Ökwe'ôwékhá'

("Natively")

The Mingo / Seneca Language

utényô 12/2002
Introduction How To Use Contents About Translations Feedback

Introduction
What is Mingo   ?
The name "Mingo" refers to an Iroquoian people (i.e. Native American). They use to live along the basin of the Ohio river, in what is today Eastern Ohio, Western Pennsylvania, and Northern West-Virginia.

For more on the Mingo people, see "Mingo".

What is This Site About   ?
This site is dedicated to the learning of the Mingo language.

For further details, see



What About "Seneca"   ?
From a pure linguistic point of view, the language of the Mingo people and the language of the Seneca people are practically identical, having only some dialectical differences between them (in fact, they are less different from eachother than American English is from Brittish English).
Therefore, this site can be used to learn the Seneca language as well.
Note that even though the Mingoes and the Senecas speak the same language, nevertheless they are distinctly different people (ethnically, historically, and culturally).

How to Read the Native Words in this Site  
This site is sprinkled with many native words (Mingo/Seneca).   If you place the mouse over the word for a few seconds, you will see its translation over the word ("tooltip").   If you click on the native word, a full "dictionary entry" will be presented.   You can then go back to the text by pressing the "Back" button on your browser.

Convetions (Spelling, Fonts, etc.)
Check the Convetions page for an overview of the convetions used in this site (Spelling and orthography, fonts, etc.).

How to Use this Site   ?
Please refer to the dedicated section explaining How to Use this Site

What Is Mingo
What is Mingo
The name "Mingo" refers to a Native American people, who used to be called also "Honnaisont" (in various spellings), or "Black Minqua" (they used to wear a black badge around their neck).   The Mingo used to live in the Ohio basin, spreading over today's Eastern Ohio, Western Pennsylvania, and Northern West-Virginia.   They are an Iroquoian people, and are speculated to be a branch of the Erie.

The Mingoes did not belong to the Iroquois League. Perhaps this fact can account (among other things) for the reason that the Mingoes have not been seriously studied or documented over the years.

The Mingo Language
From a linguistic view, the Mingo language is practically identical to Seneca, with only dialectical variations. However, ethnically, historically and culturally, the Mingo and the Seneca are distinctly different people.

More on the Mingo People
For further details, see "Mingo".

How To Use this Site
  1. Get Acquainted with the Language
    1. Annotated Texts
      Use the Annotated Texts section to get yourself familiarized with the language.
      Listen to the language (Sound Files).

    2. Glossary
      The glossary can be useful in (at least) the following ways:
      1. Explain Unclear Terms
        Use the glossary to clarify the meaning of terms, which are unfamiliar, or my usage of them seems strange.

      2. Navigate throughout the Site
        You might find it easier to navigate this site (i.e. find what you are looking for) through the Glossary; just find what you are looking for in the Glossary, and then follow any additional links listed there (if available).


    3. Native Words  
      This site is sprinkled with many native words (Mingo/Seneca).

      • Brief Translation -- Place Mouse Over the Word
        Place the mouse over the word for a few seconds, to see its translation over the word ("tooltip").

      • Grammatical Analysis -- Click the Word
        Click on the word to display a grammatical analysis of the word.

      • Back to Text -- Click the "Back" Button
        Click the "Back" button of your browser to return to the text (after displaying a grammatical analysis of a word).


  2. Read the Contents
    Use the Contents section of this site to read about the Mingo people and learn the Mingo/Seneca lanaguage.
    In this stage, too, make good use of the Glossary

Contents
Annotated Texts   --   *** wásé' *** (12/2002)
Some texts in Northern Iroquoian languages, annotated with word-meaning, sentence meaning, and grammatical analysis (where possible). Some are accompanied by narration (sound files).

Text contributions would be highly appreciated (please use the Feedback section).

The Language
An introduction the Mingo/Seneca language

Background: Culture, History, and Geography
Some brief notes on the culture and historical background of the Mingo people.

Glossary
A glossary of terms which are used extensively throughout the site. The terms may be cultural or historical (such as "the Iroquois League") or language-related (such as "pronomial prefix", "Stative", or "aspect").   In addition to a short explanation of the term, the glossary offers additional links for further details (whenever they are available).


About the Site
Purpose
This site is intended to aid anyone who would like to learn the Mingo / Seneca language. It also provides some (minimal) background as to the Mingo people, and their context within the Iroquoian people as a whole.

