column arrangement in order to reproduce the original meaning. Over 125 years ago, Dr. Trumbull summarized well the general difficulty in translating regional place names derived from the complex oral Algonquian American Indian languages of southern New England: Two hundred years ago, when the Mohegan and Narragansett and Massachusetts were living languages, the meanings of most of these names could have been easily enough ascertained had one cared to undertake the task: but now, K comparatively few can be analyzed or interpreted, with certainty. (Trumbull, 1881, p. v) Years earlier Trumbull’s (1870, p. 45) investigations led him to single out Rhode Island and Connecticut as exhibiting exceptional corruption related to the haphazard manner in which Indian place names were recorded in early deeds and conveyances5. ✜ The Dictionary The second chapter of the book provides an Algonquian alphabetical glossary of (a) Algonquian vocabulary words and (b) common variant spellings (called “fragments”) of the roots and combining elements culled by analysis of various sources. Included with each entry is a reference to the original Algonquian source term (roots and combining elements) taken from the author’s brief Algonquian dictionary (Moondancer & Strong Woman, 1996/2001) and other sources (primarily Trumbull’s 1903 Natick Dictionary). Appendix II—in the rear of the book—may be consulted for a condensed summary of common misspelled terms (similar to Trumbull’s 1881 classification)6. It is unreasonable to believe that every conceivable permutation of the spurious spellings have been captured in the Dictionary. A one-to-one match cannot always be assumed. The compilation, encompassing several southern New England dialects, attempts to incorporate the common misapprehension, spelling, and recording errors cited above. In the Dictionary some past and present place name examples are provided to exemplify the analysis of fragments or corrupted spellings derived from the original Algonquian languages and dialects of the region (Rhode Island, Massachusetts and parts of Connecticut). For example, the following entry in the Dictionary under A for fragment agun- tells us three things: 5 Trumbull (1870, p. 46) mentions several names of Anglo-Colonial translators whose work can be relied upon for accuracy in CT & MA—Rev. John Eliot, Experience Mayhew, and Thomas Stanton. From other sources we can add the names of Ezra Stiles (CT) and perhaps Daniel Gookin and J. Cotton (MA) as well as Roger Williams, author of A Key into the Language of America. 6 Differences in inter-tribal dialect were not merely phonetic, as neighboring tribes had different words for the same river, animals &c. “Every tribe, almost every village had its peculiarities of speech. Names etymologically identical might have widely different meanings in two languages or even two nations speaking substantially the same language.” (Trumbull, 1870, p. 50). Specialized Algonquian vocabularies (by southern New England dialect) for animal, fish, water & tree names, etc., may be found in the author’s work, American Indian Studies in the Extinct Languages of Southeastern New England. See the website: http://www.docstoc.com/docs/3237496/American-Indian-Studies-in-the-Extinct-Languages-of- Southeastern-New-England. Algonquian Fragment/Root Translation agun- (see agwe) under, below (e.g., Aguntaug = “under a tree” or “big tree place”) NOTES on Dictionary entries: (a) the author has attempted to be careful in indicating the placement of hyphens for the fragments to specify the place order (beginning-middle- end of place name—cf. Figures 1-4). In most instances, the general case as in -om- (i.e., the fragment om can possibly occur anywhere in name) is probably the safest assumption except in certain cases where location is obvious. (b) some fragments have several spelling permutations sometimes with multiple meanings; not all are listed as separate entries in the Dictionary, so be patient in your search. (c) some entries have not been seen per se in published sources but may appear in a document as either a variant spelling or new name. (d) for language/dialect/location see Huden (1962). The Indian place name for a brook called Aguntaug (from the Rhode Island Narragansett-language) has been interpreted by Huden to mean either “under a tree” or “big tree place.” That is, its’ meaning is not evident on first reading. The linguistic “noise” needs to be filtered. Thirdly, if “under a tree” is the most likely meaning then we see that the translation was derived in part from Algonquian agwe (or agwu, ogwu—var. spellings)7 