Native American Influence On English

Decent Essays
Native Americans left a lasting imprint on the English language. Early English settlers used words from multiple different Native American languages as names for the new places and things that they had found on this continent. Throughout the whole country, there are rivers, states, and towns with Native American names. The states of Alabama, Delaware, Illinois, and Iowa, are all named after Native American tribes. The cities of Miami, Chicago, and Spokane also have Native American names. English has adopted many everyday words from various Native American languages as well. A few examples of this are the words chipmunk, moccasin, moose, potato, raccoon, and skunk.
While modern English is clearly influenced by Native Americans, it is not the

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Many American Indian nations had been affected by cultural differences from surrounding groups of people. However, the Haudenosaunee people generally remained unaffected and their governing system unchanged. The Haudenosaunee, or the Iroquois, consist of six nations: Mohawk, Onondaga, Oneida, Cayuga, Seneca, and Tuscarora. These six nations formed a peaceful and stable group of people. American colonists came in contact with many American Indian nations and learned a lot about their governments systems.…

    • 1165 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    People debate the oncoming of Spanish and Portuguese as being an encounter. The truth is that the Portuguese and Spanish had a dramatic negative impact on the Native Americans lives. They were changed forever because of their harsh attempts to Christianize the Americas. The Spanish empire gained control of much of the Americas and sent Spanish colonists there to enlist the help of encomiendas or Native American laborers. The natives had to be profitable to the Spanish in the eyes of the crown.…

    • 1325 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Great Essays

    When the earliest explorers came to America, wherever they settled they always influenced the culture of most native people. Cherokees like any other natives had their own culture and lived in an organized lifestyle. Early before the whites came, the Cherokees used to have a culture well organized that governed their aspect of life. Also, in spite of the white man’s influence, Cherokees had a form of education, language, economy, political systems and a lived in a particular geographical locality. The widespread impact of the white man prompted the Cherokees to change and integrate their lives to that of the white man.…

    • 1178 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Superior Essays

    When the Civil War was over Americans went west. Whites, Blacks, Asians, Hispanics and Mormons moved out west for cheap land and religious freedom. The Americans formed a new America. These areas that were settled were like colonies. They had their own ideas, laws and currency.…

    • 757 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    With the arrival of many Europeans onto Indian soil in the new world. The Indians learned to adapt to changes in their culture, and their way of life changed. Trading networks were established between the two groups which was beneficial for both parties. With the arrival of the Europeans, the indigenous land of the Indians was invaded, for example the Indians were separated into several main groups which comprised of the eastern woodlands, the great plains, and western tribes. After the Europeans invaded the lands that Indians had inhabited for thousands of years which remained undisturbed.…

    • 713 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Introduction: Description of how the colonization of the Americas affected American and Alaskan Natives. Slavery, mistreatment, expulsion of Natives of their lands to reservations Promising treaties that the government did with the Natives Americas but that were always violated. Relationship of the government of the United States and the tribal governments.…

    • 628 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    America is often described as melting pot. However, I believe America is better described as a mosaic with the different people and different cultures meshing together but still maintaining their distinctness. Each group that makes up America has their own story to tell. Within the social foundations of American education, there is the plight of African Americans fighting to end the racial segregation of schools; Native Americans pushing back against the efforts to assimilate them, Catholics who fear that Protestant dominated schools will threaten the religious beliefs of their children and women who wish to be seen more than domestic servants. There are also socioeconomic factors involved that hinder the educational obtainment of children…

    • 2381 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Europeans have had an impact on many peoples’ life and culture. This was no different when the Europeans first came to America and encountered the natives. When the English and the Puritans first arrived, the Native Americans handled them in different ways. Some welcomed them with open arms, while others approached them with caution. ; however, despite handling the Europeans differently, the natives were still impacted by them all the same.…

    • 897 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    After first contact with the Europeans, the diverse cultures of North American Indians began to undergo vast and various forms of change. European colonization and Western contact introduced novel materials, new techniques were developed in order to incorporate them into their material cultures. Thus, designs changed as the techniques and materials changed. However, the change with the largest impact was the change in purpose of art.…

    • 598 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The political, economic, and religious systems of the Native Americans, Europeans, and Africans created distinct societies based on the interactions experienced by each one. While there were visible differences, the groups also shared many similarities. The diverse societies learned to adapt to the environments around them and in doing so built civilizations very unique from each other. The advancements they made also led to unavoidable similarities as they began to interact with their neighbors. When Europe came into contact with the two groups, it led to a series of events that greatly impacted the systems, opening a new world to the three and altering them for better or worse.…

    • 1377 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Native American History

    • 1665 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Native Americans history began thousands of years before Columbus, first European, step foot on their land in North America. The Native Americans are a significant part of the United States culture. Many of the past on stories were created by them specifically. Natives have lived on American land for longer than anyone ever remember. The Native American’s were the first ethnic group to find America, however, they live on this land without no disruption nor struggle.…

    • 1665 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    GATES FORUM MARIALUISA RINCON AND JIMMIEKA MILLS “Both the Gates and French Families instilled the values of volunteerism and civic engagement. Our families believed that if life happens to bless you, you should use those gifts as wisely as you can.” Wherever you go in Seattle, you’ll find someone welcoming you to the Pacific Northwest. Even the ambiance at the first ever U.S. Education Learning Forum, a gathering of the nation’s greatest minds in education.…

    • 674 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Native American culture has been slowly dying for a little over five centuries. It started in 1492 when Columbus sailed out on his historic voyage and it is still going on in present day America. Interactions between Native Americans and European settlers often resulted in the complete destruction of music considered “pagan” by the Europeans. Native people were continuously removed and relocated from their ancestral homelands, losing many of their mythologies and ancient music traditions in the process. The Native American people have tried to fight back numerous times but there numbers were decimated in the beginning with the introduction of diseases such as measles, typhus, and smallpox.…

    • 1600 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Every group throughout the civil rights era suffered from discrimination due to their differences from Americans. In the past, many groups of people have struggled to gain total equality. Native Americans, LatinX, Women, Malcolm X, and MLK have all spent their lives fighting against the harsh mistreatment placed upon them. There are many similarities and differences between the struggles and strategies used to face these large problems. It is the difference in culture, skin tone, and sex, that caused each of these groups to be categorized as wrong and inferior to Americans.…

    • 1128 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    To understand what exactly led to the eventual fighting between the Native Americans and European settlers, one must first learn the cultural differences between them. While, some Native American’s learned to “coexist” with new foreign settlers trading and interacting with them, other natives did not like these invaders and were eventually destroyed, usually by force. These new Europeans tried to bring their new way of life to the natives while these people just wanted to maintain their traditional and natural way of life. Native Americans wanted to live for their family, religion and becoming one with nature. They believed that all things were connected spiritually and that their actions could directly influence nature around them.…

    • 936 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays