Mission Press, 1842

EXPLANATION FOR ENGLISH READERS.

It is absolutely necessary for English readers to divest themselves of all the irregular and erroneous notions of spelling contracted by using the imperfect alphabet of the English language, and to remember that, in spelling Seneca, the same sound is uniformly associated with each character. Hence, in writing the language, our first object has been to hear correctly the several sounds of which each word is composed, in their order, and then to represent them by their appropriate characters, placed in the same order. The anomalous sounds of the English are so oddly expressed by combinations of characters, and so many letters are introduced which have no honest relation to the sounds, that most persons find it very difficult to lay aside their bad habits and inconsistencies sufficiently to follow our simple truth-telling system of orthography. But be it always remembered, if the reader will take pains to understand, and is able to enunciate, the sounds represented by the several characters, and will distinctly enunciate them, in the order in which they are located, and with their appropriate relative degrees of force and time, and with the natural cadence and inflexion, he will read the language intelligibly, and — abating the errors of the writer and of the printer — with the same accuracy with which it is spoken by the Indian himself. He may call our mode of representing certain sounds very odd ; and, if he will not forget the barbarisms of English spelling, he certainly will do so. But no matter for that : if he will only be content to pronounce his words correctly, as they are made ready to his hands, and. no otherwise, he will be a correct, and, if he improve his cadent rightly, a profitable reader of Seneca; and we have no fears of his condemning our system, after he shall have thoroughly attained the right use of his ears, by listening attentively to the Indian mode of speaking.

The number of sounds in the Indian, with our present knowledge of the language is supposed to be 29, as follows :

e   as in the English word ‘they’

e   ”   ”   ”     ”          ”        ’bet’

a   ”   ”   ”     ”          ”        ’fall’

a   ”   ”   ”     ”          ”        ’hat’

i    ”   ”   ”     ”          ”        ’machine’

i    ”   ”   ”     ”          ”        ’hit’

o   ”   ”   ”     ”          ”        ’note’

o   unlike any English letter, half way between ‘o’ in note and ‘o’ in move

uhere   as in the English word ‘push,’or, as ‘o’ in move.

uhere   like the English letter uhere in but.

Nasalized vowels are such as have the peculiar nasal twang approximating to the sound produced by joining the letter ‘n’ to a vowel, remembering not to finish the sound of the ‘n,’ but only proceed so far as to to communicate to the vowel enough of its sound to nasalize it. They are uniformly denoted by a mark like a hyphen (-), placed underneath the vowel, as ‘a,’ ‘a,’ ‘e,’ ‘uhere,’ ‘v,’ &c. A vowel sound of this sort coming before ‘g’ or ‘k,’ coalesces with it, as in the English word ‘long.’ This word, spelt after the Indian fashion, would be ‘l-a-g.’ ‘Strong,’ would be ‘s-t-r-a-g.’ Young would be written ‘y-v g-” ‘Monk,’ would be ‘m-v-k,’ &c.— drc. It is very important for the reader or writer of Seneca to regard very scrupulously this distinction between nasalized and other vowels for the meaning is often entirely dependent upon uhere, and there are many nice modifications of the sense which can be given in no other way.

It is not to be supposed that with our imperfect knowledge of Seneca, we have discovered and marked accurately all the peculiarities of the language. It is sometimes, also, very difficult to decide on the correct usage, where there are differences of pronunciation among the Indians. In such cases we have sought for the pure Seneca in contradistinction from the idioms of Mohawk, Cayuga, Onondaga, &c, and for Seneca as spoken by the old men whose habits were formed previous to the introduction of English ideas and modifications of ideas the people. It is not pretended that no room is left for further improvement. It would be very strange if much should not ultimately be necessary. Suggestions of needed additions or alterations will, therefore, be thankfully received and dully considered ; and wherever the correct analysis of the language shall decide in their favour, they will be most gladly adopted.

It has been objected to the system of orthography which we have adopted, that it has a tendency to embarrass the learner by using English letters with French or German sounds attached to the vowels. It should be recollected, however, that each English vowel has so many sounds that they could not be retained without introducing strange jargon into the Seneca. We have given no new sound to any letter. We have followed some one sound of the English vowel in every case and rejected from necessity all the others. In deciding which to follow and which to reject, we have been influenced mainly by the fact that the Hon. T. Pickering’s mode of representing the vowel sounds, which, in the main, we have adopted, has been generally introduced among the Indians of the continent, wherever their languages have been reduced to writing, is approved by the American Board, and corresponds more closely than any other mode of notation, with the usages of the whole civilised world, and no objection can be brought against it which will not bear with equal force against every other system which employs the English letters. Besides, many of the Indians are already in some degree familiar with this system; a much larger number than arc familiar with any other ; and no other system can become adapted to the correct representation of the Seneca language, on paper without adopting as many variations from the common English as Mr. Pickering and his followers have done. Those who have attempted to write in other ways, are continually finding new marks necessary, and the more they write the more marks they will need, till they have a character exclusively appropriated to each of the sounds contained in the spoken language. Then, and not till then, will their systems have a claim to be regarded perfect.

