A). American Indian Languages and their Influence

Analysis of the Linguistic Peculiarities Introduced by Various Ethnic Groups in the Course of American History

One of the strongest forces to shape the language in the New World were Native American languages. It is definitely known that less than 200 distinct Indian tongues are spoken in North America today. At the time of the arrival of the British immigrants in the Americas, the number of these tongues is said to have been twice as large.

In his book “ Discovering American Dialects” Roger W. Shuy wrote: “American English has borrowed less actively from other languages. When a word is borrowed, it is usually a term for which there is no English equivalent”. Words from American Indian languages became parts of English mostly because in the New World the colonialists encountered things and entities that were unfamiliar to them.

There were many plants and animals in the Americas that were not found in Europe, many of the names for native species were derived from Native American languages. So, for example, the names for such common American animals and foods are derived from various languages in the Algonquian group as moose- лось, skunk - скунс, chipmunk - бурундук, raccoon - енот, opossum (or 'possum) - опоссум, per’simmon - хурма, squash - тыква, and ‘hominy - мамалыга, as is terrapin, the name of a fresh-water turtle.

Native American groups, living in a variety of climates, each developed their own forms of housing appropriate to their physical environments. Among these were wigwam, tepee (or tipi, or teepee), hogan, wikiup, kiva, and igloo all of them denoting hut, house, home. Other words describing native practices include (from Massachusset) wampum, a type of beads used as currency; powwow (from Narraganset powwow or Massachuset pauwau) now generally used for a wide variety of Native American social gatherings; and potlatch (Chinook Jargon patlac), a celebration held among several northwestern nations at which prominent persons would give away, or perhaps even destroy, some of their wealth.

And, of course, place names across America are derived from the languages of those who knew those places first. Massachusetts and Kansas are derived from the names of native peoples, as are Dakota and Omaha, and many other state, city and place names. Oklahoma means “red people” in Choctaw, Minnesota means “sky-blue waters” in Dakota, and the mighty Mississippi River’s name means “great river” in Ojibwa.

Early observers of language use, who were mostly British men concerned about the state of English, found the Indian influence to be rather strong. These commentators criticized “the impure English” of the Americans and tried to discourage people from using “ wigwam words.” There are, however, some phrasal compounds that would not have developed if it weren’t for the Indian influence. Examples of these are bury the hatchet and take up the hatchet.

Here are some more of the words derived from the four American Indian languages:

hickory tomahawk moccasin (Algonquian)

kayak igloo umiak (a boat) (Inuit)

tomato coyote chocolate (Nahuatl)

puma condor pampa (Quechua)

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