Munsee language
| Munsee | |
|---|---|
| Native to | Canada; United States |
| Region | now in Ontario; formerly in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania |
| Ethnicity | 400 Munsee (1991) |
|
Native speakers
|
7–8 (2009) |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | |
| Glottolog | muns1251 |
Munsee (also known as Munsee Delaware, Delaware, Ontario Delaware) is an endangered language of the Eastern Algonquian subgroup of the Algonquian language family, itself a branch of the Algic language family. Munsee is one of the two Delaware languages (also known as Lenape languages, after the tribe's autonym). It is very closely related to the extinct Unami Delaware, but the two are sufficiently different that they are considered separate languages. Munsee was spoken aboriginally in the vicinity of the modern New York City area in the United States, including western Long Island, Manhattan Island, Staten Island, as well as adjacent areas on the mainland: southeastern New York State, the northern third of New Jersey, and northeastern Pennsylvania.
As of 2009, Munsee was spoken only on the Moraviantown Reserve in Ontario, Canada, by no more than seven or eight elderly individuals, the youngest of whom was 61 in 2002. However, there has been interest in learning the language by younger individuals.
Munsee is an Eastern Algonquian language, which is the sole recognized genetic subgroup descending from Proto-Algonquian, the common ancestor language of the Algonquian language family. Munsee is very closely related to Unami Delaware. Munsee and Unami constitute the Delaware languages, comprising a subgroup within Eastern Algonquian. Taken together with Mahican, the Delaware languages constitute Delawaran, a subgroup within Eastern Algonquian.
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