We have endeavoured, in adopting Mr. Pickering’s system, to make in the outset, all the additions necessary, to adapt it to all exigencies of the Seneca, so as to prevent, as far as possible, the necessity of future alterations. Till, however, a settled habit of spelling has been established, there will of course be variations in orthography corresponding with the various modes in which different individuals speak or hear the same word ; but these variations will occasion no serious inconvenience to the reader, any more to the hearer of a speech or conversation where they occur in the spoken language. The reader who pronounces the words as written, and the writer who writes them accurately as they are spoken, will both be sufficiently correct for all purposes of practical utility.

It may not be improper, here to express our earnest hope, that all who have anything to do with Indians, and who accurately and who are capable of appreciating the value of a written language, will strenuously exert themselves to hasten forward the time when every indian shall be fully able to express his own thoughts on paper, and derive his full measure of advantage from the written thoughts of others, and especially from the written Word of God, to whose blessing these incipient efforts to accomplish so desirable an object, are humbly and earnestly commended.

NOTE., To those who may be inclined to criticise the style of our printing, we would remark, that, we have no Italic type, and but one size of Roman letter. Several of the accented capitals, also, are wanting, punches not having been cut for them when the accented type was prepared in Boston, some years since for printing Seneca. This will explain the breaks in the column of capitals, (in the alphabet,) and many other things which printers would deem irregularities. To furnish, ourselves with Italic, and another size of Roman, with the capitals for each, sufficient for our little establishment, would require about $150, before the type could be cast, and the whole expense would vary little from $400 ; for the want of which we are obliged to forego the advantages of beauty and variety in the style and execution of our work, and make the best we can of the facilities with which we are provided.

LESSON II.

Words of one syllable.
a??, yes.
O! (the same in both languages.)
ah, on the part of.
a???, it seems.
da, there, then, now.
da! there ! there now !
do! here! how! how much! how many!
do! how much ? how many ?
ga??, (a syllable having the force of the verb ‘to be’)
he, because of, on account of, for that,
ho! where, look ! look yonder!
ho!  stop ! don’t do that.
i?,  I, me, we, us.
is,  thou, you.
na??, look here! behold ! see this!
ne, yes, that is it.
ne, the, that, this,
ne, place where,
no, perhaps, probably,
sa??! look ! see there!

ACADIA ANALYSIS AND MEANING OF THE WORD ITS LIMITS AND ABORIGINES OF ACADIA REMARKS ON AGGUNCIA, THE ORIGINAL NAME OF THE PENOBSCOT RIVER.

BEFORE entering into the description of the aborigines of that part of North America formerly known under the name of Acadia, it seems proper to lay down a few remarks in regard to its name and boundaries. The word Acadia, written sometimes La Cadie and Acadie, is Indian, The origin of this word, and its meaning, has always been a subject of investigation among the antiquarians, who generally admit it to be an Indian word, though they do not fix its meaning. Some of them have ventured interpretations, which, however, they abandoned after further consideration. I was at one time led to resolve Acadie into the two Abnaki words Aki-adie (land of dogs). Yet, after more recent investigation, I consider it more natural to trace it to the Micmac word academ (we dwell), or tedlacadem(where we dwell), that is, our village. We have yet in Nova Scotia a place called Tracadie, which must be the Indian word tedlacadem, or t’dlacadem, where we dwell, and perhaps it is the original word of Acadie. The principal river in Nova Scotia is called Shuben-acadie,river where we dwell, or village-river.

The limits of Acadia are not clearly established, and they vary according to different writers. It is certain, however, that Acadia was divided in four parts, and it had four distinct proprietors.* The first part was from the Penobscot river in Maine to the St. John’s river in New Brunswick, and it was called by the French the Province of the Etchemins, but its former name was Nolumbeka (succession of falls and still-water), the Indian name for the Penobscot river, or rather for some parts of it. A part of it had also been named New Ireland, from the first settlers, who were Irish. The second was from the St. John’s river to Cape Sable, and it was called by the French Baye Francaise. This bay at present is called Bay of Fundy (Fodinarum, bay of the mines). The third from Cape Sable to Canzeaux (Canse, the name of a French navigator), and it was called Acadia by the French,* Nova Scotia by the English. The fourth from Canzeaux to Cap des Rosiers (from a fish of that name, phoxinas squamosus, or as others assert, from the French navigator Rosier), and it was called Gaspesie, from the Indian name Gachepe or Kech’pi (the end), very appropriately to signify the extreme North-east end of the Micmac territory, and the last promontory lying between the mouth of the great St. Lawrence river and the Bay of Chaleurs.

