Vocabulaire Chacta

Mss.497.3.V852c

Date: 1820 | Size: 1 volume(s), 48 p.
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Abstract

The anonymous compiler of the Vocabulaire Chacta, ca.1820, gathered 149 elementary words in the Choctaw language with French equivalents, the basic numerals, and six "useful" (if not always appropriate) phrases. Arranged alphabetically by French. The notebook was donated to the American Philosophical Society by Peter Stephen Du Ponceau in 1827.

Background note

An early and avid linguist and ethnographer, Peter Stephen Du Ponceau nurtured the core collection of vocabularies of American Indian languages begun by Thomas Jefferson. By the time of his death in 1844, Du Ponceau had established the American Philosophical Society as one the nation's premier centers for the study of the indigenous languages of North America.

Scope and content

Digital objects note

This collection contains digital materials that are available in the APS Digital Library. Links to these materials are provided with context in the inventory of this finding aid. A general listing of digital objects may also be found here.

Collection Information

Provenance

Gift of Peter Stephen Du Ponceau, January 19, 1827.

Preferred citation

Cite as: Vocabulaire Chacta, American Philosophical Society.

Processing information

Recatalogued by rsc, 2002.

Other finding aids

Indexed in Freeman and Smith A Guide to Manuscripts Relating to the American Indian in the Library of the American Philosophical Society (Philadelphia: APS, 1966), no.184 (on-line at http://www.amphilsoc.org/library/guides/indians/).

Early American History Note

This volume contains Choctaw words with French equivalents. Acquired by Peter Du Ponceau in 1827, it is part of the APS's large collection of language materials from the early-nineteenth century.

Indexing Terms


Genre(s)

  • Language Material

Personal Name(s)

  • Anonymous
  • Du Ponceau, Peter Stephen, 1760-1844

Subject(s)

  • Choctaw language -- Dictionaries -- French
  • Language and Linguistics
  • Native America


Detailed Inventory

 Vocabulaire Chacta
1820 48 page(s)

The anonymous compiler of the Vocabulaire Chacta, ca.1820, gathered 149 elementary words in the Choctaw language with French equivalents, the basic numerals, and six "useful" (if not always appropriate) phrases. Arranged alphabetically by French. The vocabulary includes parts of the body, basic nouns and a few verbs, with numerals and simple phrases added at the end of the volume. The six phrases elicited are of particular interest, and are suggestive of the interests and attitudes of the collector. The notebook was donated to the American Philosophical Society by Peter Stephen Du Ponceau in 1827.

Access digital object:
https://diglib.amphilsoc.org/islandora/object/text:159856