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Loup language

Loup is an extinct Algonquian language, or possibly group of languages, spoken in colonial New England. It was attested in a notebook titled Mots loups (literally translating to "wolf words"), compiled by Jean-Claude Mathevet, a priest who worked among Algonquian peoples, composing of 124 pages.^[1] Loup ('Wolf') was a French colonial ethnographic term, and usage was inconsistent. In modern literature, it refers to two varieties, Loup A and Loup B.^[2] The language of the Mots loups notebook is different from all other New England languages, and is believed to have been spoken by the Nipmuc.^[1]

Attestation[edit]

Loup A, which is likely the language of the Nipmuck,^[2] is principally attested from a word list recorded from refugees by the St. Francis mission to the AbenakiinQuebec. The descendants of these refugees became speakers of Western Abenaki in the eighteenth century. Loup B refers to a second word list, which shows extensive dialectal variation. This may not be a distinct language, but just notes on the speech of various New England Algonquian refugees in French missions.^[3] According to Gustafson 2000, the geographical location and phonology of Loup rule out association with any other tribes except for the Nipmuck.^[1]

Phonology[edit]

The phonology of Loup A (Nipmuck), reconstructed by Gustafson 2000:

The vowel sounds likely have the same phonetic quality as other southern New England Algonquian languages. The short vowels /i o e a/ may represent the sounds as [ɪ], [ʊ], [ɛ,ə], and [ʌ], while the long vowels /iː/, /oː/, and /ã/ correspond to /i/, /o/, and /ã/.^[1][4]

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• OLAC resources in and about the Loup A language
• OLAC resources in and about the Loup B language
• Nipmuc Language.org