All this vast extension of territory was possessed only by two Indian nations, the Etchimins and the Micmacs. The Etchimins occupied the waters of the Penobscot, St. Croix., and St. John’s rivers, and the most part of both shores of the Bay of Fundy as far east as Port Royal, near Annapolis, The Micmacs dwelt on the rest of Nova Scotia, on the south-eastern part of New Brunswick, on the southern shore of the mouth and Bay of St. Lawrence, and also on the adjoining islands. It is doubtful whether Newfoundland was inhabited. It is, however, certain that its northern part was frequented by the Esquimaux ; the western and southern parts by the Micmacs. There is, however, good ground to believe that it was settled by the Micmacs. Maps are found in which Micmac settlements are marked north-west of Fortune Bay. It is asserted that in the interior of Newfoundland there existed a tribe of Aborigines who shunned all intercourse with the Europeans, and who are supposed to have perished of starvation. In the early part of this century, five or six Indians came in one of the settlements in extreme want, who were said to be the only remnant of the race. They represented that they, with their brethren, had been forced by the severity of the winter and depth of the snow to abandon the camp for want of food, hoping to be able to reach the shore, but they had perished in the way. Two of this remnant only lived to reach St. John’s, where the last died in 1828. But I have been informed by some missionaries of the French islands St. Pierre and Miquelon, that in former times, nearly every spring, canoes were observed coming from the shores of Newfoundland, and many dead were buried on the French islands. This happened because the Indians of Newfoundland being Catholic, refused to bury their dead on English territory, which was Protestant, but they carried them to be interred in French land, because it was Catholic. It is asserted that there existed a very harmless tribe of Aborigines, to whom the Europeans gave the name of red men, but who called themselves Beoths, and that they were different from the rest of the North American Indians. They must have been the Esquimaux, and by Beoths the Esquimaux Indians must not have meant themselves, but the Micmacs, who also lived on the same island. Baatu in some of the Esquimaux dialects means canoe, and we know that the Micmacs were called canoe-men. If we can rely on the assertion that in the country called Vinland, settled by an Ice-landish colony, the sun remained eight hours visible during the shortest day of the year, that country must have been Newfoundland, It is positively asserted, that there existed Indians who, from their description and name, Shroellings, given them by the Normans, and which in the Icelandic language means dwarfs, must have been the Esquimaux.

The origin of the word Etchimin is Indian, and it means men from tchinem, man. To describe the Etchimins by tribes, would be a fruitless attempt, as we have no certain records of them, and it would scarcely throw any necessary light on their history. But we have historical documents that they had three principal settlements on the three largest rivers, the Penobscot, the St. Croix, and the St. John’s.

The first Etchimin settlement was on the river Penobscot, or rather Penaubsket, which means, it flows on rocks—a characteristic very well appropriated to that river, on account of its shallowness and the many rocks on which it runs. In dry seasons I have known the waters of that river to be so low that I could hardly go from Mattanacook to Oldtown in a canoe. Some writers have been of opinion that the Penobscot river was formerly called Nolumbega, and Pentagwet, or Boamtuquaitook, but these names expressed only some localities of that river. Nolumbega means a still-water between falls, of which there are several in that river. At different times, travelling in a canoe along the Penobscot, I have heard the Indians calling those localities Nolumbega, Pentagwet, or Boamtuquet means broad-water, and it expresses a locality after the narrows of Bucksport up towards Bangor.

Before proceeding further with the historical description of these Indians, I deem proper to make a brief digression, not altogether foreign to the subject. I wish to remark, that the real and ancient name given by the aborigines to the Penobscot is Aggimcia, a word which cannot be traced to any language, except to the Abnaki, and it means our nephews, from uhere’hhun and tsis. This leads us to the important historical discovery that the inhabitants of the Penobscot river, the Etchimins, were descendants of the Abnakis. The great and famous Algic family derives its name from the river Agguncia. There is no difficulty to explain how the letter l is found in the word Algic and not in Agguncia. The root of the word Agguncia is uhere’kum, with an aspiration between the two first letters, it’lc. This aspiration by some tribes is sounded with a kind of crash in the throat, by others it is sounded as r, by others it is replaced by an l. We have innumerable examples of this rule in the Indian languages. The change of the uhere in a is grammatical. G and k being convertible letters, uhere’huncia makes Alguncia, or A’guncia, from which the word Algonquin, or Algic, is derived. This explains why the whole Algonquin nation call the natives of the Kennebec river Abnakis, that is, our ancestors of the East, because the Algonquins deriving their origin from the Agguncia (the Penobscot) who were nephews to the inhabitants of the Kennebec, they naturally call these Indians Abnakis, that is, our ancestors of the East. This is confirmed by the fact that the name with which the Etchimins call the Algonquins, is Ussaghen, pl, Us-aghenick, our nearest ancestors, because they immediately descended from the inhabitants of the Agguncia, who were the first Algonquins, nephews to the Abnakis, and fathers to the Etchimins. These children of the Abnakis, and fathers of the Agguncia, must have been the Almauchicois on the Saco river, and the inhabitants of the Androscoggin, who very probably were the Amelingas, One of the names of the Androscoggin was Amingdnkin. Now, the Abnakis never called the Algonquins by the name of Ussaghenick, our nearest ancestors, and they could not, because the Algonquins were nephews to the Abnakis. The Abnakis called the Algonquins our nephews, or descendants, Fr. Rasles informs us: that when an Abnaki says, I speak the Algonquin language, he expresses himself thus: nesangnanandwe, I speak the language of our nephews, either from the root uhere’kun, nephews, or dankawinum, descent. The word must be resolved so,ne-sangnan-nandwe / the first syllable ne, and the two last, nandwe, mean, I speak I andsangnan comes either from uhere’kun, nephew, or dankawinum, descent, of which both words uhere’kum is always the root. The d is changed into s for euphony’s sake. In the same manner they say ne-mekuandwe, I speak Iroquois.

