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User:Pingnova/sandbox/Minnesota etymology bibliography

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The purpose of this userspace page is to collect recent, accessible, fully up-to-date, and accurate bibliography information about the etymology of the state name Minnesota. The author believes that a unified resource such as this can improve the quality of Wikipedia content which includes information about the etymology of Minnesota.[a]

As noted in Minnesota#Etymology (as of May 22nd, 2024), Euro-American settlers have confused the precise Dakota language behind the state name since the time of contact. This has led to a profusion of English-language sources that repeat historical mistakes and continue to perpetuate misinformation about both Dakota language and the name of Minnesota.[b]

Prioritized citations include those from living Dakota language professionals, Dakota-perspective historians, and Euro-American sources that are considered to have high veracity and expertise in the areas of Dakota history and language. Additional citations that were previously considered to be accurate but are no longer, or that are frequently cited on Wikipedia, will also be included with notes indicating their errors and suggesting better citations. Primary or difficult to access citations will be avoided. Dictionaries or entries without additional encyclopedic or contextual information will likewise be avoided.

Overall consensus on the etymology of Minnesota[edit]

Minnesota as it is pronounced by most English speakers today, with a "regular s" or a "hard s", means "clear water". To the understanding of a modern Minnesota or Dakota person, Minnesota means "clear water", or the more poetic explanation: "water so clear it reflects the sky".

Etymological history[edit]

The spelling of the official state name "Minnesota" was devised by the territory's House of Representatives for the future Minnesota Territory. Between 1846 when the first bill for the formation of the territory was introduced and 1849 when the bill finally passed and the territory was legally formed, multiple versions of the name were debated including "Minasota". "Minnesota" was based on the translations of Reverend Edward D. Neill, who used the popular orthographies of Reverend Gideon H. Pond. Pond recorded "minne" as "water" and "sota" as "cloudy". At the time, Pond's interpretations were considered the most accurate (and frequently the only ones in existence). To the understanding of Pond, Neill, and the territorial legislature, "Minnesota" meant "cloudy water".[9]

In Dakota language there are two words which are spelled and sound similar, and which describe similar phenomena, that became the state name Minnesota: mni sota and mnissota.[c][d] Previously as an exclusively oral language with no orthography, the difference was in pronunciation.

Mni sota: mni "water", sota lit. 'clear' (so clear and still that it reflects the sky).

Mnissota: mni "water", ssota "cloudy" or "smoky" (a description of mist over water: "misty").

These two words are spelled and sound similar but mean two opposite things: clear water or cloudy water. Additionally, mnissota in modern Dakota does not mean that the water itself is cloudy or turbulent, but that there are clouds or smoke over the water, such as seasonal mists.

Minnesota as it is pronounced by most English speakers today, with a "regular s" or a "hard s", means "clear water". To the understanding of a modern Minnesota or Dakota person, Minnesota means "clear water", or the more poetic explanation: "water so clear it reflects the sky".

Some Dakota do adhere to "Minnesota" pronounced as mnissota meaning "misty water", but that is rare to encounter outside Dakota communities.

Relevent entries in primary sources[edit]

A Dakota-English Dictionary by Stephen Return Riggs. This is a dated document that is considered historical and does not reflect modern Dakota. References to these dictionary entries by themselves are not sufficient.

  • mi'ni, n. water.[10]
  • Mi'nisota, n. the Minnesota or Saint Peters River. It means whitish water and is the name also of the lake called by white people Clear Lake.[11]
  • Mi'niśośe, n. turbid water, i. e., the Missouri River.[11]
  • śo'ta, n. smoke.[12]
  • śo'ta, v. n. to smoke, as a fire.[12]

Highest quality citations[edit]

  • Westerman, Gwen; White, Bruce (2012). Mni Sota Makoce: The Land of the Dakota. Minneapolis, Minnesota: Minnesota Historical Society Press. ISBN 9780873518697. LCCN 2012022469. OCLC 793221826. OL 25355821M.
The authors offer the original phrase that became the name Minnesota and describe the linguistics behind it. This book is the best modern summary of Dakota history and location language, with comparisons to modern scholarship and Dakota tradition. Should take precedence over other sources.
On page 10: "Our title, Mni Sota Makoce, uses the Dakota adjective sota with a regular "s," meaning "clear" or "sky-colored," so that it translates as "land where the waters are so clear they reflect the clouds." Just one of the forms of the name..."

Citations that can provide additional context[edit]

While some citations are not high quality on their own, they can help provide historical or cultural context, particularly about Euro-American settler and scholar perceptions, which may be linguistically erranous when provided by themselves.

