Lenape-English Dictionary

Description

Publisher: Elangomat Waletittin Date: 1977 Pages: 50 Language: EnglishFor about a century, beginning with 1740, Missionaraies of the United Brethren, or Moravians, devoted themselves to the conversation and civilization of portions of Lenâpe’ or Delaware Indians. Thes e earnest Christian men studied the native tongue, reduced it to writing, and printed it in, for the use of their converts, a number of works of a religious and educational character. The history of their literary activity in this language has been recently traced elsewhere, in detail,* and need not be repeated here. While some of the the results appeared in type, much of it remained in manuscript until the curiosity of scientific students led to its publication. Thus, in 1827, Peter S. Duponceau edited the Grammar of Zeisberger, + and sixty years later his English-German-Onondaga-Delaware Dictionary was printed by the private liberality of Professor E.N. Horsford. These works of David Zeisberger - whose life found an able and sympathetic narrator in the late Rev. Edmund de Schweintz*-together with his printed Delaware Spelling Book, were the chief sources from which the later missionaries drew their knowledge of the Lenâpe’ dialect; and unquestionably the present Lenâpe’-English Dictionary was founded mainly upon the liguistic work of his proto-Lenâpist. So far as the history of the MS, is concerned, I add nothing the what was stated in The Lenâpe’ and their Legends, which is follows:-It is probable the Mr. Dencke was the compiler of the Delaware Dictionary which is preservedin the Moravian Archives at Bethlehem. The MS, is an oblong octavo, in a small, but beutifully clear hand, and comprises about 3700 words. The handwriting is that of Rev. Mr. Kampman, who was a missionary to the Delawares on the Canada Reservation from 1840 to 1842. On inquiring the circumstances connected with the MS., he staed to me that t was written at the period named, and was a copy of some other work, probaly by Mr. Dencke; but of this he was not certain.The Rev . C.F. Dencke, here alluded to, was missionary to the Delawares at New Fairfield, Canada, for a number of years after the war of 1812. He was the author of a grammar of the tongue, now appearently lost, * and translated into various portions of the New Testament. His death took place in 1839.