meaning “under, underneath, below”. Looking further along in the dictionary under -taug- informs us that fragment taug is possibly derived from the Algonquian root for “wood, tree” (tugkh in the Indian Bible with variant spellings). Hence, Aguntaug may possibly mean “under a tree” in corrupted form by this line of reasoning. Incidentally, agwonk means “under/below a tree” (agwu + unk) as given by J. Eliot in The Indian Bible. However, “under a tree” does not seem to fit the published description of Aguntaug—a brook, near an island called Mincamekek, in Cedar-swamp near or in a great pond. Therefore, there may be alternative true meanings of the fragment agun- seen in place names of this region. Such is the experience for a number of word bits and pieces in southern New England Indian toponyms. Huden’s second interpretation of Aguntaug is “big tree place” which might be written in Narragansett as, Mangunckuck (or Mangunckag ?). Linguistically, it could have degenerated into Aguntaug or Aguntang (a var. spelling) if syllables were elided. That interpretation seems to fit better the feature-description. This example emphasizes the need for extra-linguistic investigation in the toponymic interpretive process. 7 The most important historical linguistic references for Algonquian place names in present-day Rhode Island and Massachusetts is The Indian Bible (J. Eliot, 1663/1685) and his The Indian Grammar (1666) written in and about the Natick dialect of the Massachusett (formerly Massachusee) language of the Eastern Algonquian Language family—see Goddard in “Eastern Algonquian Languages”. The Trumbull 1903 Natick Dictionary is derived from Eliot’s trans. of the Bible. A Key into the Language of America (1643) by Roger Williams presents a modest vocabulary for Narragansett (parts of Rhode Island), a language closely related to the Massachusett language that Eliot used. J. Cotton (1830) wrote a vocabulary for another dialect of Massachusett, and Prince and Speck (1904) for Mohegan-Pequot (Connecticut). The best modern linguistic summary of the Massachusett language is in Goddard and Bragdon, 1988. All Indian languages and their dialects in southern New England are extinct (See Goddard, 1978 & 1996). A deed or other document containing the oldest spelling(s) and describing the toponym in better detail may provide additional evidence in support of contending translations—or suggest a better one8. It is important to iterate that one is not likely to be able to translate many Indian place names in southern New England simply by linguistic analysis of the poorly spelled roots and combining elements. Trumbull’s caveat remains true today despite significant scientific advances in Algonquian language studies since the 19th century and beyond. As an aside, many lay people the author has corresponded with seem to think that linguistic analysis is all that is required for a translation. We have stressed the point that this is the last step in the toponymic interpretive process It seems the best one can do in the interpretation of mangled Indian place names in southern New England is to “bound” the translation with one or more plausible hypotheses based on as much information as possible (geographical, historical, linguistic). The majority of the place names contain varying kinds and degrees of orthographic “noise” due to the corrupted spellings (ranging from mild to wild) in comparison to “ground truth” provided by the 17th cent. The Indian Bible of the missionary Rev. John Eliot and his Indian interpreters, or the works of Roger Williams (1643), J. Cotton (1830), Wm. Woods’ brief “Nomenclator” (1634), Trumbull’s 1903 Natick Dictionary, the author’s brief Massachusett-Narragansett dictionary (1996/2001) and other noted sources. And the best the author can do is to make available as much information as possible with which to untangle the mangles. In some cases of high corruption, we might arrive at a general sense of the original meaning based on our best educated guess with little possibility of confirmation since no one speaks these languages fluently anymore. The fragments list in the Dictionary summarizes the author’s collection over a ten year period. About 2,000 vocabulary terms and associated fragments have been compiled, derived from various sources. The fragments glossary is pertinent primarily in the interpretation of Rhode Island, and some Massachusetts and Connecticut toponyms although the reader may be helped in deciphering existing place names in other regions comprising Algonquian Indian place names9. It is believed that some unknown number of