  • Upham, Warren (2001). Minnesota Place Names: A Geographical Encyclopedia (3rd ed.). St. Paul, MN: Minnesota Historical Society Press. ISBN 9780873513968. OCLC 45137506. addl. ISBN: 0873513967.
Warren accurately describes the legislative and settler-focused history of the name Minnesota and offers an unnuanced translation of the Dakota words. Takes precedence over historical sources but not Mni Sota Makoce.
On page 4: "The Dakota, or Sioux, name Minnesota means sky-tinted water (Minne, water, and sota, somewhat clouded)..."
Historical understandings only. Early European attempt at Romanizing Dakota. Should not take precedence on pages for words in modern use. Currently this is a problem on English Wikimedia projects.
This work has been republished in multiple editions and formats including the below.

Erronous citations[edit]

Campbell does not provide enough context on the etymology of Minnesota and simply mentions it once with an unnuanced translation. The book is not intended to be an etymological source for specific terms but a general overview of language histories, as noted in the preface which is about 5 pages in (page unnumbered).

Additional considerations[edit]

Orthography[edit]

There is currently no orthographic standard for written Dakota, although best practice is to follow the conventions of recent widely publicized research from the University of Minnesota department of American Indian Studies (particularly their Dakota Language Program), which actively publishes research through the Minnesota Historical Society Press.

Mni Sota Makoce: The Land of the Dakota includes an orthographic standard developed by the University of Minnesota which has gained wide acceptance. ("Introduction", page 11.)

Dialect[edit]

Dakota language includes multiple dialects which are often mutually intelligible (speakers of different dialects can still understand each other). Pond, Neill, Williamson, and Riggs specifically studied the dialect of the Sisseton Dakota, and so the name Minnesota has a Sisseton bias when it comes to interpreting meaning and deciding which orthography to use.

See also[edit]

Footnotes[edit]

  1. ^ A number of these citations are taken from my Wiktionary userpage, which includes similar notes and resources on Dakota language and sources for Dakota language.
  2. ^ Minnesota#Etymology. "The word Minnesota comes from the Dakota[1] name for the Minnesota River, which got its name from one of two words in Dakota: "mní sóta", which means "clear blue water",[2][3] or "Mníssota", which means "cloudy water".[4][5] Early explorers interpreted the Dakota name for the Minnesota River in different ways, and four spellings of the state's name were considered before settling on "Minnesota" in 1849, when the Territory of Minnesota was formed.[6] Dakota people demonstrated the name to early settlers by dropping milk into water and calling it mní sóta.[5] Many places in the state have similar Dakota names, such as Minnehaha Falls ("curling water" or waterfall), Minneiska ("white water"), Minneota ("much water"), Minnetonka ("big water"), Minnetrista ("crooked water"), and Minneapolis, a hybrid word combining Dakota mní ("water") and -polis (Greek for "city").[7] The state seal features the phrase Mni Sóta Makoce ("the land where the water reflects the skies"), the Dakota name for the larger region.[8]" Accessed May 22, 2024.
  3. ^ Also transcribed as mni šota with the Latin orthographic interpretation of the "soft s" Š or mnißota with the German language orthographic interpretation of the "sharp s" ß; I use the "double s" ss in this article to simplify typing for keyboards.
  4. ^ Both words also transcribe mni as mní with the "long i" or "i-acute" Í.

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Good Question: How Did Minnesota Get Its Name?". CBS Minnesota. May 11, 2015. Archived from the original on July 16, 2019. Retrieved September 9, 2019.
  2. ^ New Lakota dictionary. Lakota Language Consortium (2008).
  3. ^ "Mnisota". Dakota Dictionary Online. University of Minnesota Department of American Indian Studies. 2010. Archived from the original on October 2, 2013. Retrieved October 6, 2016.
  4. ^ "Mnisota". Dakota Dictionary Online. University of Minnesota Department of American Indian Studies. 2010. Archived from the original on May 25, 2017. Retrieved October 6, 2016.
  5. ^ a b "Minnesota State". Minnesota Historical Society. Archived from the original on September 1, 2007. Retrieved April 26, 2008.
  6. ^ Sandy, John H. (January 4, 2024). "Origin and History of the Minnesota Place Name". Retrieved 2024-01-25.
  7. ^ "Minnehaha Creek". Minnesota Historical Society. Archived from the original on April 30, 2011. Retrieved April 26, 2008.
  8. ^ Olson, Melissa (15 December 2023). "How to pronounce 'Mni Sóta Makoce,' the Dakota phrase that will be on the new state seal". Retrieved 14 May 2024.
  9. ^ Upham 2001, p. 4–5 harvnb error: multiple targets (2×): CITEREFUpham2001 (help)
  10. ^ Riggs 1992, p. 314 harvnb error: multiple targets (2×): CITEREFRiggs1992 (help)
  11. ^ a b Riggs 1992, p. 316 harvnb error: multiple targets (2×): CITEREFRiggs1992 (help)
  12. ^ a b Riggs 1992, p. 447 harvnb error: multiple targets (2×): CITEREFRiggs1992 (help)

Citations[edit]

External links[edit]


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