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The Language
Language is part of HoocÄ…k identity, woven into the tribe's very name for itself which means "the people of the big (or sacred) voice." The 1832 register transliterates names spoken in the oral—unwritten—language of the day. This unique language lives on and continues to be heard. It has now also become a written language as its speakers labor to perpetuate it for the benefit of present and future generations.
A Snapshot of a Living Language​
The language in which the 1832 census names were written survives as a living language today. The intervening time between 1832 and the present has thus seen fluid developments. The words which John Kinzie penned in 1832 were influenced by family-based nuances of orthography, conjunctions of syllables, and the pronunciations of the day. The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) system for recording this distinct oral language has been adopted in recent times to provide standardization. The names you see in "A Landscape of Families" have been updated to the current IPA spellings where possible, with Kinzie's original phonetic spelling retained in parentheses. The IPA mode of writing uses a tailored alphabet to preserve the textures of a specially-nuanced language in ways that the English alphabet does not offer. Check out the alphabet as you pronounce HoocÄ…k family names.
The Language Division​
"The HoocÄ…k Waaziija Haci Language Division is dedicated to ensuring the HoocÄ…k Language continues to be a 'Living Language.' As a sign of respect to our elders, and the speakers that have come before us, we will continue to speak our language, celebrate our customs, respect the HoocÄ…k value system and teach our future generations the 'HoocÄ…k way of life.'"
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—Language Division Mission—
A Multi-Lingual Atmosphere​
The early 19th century was a time in which the region abounded in languages. Since antiquity, HoocÄ…k was joined by a number of other Indigenous languages, some being of a similar Siouxan form, and others being quite distinct. As Algonquin people groups entered the region, their languages added to the mix. By the 19th century, Ojibwe had become a trade language known in common by members of multiple regional tribes, but not as a replacement for each tribe's own dialect. The 1600s arrival of trans-Atlantic colonial influences added an entirely new slate of languages to the mix: French from the Great Lakes, Spanish from the South, English from the East, and a plurality of dialects from the diverse immigrant populations flooding the upper Mississippi lead district. These languages coexisted with no single language dominating the cultural landscape in the year 1832 when Kinzie's annuity census was penned. This linguistic richness was reflected in the register document itself, with words and names from at least four languages.