  The Literature And Language Of The Lenape. § 1. Literature of the Lenape Tongue—Campanius; Penn; Thomas, § 1. Literature of the Lenape Tongue.The first study of the Delaware language was undertaken by the Rev. Thomas Campanius (Holm), who was chaplain to the Swedish settlements, 1642-1649. He collected a vocabulary, wrote out a number of dialogues in Delaware and Swedish, and even completed a translation of the Lutheran catechism into the tongue. The last mentioned was published in Stockholm, in 1696, through the efforts of his grandson, under the title, Lutheri Catechismus, Ofwersatt pÄ American-Virginiske SprÄket, 1 vol., sm. 8vo, pp. 160. On pages 133-154 it has a Vocabularium Barbaro-Virgineorum, and on pages 155-160, Vocabula Mahakuassica. The first is the Delaware as then current on the lower river, the second the dialect of the Susquehannocks or Minquas, who frequently visited the Swedish settlements. Although he managed to render all the Catechism into something which looks like Delaware, Campanius' knowledge of the tongue was exceedingly superficial. Dr. Trumbull says of his work: "The translator had not learned even so At the close of his "History of New Sweden," Campanius adds further linguistic material, including an imaginary conversation in Lenape, and the oration of a sachem. It is of the same character as that found in the Catechism. After the English occupation very little attention was given to the tongue beyond what was indispensable to trading. William Penn, indeed, professed to have acquired a mastery of it. He writes: "I have made it my business to understand it, that I might not want an interpreter on any occasion." An ample specimen of this jargon is furnished us by Gabriel Thomas, in his "Historical and Geographical Account of the Province and Country of Pensilvania; and of West-New-Jersey in America," London, 1698, dedicated to Penn. Thomas tells us that he lived in the country fifteen years, and supplies, for the convenience of those who propose visiting the province, some forms of conversation, Indian and English. I subjoin a short specimen, with a brief commentary:—
1. Hitah for n'ischu (Mohegan, nitap), my friend; takoman, Zeis. takomun, from ta, where, k, 2d pers. sing. The principal authority on the Delaware language is the Rev. David Zeisberger, the eminent Moravian missionary, Before him, no one had seriously set to work to master the structure of the language, and reduce it to a uniform orthography. With him, it was almost a lifelong study, as for more than sixty years it engaged his attention. To his devotion to the cause in which he was engaged, he added considerable natural talent for languages, and learned to speak, with almost equal fluency, English, German, Delaware and the Onondaga and Mohawk dialects of the Iroquois. The first work he gave to the press was a "Delaware Indian and English Spelling Book for the Schools of the Mission of the United Brethren," printed in Philadelphia, 1776. As he did not himself see the proofs, he complained that both in its arrangement and typographical accuracy it was disappointing. Shortly before his death, in 1806, the second edition appeared, amended in these respects. A "Hymn Book," in Delaware, which he finished in 1802, was printed the following year, and the last work of his life, a translation into Delaware of Lieberkuhn's "History of Christ," was published at New York in 1821. These, however, formed but a small part of the manuscript materials he had prepared on and in the language. The most important of these were his Delaware Grammar, and his Dictionary in four languages, English, German, Onondaga and Delaware. The MS. of the Grammar was deposited in the Archives of the Moravian Society at Bethlehem, Pa. A translation of it was prepared by Mr. Peter Stephen Duponceau, and published The quadrilingual dictionary has never been printed. The MS. was presented, along with others, in 1850, to the library of Harvard College, where it now is. The volume is an oblong octavo of 362 pages, containing about 9000 words in the English and German columns, but not more than half that number in the Delaware. A number of other MSS. of Zeisberger are also in that library, received from the same source. Among these are a German-Delaware Glossary, containing 51 pages and about 600 words; a Delaware-German Phrase Book of about 200 pages; Sermons in Delaware, etc., mostly incomplete