Yonteweyenhstahkwa kanyen’keha : Mohawk Language Dictionary : A Root Dictionary to be used as a Resource and Reference Text for any Mohawk Language Learning Situation

Alternate Language Names

Kanien’kéha, Kanyen’kéha.

Region

Ontario and Quebec, Canada; New York, United States.

Who

David Kanatawakhon-Maracle.

Others Involved

This dictionary doesn’t provide any information on others who may have been involved.

Publishing Information

This resource was published in 2002, by the Centre for Research and Teaching of Canadian Native Languages at the University of Western Ontario.

How People are Cited

This resource doesn’t cite anyone who may have contributed to the dictionary.

How Information is Cited

This dictionary doesn’t cite where the information it contains comes from.

Where is Information Coming from

This dictionary does not indicate where information is coming from or what sources were used.

Tools and Framework used

This dictionary is a physical book.

Access

This dictionary can be accessed through select libraries.

Included Languages and Directionality

English to Mohawk, Mohawk to English.

Dialects Included

No dialect is specified for this dictionary.

Type of Dictionary

This dictionary is a bilingual, bidirectional wordlist which includes a grammar.

How are Entries Organised

This dictionary begins with a short guide to pronunciation.

This is followed by a section on Pronominal Prefixes and goes over how to create a someone to something paradigm for singular, dual, and plural scenarios. This section presents entries in a table format with columns labeled Pronom., Descriptive, and Paradigm. The entries themselves are organized in alphabetical order, with each table corresponding with a different alphabetical category. For example, the first table is labeled A-Stem Descriptives: Someone to Something and the following table is labeled C-Stem Descriptives: Someone to Something. A second and third section on Pronominal Prefixes follow this, covering different prefixes.

After this section is a section on Prepronominal Prefixes. This section goes over how to add prefixes to someone or something pronominal with different descriptives. The section is organized based on prefix type: The Definite, The Intentive, and The Non-Definite. The entries corresponding to each prefix are organized further into alternating groups of someone or something with A- or C-stem descriptives to which the prefixes are added as examples.

This is followed by a section on Prepronominals Which Modify: the Iterative, the Cislocative, the Translocative, the Dualic, the Parative, the Co-Incident, and the Contrastive. All these prepronominals are followed by examples of their uses with the intentive, the definite, and the non-definite prepronominals indicating temporal, and as a descriptive if applicable.

After the grammar, the dictionary includes a Mohawk to English dictionary. Entries are organized alphabetically by Mohawk word, which is bolded. The Mohawk word is followed by an English definition in italics. The English definition is often followed by example words which contain the Mohawk entry word or have a similar meaning and structure to it. Example words are written twice: once bolded and once in brackets, broken down into its morphemes, or the smallest units of the word which have meaning. Example words have their own English translations. If more than one example word exists, they are listed one after the other.

The last part of the dictionary is an English to Mohawk dictionary, again organized alphabetically, but this time by English word. Mohawk words remain in bold. Sometimes, the English entry is a phrase instead of a single word, but all entries translate to single Mohawk words. Entries consist of the English word or phrase, followed by the Mohawk translation or translations in bold.

Other Features

Other Notes

This dictionary is intended to be used alongside David Kanatawakhon-Maracle’s other resource, Akwekon Tetewakhanyon – Let’s Put It All Together. The dictionary is meant for students and teachers of the Mohawk language.