The Influence of Native Languages on the
Vocabulary of American English

von: Patrick Mello

Table of contents

1. Introduction 2

2. Historical background 3

2.1 The Colonial period 1607 to 1776 3
2.2 The National period 1776 – 1898 5

3. Native American loanwords in American English 7

3.1 Areas of vocabulary 7
3.2 Changes in form and / or meaning 9

4. Usage of the respective loan words in present-day English 10

4.1 Loan words that are still alive 10
4.2 Loan words that are not used anymore 11

5. Conclusion 12

6. References 13

1. Introduction

The development of American English as a variety of English began with the arrival of the first settlers in North America at the dawn of the 17th Century. Leaving behind Elizabethan England, they discovered a country unlike their home with indigenous cultures and languages as well as settlers and traders from other European countries like the Spanish and French who had already established loose settlements, trading posts and missions. These contacts had a significant impact on the language of the settlers and consequently new words entered their vocabulary. This was fostered by the geographical isolation and the gradually growing political autonomy of the American colonies. Steadily an independant variety – American English – developed. Since then it has become the most important variety of English, with the largest number of speakers and a growing global influence based on America′s political and cultural position. Since there is a “fundamental relationship between language and culture” as Marckwardt states (1958: vii) it proves helpful to take a look at some of the cultural history in the development of American English and specifically its vocabulary.

This paper will concentrate on the effect native languages had on the vocabulary of American English. I will begin with a concise account of historical events, focusing on the relationship between the settlers and the native population and how this affected their language. Part two then will observe loan words from native American languages, regarding the way in which they were adopted and looking for potential changes in meaning and spelling. The third part will highlight the present-day situation and examine how the vocabulary changed from colonial days and which loans are still alive today.

Finally, a remark about the terminology regarding “Indians” since there are many different expressions in use currently. William L. Leap has given a good definition of the terminology in use and he introduces “American Indian” (1993: 16) as term for all natives in what is now the USA, excluding Alaska (Inuit and Aleut tribes). That is the area that I will focus on, but for the sake of simplicity I will usually refer to “native languages”, meaning the native population north of Mexico and usually not including Canada and Alaska unless otherwise stated.

2. Historical background

Estimates about the native population and the number of languages they spoke upon arrival of the first English settlers differ to a great extent. However, most scholars agree on some 350 to 500 different languages belonging to at least 25 different language families (Cutler 1994: 23; Marckwardt 1958: 23; Romaine 2001: 154). What is certain is that a multitude of different languages existed although many languages were spoken by little more than a single tribe and therefore had very few speakers overall. Additionally, native languages often differed greatly from each other, especially those of different language families. The largest of those language families was Algonquian, followed by Iroquian, Siouan, Uto-Aztecan, Athabaskan, and Penutian. For intertribal communication the natives developed languages that served as lingua franca, usually to enable trade or political negotiations. Well-known examples are the Mobilian Jargon spoken in the Mississippian complex around Mobile, Louisiana and the Chinook Jargon that was used in the area around the Columbia river (Cutler 1994: 26). These jargons were often pidginized forms of native languages. For the American settlers who encountered these languages differentiation proved difficult and so they often took the jargons for the mother tongues of the natives.

When examining the history of American English a division into three major historical periods seems to find the agreement of most scholars (Algeo 2001: 4; McArthur 2002: 165). Naturally, other divisions are possible but appear rather arbitrary, considering the significance of the political events that cornerstone these periods. Regarding the influence of native languages on the vocabulary of American English I will focus on two phases of historical development – from Jamestown in 1607 up to 1898. Although loanwords still entered American English in the 20th Century, their number dropped significantly as Native American culture slowly diminished (Cutler 1994: 157).

2.1 The Colonial period – 1607 to 1776

The founding of the Jamestown colony in 1607 is uniformly seen as the birth date of American English although the colony itself barely survived and was abandoned later. However, it was the starting point for further and more successful colonies in what is now New England. One has to keep in mind that the first settlers spoke the language of Shakespeare and his time – Early Modern English (Crystal 1997: 27). This is the basis of American English from which it developed separately from British English. That is why in many regards American English contains archaic expressions that have died out or been replaced in British English. Marckwardt called this process the “Colonial Lag” (1958: 80).

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