Etchemin language facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Etchemin |
|
|---|---|
| Native to | United States |
| Region | Maine |
| Extinct | 17th centurylinglist |
| Language family |
Algic
|
| Linguist List | etc |
The Etchemin language was once spoken by Native American people. They lived along the coast of what is now Maine in the United States. This language belonged to a large group called the Algonquian language family. Sadly, Etchemin disappeared a long time ago, around the 1600s.
The name Etchemin might have come from a French word. It could have been a French version of an Algonquian word for 'canoe'. Another idea is that it came from Skidijn. This was the native word for the people living near the St. John, Passamaquoddy, and St. Croix Rivers.
The Mystery of a Lost Language
The Etchemin language is a bit of a mystery today. This is because we have very few records of it. It was spoken during the early colonial times, when Europeans first started settling in North America.
The Only Clues We Have
The only known record of the Etchemin language is a short list of numbers. These numbers, from one to ten, were written down by a man named Marc Lescarbot. He was a French explorer and writer. Lescarbot recorded these numbers in the early 1600s. He then published them in his book, The History of New France, in 1609.
When experts look at these numbers, they find something interesting. The numbers match those from other languages like Malecite-Passamaquoddy and Eastern Abenaki. They also match some languages from southern New England, like Wampanoag. However, the full set of numbers does not exactly match any other single Algonquian language.
What Happened to the Etchemin Language?
The Etchemin language disappeared not long after Lescarbot's visit. We do not know exactly what happened to the people who spoke it. It is possible they joined other tribes or their language slowly faded away.
Sometimes, other old language records are called 'Etchemin'. But when experts study them closely, they usually turn out to be the nearby Malecite-Passamaquoddy language. This shows how rare and special Lescarbot's small list of numbers truly is. It is our only real glimpse into the Etchemin language.
