Skip to main content

Fragments of the Montauk Language

Wed, 11/25/2020 - 11:55

East Hampton Library Item of the Week

This document is a photostat of the notes Sag Harbor's William Wallace Tooker (1848-1917) made titled "Fragment of the Montauk," which attempted to record some of the words used by the Montauk Indians. The spelling appears to be somewhat phonetic, as evidenced by more familiar words like sachem, "seaunskq" for sunsquaw, and "seaump" for samp. Other words appear a bit garbled, and "squashes" is probably an attempt to transcribe sounds, as other sources indicate that young girls were not called squashes.

Tooker was an early anthropologist with a strong interest in indigenous people, particularly those who spoke Algonquian languages. He is probably better remembered as a photographer, but he wrote widely about indigenous people, and often referred to himself as an "Algonquinist." His interest in indigenous people developed from things like projectile points and other artifacts he found as a child. It is worth noting that by the 1860s there were no longer any recognized native Algonquian language speakers in the area to teach Tooker, and he was not a formally trained linguist.

So where did these words come from? In the descriptive paragraph at the top of the first page of this document, Tooker notes that some of his vocabulary came from John Lyon Gardiner (1770-1816). Gardiner was a bit like East Hampton's own Thomas Jefferson, a keeper of meticulous notes and records with an ability to engage on any topic. Gardiner, in turn, supposedly got his information from George Pharaoh, a Montauk Indian.

The actual Thomas Jefferson was probably another one of Tooker's sources, as he compiled a list of known Algonquian words when he visited William Floyd in Mastic. Tooker also worked with records from other indigenous people nearby, in places like New England and New Jersey.

Villages

New Call for Winter Shops

The Anchor Society of East Hampton, a nonprofit community group with a mission to revitalize the community and increase year-round foot traffic in the village commercial district, has issued a call for applications for the second year of its Winter Shops program.

May 8, 2025

M&T Bank's East Hampton Village Branch Is Shuttering

The East Hampton Village branch of M&T Bank at 99 Newtown Lane will close permanently next Thursday at 4 p.m. The bank’s branches at 351 Pantigo Road in East Hampton and 746 Montauk Highway in Montauk will remain open.

May 8, 2025

Ospreys Return to Site of Wrecked Nest

Two ospreys return to scene of Accabonac Harbor destruction despite bird-deterrent devices, while town trustees call out feds and D.E.C. over lack of action.

May 8, 2025

 

Your support for The East Hampton Star helps us deliver the news, arts, and community information you need. Whether you are an online subscriber, get the paper in the mail, delivered to your door in Manhattan, or are just passing through, every reader counts. We value you for being part of The Star family.

Your subscription to The Star does more than get you great arts, news, sports, and outdoors stories. It makes everything we do possible.