This solves several other historical questions. It explains why the Penobscot Indians were called Taranteens ; it was because they were living on the Agguncia river, which, was the cradle of the Algonquins, who were called Adirontak, eaters of trees by the Iroquois to ridicule their unskilfulness in hunting. It explains why the Penobscot dialect is so much more like the Algonquin than many other dialects of the same nation; they being more nearly related to them than the others, excepting the Almou-chicois. Finally, it explains why the entire Algic family call the inhabitants of the Kennebec Abnakis our ancestors of the East, while we do not read that the Etchimins and Micmacs were named Abnakis, although living east of the Algonquins; at least not called so until the word Abnakis became a generic name, and employed to point out the entire Algic family.

NOTES:

* Charlevoix, liv. iii.

* That is, the Indian word Acadia was applied by the French to that part of the country. f If Gaspesie comes from Gespasse, it means smoked food, v. g. fish.

* Encyclopaedia Americana, v. ix.

f Transactions of the American Antiquarian Society.

ji * Mattanacook, or Martinacook, is an island in the Penobscot river near Lincoln. The name means long and high.

* Pronounced Agkuntcliia.

But even I have to admit that a book published around 150 years ago on the geology of New Brunswick wouldn’t be very high on my list of “must-reads”. When you consider that geologists of yesteryear often compiled vocabulary lists in local languages related to the natural environment, though, there is an area of common ground where their interests and mine overlap.

A Preliminary Report on the Geology of New Brunswick by Henry Youle Hind is over 300 pages. Hidden in all those pages are at least two valuable gems. The first is a brief discussion on the etymology of “Acadia” – a topic that has been revisited a number of times by writers such as Eugene Vetromile (see his The Abenakis and their History, for example) and Albert Gatschet in his article “All around the Bay of Passamaquoddy”. It also gets treated in most of the works on the etymology of place names that were so popular in the writings of the late 19th century. Wikipedia, however, although often considered to be THE source of all knowledge in the online world – at least in this article - completely neglects the etymologies associated with local aboriginal languages that received so much attention from early scholars. I also glanced at this source – again I didn’t see any hint that the name was local in origin. Nor was there any mention of the etymology of the name on The Government of Nova Scotia’s website…

Ok, my “research” (loosely defined, I’m afraid), based on surfing a few websites is painfully superficial. With a bit more more time and a lot more effort -  perhaps I could turn up something more substantial. Surely, it is not only the dusty and forgotten volumes and tattered academic papers written by (mostly) “Dead Old White Men” more than a century ago that treat this topic – and, ironically, discuss the etymology from the perspective of related meanings in the original Algonquian languages spoken there – rather than Greek!  But when a noted scholar on Native North-American languages, like William Bright, in his book “Native American placenames of the United States” takes us no further than to say Acadia  likely has its roots in a confusion with an Ancient Greek word and borrowing from a Micmac term, what other conclusion can we reach – other than that there is nothing new to say? Disappointing – to say the least!

The other item of interest is an appendix with a list of words in the Maliseet (there are a number of different spellings) language spoken in that region and place names derived from Abenaki. The latter, obviously predates those found in the works on that language by Joseph Laurent and Henry Lorne Masta. (you can purchase reprints produced by Global Language Press on Amazon) I’ll publish this material here later.

Here’s an extract from Hind’s first chapter, which includes a section entitled on “The origin of Acadia”. Note that, it looks like wanting to read the original will mean you’ll need to download the pdf from archive.org. It’s 26 mb. The versions in EPUB, Kindle etc formats are much smaller than the pdf – but are unedited and therefore are the original raw OCR’d texts. Fortunately, Google Books comes to the rescue here. They have a text version online that is much more readable. There are a few typos and errors from OCR – but they are relatively few. The following is from that source – with the occasional correction.

—————

ORIGIN OF THE NAME “ACADIA.”

