| Etchemin | |
|---|---|
| Native to | United States |
| Region | Maine |
| Extinct | 17th century[1] |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | etc |
etc | |
| Glottolog | None |
Etchemin was a language of theAlgonquian language family, spoken in early colonial times on the coast ofMaine. The wordEtchemin is thought to be eitherFrench alteration of an Algonquian word for 'canoe' or a translation ofSkidijn, the native word for people in use by the inhabitants of the St. John and St. Croix Rivers.
The only known record of the Etchemin language is a list of the numbers from one to ten recorded byMarc Lescarbot in the early 17th century and published in his bookThe History of New France (1609). The numerals in the list match those ofMalecite-Passamaquoddy,Eastern Abenaki, as well as languages of southern New England such asWampanoag, but as a set they do not match any otherAlgonquian language. The Etchemin language disappeared not long after Lescarbot's visit, and it is unknown what became of the tribe. All other language records called 'Etchemin', under more detailed analysis, appear to be the neighboringMalecite-Passamaquoddy language.