Page:Glossary of the Mohegan-Pequot Language.pdf/7

 rain = Abn. soglon = N. sokenum, etc. This inability on the part of the Pequots to pronounce an l-r sound is even seen in their English loanwords. Thus, plate;  blanket;  broom. There is no r-sound in Peq., in spite of Mrs Fielding’s repeated use of this consonant in her text as a mere stop consonant (see Am. Anthrop. v, 199). A most curious point in this dialect is the dual pronunciation of some words with either j or hard g. Thus, or  what;  or goojernos. This perhaps points to a blending in Mrs Fielding’s idiom of two distinct linguistic variations, i. e., one which used the j-sound as in Abenaki and Ojibwe, and one which regularly used the hard g as in Peq. for, in order that, = Abn. waji.

This theory that two Algonquian dialects existed in the Mohegan community seems to be further confirmed by the fact that Mr Speck has obtained two slightly varying systems of numerals, the one from Mrs Fielding and the other from an old Mohegan Indian, James H. Rogers. The following comparison of these two systems with the Natick and Narragansett numerals will serve to illustrate this point:

It should be noted in this connection that the Peq. s tends to become š in juxtaposition with another consonant. Thus, = škwâ woman, and  = škîzŭks eyes. Two noteworthy cases of are seen in Peq. spoon = Abn. amkuôn, and Peq. quick = Oj. kejidin.

The original grammatical phenomena are poorly preserved in Mrs Fielding’s idiom. Thus we find the inan. indef. form