Are We Speaking English?
 

I think about this from time to time, because I come from a place that is not an English word. The sounds of the places, things, and animals that we talk about are interesting to me. I'm just wondering, do you think about it too? ...And can you add to this list?

Massachusetts, Connecticut, Delaware, Ohio, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Missouri, Michigan, Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Kansas, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, Wyoming, Idaho, Oregon


Seattle (a city in Washington State)
Niagara (Falls in Western New York State)
Massapequa (a town on Long Island, New York)
Chattahoochee (a river running through Georgia)
Winnipesaukee (a lake in New Hampshire)
Nantucket (an island belonging to Massachusetts)
Pawtucket (a city in Rhode Island)
Saskatoon, Saskatewan and Winnipeg, Manitoba (Canada)

Moose, Skunk, Chipmunk, Raccoon

I really could go on for quite a while, but would have to look up each one individually.

Years ago I lived in Wanaque, NJ. Wanaque is a word derived from the Lenni Lenape Native American word meaning "land of sassafras". And, yes, there were lots of sassafras trees in the area. FYI: The sassafras tree is distinctive in that it has 3 different leaves on each tree. One leaf is single oval orb, one leave looks like a mitten and one leaf has three 'fingers'. Right now I live in a totally English word town: Virginia Beach.

California, my home state.

Willamette - river running through Portland, OR - named for the Willamette Indian Tribe. (Pronounced Will-am-ette not Willa-met-e).
Multnomah County Oregon - named after a native Indian Tribe of the same name.

Susquehanna river in Pennsylvania

Cuyamaca, (a local community, and jr college, also street names) Spanish corruption of a kumeyaay (local native tribe) word meaning behind the clouds. I could not even come close to spelling that word Suomi will not try

Jamacha also kumeyaay meaning wild gord (a smaller community and popular street names)

El Cajon, city in so california is either the box or the drawer

Mesa used in several names of cities Mesa AZ or La Mesa CA meaning table

Los Angeles spansh started as a Spanish name that translated to" city of our-lady of the Anges" (do not remember the spanish name its very long) then it was shortened.

The southwest is full of Spanish and native influence, Pennsylvania has a large German influence, Minnesota is Dakota Suioux name has a Norse and French influence in thier local names and words, I could go on forever.

But its all part of our language we have taken names and words for many different languages and cultures but is that not the history of the English language to use and adopt words to suit the need.

Yes, lots and lots of Spanish & native influence around here. California is named after a mythological Spanish warrior queen. One of my favorite places to vacation is called Gualala (pronounced "wah-la-la"); it's named due to its river, the name is derived from a Pomo Indian name that means something like "water coming down place".

I think it's neat. In the US we don't really speak the Queen's English anyway, we have our own flavor of the language and since or society is known as the great melting pot I think it's totally appropriate that our language be a melting pot as well. That's the great thing about the English language, it's so flexible. If we need a word we don't have, we just find it in another language and it eventually becomes part of our language! LOL

The country I live in is Canada. The city I live in is Winnipeg. The province is Manitoba. The neighbouring province is Saskatchewan. There is a city in Saskatchewan called Moose Jaw :D. Here is one that leaves nothing to the imagination: Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump, Alberta. Most of these names are taken from First Nations peoples/cultures.

I live on Long Island, we are full of Indian names. More than half of the towns in Suffolk county are Indian names or derivatives thereof. I could list them all or some, but it would take for forever, and honestly, I'd probably spell some of them wrong. Patchouge, Nissaquogue, Quoge, Quowogue,Montauk,Massapequa,Nissaquogue,
Are you seeing a theme here. the ougue ending. Sachem, Sequoia, Senecka Techumesa, Sewannaka,Samoset,Cyouga.
Nuf said.

Ha, ha. i was going to say I don't think anyone speaks English anymore. At least not correctly. Oh well, all things change.

Dripping Springs, Tx. Rosebud Tx.

The one I can't forget it Buck Snort, TN.....pure English!:D

I think American English has changed since the Revolution. The first settlers probably couldn't understand much of what we say now. Read a Jane Eye novel and you will realize how ugly we have changed a beautiful language.