In the Report of the Royal Commissioners appointed to investigate and
report upon the respective claims of Canada and New Brunswick to the
Territory ceded to Great Britain by the Treaty of Washington,* the following remarkable passage occurs, which, by the way, has recently received
additional strength from the disputes relating to the Straits of San Juan. —
“The want of good maps, and correct information as to the topographical
and physical character of the country, have been the principal cause of the
constantly-recurring disputes which have now for more than half a century
occurred in this part of North America* and rendered necessary Commission after Commission for inquiry and research.”

POLITICAL IMPORTANCE OF A NAME.

It appears, however, far more singular, that a mere name, whose origin is
still disputed, should have been instrumental in leading to the wars between
England and France which terminated in the conquest of Canada.

“The misunderstandings which arose in the construction of this expression,
“all ACADIE, according to its ancient limits,” — ended in the war of 1766,
and the annexation of all the possessions of France in North America to the
British Empire.

The interest in the word ‘Acadie’ has been recently revived under very
different circumstances to those which first drew the attention of the entire
civilized world to its origin and meaning, and which gave rise to intermina-
ble controversies, and finally led to sanguinary wars.

The Province of New Brunswick having formerly been wholly or in part
included within the ‘ancient limits of Acadie,’ a glance at the origin of this
word may not be out of place in a geographical sketch of the country it
once in part represented.

In 1608, the Sieur de Monts received letters patent, in which the word
“ACADIE,” or “Cadie,” is first used as the name of the country. His grant
is from the “40me degre de latitude jusqu’a 46me,” the 40th degree of
latitude to the 46th, thus including that part of New Brunswick which lies
south of a line drawn between Fredericton and Bay Verte in the County of
‘Westmorland.

The Boundary Commission consider the origin of the word ‘Acadia” ‘*’ to
be as follows : —

“The obscurity which has been thrown in past times over the territorial
extent of Acadie, that country of which De Monts received letters patent in
1603, was occasioned by not attending to the Indian origin of the name, and
to the repeated transfer of the name to other parts of the country to which
the first settlers afterwards removed. Even before the appointment of De
la Roche, in 1598, as Lieutenant-General of the country, including those
parts adjacent to the Bay of Fundy, the Bay into which the Saint Croix

* Blue Book, 1851, page 94. t Report of Commissioners on North Eastern Boundary.

J Fastes Chronologiques, quoted in Report of Commissioners on North Eastern Boundary, 1910.

empties itself was known by the Indians of the Moriseet tribe, which still inhabits New Brunswick, by the name Peskadumquodiah, from Peskadum, Fish, and Quodiah, the name of a fish resembling the Cod.*

“The French, according to their usual custom, abbreviated the Indian name, which We sometimes, in the old records, read Quodiac and ‘ Cadie,’ and at length we find it taking the general designation of ‘Acadie.’

“The English race have turned the original Indian name into Passamaquoddy, and the Indians of the district have long been by them familiarly called Quoddy Indians, as by the French they have been called Les Acadiens.”

That the word ” Cadie,” was at one time commonly used, may be inferred from its occurrence in the Relations of the Jesuits for 1671.—” Qui habitent les costes de Cadie et de la Nouvelle Angleterre.”

Dr. Dawson, in his “Acadian Geology,” gives a rather different version of the origin of this historic name :—

“The aboriginal Micmacs of Nova Scotia, being of a practical turn of mind, were in the habit of bestowing on places the names of the useful articles which could be found in them, affixing to such terms the word Acadie, denoting the local abundance of the particular objects to which the names referred. The early French settlers appear to have supposed this common termination to be the proper name of the country, and applied it as the general designation of the region now constituting the Provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island.”

FORMER LIMITS OF ACADIA.

The Jesuit Father, Hierostie Lallemont, writing from Quebec in 1659, says “Acadia is that part of New France which faces the sea, and which extends from New England to Gaspe, or more correctly to the entrance of the great River Saint Lawrence. This extent of country, which is fully 300 leagues, has but one name and one language.”—Relations des Jesuits, 1659.

In a Map by Coronelli, dated 1689, published at Paris, the Peninsula southcast of the Bay of Fundy is called “Acadie,” whilst the country north of tho Bay of Fundy and watered by the Saint John River, is named ” Etechemins,” after the Indian tribe whose hunting grounds formerly extended over that part of the Province. Under the French these were frequently separate governments. By the Treaty of St. Germain in 1632, “Canada and Acadia were restored to France.” By the Treaty of Breda in 1667, France was left with all her old possessions, as well as by the Treaty of Ryswick in 1697. The consequence of these frequent mutations was, that the French possessions east, west, and south of the Saint John, were occasionally placed under one and the same jurisdiction, which for the time went by the name of ” Acadie.”

* The Provincial name of this fish is ” Pollock,” and it still continues to frequent that Bay.

Mol:—Koatekwok is the river which is called Coaticook by the Whites. I indeed know it well. It has its source in Vermont and falls into our river Alsigontekwok (St-Francis River).
There are many rapids and falls in its course beginning at about one mile from the City of the same name.