It started as an aid to myself in my attempts to organize the many features of this language, which is quite different from languages I have been familiar with earlier.

Through the close resemblance among the Northern-Iroquois languages, I hope to help also people who are interested in other Iroquoian languages (Seneca is practically identical to Mingo; Onondaga, Cayuga are mutually intelligible to a native speaker. Mohawk and Oneida, too, are closely related, though less intelligible with Mingo)

With this site I hope to contribute to the effort of preserving and reviving Mingo / Seneca and North-Iroquoian language in general.

Indended Audience (Readers)
The site is meant for the "layman" learner (e.g. intended speakers) rather than linguists, and the explanations are presented, as much as possible, in layman's terms.

Sources
Mingo EGADS
All knowledge (in this site) of Mingo language and culture comes from the Mingo EGADS site and its related mingo-l mailing-list. This site presents (a portion of) the grammatical information available in the EGADS site, in a concise and (hopefully) comfortable format.
For vocabulary, do refer to the online dictionary at the Mingo EGADS site.

Translations
Kányö'ökhá'   Tekawënötenyô



Kányö'ökhá' -- Whitely, Englishly (i.e. in English)
ka- : it (Agent pronomial prefix); the vowel is lengthened by the following verb-stem (type LX)
-nyö'ö : o be a white person.
Verb stem, in the Stative aspect; the verb root is -nyö'ö- (in this case there is no special ending for the Stative aspect).
-khá' : characterizer suffix (such as "-ly" in English)

ökwe'öwékhá' -- (1) Natively (2) The name of any Irooquoian language (all the North-Iroquoian languages call their language "Ökwe'öwékhá'").
The word should be capitalized («Ökwe'öwékhá'») when it is used to mean the name of the language. ("ökwe'öwékhá'"), then it means the adverb "natively". Otherwise («ökwe'öwékhá'»), it would be understood as the adverb "natively".
ökwe'ôwe : a native person, an Indian. Literally: "authentic person".
            ökwe : person
            -'öwe : authenticator suffix (the "ö" is long if this suffix is the last in the word)
-khá' : characterizer suffix ("-ly")

tekawënötenyô -- It is translated
te- : dual (verb prefix of «te-...-wënötenyô»)
ka- : it (Agent pronomial prefix: 3rd person, neutral [i.e. inanimate -- neither feminine nor masculine], singular)
te-...-wënötenyô :  
  1. to be translated (when used with Agent pronomial prefix);  
  2. to have translated (when used with Patient pronomial prefix).
Verb stem, in the Stative aspect; the verb root is «te-...-wënöteny-», to translate something (literally: "to change one word for another").
te- :   dual (verb prefix); in this case: "one for another"
-...- :   this is where the pronomial-prefix is placed
-wën- :   sound, word
This is an incorporated noun; it serves as the object of the verb (i.e. to change words)
-ö- : linking-vowel
This linking vowel is actually an «a» nasalized to «ö» because of the preceding «n» (in other languages, e.g. Mohawk, this assimilation does not happen, and the linking vowel is actually «a»; for example, compare the Mohawk word «owëna'» for "word" to the Mingo/Seneca equivalent, «owënö'»).
-tenyô :  
  1. to be changed (when used with an Agent pronomial-prefix);  
  2. to have changed (when used with a Patient pronomial-prefix)
Verb stem, in the Stative aspect. the verb root is -teny-, to change.

utényô -- It has changed
u- :   it (Patient pronomial prefix: 3rd person, neutral [i.e. inanimate -- neither feminine nor masculine], singular)
-tenyô : to have changed
Verb stem, in the Stative aspect; the verb root is «-teny-», to change.

wásé' -- new;   it is new
w- :   it (Agent pronomial prefix; 3rd person, neuter [inanimate, i.e. neither feminine nor masculine], singular)
This is the form before a vowel (other than «æ»). The "normal" form is «ka-»
-asé' :   to be new
Verb stem, in the Stative aspect; the verb-root is «-ase-», to be new.
The penultimate vowel («a») is lengthened according to the vowel-lengthening rules.
This is Agent-State verb. It describes a state of being (rather than, say, an action), and appears only in the Stative aspects. Nevertheless, it takes Agent pronomial prefixes (the Stative normally requires Patient pronomial-prefixes).


wa'tsi -- recently, not long ago

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