Some Illinois Words: Natural Resources*
Illinois Language** French Language English Language
nipi

/nipi/

(NIH•pih)

 eau water
masc8te8i

/maskoteewi/

(mas•koh•TAY•wih)

 prairie prairie
mitteg8i

/mihtekwi/

(mih•TEK•wih)

 arbre oui bois plus forest
irenans8a

/irenanswa/

(ih•ren•AN•zwah)

 boeuf bison
m8ns8o

/moonswa/

(MOAN•zwah)

 chevreuil deer
michi8ia

/mihiiwia/

(mih•SHE•wih•ah)

 cerf American elk (wapiti)
chichipa

/iihiipa/

(sheeh•SHE•pah)

 canard duck
kiconessa

/kiihkoneehsa/

(keeh•koh•NAY•sah)

 poisson fish
mintchipi

/miincipi/

(meen•JIH•pih)

 bled maize (corn)

*From the French-Illinois dictionaries compiled by Jacques Gravier in 1700 (Manuscript at Watkinson Library, Trinity College, Hartford, Connecticut) or Jean Le Boullenger in 1725 (Manuscript at the John Carter Brown Library, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island; photocopy at Illinois State Museum, Springfield). The Illinois words in these dictionaries represent the Peoria dialect of the Miami-Illinois language (Belting 1958; Costa 1994).

**Words set in italics are phonemic spellings as recorded by Jacques Gravier or Jean Le Boullenger; words set in /slashes/ are written in the phonemic spelling system used by modern linguists (Costa 1991, 1994); words set in (parentheses) are guides to pronunciation. The symbol "8" represents the letter "w" when it precedes a vowel; it represents the letter "o" in other positions. For example, masc8te8i (prairie) is written phonetically as /maskoteewi/ and is pronounced "mas•koh•TAY•wih."

For help with pronunciation, consult the Miami-Illinois pronunciation guide.