Our catch phrase is on its way.
Dear Fellow Earthlings,
The word "Seneca" is the English translation for the Seneca word " Onödowa’ga’ " when one is talking about the Seneca language of the Seneca people, who are members of the Seneca Nation, located in the western part of the state of New York in the United States. When one is using the word "Seneca" to describe the people, customs, or culture of the Seneca people in English, then the two-word combinations "Seneca people", "Seneca customs", "Seneca culture", and so on are used. I used to wonder why, when speaking English, we don't simply use the word " Onödowa’ga’ " instead of the word "Seneca" when we are talking about the proud "western gatekeepers" of the Iroquois Confederation. After all, we DO use the words "Cayuga", "Oneida, "Onondaga”, and “Mohawk” when we refer to the other four members of the Confederation. Although these four names are not quite the actual names used by these four nations when members of the four are referring to one another in their respective native languages, they do nevertheless sound a great deal closer to their “real names” than does the word “Seneca” to the name “Onödowa’ga’ ". I can only surmise why this is so: I feel that the pronunciation of the word “Onödowa’ga’ “ back in the 1700s presented so many difficulties for native speakers of English that it was much easier for them to use a completely different word when referring to the Seneca people and their language. But how in the world did English speakers come up with the word “Seneca”? The only explanation for this that I have been able to come up with is since the Seneca people have a long tradition of producing great "speechmakers", Europeans somehow decided to name them after the Greek Stoic philosopher Seneca (ca. 4 BC – AD 65), who was also quite an orator.. ..This is, of course, but conjecture on my part. All I DO know is that now that I am learning to speak Seneca, I should not use the Seneca word “Onödowa’ga’ “ when doing so. When I am speaking Seneca, however, I should by all means use the word. It will take a lot of work practicing my Seneca Jingles before I will be able to pronounce the word Onödowa’ga’ ".correctly, but I will persevere! More on this in tomorrow’s blog.
Steve Walker, Earthsaver and Jingles Creator
© 2013 Steve Walker, The Jingles-The Japan Foundation for English Pronunciation, Summit Enterprises.