Wawa:—But why was it called Koatckwok?

Mol:-Because there must have been a large quantity of pine trees there and there are some even now.

Koa means pine, suffix tekw means river. Koatekw means pine river.
Declined. Uhere
Nom:—-—Koatekw—TIie Pine River.
Gen :——K0utekw’i—~Of The Pine River.
Dat:—Koatekwok—To The Pine River.
Acc:—K0zz!ckw—The Pine River.
Abl:—Koatekwok—From The Pine River.

Mouse over the brown links to get a pop-up with the English translation (make sure javascript is not turned off in your browser)

III PIALPeter (from French "Pierre") TAand AZ8John (from French "Jean")
PialPeter (from French "Pierre"):—Nid8ba(my) friend Az8John (from French "Jean") pasguen taand 8toji wlidbin8gwzian t8nihow; where; what nawa kd8ll8wzin?
Az8John (from French "Jean"):  Sawigatta ni 8toji wlalmegwwa.
PialPeter (from French "Pierre"):——Kam8ji nowat kdakwi namihollen; t8m8none kwodkanni?
Az8John (from French "Jean"):—8h88yes niga anegi waji pay8a Maine.
PialPeter (from French "Pierre"):—Niga nid8ba(my) friend kiayou nawa atoba kizi hlin idamoik Kennebec
River?
Az8John (from French "Jean"):——Chowicertainly, idamoo gani kinnebak siboriver.
PialPeter (from French "Pierre"):—NiaI kanwabut ndelsedam alithat; because kmahom-nogak W8banakiakAbenaki liwilhl8mgeza achialso Kennebessinnoak alithat; because waijiwi sibowikok taand nebessikok pmi aidiza ni aguacoming soon almidbihl8k lito taakwi wilh8n8zsa agm8w8 la wzibomw8 Kinnebak.
Az8John (from French "Jean"):—-Nid8ba(my) friend 8ndanot kmaw8ztawi taand 8ndanot achialso niaI kmawoztolo, Idozijga niziwitta kol8mmabna.
PIALPeter (from French "Pierre") AND AZ8John (from French "Jean")
Peter:—My friend John! You are looking as well as ever. How are you`?
John:  I am feeling; quite well, thank you.
Peter:  I have not seen you for a long time, have you been away?
John :——Yes, I have just come from Maine.
Peter:—Well then my friend you can perhaps tell me the meaning of Kennebec River.
John:——Certainly. It means a river full or nearly full up to its banks.
Peter: But I have heard that our great grandfathers were also called Kanibassinoak because they lived near big rivers and lakes and this designation of themselves and of their river was afterwards changed into Kanibak.
John:—My friend you are not pleased with my explanation nor am I with yours, but let us say that we both are right.

II NISWACK WSKIAINSBAK NIKES TAand NOJMIGAN8T CHAJLG8WI WLSMAHODWAK

Nik:—N’Odossa Kaozenitekw-ok.
NJ:— 8da Kodossawen.
Nik:—8zokokita n’odassen.
Noj:— 8datagna koji wdossawen.
Nik:—T8niba koji kiziidamen alithat; because 8ndanot wdossawa.
Noj:— Wz8miga 8ndanot t8m8none aiwi wskidkamikwa kaozen’itekw, kaguibani amojka idamoo kaozen’itekw? 8ndanot kiona al8ndwaakw kwaj8nmownana ni klozw8gan “Kaozen” 8ndanot kawi idomwinnokw.
Nik:—Kanwabut awanochak wdli witamen8 “La Riviere aux vaches.”
Noj:—Ni nawaaba Aln8baiwi chowicertainly livit8z8 Kaoz’itekw ondaki Kaozenitekw; kanwabut 8ndanot achialso t8m8none aiwi yo Kaoz’itekw.
Nik:—Kagui nawaba kiayou kdliwitamen?
Noj:— Ndeliwitamenga kawassen’itekw wjifor aalest8zik alithat; because H8W8[ todossaikza nitali pdewgl8msen massali wagalokaik, abaziak poskwihlak, kadajabkahlak taand kawihlak enniwhich aliwit8zik kawassen, ni achialso waji liwitozik ni siboriver kawassen’itekw.

TWO YOUNG MEN, NIKES AND NO.IMIGAN8T (WEAK KNEE) DISCUSSING

Nik:—I have been to Kaozen’itekwok.
Noj:—You have not been there.
Nik:—I am sure that I have been there.
Noj:—You have never been there.
Nik:—How can you say that I never was there.
Noj:—Because there is no Kaozen’itkekw in the world. What could be the meaning of Kaozen? There is no such a meaningless word in our language.
Nik:— But the French people call it La Riviére aux vaches.
Noj:—In that case it should be Kaoz’itekw in Indian and not Kaozen’itkekw but there is no Kaozitekw here anyway.
Nik :——What then do you call it?
Noj:—I call it Kawassen’itekw because according to tradition a whirlwind once caused havoc along that stream breaking and uprooting trees. The tumbling of trees is called Kawassen hence the river itself is called Kawassen’itekw.

