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Hello All,
I just discovered this forum, so please excuse me if I violate forum etiquette.
I recently became a grandmother & the question has come up “What do you want him to call you?” I’m not too vain to be called gran’ma or whatever, but I feel that this is a good time to infuse a little of my native ancestry back into my family. Does anyone know the tutelo word & pronunciation for grandmother?
Thanks for any help.
Higun
h -as it is in english
i -as in ‘machine’
g -hard as in ‘get’
u -like the french u in ‘dur’ or the english u in ‘pull’
n -slightly nasal as in ‘bon’
Thanks a lot, Bill.
I used to look for words on the Occaneechi Web site, but I can’t find the language link anymore. Can you recommended a link for other words or phrases?
The Early Canadiana website has Horatio Hale’s Tutelo dictionary online. There’s a link from the first page of this site, http://www.saponitown.com. Scroll down the page, you should find it. Or just google horatio hale and I’ll bet it pops up.
Also, keep in mind, when pronouncing these words, the emphasis is on the even numbered syllables, pretty much the opposite of English. So, it would be hi GUN, not HIG un. It’s the secret ingredient, actually, for making an Indian word sound Indian.
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