ABORIGINAL PLACE NAMES OF NEW YORK 7 



DIFFICULTIES IN DETERMINING ABORIGINAL NAMES 



A primary factor in the spelling and pronunciation of aboriginal 

 names is their record by men of different languages. The English, 

 Dutch, Germans and French had varying values for certain letters 

 and their combinations. The English Cayuga and the German 

 Gajuka differ in appearance, while nearly alike in sound. The 

 French Shatacoin and the English Chautauqua are not so far apart 

 as they seem. Other instances will be recalled. 



Then the persons who received and recorded names were not 

 always persons of good education, and their writing is often hard 

 to decipher. In the pressure of business, names were imperfectly 

 heard and understood, and in the same record, perhaps in the same 

 paragraph, may have several different forms. The name of Sche- 

 nectady well illustrates this. It requires thought and skill to give 

 a combination which will accurately reproduce Indian words in our 

 tongue. One consideration must often be which of several forms 

 is the true one, and what are its relations to that established by 

 usage. 



Another factor is that all members of a given tribe do not 

 pronounce alike. All investigators soon learn this, and it is found 

 among ourselves. A phonetic report of the conversation of several 

 persons in New England and New York would show variations of 

 sound. These increase in distinct and isolated communities. The 

 Five Nations of New York had as many dialects of their language, 

 and these would have varied more but for their political and social 

 union. The Algonquin tribes of Canada and the United States had 

 also one language but a score of recorded dialects. Great differences 

 are evident between these two great classes, but it is also true that 

 the Mohawk, Onondaga and Seneca forms of a local name may be 

 far apart in appearance and sound. 



There are dilffculties in the composition of names. In many the 

 words for lake or river are incorporated, while in others they are 

 implied but not expressed. If person or sex is expressed,, the 

 initial letters vary accordingly. In Iroquois local names many 

 have the prefix T'kah or Tega, referring to a place. If the word 

 proper begins with Ka or Ga, this syllable replaces part of the 

 prefix, Te may be dropped or retained, but sometimes it belongs 



