Mohawk language
| Mohawk language | |
|---|---|
|
Kanien’kéha Kanyen’kéha |
|
| Pronunciation | [ɡɑ.njʌ̃ʔ.ˈɡɛ.ha] |
| Native to | United States, Canada |
| Region | Ontario, Quebec and northern New York |
| Ethnicity | Mohawk people |
|
Native speakers
|
3,500 (2007–2011) |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-2 | |
| ISO 639-3 | |
| Glottolog | moha1258 |
current distribution of Mohawk speakers in the United States.
|
|
Mohawk /ˈmoʊhɔːk/ (Mohawk: Kanien’kéha [ɡa.njʌ̃ʔ.ˈɡe.ha] "[language] of the Flint Place") is a threatened Iroquoian language currently spoken by around 3,500 people of the Mohawk nation, located primarily in Canada (southern Ontario and Quebec) and to a lesser extent in the United States (western and northern New York).
The word "Mohawk" is an exonym. In the Mohawk language, the people say that they are from Kanien'kehá:ka or "Flint Stone Place". As such, the Mohawks were extremely wealthy traders as other nations in their confederacy needed their flint for tool making. Their Algonquian-speaking neighbors (and competitors), the People of Muh-heck Heek Ing (Food Area Place), a people whom the Dutch called "Mohicans" or "Mahicans", called the People of Ka-nee-en Ka "Maw Unk Lin" or Bear People. The Dutch heard and wrote this as "Mohawks". This is why the People of Kan-ee-en Ka are often referred to as Mohawks. The Dutch also referred to the Mohawk as Egils or Maquas. The French adapted these terms as Aigniers, Maquis, or called them by the generic Iroquois, which is a French derivation of the Algonquian term for the Five Nations: Snake People.
The Mohawks comprised the largest and most powerful of the original Five Nations, controlling a vast area of land on the eastern frontier of the Iroquois Confederacy. The North Country and Adirondack region of present-day Upstate New York would have constituted the greater part of the Mohawk-speaking area lasting until the end of the 18th century.
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