studies, but of considerable value to the student of the tongue. Associated with Zeisberger for many years was the genial Rev. John Heckewelder, so well known for his pleasant "History of the Indian Nations of Pennsylvania," his interpretations of the Indian names of the State, and his correspondence with Mr. Duponceau. He certainly had a fluent, practical knowledge of the Delaware, but it has repeatedly been shown that he lacked analytical power in it, and that many of his etymologies as well as some of his grammatical statements are erroneous. Another competent Lenapist was the Rev. Johannes Roth. He was born in Prussia in 1726, and educated a Catholic. Joining the Moravians in 1748, he emigrated to America in 1756, and in 1759 took charge of the missionary station called Roth has left us a most important work, and one hitherto entirely unknown to bibliographers. He made an especial study of the Unami dialect of the Lenape, and composed in it an extensive religious work, of which only the fifth part remains. It is now in the possession of the American Philosophical Society, and bears the title:— Ein Versuch! The next page begins, "Der fÜnfte Theil," and § 86, and proceeds to § 139. It forms a quarto volume, of title, 9 pages of contents in German and English, and 268 pages of text This is the only work known to me as composed distinctively in the Unami, and its value is proportionately great as providing the means of studying this, the acknowledged most cultivated and admired of the Lenape dialects. It will be the task of some future Lenape scholar to edit its text and analyze its grammatical forms. But I believe that Algonkin students will be glad to see at this time an extract from its pages. I select § 96, which is the parable of the marriage feast of the king's son, as given in Matthew xxii, 1-14. 1. Woak Jesus wtabptonalawoll woak lapi nuwuntschi The asterisk occurs in the original apparently to indicate that a word is superfluous or doubtful. The interlined translation I have supplied from the materials in the mission-Delaware dialect, but my resources have not been sufficient to analyze each word; and this, indeed, is not necessary for my purpose, which is merely to present an example of the true Unami dialect. The Moravian Bishop, John Ettwein, was another of their fraternity who applied himself to the study of the Delaware. Born in Europe in 1712, he came to the New World in 1754, and died at the great age of ninety years in 1802. He prepared a small dictionary and phrase book, especially rich in verbal forms. It is an octavo MS. of 88 pages, without title, and comprises about 1300 entries. This manuscript exists in one copy only, in the Moravian Archives at Bethlehem. Bishop Ettwein also prepared for General Washington, in 1788, an account of the traditions and language of the natives, including a vocabulary. This was found among the Washington papers by Mr. Jared Sparks, and was published in the "Bulletin of the Pennsylvania Historical Society," 1848. One of the most laborious of the Moravian missionaries was the Rev. Adam Grube. His life spanned nearly a century, from 1715, when he was born in Germany, until 1808, After the War of 1812 the Moravian brother, Rev. C. F. Dencke, who, ten years before had attempted to teach the Gospel to the Chipeways, gathered together the scattered converts among the Delawares at New Fairfield, Canada West. In 1818 he completed and forwarded to the Publication Board of the American Bible Society a translation of the Epistles of John, which was published the same year. He also stated to the Board that at that time he had finished a translation of John's Gospel and commenced that of Matthew, both of which he expected to send to the Board in that year. A donation of one hundred dollars was made to him to encourage him in his work, but for some reason the prosecution of his labors was suspended, and the translation of the Gospels never appeared (contrary to the statements in some bibliographies). It is probable that Mr. Dencke was the compiler of the Delaware Dictionary which is preserved in the Moravian Archives at Bethlehem. The MS. is an oblong octavo, in a fine, but beautifully clear hand, and comprises about 3700 words. The handwriting is that of the late Rev. Mr. Kampman, While the greater part of this dictionary is identical in words and rendering with the second edition of Zeisberger's "Spelling