American Indian Languages
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Quiripi (Quinnipiac, Unquachog, Wampano, Naugatuck, Mattabesic)
Language: The language of the Quiripi tribes of Western Connecticut and southern Long Island has been extinct for more than two centuries.
The language was certainly Algonkian and seems to have been closely related
to the Mohican dialects.
We have only
four recorded samples of the language remaining. Because those samples are small and erratically spelled, it is difficult to tell whether the languages
of the Quinnipiac, Wampano, Unquachog, and Naugatuck tribes were identical to each other, related but distinct languages, or dialects of a single language.
Most linguists believe they were dialects of a single language, which they refer to as Wampano, Quiripi-Naugatuck-Unquachog, or just Quiripi.
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People: The Native American tribes of Connecticut--the Mohican
and Mohegan tribes, the Nipmuc,
and the Quiripi-speaking tribes like the Quinnipiack, Wampano, Unkechaug, Naugatuck, Mattabesic, Schaghticoke, and Paugussett--were devastated by smallpox and other European diseases.
Some Wampano villages suffered more than 90% casualties. Like other Native Americans of New England, the survivors merged together, and many original tribal
distinctions were lost. This has caused trouble for their descendents who are trying to seek tribal recognition today; though Schaghticoke, Unkechuag, and
Paugusset tribes still exist today, and though no one doubts their Native New England ancestry, they cannot prove a continuous cultural tradition to the federal
government because the different bands merged together so much after their heavy population losses.
Quiripi language samples, articles, and indexed links.
Related links about the Quiripi tribe past and present.
Quiripi Language Resources
Quiripi Vocabulary:
List of vocabulary words in the Quiripi/Unkechaug language, with comparison to words in other Algonquian languages.
Quiripi Lord's Prayer:
Translation of a Christian prayer into the Quiripi language.
Resurrecting Wampano (Quiripi) from the Dead:
Abstract of a linguistics paper about the phonological reconstruction of the Wampano language.
Jefferson's Lost Legacy:
Article on Thomas Jefferson's thwarted attempts to record the Unquachog language.
Quiripi Language:
Brief Wikipedia article.
Quiripi-Unquachog Language Tree:
Theories about Quiripi language relationships compiled by Linguist List.
Indian Languages Revived:
Blog post about language revival efforts for the Shinnecock and Unkechaug languages.
Some Helps For The Indians:
A Christian catechism written in the Quiripi language.
Official homepages of modern New England tribes whose ancestors spoke the Quiripi/Wampano language:
Schaghticoke Tribal Nation
Golden Hill Paugussett Indian Nation
Quinnipiac Tribal Council
Poospatuck Unkechaug Indian Nation
Southern New England:
Maps of early Quiripi and Unkechaug lands.
Connecticut Indian Map 
New York Indian Map:
Tribal maps showing the original territory of the Quiripi Indians and their neighbors.
Mattabesic History:
History of the Mattabesic tribe from the First Nations Histories.
The Quinnipiacs:
Article on the history of the Quinnipiac tribe of Connecticut and their interactions with Europeans.
Quinnipiack: Scaticook Tribe:
Encyclopedia articles on the Quinnipiack and Schaghticoke tribes.
The Poospatuck Reservation:
Brief history of the Poospatuck Unkechaug tribe of Long Island.
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Additional Resources, Links, and References
Pueblo Quinnipiac: Lengua Quiripi-Unquachog:
Articles on the Quiripi language in Spanish.
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