Does anyone know if there are Latin names for the various American Indian tribes? I am looking for the Latin for ‘Cherokee’. Does anyone know of such a Latin word?
I have contacted some Cherokees on the internet to see what their opinions would be of what word to use in Latin if I have to invent one. It appears that the consensus will be that I should use ‘Cherokee’ instead of a couple of other possible words that would not be easily recognisable to most non-Cherokees except for the few who have knowledge of it’s culture and language.
My idea is to use Cherokii (plural) for the people as a collective, ‘Gens Cherokiae’ for the tribe itself, and of course the noun/adjectives Cherokius, Cherokia, Cherokium.
I realise the fact that ‘ch’ occurs only in Latin words of Greek origin and is pronounced like the Greek letter ‘chi’, but I see no alternative to using the spelling.
Unless someone can show me a proper Latin name for the tribe, this will be my course of action.
Also, since some early European accounts of the New World were written in Latin, there must be one or more Latin words or terms for ‘Native American’, or ‘American Indian’. Does anyone have any idea what they are?
The reason North American Indians were named as such is because of the Europeans’ initial belief that they had discovered a sea-route to India. I am certain there is a Latin word for Indians of India, you could use the same word to describe North American Indians, just as we do in English.
My first suggestion would be “Serokii,” the use of the “s” based off the word for “Chinese” in Latin: Sinae. This comes from the Greek Sinai, and ultimately from the Sanskrit China, which actually had the English “ch” sound. Your other ideas, JC, seem sound.
As for “Indians,” those from India, or Native Americans, I think we should use Indici for Indians from India (this was the Latin word for them, after all), whereas the later Latin formation Indiani would be more appropriate when applied to the New World. Sententiam facit, nonne?
Actually this is a misconception. The area that we know as “India” today was known as Hindustan in Europe at the time. When Columbus wrote back to his patrons (the Spanish crown) about the native people he found, he referred to them as “una gente en Dios,” a people in god. the “en dios” eventually caught on. at least that’s what i read.
i forget where i read it actually, it was years ago, perhaps even when i was in high school. although i am fairly certain it was a more or less objective source, certainly not aimed at labeling indians/native americans/whatever you wish to call them. after reading the article i’m a little skeptical of the author as well as his critic, so who knows?
It’s nice to be back.