Ofo Language
Encyclopedia
The Ofo language was a language spoken by the Mosopelea
tribe who lived until c. 1673 in what is now Ohio along the Ohio River
, at which time they moved down the Mississippi River
to Mississippi, near the Natchez
, and thence to Louisiana, near the Tunica
.
It was sometimes suspected that the Ofo language was Muskogean. But in 1908, anthropologist John R. Swanton
discovered an aged female speaker living among the Tunica who had spoken Ofo since childhood. He obtained a vocabulary of the language, and quickly established that it was in fact Siouan, and similar to Biloxi
.
Mosopelea
The Mosopelea, or Ofo, were a Native American tribe who historically inhabited the upper Ohio River. In reaction to Iroquois invasions, they moved south to the lower Mississippi River, finally settling in Louisiana and assimilating with the Siouan-speaking Biloxi and the Tunica people...
tribe who lived until c. 1673 in what is now Ohio along the Ohio River
Ohio River
The Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...
, at which time they moved down the Mississippi River
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
to Mississippi, near the Natchez
Natchez people
The Natchez are a Native American people who originally lived in the Natchez Bluffs area, near the present-day city of Natchez, Mississippi. They spoke a language isolate that has no known close relatives, although it may be very distantly related to the Muskogean languages of the Creek...
, and thence to Louisiana, near the Tunica
Tunica-Biloxi
The modern Tunica-Biloxi tribe live in Mississippi and east central Louisiana. The modern tribe is composed of descendants of Tunica, Biloxi , Ofo , Avoyel , and Muskogean Choctaw. They speak mostly English and French...
.
It was sometimes suspected that the Ofo language was Muskogean. But in 1908, anthropologist John R. Swanton
John R. Swanton
John Reed Swanton was an American anthropologist and linguist who worked with Native American peoples throughout the United States. Swanton achieved recognition in the fields of ethnology and ethnohistory...
discovered an aged female speaker living among the Tunica who had spoken Ofo since childhood. He obtained a vocabulary of the language, and quickly established that it was in fact Siouan, and similar to Biloxi
Biloxi language
Biloxi is an extinct Siouan language which was at one time spoken in Mississippi, Louisiana. and southeast Texas.- History :Biloxis first encountered Europeans in 1699 along the Pascagoula River. By the mid-18th century they had settled in central Louisiana. Some were also noted in Texas in the...
.
Sources
- Holmer, Nils, M., An Ofo Phonetic Law, International Journal of American Linguistics, 13:1, 1947.
- Moseley, Christopher and R. E. Asher, ed. Atlas of the Worlds Languages (New York:Routelege, 1994) Map 5
External links
- Ofo on Native Languages
- The Ofo Language of Louisiana
- [muse.jhu.edu/journals/wicazo_sa_review/v016/16.2willard03.html]