Lenape Lessons

Alënixsitàm!

Let's talk Lenape!

 

Lesson 1 -

 

 

          In daily life we often greet people, and so the act of speaking and greeting can be important.  In Lenape, here are some commonly used expressions.

 

Useful Expressions

 

Greetings:     

 

1. If you see someone you know, you say:

 

            Kulamàlsi hàch?                                   How are you?

            Hè! Kulamàlsi hàch?                            Hi!  How are you?

 

                  [You are literally asking, "Do you feel well?"]

 

[Note:  The Lenape word “hàch,”  or as some speakers say, “hèch,” is like a spoken question mark.  It lets you know that the person speaking to you is asking a question.]

 

The person may reply:        

 

            Nulamàlsi                                            I am fine

            Osòmi                                                  Fine

            Ku mayay                                            Not really

 

When you are greeting two persons or more at the same time, you will use:

 

           Kulamàlsihëmo hàch?                       How are y'all?

           Hè!  Kulamàlsihëmo hàch?               Hi!  How are y'all?

 

[Note:  We know that “y’all” is probably not considered the best English, but it is shorter than writing “you people” every time.]

 

The response may be Osòmi  or  Ku mayay  as given above, or it may be:

 

            Nulamàlsihëna                                     We're fine

 

 

Other Things to Say When you Meet:

 

          Kèku hàch kuwatu?                      What do you know?

          Kuwatu hàch kèku?                      Do you know anything?

 

Common Answers:

 

Some common answers to the questions above might be:

 

          Ku kèku                                            Nothing

          Mësi kèku                                        This and that

          Xaheli kèku                                     Many things

 

 

Small  Talk:

 

        Wëli kishku                                       It is a good day

        Wëli lòku                                           It is a good evening

 

{{Note:  In Lenape it would not be common to use these expressions as greetings as is done in English, (Good Day!).  They are more like comments on the weather rather than greetings in Lenape.}}

 

Wèchi èt xu sukëlan                     Perhaps it will rain

         

There are many things you can say about the weather, and we will learn them later.

 

2. After a brief conversation, you may want to go to somewhere else and you can say:

 

          Ntalëmska                              I am leaving

          Ntalëmskahëna                     We are leaving

          Nëmachi                                  I am going home

          Nëmachihëna                        We are going home

 

The usual response is:

 

           Yuh!                                        Okay!

 

When you are about to leave, you may say to that person:

 

          Làpìch knewël                              I'll see you again

           (again-will  I-see-you)      

        

         Làpi knewëlch                               I'll see you again

           (again  I-see-you-will)

        

         Xu làpi knewël                               I'll see you again

            (will  again  I-see-you)

 

         

Or to those people:

 

          Làpìch knewëluhëmo                   I'll see y'all again

          Xu làpi knewëluhëmo                   I'll see y'all again

 

 

Beyond regular greetings: 

 

If you see a person who you consider a friend, there are special terms you can use to greet that person. 

 

{{Note:  Among the Lenape the use of the term “friend” is not used as freely as it is in English.  You would not normally use the friendship terms for someone you had only met a few days before.}}

 

In Lenape the terms for “friend” are used only as man-to-man or woman-to-woman, and they are as follows:

 

          Nchu                  Friend!  (man-speaking-to-man)

          Nchutia             Dear Friend!  (man-speaking-to-man)

          Ichu                   Friend!  (woman-speaking-to-woman)

 

A man can greet his man friend as follows:

 

          Hè, Nchu! Kulamàlsi hàch?    Hi, Friend!  How are you?

 

or the words could be arranged as:

 

          Hè! Kulamàlsi hàch, Nchu?    Hi!  How are you, Friend?

 

 

If you meet a person whom you haven't seen for a long time, you may say:

 

          Kpaihàkwinakwsi                       I haven't seen you

                                                                 for a long time

 

Then you can add:

 

          Ta(ni) hàch kta?                        Where did you go?

          Ta(ni) hàch kum?                      Where have you been?

                                                                           (or)

                                                                Where are you

                                                                    coming from?

 

You can answer the question above by saying:

 

          Kamink nta                                  I went to Bartlesville.

          Kàpink num                                 I came from Coffeyville.

 

 

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A SMIDGEN OF LENAPE GRAMMAR

Lesson 2 -

Grammar is a subject that scares most people away in the study of language. Lenape has rules of grammar that are in many ways different from those of English and languages related to English. We will explain these as we progress with the lessons. First, let’s discuss categories in Lenape.

Categories of Words in Lenape:

In some languages, words are put into categories according to sex or gender, so that some words are masculine, and some are feminine. Lenape also uses categories, but they are not based on gender.

The two categories in Lenape are ANIMATE and INANIMATE. The terms "animate" and "inanimate" are simply convenient labels that reflect the Lenape division of everything in the world. Nearly all living things are Animate. For example:

ANIMATE

Things that have never lived (or never lived independently) are usually Inanimate (such as the parts of a corn plant: shucks, stalk, ear, etc.). For example:

INANIMATE

There are exceptions to every rule, and in Lenape some words are Animate that would not be thought of as being such. Here are two examples:

And some you would expect to be Animate but are not, such as:

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The Articles in Lenape:

Articles: a, an, the, this, that

There are no words in Lenape for ‘a’ or ‘an’, as in 'a boy' or 'an animal'. In Lenape we use no word where English uses 'a' or 'an'. For example:

neyo tipas  -    I see a chicken

The most common article in English is ‘the,’ but Lenape is more specific. The Article will tell you if the subject is Animate or Inanimate, nearby or far away, and if there is one or more than one.

Some examples:

As further explanation, one reason there is no word in Lenape which exactly matches the English word 'the' is because in English 'the' is used for one thing, or for several things, or for people or any living creatures. Lenape is more specific. The Article will tell you if the subject is Animate or Inanimate, nearby or far away, and if there is one or more than one. The Article is actually more like the words 'this', 'that', 'these', or 'those'. The articles are as follows:

To give a better idea how these are used, here are some short sentences in Lenape. First the Animate forms.

Note how the verb ('to be black') and the Article change to match the subject ('cat'). Now for some Inanimate forms.

As with ('cat') in the first set of sentences, here too the verb and the Article change to match the subject ('rock'). English does this somewhat also, because you know you would not say, "Look at the rock, he is black" for the simple reason that it does not sound correct.

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Lesson 3 -