Pamunkey language
{{Short description|Extinct unclassified language of Virginia, United States}}
{{Infobox language
| name = Pamunkey
| nativename =
| states = United States
| region = Virginia
| era = attested 1844
| familycolor = American
| family = unclassified (Algonquian?)
| iso3 = none
| glotto = pamu1240
| glottorefname = Pamunkey
| ethnicity = Pamunkey
}}
The Pamunkey language is an extinct language that was spoken by the Pamunkey people of Virginia, United States.
The Pamunkey language is generally assumed to have been Algonquian. However, only fourteen words have been preserved, which is not enough to determine that the language actually was Algonquian.{{Cite web |url=http://www.italian-journal-linguistics.com/wp-content/uploads/Volume_29_Issue2_Appendice_Zamponi.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=2018-12-31 |archive-date=2018-12-31 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181231092715/http://www.italian-journal-linguistics.com/wp-content/uploads/Volume_29_Issue2_Appendice_Zamponi.pdf |url-status=dead }}{{Cite journal |doi = 10.1086/465576|title = What is Dalrymple's Pamunkey?|year = 1979|last1 = Howell|first1 = Benita J.|last2 = Levy|first2 = Richard S.|last3 = Luckenbach|first3 = Alvin|journal = International Journal of American Linguistics|volume = 45|pages = 78–80|s2cid = 143441104}}
Word list
The only attested Pamunkey words, which were recorded in 1844 by Reverend E.A. Dalrymple S.T.D., are:A Vocabulary of Powhatan, compiled by Captain John Smith, with two word-lists of Pamumkey and Nansemond from other sources. Evolution Publishing, 1997.
:
| class="wikitable sortable"
! English !! Pamunkey | |
| son | tonshee |
| daughter | nucksee |
| cat | petucka |
| thankfulness | kayyo |
| O my Lord | o-ma-yah |
| friendship | kenaanee |
| thank you | baskonee |
| go out dog | eeskut |
| one | nikkut |
| two | orijak |
| three | kiketock |
| four | mitture |
| five | nahnkitty |
| six | vomtally |
| seven | talliko |
| eight | tingdum |
| ten | yantay |
Lexical comparison
Below is a comparison of Pamunkey words and selected proto-languages from Zamponi (2024).{{cite book |last=Zamponi |first=Raoul |title=The Languages and Linguistics of Indigenous North America |chapter=Unclassified languages |publisher=De Gruyter |date=2024 |isbn=978-3-11-071274-2 |doi=10.1515/9783110712742-061 |pages=1627–1648 |url=https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783110712742-061/html}}
:
| class="wikitable sortable"
! gloss !! Pamunkey !! Proto-AlgonquianHewson, John. 1993. A computer-generated dictionary of Proto-Algonquian. Hull: Canadian Museum of Civilization. !! Proto-Iroquoian (PI)/ | ||||
| son | tonshee | *wekwiʔsema·wa | *iyįḱe | |
| daughter | nucksee | *weta·nema·wa | *iyų́·ke | |
| cat | petucka | *ka·šake·nsa | ||
| thankfulness | kayyo | |||
| O my Lord | o-ma-yah | |||
| friendship | kenaanee | |||
| thank you | baskonee | *hahó | ||
| go out dog | eeskut | |||
| one | nikkut | *nekwetwi | *õskat (PNI) | *rų·sa |
| two | orijak | *nyi·šwi | *tekniːh (PNI) | *rų́·pa |
| three | kiketock | *neʔθwi | *ahsẽh (PNI) | *rá·wrį |
| four | mitture | *nye·wi | *kajeɹi (PNI) | *tó·pa |
| five | nahnkitty | *nya·θanwi, *pale·neθkwi | *hwihsk (PI) | *kiSų́· |
| six | vomtally | *nekweta·šyeka | *tsjotaɹeʔ (?) (PI) | *aká·we |
| seven | talliko | *nyi·šwa·šyeka | *tsjotaɹeʔ (?) (PI) | *ša·kú·pa |
| eight | tingdum | *neʔneʔšwa·šik, *neʔšwa·šyeka | *tekɹõʔ (PI) | |
| ten | yantay | *meta·hθwi, *meta·tahθwi | *wahshẽ (PI) | *hą |
Except for nikkut 'one', which is clearly similar to Powhatan nekut, none of the words correspond to any known Algonquian language, or to reconstructions of proto-Algonquian. Given the extensive ethnic mixing that occurred among the Pamunkey before 1844, it is possible that Dalrymple's list is from an inter-ethnic pidgin or even a language from an otherwise unknown language family, rather than from the original Pamunkey language.Benita Howell, Richard Levy & Alvin Luckenbach, 'What Is Dalrymple's Pamunkey?', International Journal of American Linguistics, vol. 45, no. 1 (Jan. 1979), pp. 78–80
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Algonquian languages}}
{{North American languages}}
Category:Unclassified languages of North America
Category:Extinct languages of North America
Category:Indigenous languages of the North American eastern woodlands