regional Indian place names—or their variant spellings—have not been published in standard sources such as Trumbull or Huden. The Dictionary may be of service in the interpretation of new local names that surface from time to time in Colonial records, old deeds or maps or historical journals or newspapers, manuscripts, letters, and other records and documents. More detailed information on differences in regional dialects, strategies of interpretation, and important technical Algonquian word-formation grammatical features such as “glides10,” “reduced vowels,” “obviation,” “reduplication,” and “accommodating t” inter alia, can be found in Huden (1962), Trumbull’s works, the authors’ Narragansett- 8 Dr. Ives Goddard did just this in a 1990 letter to the editor of the New York Times where he challenged a long-standing translation of a famous Massachusetts place name in the lands of the Nipmuck. 9 Little effort was expended in categorizing misspellings for various dialects of Connecticut Indian place names since Trumbull’s place name book (1881/1974) is quite satisfactory on the whole. 10 Glides and “reduced vowels” are very important in distinguishing roots and combining elements. They are interspersed vowels or consonants or syllables, the most common ones being in modern place names— a, e, i, l, m, n, o, p, q, qua, quo, r, t, u, w, y. Colonial grammarians like John Eliot explained their role in speech as for “euphony”; i.e., gliding or connecting the primitive elements to aid pronunciation. language Indian Grammar Dictionary (Appendix, 2001) & Grammatical Studies (2005), Afable & Beeler (1996), Gahan (1959 & 1961), and Goddard and Bragdon’s Massachusett-language linguistic treatise (1988). Trumbull (1881, reprinted 1974, and reviewed by Goddard, 1977) has written the best work on the translation of Indian place names in southern New England. He interweaves feature description, historical events, and comparative linguistic analysis in his toponymic interpretations. Trumbull’s 1870 classic work, Comp. Indian Geographic Names, is also a useful source for detailed explanations of the meanings and shades of meanings in place name elements. Both works are available on the Internet. Also, see Kennicutt’s (1909, 1911) two books for Massachusetts place names. These works, which also reside on the Internet (Google Books), are good in citing data from deeds and historical events, important information in toponymic interpretation11. Prof. Wm. Bright (2004) presents a national survey of Indian place names and includes more recent source material. Examples To illustrate the translation process Figure 1 shows the analysis for the Rhode Island place name, Aquidneck, based on the Narragansett language. Aquidneck Island is a large island adjacent to the mainland, located in Narragansett Bay (Map 1). As far as we know, the Narragansett word for “island” was not published by Roger Williams, the primary source for this Indian language. But Eliot’s Massachusett–language Indian Bible translated a close resemblance as ahquednet meaning “on (some kind) of island”12. The present-day name “Aquidneck” is very high “signal”—its meaning is readily apparent by linguistic analysis and supported by corroborating evidence (an uncommon occurrence in place names of Rhode Island). Knowledge of both the Massachusett language and the closely related Narragansett tells us that the word Aquidneck contains two only slightly corrupted elements consisting of a noun + a “locative”: aquidn– and –eck. The first element, spelled several ways in historical documents, is based on a noun written ahquedne, known to mean “some kind of island”. The second element –eck is a locative (a grammatical feature specifying location). It is recognizable from R. Williams’ presentation of elementary Narragansett where he spelled it as “-ick” (and variant spellings) which has the correlative spelling –et in the Massachusett language recorded by Eliot13. This ubiquitous locative or location suffix—always written at the end of the name—is roughly a preposition meaning “in, at, on, near, etc.” and commonly transferred as “place of”. Combining the two gives us the correct translation, Aquidneck = “on some kind of island”. To demonstrate further the translation process, consider the following three place- name-charts. Let’s illustrate first with the name for the Massachusetts town Mattapoisett, 11 For an interesting mix of geography, history, and linguistics in a place name analysis, see Goddard and Love’s work, “Oregon, the Beautiful.” 