Book" (with which I have carefully compared it), it also includes a number of other words, and the whole is arranged in accurate alphabetical order. Mr. Dencke also prepared a grammar of the Delaware, as I am informed by his old personal friend, Rev. F. R. Holland, of Hope, Indiana; but the most persistent inquiry through residents at Salem, N. C., where he died in 1839, and at the Missionary Archives at Bethlehem, Pa., and Moraviantown, Canada, have failed to furnish me a clue to its whereabouts. I fear that this precious document was "sold as paper stock," as I am informed were most of the MSS. which he left at his decease! A sad instance of the total absence of intelligent interest in such subjects in our country. The Rev. Abraham Luckenbach may be called the last of the Moravian Lenapists. With him, in 1854, died out the traditions of native philology. Born in 1777, in Lehigh county, Pennsylvania, he became a missionary among the Indians in 1800, and until his retirement, forty-three years later, was a zealous pastor to his flock on the White river, Indiana, and later, on the Canada Reservation. His published work is entitled "Forty-six Select Scripture Narratives from the Old Testament, embellished with Engravings, for the Use of Indian Youth. Translated into Delaware Indian, After his retirement in Bethlehem, he edited, in 1847, the second edition of Zeisberger's "Collection of Hymns," the first of which has already been mentioned. A short MS. vocabulary, in German and Delaware, is in the possession of his family, in Bethlehem, and some loose papers in the language. One of the most recent students of the Delaware was Mr. Matthew G. Henry, of Philadelphia. In 1859 and 1860 he compiled, with no little labor, a "Delaware Indian Dictionary," the MS. of which, in the library of the American Philosophical Society, forms a thick quarto volume of 843 pages, with a number of maps. It is in three parts; 1, English and Delaware; 2, Delaware and English; 3, Delaware Proper Names and their Translations. It includes, without analysis or correction, the words in Zeisberger's "Spelling Book," Roger William's "Key," Companius' Vocabulary, those in Smith's and Strachey's "Virginia" and various Nanticoke, Mohegan, Minsi and other vocabularies. The derivations of the proper names are chiefly from Heckewelder, and in other cases are venturesome. The compilation, therefore, while often useful, lacks the salutary check of a critical, grammatical erudition, and in its present form is of limited value. Some of the later vocabularies collected by various travelers offer points for comparison, and may be mentioned here. In 1786 Major Denny While engaged on the Pacific Railroad survey, in 1853, Lieut. Whipple In the second volume of Schoolcraft's large work Some small works for the schools of the Baptist missions among the Delawares in Kansas were prepared by the Rev. J. Meeker. They appear to be entirely elementary in character. It will be observed that in this list not a single native writer is named. So far as I have ascertained, though many learned to write their native tongue, not one attempted any composition in it beyond the needs of daily life. To make some amends for this, and as I wished to obtain an example of the Lenape of to-day, I asked Chief Gottlieb Tobias, an educated native on the Moravian Reservation in I, Gottlieb Tobias, Nanne ni ngutschi nachguttemin, jun awen eet ma elekhigetup. Woak alende nenostamen woak alende taku eli wtallichsin elewondasik wiwonalatokowo pachsi wonamii lichsu woak pachsi pilli lichsoagan. Taku ni nenostamowin. Lamoe nemochomsinga achpami eet newinachke woak chash tichi kachtin nbibindameneb nin lichsoagan. Mauchso lenno woak mauchso chauchshissis woak juque mauchso chauchshissis achpo pomauchsu igabtshi lue wiwonallatokowo won bambil alachshe. Woak lue lamoe ni enda. Mimensiane ntelsitam alowi ayachichson won elhagewit woak ehelop ne likhiqui. Gichgi wonami lichso shuk tatcamse woak gichgi minsiwi lichso. Translation. Then I will try to answer this (which) some one at some time wrote. And some I understand, and some not, because his language is called Wonalatoko, half Unami and half another language. I do not understand it. Long ago my grandfather about 48 years ago I heard it that language. One man and one old woman and now another old woman here lives yet who uses this Wonalatoko language just like this book and she said, I