The compound noun Kawassen’itekw is declined:—

Nom:—Kawassen’itekw
Gen:—Kawassen’itekw’i
Dat:—Kawassen’itekwok
Acc:—Kawassen’itekw
Abl:—Kawassen’itekwok

Rand’s book has been available for download on our lulu.com site for quite a while, but it seemed to get missed by Google. I’m therefore putting it here. I’m also experimenting with the EPUB format – used on iPad and other ereaders. I hope to have that ready shortly.

First Reading Book in the Micmac Language

But is there a way in which it might be made a little more useful? For example, the stories are in Abenaki and have English translations. The problem for the reader/learner is that there’s no vocabulary list. Unless you are already fluent in the language, it’s a pretty tough slog going through the texts word by word. A dictionary helps of course – but you still need to have a pretty good knowledge of Abenaki morphology before you can begin to make sense of it all.

Perhaps technology can help. Here’s an example from the first story in Masta’s book, called MaguakIroquois taand WobanakiakAbenaki (The Iroquois and the Abenakis) with a simple illustration of one possible direction using a pop-up dictionary. Mouse over the brown links to get the translation to appear.

MAGUAKIroquois TAand WOBANAKIAKAbenaki
Niga aguacoming soon n8wat MaguakIroquois waiji kadonal8nozsa W8banakia taagata achialso kdagihi aln8ba wadagui 8nkaw8bagzijik w8ss8gnaikok, Waijiwi wbemi nb8n8zsa siboikok taand nbessikok pami kiminkadit ta8lawiba pmadialidida ni 8zhagiwi nami8dida W8banakia alaor yugikthese wichow8 nitta wgimina-l8n8 wz8miga 8ndaba wawjeskawiwi wgizi saka-w8wiw8 ayag8batta agm8w8 n8wi paamalo-didda.

Ni 8zoka yugikthese W8banakiakAbenaki wdaladialin8zsa mad8balodnitekwuk ni MaguakIroquois wawaldamodit alithat; because n8nabiwi nigik chowicertainly naosadit niadoji skow8l8dit adali wli kwz8wa8mak, nospakaak taand wl8bameguak nopaiwi laguiwi almi agwdai. Enniwhich 8nka W8banakiakAbenaki attali  ntami 8tsidit naihl8diji. Pajilhl8dit nawa nidali nitta wn8dagahl8n8 sibiwibachitodit mziwi kawi kagnaba awanihi wdali weskok8gon8. Askwayet ni alithat; because aidit wawdagu8mek ni adoji kokokhas kdokwazit yuta t8m8none pasodawiwi nitta mina kdak adoji kdokwazit t8m8none nopaiwi ni adoji pasgo kchai idak 8ndanot nigik kokokhassak kndokwazijik, MaguakIroquois ka nigik, askawana kwilawa8nach taand migak8m8nach nitta wski alnobak wdidamn8 kaalatta migak8m8nach ni m8manni wm8joldin8 Kwilaw8bam8dit kokokhassa spemekup abazikok, nitta n8gaiwi kchai wnamion pasgowa, 8lawiki pitavery wli k8dabozsa wanaskwakwa kchi abazik ni wdihl8n kiayou Magua Kz8daldamana km8wzow8gan nitta pn8dawa ni kaala wben8dawan ni kanwabut wiwhibabil8n sibiwi attahl8mek pazgo san8baman waji nanaw8bam8t, ni kdagik wdalmosan8 awassiwi kwilaw8bam8dit kdagihi kokokhassa, 8ndanot kwina n8wasawiak ni kizi wmeskaw8n8 taand n8bi wdeli li8n8 ta8lawita’na kdak, ni askwayet wdalmossan8 awassiwi ni kanwabut sazalakiwi adoji idak’na kchai ni kizi MaguakIroquois wz8khosan8 ni kdachowi migakanana t8nitta p8bay8moik; ni mziwi kdagik widamen8. 8h88yes, oh8o, chowicertainly kaalata kaalata!! Nigatta n8gaiwessi nigizi W8banakiakAbenaki wwolwan8 ni sibiwi kjawai polwadit nitta MaguakIroquois wnosokozin8 t8nibanawa niga adoji awdimekcoming soon... taand awdimekcoming soon... lito mziwi matta8mek maguakIroquois wibiwitta 8da ntamia kokokhas nagaki kajitawaguaz8 ni mil8n mijw8gan alham8d lito payoda wajiaawid. Ni askamad ni aliwit8zik kokokhas (Coocoocache).

Here’s the English for the above story:

THE IROQUOIS AND ABENAKIS

It is said that the Iroquois Indians used to be the enemies of the Abenakis and of all the other Indians of the Algonquian stock and did their utmost to exterminate them. They always had lurking places along the rivers and around small lakes and acted as when hunting wild beasts. They lay in wait to kill them. They never faced the Abenakis defiantly for unless they were by far the more numerous they never got the best of them.

