If asked to give an example of a Native American word, the average American today would likely struggle to provide much more than “tee-pee” or maybe “moccasin,” but the United States holds a secret about Native American language, namely that over half of our states were originally named by Native Americans. From Alabama to Wyoming, the names of 26 of our 50 states come from a Native American word. You might remember this fact about Mississippi from elementary school, thanks to its unusual name and tricky spelling, but with such a large number, the question arises – How could this be such a little-known fact?
Well, welcome to the Native American experience. The indigenous and colonial worlds clashed brutally in almost every aspect, and unfortunately, language was no exception. There were once approximately 300 different native languages across the lands that now make up the United States, with some scholars estimating that number to be as high as 2,000. Sadly, only about 160 of those are still classified as living languages, and many of that dwindling number are projected to disappear by the year 2050 without a massive conservation effort.
While those languages themselves are on the decline, an interesting linguistic phenomenon known as the Reservation accent (or “Rez accent”) has emerged. We’ll look at what the Rez accent is and how it came to be, but first let’s take a look at some Native American words that have found their way into US English.
Native American Words in English
Sadly, not as many Native American words have entered the English lexicon as there should be, but this is not uncommon with colonization, as similar linguistic takeovers have occurred the world over, from Australia to South Africa to Latin America. The indigenous languages of the US faced an even tougher challenge, as they were essentially hundreds of widely varied languages trying to hold their ground against the single homogenous colonization effort of English. Stereotypes and prejudice in the post-colonization eras furthered this linguistic destruction, but thankfully some words have remained.
Our words for certain woodland creatures – chipmunk, possum, raccoon, skunk, and woodchuck – all come from various native languages, and for good reason. As these creatures were not native to Europe, they had never been seen before by settlers and as such, the settlers had zero frame of reference for what to call them in English. The same goes for certain vegetables and trees, like squash, pecan and hickory.
The Sound of the Rez Accent
Western movies used to portray the Native American accent in a particularly disrespectful manner, a clumsy mishmash of stereotypes and the ever-present greeting “How!”, which was actually only used by the Lakota people in their word “Háu.”
There is a real Rez accent, however, and it is spoken by both multilingual people who speak a tribal language and those who solely speak English. Linguists note that the Rez accent has a sort of musical quality that is reflective of the fact that many Native American languages are tonal, while English is not. This means that when speaking English, Native American speakers may shift tones for emphasis much more often than other speakers would.
Another interesting aspect is the Rez accent’s prosody, or rhythm, and involves what is known as syllable timing. In the Rez accent, the tone shifts up and down, but all syllables are pronounced for the same amount of time. This produces an English accent that comes out in blocks or chunks, giving it a more succinct sound compared to how other English accents (like a Southern drawl) will extend syllables.
A Theory on the Origin of the Rez Accent
Native American languages are renowned for their variety and linguistic richness, from the complex verb morphologies of Navajo to Cherokee’s character-based writing system. So how did a fairly consistent Rez accent emerge amongst native speakers of so many different languages?
One premise is the boarding school theory, which suggests that Native American children who were sent off to mandatory boarding schools were taught to speak a certain “proper” form of English, but also developed their own style of English when speaking amongst themselves. It was a unique dynamic, as many of the young students came from different tribes and had different first languages, but were forbidden from speaking anything but English. Interactions with one another in this new tongue created a sort of creole, and students eventually went back and spread that accent to the rest of the reservation.
Rez Accent Slang
Thanks to recent popular series like Reservation Dogs and Dark Winds, broader audiences have been introduced to rez slang. Some Rez accent slang words have emerged that reclaim words and poke fun at stereotypes. Terms like “rezzed out” or “deep rez” refer to someone or something that is typical of the reservation or Native American experience. Native Americans may also use the initialism “NDN” (In-di-an) as a tongue-in-cheek way to refer to someone from the rez.
Native American Identity and the Rez Accent
Above all, the Rez Accent is a way in which Native Americans took a language that was forced on them and made it their own. Even if they are not fluent in the language of their ancestors, Native Americans can still find community by speaking as those around them do, and the Rez Accent can form an integral part of that identity.