of old time when I was a child heard more difficult dialect than the present, and many at that time partly Unami he speak, but sometimes also partly Minsi he speak. The drift of Chief Tobias' letter is highly important to this present work, though his expressions are not couched in § 2. General Remarks on the Lenape.The Lenape language is a well-defined and quite pure member of the great Algonkin stock, revealing markedly the linguistic traits of this group, and standing philologically, as well as geographically, between the Micmac of the extreme east and the Chipeway of the far West. These linguistic traits, common to the whole stock, I may briefly enumerate as follows:— 1. All words are derived from simple, monosyllabic roots, by means of affixes and suffixes. 2. The words do not come within the grammatical categories of the Aryan language, as nouns, adjectives, verbs and other "parts of speech," but are "indifferent themes," which may be used at will as one or the other. To this there appear to be a few exceptions. 3. Expressions of being (i.e., nominal themes) undergo modifications depending on the ontological conception as to whether the thing spoken of is a living or a lifeless object. This forms the "animate and inanimate," or the "noble and ignoble" declensions and conjugations. The distinction is not strictly logical, but largely grammatical, many lifeless objects being considered living, and the reverse. This is the only modification of the kind known, true grammatical gender not appearing in any of these tongues. 4. Expressions of action (i. e., verbal themes) undergo modifications depending on the abstract assumption as to whether the action is real or conjectural. If the latter, it is indicated by a change in the vowel of the root. This leads to a fundamental division of verbal modes into positive and suppositive modes. 5. The expression of action is subordinate to that of being, so that the verbal elements of a proposition are secondary to the nominal or pronominal elements, and the subjective relation becomes closely akin to, or identical with, that of possession. 6. The conception of number is feebly developed in its application to inanimate objects, which often have no grammatical plurals. The inclusive and exclusive plurals are used in the first person. 7. The genius of the language is holophrastic—that is, its effort is to express the relationship of several ideas by combining them in one word. This is displayed: 1, in nominal themes, by polysynthesis, by which several such themes are 8. There is no relative pronoun, so that the relation of minor to major clauses is left to be indicated either by position or the offices of a simple connective. 9. The language of both sexes is identical, those differences of speech between the males and females, so frequently observed in other American tongues, finding no place in the Algonkin. 10. No independent verb-substantive is found, and, as might be anticipated, no means of predicating existence apart from quality and attribute. § 3. Dialects of the Lenape.Two slightly different dialects prevailed among the Delawares themselves, the one spoken by the Unami and Unalachtgo, the other by the Minsi. The former is stated by the Moravian missionaries to have had an uncommonly soft and pleasant sound to the ear The Minsi was harsher and more difficult to learn, but would seem to have been the more archaic branch, as it is stated to be a key to the other, and to preserve many words in their integrity and original form, which in the Unami were abbreviated or altogether dropped. The Minsi dialect was closely akin to the Mohegan. How far the separation of the Delaware dialects had extended may be judged from the subjoined list of words. They are selected, as showing the greatest variation, from a list of over one hundred, prepared by Mr. Heckewelder for the American Philosophical Society, and preserved in MS. in its library. The comparison proves that the differences are far from extensive, and chiefly result from a greater use of gutturals. COMPARISON OF THE UNAMI AND MINSI DIALECTS.
What differences there were have been retained and perhaps accentuated in modern times, if we may judge from the names of consanguinity obtained by Mr. Lewis H. Morgan on the Kansas Reservation in 1860. These are given in part in the annexed table, and the Mohegan is added for the sake of extending the comparison.
