﻿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 
  fearn 
  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 
  difficulties 
  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 
  

  

  