[Algonquiana] Prehistoric Language contact ?

Thu Nov 20 01:34:03 UTC 2014

Danielle,

Is there any genetic information available on Mi'gmaq speakers?

Michael

Quoting "Danielle E. Cyr" <dcyr at yorku.ca>:

> Thanks to all who have replied so far. I'm totally amazed by the
> sophistication of your suggestions and explanations. The reason of my
> question is that I'm presently working on Mi'gmaq place names related to
> early PEA migrations into the Gaspe Peninsula and Atlantic Canada. The more
> I read in archaeology, the more I wonder about the cultural contacts that
> might have taken place when the PEA arrived in these territories.   Except
> for Peter Denny, no archaeological writings seem to advocate for such
> contacts. All they say is that the Planos arrived ca 9,000 BP and the PEA
> ca 3,000-4,000 BP. Nobody (to my candid knowledge) talks about possible
> encounters between the two groups. And none talks about the disappearance -
> or not- of the Planos. Once again except Peter Denny. On the other hand, my
> readings, so far, seem to indicate a complete separation between
> archaeology and linguistics. Which is corroborated by David W. Anthony.
> 1990. Migration in Archaeology: The Baby and the Bathwater. American
> Anthropologist; Dec 1990; 92, 4;
> From this, a new question arising in my mind: did someone ever tried to
> compare John Hewson's Dictionary of Proto-Algonquian with a Mi'gmaq
> dictionary to try and list the Mi'gmaq words that do not belong to PA; and
> then to analyze these words and try to draw a kind of phonetic/phonological
> sketch of a possible (dead) loaning language of some kind ?
> If Peter Denny's hypothesis is correct, and if Fiedel 1987 is correct that
> Mi'gmaq shares only 50 percent of its lexicon with other Central and even
> Eastern Algonquian languages, this should be feasible. In comparison, if
> French had disappeared from the records, one should be able to deduce its
> phonological patterns by analyzing all the words that English doesn't share
> with any other European languages, More or less.
> Am I too far gone ?
> Danielle
> Dr. Danielle E. Cyr, Senior Scholar at York University
> 339, boul. Perron ouest
> New Richmond, QC,  G0C 2BO
> dcyr at yorku.ca - 418.392.7271
> ---- Original Message ----
> From: David Costa
> To: "Danielle E. Cyr"
> Cc: "John Steckley" , "ALGONQUIANA at LISTSERV.LINGUISTLIST.ORG"
> Sent: Wed, Nov 19, 2014, 5:18 PM
> Subject: Re: [Algonquiana] Prehistoric Language contact ?
>
> What lexical borrowings are you trying to account for?
> Dave
> John and Arok,
> Thanks for your quick reply. Researching phonetic similarities would be a
> great start. I was rather thinking of lexical borrowings but your insight
> widens my interest !
> Danielle
>
> Dr. Danielle E. Cyr, Senior Scholar at York University
> 339, boul. Perron ouest
> New Richmond, QC,  G0C 2BO
> dcyr at yorku.ca (mailto:dcyr at yorku.ca) - 418.392.7271
> ---- Original Message ----
> From: John Steckley
> To: "Wolvengrey, Arok" , "Danielle E. Cyr" ,
> "ALGONQUIANA at LISTSERV.LINGUISTLIST.ORG
> (mailto:ALGONQUIANA at LISTSERV.LINGUISTLIST.ORG)"
> Sent: Wed, Nov 19, 2014, 4:29 PM
> Subject: RE: [Algonquiana] Prehistoric Language contact ?
> 	Danielle/Arok:
> 	Wendat has a well-developed system of dual pronominal prefixes as agents
> (but not patients).  Presumably St. Lawrence Iroquoian did as well.  It
> would be interesting to see whether some phonetic similarities appear
> between Mi'kmaq/Maliseet dual forms and those that Wendat has.
> 	John
> 	From: Algonquiana [mailto:algonquiana-bounces at listserv.linguistlist.org
> (mailto:algonquiana-bounces at listserv.linguistlist.org)] On Behalf Of
> Wolvengrey, Arok
> Sent: November 19, 2014 4:18 PM
> To: Danielle E. Cyr; ALGONQUIANA at LISTSERV.LINGUISTLIST.ORG
> (mailto:ALGONQUIANA at LISTSERV.LINGUISTLIST.ORG)
> Subject: Re: [Algonquiana] Prehistoric Language contact ?
> 	Hi Danielle,
> 	I'm not aware of anything actually written with regard to this, but there
> was some brief discussion at the recent Algonquian conference (or was it
> online???) about the possible source or model for the introduction of the
> dual as a category in Micmac (and Maliseet?).  Inuktitut could be one
> source, but Iroquoian was perhaps (?) favoured suggesting some contact in
> the (lower? south eastern?) Great Lakes area.  Others far more
> knowledgeable about the Eastern languages, please feel free to shoot these
> thoughts down as required.
> 	??? ????
>
> 	Arok Wolvengrey
>
> 	Professor, Algonquian Languages and Linguistics and
>
> 	Department Head of Indigenous Languages, Arts and Cultures
>
> 	First Nations University of Canada
>
> 	1 First Nations Way
>
> 	Regina, SK   S4S 7K2
> 	phone:  (306) 790-5950 ext. 3310
>
> 	fax:      (306) 790-5995
>
> 	e-mail:  awolvengrey at fnuniv.ca (mailto:awolvengrey at fnuniv.ca)
> ------------------------------------
> 	From: Algonquiana [algonquiana-bounces at listserv.linguistlist.org
> (mailto:algonquiana-bounces at listserv.linguistlist.org)] on behalf of
> Danielle E. Cyr [dcyr at yorku.ca (mailto:dcyr at yorku.ca)]
> Sent: November 19, 2014 3:05 PM
> To: ALGONQUIANA at LISTSERV.LINGUISTLIST.ORG
> (mailto:ALGONQUIANA at LISTSERV.LINGUISTLIST.ORG)
> Subject: [Algonquiana] Prehistoric Language contact ?
> 	Hello All,
> 	Beside
>
> 	 DENNY, Peter J.  2003. Early Signs of Eastern Algonquians. Essays in
> Algonquian, Catawban and Siouan Linguistics in Memory of Frank T. Siebert
> Jr. Blair A. Rudes and David J. Costa. Winnipeg: Algonquian and Iroquoian
> Linguistics, Memoir 16, p. 15-36.
>
> 	does anyone know about literature discussing prehistoric language contacts
> between Proto Eastern Algonquian and other older languages ?
> 	Thanks in advance,
> 	Danielle Cyr
> 	___________________________________________
> 	Dr. Danielle E. Cyr, Senior Scholar at York University
> 	339, boul. Perron ouest
> 	New Richmond, QC,   G0C 2BO
> 	dcyr at yorku.ca (mailto:dcyr at yorku.ca) - 418.392.7271
>
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