A noteworthy difference in the Northern and Southern Lenape dialects was that the latter possessed the three phonetic elements n, l and r, while the former could not pronounce the r, and their neighbors, the Mohegans, neither the l nor the r. The dialect studied by Campanius and Penn, and that in southern New Jersey presented the r sound where the Upper Unami and Minsi had the l. Thus Campanius gives rhenus, for lenno, man; and Penn oret, for the Unami wulit, good. The dialectic substitution of one of these elements for another is a widespread characteristic of Algonkin phonology. Tracing it to its origin, it clearly arises from the use of "alternating consonants," so extensive in American languages. In very many of them it is optional with the speaker to employ any one of several sounds of the same class. This is the case with these letters in Cree, which, for various reasons, may be considered the most archaic of all the Algonkin dialects. In its phonetics, the th, y, l, n and r are "permuting" or "alternating" letters. Often, too, the sound falls between these letters, so that the foreign ear is left in doubt which to write. That this is the case with the Delaware is evident from some of the more recent vocabularies where the r is not infrequent. The following words, from the vocabulary in Major Denny's Memoir, illustrate this:—
Even Mr. Lewis A. Morgan, who had considerable practice in writing the sounds of the Indian languages, inserts the r in a number of pure Delaware words he collected in Kansas. Another difficulty presents itself in the sibilants. They are not always distinguished. Mr. Horatio Hale writes me on this point: "In Minsi, and perhaps in all the Lenape dialects, the sound written s is intermediate between s and th (the Greek T). This element is pronounced by placing the tongue and teeth in the position of the theta, and then endeavoring to utter s". The guttural, represented in the Moravian vocabularies by ch, was softened by the English likewise to the s sound, as it appears also to have been by the New Jersey tribes. In connection with dialectic variation, the interesting question arises as to the rapidity of change in language. With regard to the Lenape we are enabled to compare this for a period covering more than two centuries. To test it, I have arranged the subjoined table of words culled from three writers at about equidistant points in this period. Each wrote in the orthography of his own tongue, and this I have not altered. The words from Campanius are from the southern dialect, which preferred the r to the l, and this substitution should be allowed for in a fair comparison. COMPARISON OF THE DELAWARE AT INTERVALS DURING 210 YEARS.
COMPARISON OF THE DELAWARE NUMERALS.
I have no doubt that if a Swede, a German and an Englishman were to-day to take down these words from the mouth of a Delaware Indian, each writing them in the orthography of his own tongue, the variations would be as numerous as in the above list, except, perhaps, the ancient and now disused r sound. The comparison goes to show that there has probably been but a very slight change in the Delaware, in spite of the many migrations and disturbances they have undergone. They speak the language of their forefathers as closely as do the English, although no written documents have aided them in keeping it alive. This is but another proof added to an already long list, showing that the belief that American languages undergo rapid changes is an error. The dialect which the Moravian missionaries learned, and in which they composed their works, was that of the Lehigh Valley. That it was not an impure Minsi mixed with Mohegan, as Dr. Trumbull seems to think, § 4. Special Structure of the Lenape.The Root and the Formation of the Theme.—As they appear in the language of to-day, the Lenape radicals are chiefly monosyllables, which undergo more or less modifications in composition. They cannot be used alone, the tongue having long since passed from that interjectional condition where each of these roots conveyed a whole sentence in itself. Whether they can be resolved back into a few elementary sounds, primitive elements of speech, I shall not discuss. This has been done for the Cree roots by Mr. Joseph Howse, As in other idioms, so in Lenape, two or more radicals may be compounded to form a combination, which, in turn, performs the offices of a radical in the construction of themes. This combination is formed either by prefixes or suffixes. The prefixes are generally adjectival in signification, while the suffixes are usually classificatory. A number of these are secondary roots, which are themselves capable of further analysis. As so much of the strength of the languages depends on this plan of word building, I have drawn off a list of a few of the more frequent affixes of the Lenape, with their signification:— Lenape Prefixes. awoss-, beyond, the other side of. Many of these are abbreviated to the extent that a single significant letter is all that remains, as min in msim, hickory nut; pakihm, cranberry; and so acki to k, hanne to an, as kitanink (Kittanning), from gitschi, great; hanne, flowing river; ink, locative, "at the place of the great river." Lenape Suffixes. -ak, wood, from