Algonquian

Algonquian is most of the Algic Native American language family. (The rest is Wiyot[?] and Yurok[?].) Stretching from the east coast all the way Alberta, Canada, the Algonquian language family includes such languages as Ojibwe, Cree, Fox, Shawnee[?], Menominee[?], Mohican, Potawatomi[?], Cheyenne, Blackfoot, Sauk, and Micmac[?].

The Algonquian language family is renowned for its complex morphology and sophisticated verb system. Statements that take many words to say in English can be expressed with a single "word". Ex: (Menominee) enae:ni:hae:w "He is heard by higher powers" or (Plains Cree) k-a:sta:hikoyahk "it frightens us". Languages in this family typically mark at least two distinct third persons, so that speakers can keep track of central characters in narrative.

These languages have been famously studied in the structuralist tradition by Leonard Bloomfield and Edward Sapir among others. Many of these languages are extremely endangered today, while others have died completely.

Because Algonquian languages were some of the first that Europeans came in contact with in North America, the language family has given many words to English. Many eastern states have names of Algonquian origin (Massachusetts, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin), as well as many cities (Milwaukee, Chicago). The capital of Canada is named after an Algonquian tribe - the Odawa. Here are some words of Algonquian origin:

• skunk (shekãkwa)
• squash (askootaskwash)
• wampumpeag[?] (wapapyaki)
• succotash (msikwatash)
• pecan ("pakan" - "nut" via Mobilian Trade Jargon[?])