It is further related that when the Abenakis were hunting at a certain place on the St Maurice River, and the Iroquois knowing approximately the time when the hunters would come down the river, a number of them went up to a point of land from where they could see quite a distance higher up the river.

The Abenakis on their way home usually spent half a day and sometimes stopped over night at this beautiful place. On this occasion, as soon as they had landed they began to examine the place to see if there were any footprints, but instantly they heard the hooting or cry of an owl (kokokhas) not far distant. In a few minutes they heard another owl further away. Then an old man said, “These are not the hootings of owls but of Iroquois. Be that as it may, let them be searched out and opposed,” and the young men said, “Yes, yes, let us look for them and drive them away.” And they all went very cautiously looking here and there on the ground and in the trees, finally the old man saw one of the owls in the shape of an Iroquois whose hiding place was deftly planned and made on the top of a tall tree. He called him saying, “Iroquois, if you estimate your life worth living come right down.” As soon as he touched the ground he was securely tied hands and feet and left in the care of one man; the others went on further and soon discovered the other owl Iroquois. The two prisoners were treated in like manner. The rest of the party kept following the trail until suddenly the old man stopped and said, “Our enemies are now coming on and are near at hand.

We are not women, we can and must fight to the bitter end notwithstanding the cost”, and all said, “Yes, yes!”
The Iroquois were approaching not knowing that their game was so near, but the old man acted and spoke in a manner to make them believe that the Abenakis were afraid and at the same time he feigned as if he and his men were running away, The Iroquois hearing and seeing what was going on could not overcome the temptation to capture their prey, but unfortunately the old man suddenly turned round and began to fight followed by his men doing the same, and they easily won the battle having killed everyone of their enemies except the owl first captured who was sent home minus his ears, but loaded with provisions.

Ever since this memorable event the place has been called Kokokhas (Coocoocache).
…
It seems that the “unfriendly” (to say the least!) relationship between the Iroquois and the Abenakis was a common theme also found in other stories. (We’re glad that everybody’s friends these days!) I’m not sure if this following story is also found in Masta’s book – I don’t think so – but will have to check. It’s mentioned in this Concord Monitor article about Stephen Laurent’s work to save the language, and also in his article this publication of the Vermont Historical Society. The latter has a word-for-word translation of the Abenaki into English. I’ll take the story and put it into a separate post.

Search for Sunzi/Sun Tzu on Amazon and you’ll find a couple hundred versions of the book – mostly different English translations. There’s even one listed among the top 1000 Amazon bestsellers – not bad for a book that’s been around so long! It’s one of the most popular downloads over at Project Gutenberg.

Only a small handful of the many versions on Amazon include the original Chinese. But, if you are a Chinese language learner, you’ll surely want the Chinese and English versions and you may not be that interested in some scholar’s latest English translation. It might be a good idea to start with Sun Tzu on the Art of War: The Oldest Military Treatise in the World. To download (20 mb) the Giles original 1910 translation of Sun Tzu, complete with Chinese and English, and copious scholarly notes, just click here. You can also download separate Chinese and English versions from Project Gutenberg Some people find the original Giles version a bit wordy and too scholarly – and if you can’t read (Classical) Chinese (or at least have an interest in learning) you’d be wasting your time…

Our reprint published by Global Language Press – our publishing company of which Hanyu Press is an imprint – is subtitled Sunzi for Language Learners, Volume 1, and includes an appendix that shows how the Wades-Giles romanization system converts to Pinyin.

Volume 2? You might be wondering what happened to Volume 2? Well, there are three main reasons why it never saw the light of day. One reason is technical – many of the files got lost/corrupted in a hard drive crash. The second reason is that Volume 1 never sold enough copies for us to spend the time, effort and money on producing it. There are just too many versions of The Art of the War available that it’s almost impossible to get noticed on Google or Amazon. This is in spite of our edition being a reprint of the original (and rare) translation by Giles.

But, the last reason is the most relevant to our future publication plans. As a small publisher it is important to keep on top of the latest trends – especially when what you publish may not be always that “mainstream”. It is now fairly obvious that the “Digital Revolution” is having an important impact on the publishing industry. Although so-called “e-books” have been with us for a while, it is only recently that they have been taken seriously. If Volume 2 ever appears, it will most certainly be in EPUB format. Indeed, we are taking a good look at this option for ALL future books – perhaps as the default format.

You can also buy a bound copy of Sun Tzu on the Art of War: The Oldest Military Treatise in the World from Amazon – note that the reviews there are all mixed up and comment on many of the different versions available. The “Look inside the book” also links to a different version. To see what our book is like – just download the pdf. It’s exactly the same as the pdf. Be warned, though, it’s a 20 mb file – so you’ll need a fast connection.