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New Jersey Native Animal Words

Here are the American Indian names of six native animals of New Jersey. We have given their names in two different Indian languages: Munsee and Lenape Delaware. As you can tell by looking at these words, Lenape and Munsee were related to each other. They both belong to the Algonquian language family.

Can you find one of these animal names that sounds similar in the Native American languages and English? English colonists borrowed the word for this new animal from Algonquian speakers!

New Jersey Native Animal Names

Lenape: ahtú (pronounced ah-too) Munsee: atóh (pronounced ah-toe)	Lenape: nahënëm (pronounced nah-huh-num) Munsee: éespan (pronounced ay-sponn)
Lenape: òkwes (pronounced oh-kwase) Munsee: xwáalŭwees (pronounced khwah-luh-wase)	Lenape: škakw (pronounced shkock-w) Munsee: shkáakwus (pronounced shkock-wuss)
Lenape: tahkox (pronounced tock-okh) Munsee: takwáx (pronounced tock-wakh)	Lenape: xkuk (pronounced kh-kook) Munsee: áxkook (pronounced akh-koke)

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