12 This translation was given by the Narragansetts in the 17th cent. A place name translation provided by local Indians to a competent translator, and transcribed by an accurate recorder, is a highly valued (but rare) piece of interpretive evidence. 13 A brief linguistic summary of Narragansett is given in the work, Grammatical Studies in the Narragansett Language (O’Brien, 2005). meaning (in the author’s own interpretation) “little resting place” (a verb + an adjective + a locative). That is, a resting place on the end of a portage for a long canoe trip between two rivers or other waterways. See Map 2 for location. This word has a little “noise”. The first step involves dividing up the given word into Algonquian language elements that might correspond to the basic meanings of the toponym. Now, using knowledge of the Wampanoag language called Massachusett, we recognize that the word-part “mattapo” probably comes from mattappu = “he sits down” (or) “he rests” (Moondancer & Strong Woman, 1996/2001). Next we decide that the terminal fragment “isett” is probably two Algonquian elements (is-ett) that come from diminutive marker, es- = “little” and the locative explained above, -et. Thus, putting it all together, we assemble the primary root elements, mattappu-es-et. In the final step (pronunciation), we contract the elements to obtain something like, mattappuset = “he rests + little + at, near” or just “a little resting place,” freely translated into English. This is probably how Wampanoag Indians called this place, which in the ears and hands of the English, was perceived and recorded as “Mattapoisett” (among other spellings). Figure 2 summarizes what we just said. Thus, the modern place name Mattapoisett is fairly close to the original Algonquian and not much seems to be lost in the translation. Historical information also supports the translation. This is not always the case, especially for the Rhode Island Indian place names. The next example (Fig. 3) gives another chart-analysis for the place in Massachusetts called Swampscott, with derived meaning “at the red rock”, or “red rock place” (a noun + an adjective + a locative)14. The analysis for Swampscott demonstrates that many, many old Indian place names in southern New England were corrupted (sometimes beyond recognition) by the Europeans. To illustrate this problem, one well- known 19th cent. Algonquian translator has said of the place names in Rhode Island, that one-half of them defy analysis altogether (cited Huden, p. ix). As stated above, different assumptions about the correct Algonquian roots and combining elements lead to different conclusions about the correct translation or multiple translations. 14 “Red” in Algonquian is actually documented as a type of transitive verb (“It is red,” inanimate form or “He/she is red,” animate form), but for purposes of simplicity we classify it as a noun modifier (adjective). Likewise we streamline the translations in order to convey the essential meaning which results in some loss of generality. Figure 1: Place Name Analysis for Aquidneck NOTE: Two words for “island” were translated in the Eliot Bible which are seen in place names: ahquedne & munnoh (see Goddard, 2002); munnoh seems to imply any dry place or refuge like an island (perhaps derived from m’nunnu = “dry place”). Ahquedne may imply a floating or suspended mass, and is related to other Algonquian languages for “canoe”. Trumbull (1870) hypothesizes that ahquedne was used for islands (perhaps large ones) close to or spoken of in reference to the mainland. See Goddard’s fuller explanation in Appendix I which shows how a master linguist analyzes local place names. Figure 2: Place Name Analysis for Mattaposiett Lastly, Fig. 4 demonstrates a fair amount of noise for the Rhode Island place name Canopaug. The fragment cano- is most likely corrupted from the Narragansett verb Aquidneck aquidn- -eck ahquedne = island -ick = in, on, at Ahquedne-ick = Aquidneck= On some kind of island Mattapoisett mattapo -is- -ett mattappu = he sits/rests -es- = little -et = at, near Mattapu-es-et= Mattapuset= A little resting place qunni = “it is long.” The interpretation Canopaug = “long pond” is less certain than that of Aquidneck, but the translation seems reasonable since cano- and the like is a common corruptive rendition of qunni in regional Indian place names. We know this by analysis of many place names with this variant spelling applied to locations with known interpretations (e.g., Connecticut, Canonicut, etc.). Note that we assume no elision exists in the name such as a missing diminutive marker or locative. Figure 3: Place Name Analysis for Swampscott Figure 4: Place Name Analysis