Ohiopyle, Pa. The Youghiogheny River runs through it. Of course they are Indian names. Ohiopyle translates to frothing water which describes the river perfectly as it winds it's way through the town.

This is an interesting thread. TFS
peace

EDIT: an earlier post refers to "First Nation" and I am all for that to remind myself that I am only a very small part of America, and not so much, the better part. Thanks for the reminder.
peace

My home town is Flushing which is the English version of the Dutch name.

A town nearby is Bois d'Arc--French for "wood of the bow"--the Osage Indians made bows from a type of tree in the area.

:D I really feel like there's GOTTA be a good story behind these names. Especially the first one, LOL

Its amazing what the ancestors thought of when naming things ..

How about Oxlip, Minnesota?

Edie

Wisconsin is a Native American word, as are a lot of Wisconsin cities.

The word Massachusetts translates to "Large Hill Place". The Berkshires are no longer considered mountains as they have worn down with age. The town I grew up in is Rehoboth. That comes from the Bible, and means to make room. I have always liked knowing what things mean.

Mesquite, Texas named after the Mesquite tree with BIG thorns.

Sauk Prairie, Wisconsin (if you are a visitor, you can't tell that it's really two villages)...Named after the Sac Indians, the Native Americans living and farming here in the 1700s, the area is still known today as the Sauk Prairie. The English explorer Jonathon Carver declared the Sauk Indian village as the “largest and best built Indian town” he had ever seen. With the introduction of European immigrants, the twin villages developed their own identities. The southern village became Sauk City and is the oldest incorporated village in Wisconsin. It was founded by the colorful Hungarian Count Agoston Haraszthy who, in 1847, built what is today Wollersheim Winery before heading to California where he became the father of the California wineries.

Winding your way north along the Wisconsin River, you’ll find the northern twin village of Prairie du Sac. This village kept its French fur trading name meaning “Prairie of the Sac Indians.” Prairie du Sac is home to many fine examples of turn-of-the-last-century architecture. The majestic homes along the tree-lined Park Avenue and Water Street take visitors back to early days along the river. Eagle Island in downtown Prairie du Sac is a one-of-a-kind location where Eagles roost each winter as they soar along the bluffs and dive head-long into the Wisconsin River.

They used Osage Orange Trees to make bows and arrows. Those trees that drop the softball size, green,
knarley (sp) fruits in the fall. Wonderful trees. They are usually found growing in old hedge rows because they were used as living fences in Colonial times.
peace

I think "cookie" is a derivative of a Dutch word. froggyintexas

Ontonagon, MI, Upper, that is. Said to be something close to "I lost my bowl", Indian.

Yes; locals call them hedge apple trees. We have used many of them to make fence posts--never straight, but they last forever.

I think it is lovely how each country has its English interpretation of native words and it is even nicer to know the meaning. We have place names such as Oodnadatta, meaning "mulga blossom",Parramatta, "a place of eels" and Cabramatta, "a place of worms". Of course, there are many more. I especially like the brevity of the Aboriginal languages where one word requires many English words to translate the meaning.

Yes, and farmers used those trees to mark their property boundaries.....I call those green fruit of the tree st. George apples, although not edible, we throw a few in the corners of the basement to keep spiders out...seems to work. The wood of that tree is very hard and strong......

Minnesota is also an Indian word from the Sioux/Ojibwe/ AnishinaabeChippewa meaning "Mnisota - Sky-Tinted Waters". Over 10,000 Lakes like Hiawatha, Nokomis, Winnibigoshish . We have towns like Wanamingo, Waskish, Nay-Tah-Waush. We also have the Scandinavian names, the German names, French names and good old American names like Prosper, Walnut Grove, Sacred Heart, Faith, and, of course, the ever popular PROSIT! A toast to Minnesota----my state, St. Paul - my city named after the Saint Paul. St. Paul was originallly named Pigs Eye after Pigs Eye Perrault, a French river man and gambler and all around ne-er do well. He lived in a cave by the Mississippi River here in St. Paul. Well, apparently St. Paul was a better person than old Pigs Eye and there is a dump named after him not far from downtown St. Paul. So Pigs Eye went to the dumps and St. Paul took over the name of the Capitol City of Minnesota. I love state stories.

