Erie language

Erie was believed to have been an Iroquoian language spoken by the Erie people, similar to Wyandot. But it was poorly documented, and linguists are not certain that this conclusion is correct.

Erie
Native to	United States
Region	south of Lake Erie
Ethnicity	Erie people
Extinct	17th century
Language family	Iroquoian Northern Lake Iroquoian Five Nations Huronian Erie
Language codes
ISO 639-3	None (mis)
Linguist List	qgl
Glottolog	erie1238
Nation du Chat region

The names Erie and Eriez are shortened forms of Erielhonan, meaning "long tail", referring to local panthers. The Erie were called the "Cat people" (Nation du Chat in French; Hodge 1910,[1] Swanton[2]).

At least one loanword survives from the Erie language: Chautauqua, a word of unknown translation.[3]

Translation

• Erielhonan (Long Tail)
• Ronnongwetonwanca (Good Luck)
• Kahqua (Kahkwa)
• Gùkulëáwo (Wolf)

References

1. Erie (Huron: yěñresh, 'it is long-tailed', referring to the eastern puma or panther; Tuscarora, kěn'räks, 'lion', a modern use, Gallicised into Eri and Ri, whence the locatives Eri'e, and Riqué, 'at the place of the panther', are derived. Compare the forms Erieehronon, Eriechronon, and Riquéronon of the Jesuit Relations, signifying 'people of the panther'. It is probable that in Iroquois, the puma and the wild-cat were originally referred to by the same generic name, and that the defining term has survived as the name of the puma or panther). It was a populous, sedentary Iroquoian-speaking tribe. In the 17th century, the Erie occupied territory extending south from Lake Erie probably to the Ohio River, east to the lands of the Conestoga along the east watershed of Allegheny River. Their language was thought to resemble that of the Hurons (Wyandot), known as an Iroquoian people.
   Smithsonian Institution Bureau of Ethnology Bulletin #30.
2. "Erie". Meaning in Iroquois, "long tail," and referring to the panther, from which circumstance they are often referred to as the Cat Nation. The Erie belonged to the Iroquoian language family. Also called: GA-quA'-ga-o-no, by Lewis Henry Morganal (1851)
3. "Stories behind names of many familiar places", Olean Times Herald