Shayne Crawford
Overall, 52 percent of all the world’s languages are spoken by fewer than 10,000 people each (Coulmas 2005: 150 as cited in Van Herk, 2012). One of those languages happens to be Abenaki. Abenaki used to have several regional dialects. It is a branch of the Eastern Algonquin language group along with Penobscot, Passamaquoddy, Malecite and Micmac who all speak distinct dialects of Eastern Algonquin (Wiseman, 2001, p.79). The Abenakis covered a vast amount of territory back in the day.
Wôbanakik covered a significant portion of what would become America during the years of the Moose (approximately 10 000 – 6500 Winters Ago) (Wiseman, 2001, p.26). Wôbanakik’s territory was significantly reduced by 1500 AD due to many circumstances relating to colonial invasion (Wiseman, 2001, p.70)
Continue reading “Abenakis Language Attrition and Revitalization”