Facts about the Western Delaware Language
Western Delaware is a variation of a Southern Unami Native American dialect, taught by the Delaware Tribe of Indians. It is labeled Western because the language was used in the Western region of Oklahoma.
The Unami language in its original form - also known as Lenape ‘is now an extinct language formerly hailing from Pennsylvania and New Jersey. The Delaware Tribe has struggled to create tapes of natives and make up lessons in order to save the Western Delaware element of the original Unami speech, as most residents in Oklahoma have shifted to speaking English in the present day. Only elders aged ninety and above speak it on a day-to-day basis.
The Western Delaware Language comes from Lenape (pronounced Leh-nah-pay), and the tribal name gets adopted to mean “the real people” (the Delaware part comes from the Delaware River, which frequents Lenape lands and was traveled on via canoes).
It is a language stemming from the Algonquian family. It has been said that the Western Delaware homelands are the original birthplace of the Algonquian language family, even being dubbed the “grandfather” by other tribes.