tachan; kuwenchak, pine wood. Heckewelder derives this from amkamme, a river. The terminal k is, however, part of the root, and not the locative termination. The word is allied to Del. quenek, long. -hikan, tidal water; kittahikan, the ocean; shajahikan, the sea shore. The analysis of a series of derivatives from the same root offers a most instructive subject for investigation in the Lenape. Not only does it reveal the linguistic processes adapted, but it discloses the psychology of the native mind, and teaches us the associations of its ideas, and the range of its imaginative powers. By no other avenue can we gain access to the intimate thought-life of this people. Here it is unfolded to us by evidence which is irrefragable. These considerations lead me to present a few examples of the derivatives from roots of different classes. EXAMPLES OF LENAPE DERIVATIVES. Subjective Root NI, I, mine. The strangely conflicting ideas evolved from this root already attracted the attention of Mr. Duponceau Objective-intensive root GISCH or KICH (Cree, KIS or KIK). Signification—successful action. Numerous other derivatives could be added, but the above are sufficient to show the direction of thoughts flowing from this root. Howse considers it identical with the root kitch, great, large {L} The figure 8 in the above represents the "whistled w," like the wh in "which," when strongly pronounced. From this root, as I have already said, is derived also the word Walam, red paint, from the sense "to be fine in appearance, to dress," as the Indian accomplished that object by painting himself. Grammatical Structure of the Lenape. It would not be worth while for me to enter into the intricacies of Lenape grammar, particularly as I can add little to what is already known. The Delaware Grammar of Zeisberger remains our only authority, and in spite of its manifest shortcomings and state of incompletion, the unprejudiced student must acknowledge, with Albert Gallatin A few general observations will be sufficient. As in other languages of the class, the theme is indifferently nominal, verbal or adjectival; that is, it performs the functions of either of these grammatical categories, according to its connection. Nominal themes are either animate or inanimate. The characteristic of all animate plurals is k (ak, ik, ek). Inanimate plurals are in al, wall or a. As usual, the distinction between animate and inanimate nouns is partly logical, partly grammatical, various objects being conceived as animate which are in fact not so. The possessive relation is generally indicated by placement alone, the possessor preceding the thing possessed, as lenno quisall, the man's son; but one could also say lenno w'quisall, the man his son. Adjectives precede nouns, and when used attributively assume a verbal form by adding the termination wi, which indicates objective existence (like the Chip. -win). Thus, scattek, burning; scattewi w'dehin, a burning-heart—literally, it-is-a-burning-thing his-heart. The degrees of comparison are formed by prefixing allowiwi, more, and eluwi, most. Both of these are from the same radical ala which may perhaps come from the admirationis particula, ala' (Abnaki, ara') found in the northern dialects as expressive of astonishment There being no relative pronoun in Delaware, dependent clauses are either included in the verbal of the major clause, or include it as a secondary. The scheme of the simple sentence is usually subject-verb-object; but emphasis allows departures from this, as in the following sentence from Bishop Ettwein's MSS.:— Jesus wemi amemensall w'taholawak. Of the formal affixes, the inseparable pronouns are the most prominent. They are the same for nouns and verbs, and are— 1st. n, I, my, we, our. Past time is indicated by the terminal p, with a connective vowel, and future time by tsch, which may be either a prefix or suffix, as— N'dellsin, I am thus. The change or "flattening" of the vowel of the root in suppositive propositions, was recognized as a fact of speech, but not grammatically analyzed by Zeisberger. Its effect on verbal forms may be seen from the following examples from his Grammar:— Examples of Vowel Change in Lenape.
Another omission in his Grammar is that of the "obviative" and "super-obviative" forms of nouns. These are used in the Algonkin dialects to define the relations of third persons. They prevent such obscurity as appears in the following English sentence: "John's brother called at Robert's, to see his wife." Whose wife is referred to is left ambiguous; but in Algonkin these third persons would have different forms, and there would be no room for ambiguity. In his writings in Lenape, Zeisberger makes use of obviatives, As a question in philosophical grammar, it may be doubted whether the Lenape has any true passive voice. Cardinal Mezzofanti was accustomed to deny the presence of any real passives in American languages; and he had studied the Delaware among others. The sign of the Delaware passive is the suffix gussu or cusso. In the Cree dialect, which, as I have already said, preserves the ancient forms most closely, this is k-ussu, and is a particle expressing likeness or similarity in animate objects |
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