for Canopaug ▲ ◄► ▼ Canopaug cano- -paug qunni = long paug = lake, pond qunni - paug = qunnapaug = Long pond Swampscott sw- -ampsc- -ott musqui = red -ompsk- = standing rock -ut = at musqui-ompsk-ut = musquompskut = At the red rock The four examples presented led to a single translation. In the author’s summary of over 500 historic Indian place names in Rhode Island a majority are translated with multiple interpretations. For example, the place Escoheag (with several variant spellings)—believed to be possibly a reduction of the original Indian name Neastoquoheaganuck—is recorded with 6 different meanings. The high degree of orthographic corruption in that name cannot be reduced to a single defensible linguistic construction corresponding to evidence derived from the Eliot Indian Bible or Trumbull’s Dictionary, the most extensive historical linguistic documentation we have for the lost regional American Indian languages, or other pertinent extra-linguistic data. More Examples In Figure 5 is a list of about 25 southern New England place names which provides additional examples of place names analysis. The reader may find it helpful to use the author’s chart-method to trace the process. Most samples are relatively “moderate signal”. Those names will give the reader practice in using the glossary that follows in the next part of the book. They will also provide an intuitive insight into the structure of place names. Most place names of this region consist of a noun + an adjective/verb with or without a locative and pluralization stem. In addition, an Indian place name is quite literal in its descriptive simplicity, summarizing a referenced landmark, or reference to a geographical feature (either exact or proximate in location), historical event, animal habitat, important person, and place of importance for survival or daily life (see Afable & Beeler, 1996, and Gahan, for more details)15. The place name selections given below are based on proximity of the name with the hypothesized original Algonquian language elements (some roots are combined; i.e., not reduced to primitive form). This simplifies the etymological derivation for the beginning student. In the left hand column of Figure 5 is given the Indian name of a geographic land and water name, animal habitat, etc., and what is believed to be the original name from the Algonquian language roots and other combining forms (different tribal languages/dialects are mixed in). On the right side is the translation. For example, the place now called Nepaug, which seems to mean either “good or fresh pond” (adjective + noun), may have come originally from Algonquian wunni-paug or nunni- paug. Analysis shows that the name may consist possibly of one of two Algonquian elements (wunni = good or nunni = fresh) and paug = pond. Obviously the initial fragment “ne-” has been corrupted under this hypothesis rendering the interpretation of Nepaug as ambiguous. This was noted earlier with respect to initial consonants. The meanings we assign are based purely on a literal meaning of the Algonquian word elements, and are not the most elegant or full-bodied translations one finds, for 15 Bear in mind that some small number of local Indian place names represent personal names of the Sachem (or Chief) who lived in or ruled the territory so named (e.g., Moosup River, Hyannis, Uncasville). Although every personal name can in principle be translated into English, such names attached to a toponymic feature will not correspond to the meaning of the place name (see Trumbull, 1870, p. 37) instance, in the reference book by Trumbull (1881/1974). The hyphens used in the Algonquian terms show the basic root-elements of the place names. For the Algonquian place names in Figure 5, look up in Dictionary the Algonquian fragments for each toponym, and verify the essential meaning(s) of each root and combining element. Appendix II gives many more names throughout southern new England with which to practice. This exercise will warm up the toponymic analyst in the difficult and often frustrating task of translating southern New England American Indian toponyms. Figure 5: Place Name Analysis Practice Algonquian English Aquapauksit = ukque-paug-es-it at the end of the small pond Chappaquiddick = cheppi-ahquidne-ick separated island land Connecticut = quinni-tuk-ut on the long tidal river Kenunckpacook = qunnunkque-paug-aûke high pond place Kittemaug = kehte-âmaug great (principal) fishing place Kuttuck (now Titicut) = kehte-tuk-ut principal river place Massapaug = massa-paug large pond Mashantucket = mishuntugk-et = missi-tugk-et place of