Abenaki language

Abenaki
Eastern: Alnombak, Alnôbak, Eastern Abnaki, Wawenock
Western: Abenaqui, Alnombak, Saint Francis, Western Abnaki
Eastern: Alənαpαtəwéwαkan
Western: Alnôbaôdwawôgan
Native toCanada, United States
RegionQuebec, New Brunswick, Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire
Ethnicity1,800 Abenaki and Penobscot (1982)[1]
Native speakers
14 Western Abenaki (2007–2012)[2]
Last fluent speaker of Eastern Abenaki died in 1993.[2]
Latin script
Language codes
ISO 639-3Either:
aaq – Eastern Abenaki
abe – Western Abenaki
Glottologeast2544  Eastern Abenaki
west2630  Western Abenaki
Western Abenaki is classified as critically endangered by the Endangered Languages Project (ELP).
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PeopleAlnôbak (Wôbanakiak)
LanguageAlnôbadôwawôgan
CountryNdakinna
     Wabanaki
Western Abenaki territory

Abenaki (Eastern: Alənαpαtəwéwαkan, Western: Alnôbaôdwawôgan), also known as Wôbanakiak,[3] is an endangered Eastern Algonquian language of Quebec and the northern states of New England. The language has Eastern and Western forms which differ in vocabulary and phonology and are sometimes considered distinct languages.

Western Abenaki was spoken in New Hampshire, Vermont, north-western Massachusetts, and southern Quebec.[4] Odanak, Quebec is a First Nations reserve located near the Saint-François River—these peoples were referred to as Saint Francis Indians by English writers after the 1700s.[5] The few remaining speakers of Western Abenaki live predominantly in Odanak and the last fully fluent speaker, Cécile (Wawanolett) Joubert died in 2006.[4] A revitalization effort was started in Odanak in 1994; however, as of 2004 younger generations are not learning the language and the remaining speakers are elderly, making Western Abenaki nearly extinct.[6]

Eastern Abenaki languages are spoken by several peoples, including the Penobscot of what is now Maine. The last known natively fluent speaker of Penobscot Abenaki, Madeline Shay, died in 1993.[7][8] However, several Penobscot elders still speak Penobscot, and there is an ongoing effort to preserve it and teach it in the local schools;[9] much of the language was preserved by Frank Siebert.[10] Other speakers of Eastern Abenaki included tribes such as the Amoscocongon who spoke the Arosagunticook dialect,[11] and the Caniba, which are documented in French-language materials from the colonial period.

  1. ^ Eastern Abenaki at Ethnologue (16th ed., 2009) Closed access icon
  2. ^ a b Eastern Abenaki at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
    Western Abenaki at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  3. ^ Bruchac, Margaret (2006). "Malian's Song–Abenaki Language Glossary". Vermont Folklife Center (152). hdl:20.500.14332/1418.
  4. ^ a b LeSourd 2015.
  5. ^ Day 1994a.
  6. ^ Beach 2004.
  7. ^ "Penobscot". Native Languages of the Americas. Retrieved October 25, 2011.
  8. ^ Abenaki language at Ethnologue (16th ed., 2009) Closed access icon
  9. ^ "Penobscot". Abbe Museum. Archived from the original on March 20, 2016. Retrieved February 21, 2016.
  10. ^ Gregory, Alice (April 19, 2021). "How did a self-taught linguist come to own an indigenous language?". The New Yorker. Archived from the original on April 12, 2021.
  11. ^ "Arosaguntacook Indian Tribe". Native Languages. Archived from the original on January 9, 2024. Retrieved January 9, 2024.