My mother was born in Wisconsin and didn't speak a word of English until my grandmother was chastised for not teaching Mom English (this goes back to the early 1920's. There was some dislike of the Germans/Prussians during WWI and so rather than be ostracized from the town, Mom learned English.) My father's parents were from Sweden and my father's mother never spoke a word of English. My grandfather did learn English as he was owner of a mill and a lumberjack (they were from Michigan (Yooper). My father went through confirmation class in total Swedish and with the exception of a few words, he never spoke the language. That makes me 1/2 German and 1/2 Swede and my husband was 1/2 German and 1/2 Norwegian. So we complemented each other just perfect, almost - he was Norwegian and I was Swede. It's a Minnesota thing - Swedes and Norwegians. And to cap this all off, my Swedish grandpa's name was Ole. Honest and truly.

Thank you for bringing up the subject. Edie

Glasgow in Scots Gaelic is Ghlaschu which is the Gaelic form of an older language. In reading this thread I've had a quick snoop around the web and found that many English names of locales around here are derived again from Scots Gaelic. Makes me wonder if any area names are just English rather than the English translation of Gaelic.

And when we do borrow a name, we change the pronounciation.

Vee-enna Austria -- VI-enna, VA.

Ber-LIN, Germany -- BER-lin, NH

Lee-ma, Peru -- LI-ma, OH.

Stootgart, Germany - Stuttgart, AR.

For those of you who are interested in the evolution of the English Language (up to and including "new" words added from the America's, Australia, and other "English" speaking nations) I highly recommend reading ...

The Adventure of English by Melvyn Bragg. Actually, I recommend listening to it on audio books as you can hear the changes the language underwent.

It was also made into a BBC tv series. One of these days I'm going to find a copy of it.

The book was excellent!!

My husband is an English immigrant and he and I constantly do battle over the language. He is often mystified how places with names like Macinac is pronounced Macinaw, and Illinois is pronounced Illinoy. I am befuddled how the English spell Grossvenor and pronounce it Grovenor, and they say "shedule" but not "shool" when they both have the same Sch beginning.

So just when you think what a travesty the American's have made of the English language, we come by it honestly as the English have managed to screw up a good bit of it all by themselves :)

I live in Homosassa, also an Indian name.

I lived in Oconomowoc Wisconsin named after a tribe of Indians who walked and walked to find a place to live and the lead Indian said he (can no more walk) so this is a true story as to the name of my home town. Really funny how towns are named.The Indians settled there on the spot.

The full name of the city of Los Angeles was: El Pueblo Nuestra Senora la Reina de los Angeles de Porciuncula.
It was originally settled by Spaniards.
Sharon in Texas

Kouchibouguac National Park in New Brunswick -- meaning "river of long tides"

My husband has been telling this one for as long as I have known him. In Vermont (he thinks it's in Vermont), there is a lake called "Lake Sha-gug-a-gug man-chug-a-gug she-bunna-gunna ga-mog.
It means: "You fish on your side of the lake and I'll fish on my side of the lake and he who fishes in the middle gets an arrow in the back."
You can just imagine a small boy learning that and remembering that for the rest of his life.
It is actually in an atlas that he had. He gave it away.

• :(
  
  

Just south of Houston, there's a town originally settled by Danish, called Danevang. We also have many German, Polish, and Czech town names. On the 1850 census, San Antonio had more Germans than Mexicans. Even most San Antonians don't know that. English is an interesting language, because it has absorbed so many foreign words, which we hardly even recognize as foreign. We sit out on our patios in good weather and send our kiddos to Kindergarten; our teenagers drive us "berserk" (straight out of Old Icelandic); we sometimes enjoy eating Wienerschnitzel and kraut and dolmades and crepes Suzette and piroschki. On second thought, we don't seem to have a word for "patio" in English ("deck" doesn't quite do the trick). What would we sit out on if we didn't borrow "patio"? Oh, and I wear my mukluks and parka when it's cold and slushy, don't you?

Lots of Indian names in Florida - Tallahassee, Mikosukee, Okeefenokee, and Atchafalaya in Louisiana. Then there's the Chattahoochee River. Most people think Texas comes from a Spanish word, but it doesn't - it's from the Tejas Indians.