Back to: The Lenni Lenape
You can hear some of the words by going to the Delaware (Lenape) tribal website at http://www.cowboy.net/native/lenape and clicking on the language pages. They are in live audio format.
The sounds in Lenape are arranged differently from those in English. Also, Lenape lacks the sounds of R, F, TH, V. However it adds the sound written as X (or ch in German) which sounds a bit like clearing the throat. Also there is a voiceless L like in the Welsh language, and there is a voiceless W .
Many of the consonants in Lenape come in pairs, voiceless and voiced. They are as follows:
| voiced | B | D | G | J | Z | ZH |
| voiceless | P | T | K | CH | S | SH |
The voiced sounds only occurs after a Nasal. B comes after an M, and all the rest come after N.
So, if you see a Lenape placename written with any voiced consonants that don't have a nasal sound before them, the person who wrote it probably heard it wrong.
Note: the e with an umlaut (ė) sounds like the A in the English words SOFA or ABOVE.
| Lenape Word | Meaning | Comments [source] |
|---|---|---|
| Achsinnaminschi | Sugar Maple Tree | [Heckewelder] |
| Lenape | Original People | |
| Mahchikwpi | Paw-paw (fruit) | |
| Mahchikwpiakw | Paw-paw tree | |
| Minsi | the Lenape who lived in the upper reaches of the Delaware watershed | variously as Munsi, Munsee, Monsi, Minsi, Muncey |
| Munhacanimischi | Dog Wood (Munsi) | [Heckewelder] |
| Sakima | a chief | |
| Wėnilaxtiku | Unalachtigo - The Lenape people who lived in the southern area. It was translated as "People detached from where there are waves." | [Nora T Dean] |
| Wėnami (Unami) | Unami - The Lenape people who lived south of the Raritan River and the Delaware Water Gap | |
| Kekw | a wampum bead | |
| Kekok | wampum beads | |
| Historically wampum represented a memorial to an event. (After the Europeans introduced steel awls the natives began making more sophisticated wampum and using it as money.) | ||
| Wikwam | house | |
| Lenape Word | Animal / Bird |
|---|---|
| Ahas | crow |
| Chihopčkėlis | Eastern Bluebird (Sialia sialis) |
| Chingwe | bobcat |
| Chiskukus | Robin (Turdus migratorius) |
| Chulėns | bird |
| Hinutėt | Wren (Picoides pubescens) |
| Lelčmbėlis | Ruby-Throated Hummingbird (Archilochus colubris) |
| Ņkwės | fox |
| Pukwčs | mouse |
| Sėnihėle | Sparrow Hawk -or- American Kestrel (Falco sparverius) |
| Sąngwe | weasel |
| Tąnktiyas | Tufted Titmouse (Parus bicolor) |
| Tąskėmus | Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos) |
| Tėmakwe | beaver |
| Tėme | wolf |
| Tihtės | Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens) |
| Wetėndeis | Scarlet Tanager (Pirange olivacea) |
| Wisawtayas | American Goldfinch (Carduelis tristis) |
| Xanikw | squirrel |
| Lenape Name | Modern Place Name | Meaning | Approximate English Pronunciation | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ahsėn'pink | Assunpink Creek which flows thru Trenton | A rocky place that is watery | aH-sin-pink | H = a breath almost like a weak form of X, the guttural, and ė is like A in SOFA |
| Kanshihaking | (Conshohocken) | Elegant Land | Kahn-she-hock-keeng | |
| Mėneyung | (Manayunk/Schuylkill River) | Place to drink | mun-nay-yoong | |
| Mochijirickhicken | (Delaware River) | a large river where there are tides | This is an old form from the Delaware Jargon, a trade language used between the Lenape and the whites. The words were Lenape, the word order was more like German or English. | |
| Mochijirick | the biggest one | meX-kee-luk | Mexkilėk in modern Lenape | |
| Pahsayung | (Passayunk) | in the valley | paH-sah-yoong | |
| Pahsayek | (Passaic) | Valley | paH-sah-yek | |
| Pėnėpekw | (Pennypack Creek) | water that flows downwards | pun-nep-peck | |
| Siskuwihane | (Susquehanna River) | muddy river | Sees-koo-wee-hah-nay | |
| Wikweko | (area near Philadelphia) | place where something ends | wee-kwek-koh |
Many thanks to Jim Rementer at Cowboy Net for his assistance in correcting some of the original errors in translations. He also is responsible for many of the pronunciation tips and many new words which have been added to these lists.
Back to: The Schuylkill River