Alënixsitàm! 

Let's Talk Lenape!

Lesson #7

Kinship Terms:

          In using the Lenape language it is important to understand that, unless you are speaking to that person, all kinship terms must be possessed.  In other words, you need to use a pronoun with the term (my, your, his, etc.).  You cannot say as in English, “Mother went to town.” You must tell whose mother you are speaking about.  Also, the word used when speaking to a person is different from the one used when speaking about that person. Here are some basic kinship terms:

                          [Speaking about]                      [Speaking to]

MOTHER              nkahès = my mother                  àna = Mother

FATHER               nux      = my father                       nuxa = Father

SON                        nkwis   = my son                           nkwitët = Son

DAUGHTER        nichan  = my daughter                  nichan’tët = Daughter

Note:  Nichan also means “my child.”

The following kinship terms are also used for great-uncle and great-aunt.  There are no separate

terms for them in Lenape.

GRANDFATHER      nëmuxumës = my grandfather       muxumsa = Grandfather

GRANDMOTHER    nuhëm  = my grandmother             uma [nuhëma]= Grandmother

How to Possess Nouns:

n-                       my

k-                       your

w-   -a                his or her 

(Remember that in the Lenape language there are no separate pronouns for his and hers like there are in most European languages.  This was discussed in Lesson 3.)

Examples:  

KAHÈS = MOTHER

 nkahès                my mother        [n- + kahès]

 kahès                  your mother      [k- + kahès, here the 2 initial K’s merge]    

 kohèsa                his/her mother   [w- + kahès + -a, here the w- moves behind the K in Kahès and merges with the –a- to become –o- and the -a is added to mark the person his/her is possessing.]  

KWIS = SON

 nkwis                  my son               [n- + kwis]

 kwis                    your son             [k- + kwis, here the 2 initial K’s merge]

 kwisa                  his/her son          [w- + kwis + -a, here the w- moves behind the K in Kwis and merges with the –w-]

UHÀM = GRANDMOTHER

nuhëm                my grandmother;  my great-aunt          [n- + uhëm]

 kuhëm                your grandmother;  your great-aunt       [k- + uhëm]

 uhëma                his/her grandmother;  his/her great-aunt    [w- + uhëm + -a, here the w-  merges with the initial u.  I cannot give a reason why the -hë- appears in the word.]

LET’S TALK ABOUT OUR FRIENDS:

The same as with kinship terms the words for friends are divided into different words used

when speaking about them and speaking to them.

FRIEND (MAN SPEAKING OF MAN FRIEND)

            [Speaking about]                             [Speaking to]

 nitis           my friend                             nchu      (Friend)

 kitis           your friend

 witisa         his friend

FRIEND (WOMAN SPEAKING OF WOMAN FRIEND)

 nichus        my friend                             ichu      (Friend)

 kichus        your friend

 wichusa      her friend

NAMES OF THE MONTHS IN LENAPE

Here are the names of the months in Lenape.  Some older names recorded several centuries ago by missionaries were not remembered or used by modern-day speakers. 

SEASONS OF THE YEAR

 Spring               Sikòn

 Summer            Nipën

 Autumn             Tahkoku or   Tahkokën

 Winter              Luwàn