much wood (“well-forested”) Massachusetts = massa-wadchu-ash-et at or near the great hills Massaco = massa-sauk the great outlet Mistik = missi-tuk great tidal river Nepaug = wunni-paug or nunni-paug good pond or fresh pond Norwalk = naïag a point of land Ohomowauke = oohomaus- aûke owl’s abode Oxecoset = oggusse-koua-ash-et small pine (fir) trees place ? Pachaug = pachau-aûke a turning place Patuxet = pau-tuk-es-et little water-falls place Pawtucket = pau-tuk-et water-falls place Pettasquamscott = p ( e t ( u ´kqui-ompsk-et round rock place Pocasset = pohq-es-et little opening place (i.e., where the stream or straits widen or the narrows open out) Qunnapaug = quinni-paug a long pond Quononoquott (now Canonicut = Jamestown) = quinni- aûke-et at the long place (or) Narragansett Sachem Canonicus’ abode Saugatuck = sauki-tuk tidal river outlet Tomheganomset = tomheg 'n-ompsk-ut at the ax (tomahawk) rock Wachuset = wadchu-es-et little hill/mountain place Watchoog = wadchu-aûke hill country NOTE: As we can see so far, the vast majority of regional Indian place names denote land or country, waterway, fishing-place, hill and mountain, stone and rock, natural or man- made enclosure, and island. To these elemental features are added modifiers of size, number, quality and locatives, and of course, intertribal dialectical (phonetic & semantic) variations. Now we will test your knowledge of fragment analysis. Try to decipher the following words with the aid of the Dictionary. Suggested translations given in footnote.+ • Mississippi (not a New England name) • Wequapaug • Misquamicut • Chepatchet • Woonsocket +Mississippi = big river; Wequapaug = at the end of the pond; Misquamicut = red-fish (salmon) place; Chepatchet = boundary place; Woonsocket = place of steep descent. As mentioned, the last step in translation typically involves contracting or abbreviating the primary root elements and combining elements16. Algonquian languages are described as being polysynthetic, meaning that many simple elements or roots are combined into a single word, phrase or sentence usually involving final contraction or abbreviation of the primary forms. For example, to say “a white man” we pick our primary elements from the Massachusett language: wompesu = “(he is) white” (animate objects) + wosketomp = “(he is) a man (young warrior?)”. The final word is womposketomp = “(he is) a white man”. Can you see what was changed in the primary terms? The ability to form the right word through polysynthetic analysis requires knowledge of the correct grammatical rule (many exist). These rules (and southern New England Indian languages in general) continue to challenge the best minds in linguistics. 16 Rev. John Eliot first described this grammatical feature in his 1666 Grammar on Natick-Massachusett. Dialectical Differences in Speech Many Algonquian language dialects existed among the tribes shown in Map 1 (see Goddard, 1978). Phonetics (the study of such differences) is a detailed subset of Algonquian linguistics, and we cannot cover all the details. To give a flavor for these differences we quote an old-fashioned source—Dr. J.H. Trumbull. His terms (sonant, guttural, surd mute, liquids, semi-vowel, nasal, lisp, spirant) can be looked up to clarify when the context is not helpful. Technical material can be found in the multi-volume Smithsonian encyclopedia (Trigger, 1978 & Goddard, 1996). “Algonkin” and “Algonquian” are the same terms. In and about the borders of Connecticut four or five distinct Algonkin dialects were spoken, and each of these had its local idioms. In the speech of the Pequot- Mohegans, in the south-east, sonants and gutturals abounded. In the Narragansett and Niantic dialects, the surd mutes, k, t, p, were more common than the sonants, g, d, b, and nasals than gutturals. The Nipmucks, of the north-east, substituted l for the Niantic and Mohegan n, and generally made the final k of place-names sonant (aug, og, for auk, ock, etc.). The tribes of the Connecticut valley preferred liquids and semi-vowels to nasals, and some of their local idioms were characterized by an occasional lisp, an original sibilant becoming a spirant th, sometimes passing to a soft lingual mute, t. In the dialects of the Quiripi (or Quinnipiac) Indians, near the Sound, from New Haven to the western bounds of the colony, the preference for liquid sounds was more strongly marked; r took the place of the eastern n or l, and there was a tendency to drop or soften final consonants. (Trumbull, 1881, pp. v-vi). ——— ✜ ——— AMERICAN INDIAN PLACE NAMES IN RHODE ISLAND: PAST & PRESENT (Revised Edition) </p>
