WHY DO ALGONQUINS SPEAK OLD NORSE?
Comment: Dr. Boaz was a talented man who did not focus on the Norse or the Algonquins. But the following paragraph covers some of his views on language.
"These two phenomena--retention of type with change of language and retention of language with change of type--apparently opposed to each other--often go hand in hand. An example is the distribution of the Arabs along the north coast of Africa. On the whole, the Arab element has retained its language, but at the same time intermarriages with the native races were common, so that the descendants of the Arabs have retained their old [Arab] language and have changed their type. On the other hand, the natives have to a certain extent given up their own languages, but have continued to intermarry among themselves, and have thus preserved their type." (Boaz, 1963, p. 140-1)
Comment: If Boaz had focused his attention on the Norse and Algonquin, he probably would have written a similar paragraph substituting "Norse" for "Arab" and "Algonquin" for "native."
Dr. Boaz' written testimony favors the Norse language transfer to the Algonquin type (culture).
Dr. Boaz uses the word "type" because he was arguing against the Nazi propogranda that there was a superior type of race. Where a ceertain type of man continues to exist, most of the original culture continues to thrive. So "type" of man and local culture are loosely linked.
In both the Arab/North African and the Norse/Algonquin situations there were traveling men who carried the language into an established local culture. The modern understanding of genetics implies that the physical traits of the travelers were swift;y dominated by the physical traits of the people in the stationary culture.
A way to describe the interation is to say, "The women of the culture "swallowed" the men but learned their language to be able to talk to them." Thus both cultures, North African and Algonquin, may be a composite of much of the original culture and some of the myths, artifacts, and traditions that came from the men who carried the new language.
SOUND INTERCHANGES
Comment: The sounds for "r," "n," "l," and "y" easily interchange as a language passes through time and distance. For example:
"... several features commonly taken as significant in Cree dialectally are less important than previously thought. The reflexes of [proto Algonquin] PA*l (/n/. /y/, and /l/) do not distinguish the dialect well, since there distribution does not correlate well with that of other features; [Table 1 on p.55 shows /r/ as grouped with PA*l reflexes.] (Handbook of North American Indians, Vol. 6, p.55 -56)
Comment: The /n/, /l//, /r/ and /l// cluster is shown in Figure 1 of American Indian Languages Before Columbus, a paper from the sumposium, Across Before Columbus. Gimore and McElroy. 1998, p. 184. The /n/ (a nasal), /l// (a liquid), /r/ amd /y/ (semivowels) sounds apparently interchange easily. See also: Handbook of North American Indians, Vol. 15, p. 75-76.
