Miami County, Indiana - Chapter 6: The Miami Language, 1896

Chapter 6: The Miami Language

ND this our life, exempt from public haunt, A Finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks, Sermons iv stones and good in everything. - Shakespeare's As You Like It.

Tis far from our purpose to write a philosophical or scientific treatise on I the Miami language. It would require a great deal of study and research to do so. We must be content with only a surface idea of the language of the principal tribe that inhabited this country for centuries before explored by the Anglo-Saxon aud Latin races. The American languages have been yreatly neglected by the student of philology. In the next few years, one who speaks the Miami tongue anywhere will be an object of curiosity. There has been no Elliott among them, no Homer, no Vedas,tu hold and transmit the religion, the manners and customs of a pre-historic period. Their language is doomed to die unnoticed by the pages of history. 'the vocabulary of the redmen was not very great, probably containing not over 600 or 800 words, but it was all they needed in their savage life. They did not use half that many words in the ordinary conversation. probably not over one hundred words. Yet there were great orators among them. The oration delivered at the funeral of Francis Godfroy, published in the fourth chapter of this book, as translated, is one of the finest specimens of eloquence in the English language. It suggests Lincoln's famous Gettysburg address, and Authony's oration over the dead body of Cresar. It was delivered by Wa-pa-pin-cha, known among the whites as George Hunt. Horace P. Biddte related to the writer, a few days ago, his recollection of this famous orator. He first saw .him-at au Indian payment at the -'Forks" in Huntington county. Hunt was a very handsome half-breed, tall and impressive, and was acting as interpreter for some of the traders. Mr Bidale says that his gestures were so full and 80 perfect that he was his ideal of Cicero. It is a sad mewento that in a few years this uoted Indian orator killed himself by drink. Brouillette was an impassioned orator in his own Janguage. Peter Bundy, the last to preach Christ in the Miami tongue was asked the other day by the writer, if he ever preached any more. He replied: 'Old people all die," moaning that he bad no more hearers.

The famous cbief, Little Turtle, when at a council with General Harrison was asked to come into the tent and take a chair. He replied: «TI will ie here on the bosom of my mother, the earth, and look at my father the sun." Nothing is more true to science. What passage in the English dayguage is more heantiful, what more figurative?

There are now probably less than 400 people in the United States, who can understand and speak the Miami language, and not more than fifteen or twenty of these live in this county. Three or four white people in the. .cpuaty understand it well enough to converse in it.

It would naturally be supposed that the language of the Miamis and Pottawattomies would be similar as they lived oear each other .and intermarried for centuries, but there is as much or more difference between them as between French and Italian. The Miamis seem to have had a language

The language was very imperfect as one might suppose. The noun, the yerb and adjective were about the only parts of speech used. The pronoun is very imperfect. The preposition and adverb is, for the most part, included in the verb, as is also sometimes the pronoun. 'he order of the words: is something like the languages of continental Europe, the verb coming at the end of the sentence. It would be very easy to learn to translate the language, but quite difficult to speak, mainly on account af the accent, We here give a few English sentences and their equivalents in the Miami,

Down the river is expressed by one word, na-min-o-gish. Words like this are very common in the Miami language, and, in fact, in all the North American languages; that is. words that express an idea, that in our language would take a phrase or clause. But haviog only three parts ef speech, that are in a degree perfect, they are often compelled to use more words thao we. Then their words were not so full of meaning, not so valuable or capable of shades of meaning. It would take five or six of their words to express what our word manipulation does.

Here is a list of English words and their equivalent in Miami. Very little practical knowledge can be gained from the list, but it will no doubt be

Furnished By Anthony Walker

FURNISHED BY ANTHONY WALKER. ENGLISH. Miami. ENGLIgH. Mrgui. God Ka she he we ah Girl or maid Kwa nes wah. Man Lan yah Infant or child Pe lo saw Woman Me tam sah Father, my No saw Boy Que we sah Mother, my Nin ge ah

English Miami

An Indian Me to san ah A White man She mal san Head Dah pe con Hair Weel sah Beard Me se taw uaw kaw naw ha Ear Tan waw kea Kye Ken chee kwe Nose 'Ke waw ne Mouth Tow na Tongue We law ne Tooth We pe ta Neck Kwa kaw na Arm Ne che waw Shoulder Tal yah Hand Na ke ma Foot Ne cot ta Town Me no tan House We ke aw me Chief Ke mawh Friend Ne kaw no Gun Pe quane Knife Mawl se Flint We pe ta Devil Ma nat to ah Boat M so la Shoe Me Ke sin Coat Ke nan pe na gobn Pipe Pwaw kaw naw Tobacco Sam mah Heaven Pa min ge ah Sun Keel swaw Moon Pe kon dek keel swaw Star Lon gwawh Day Kaw ke kwa Bark. Loe ke we Tree Ta wa na (roose Pee e sah Gosling Pace e sa zah Duek She ship Pup Jiam wah des sah Dog Lam wah