- Kanata
Kanata is a Mohawk word, meaning "village" or "settlement." Until the mid-20th century, this word was thought to have been the origin of
Canada's name . But, as evidenced by the journal ofJacques Cartier about his voyage to present-dayQuebec [cite book | first = Jacques | last = Cartier | origyear = 1545 | date =2004-05-01 | url = http://www.gutenberg.org/files/12356/12356-h/12356-h.htm | title = Relation originale de Jacques Cartier | location = Paris | publisher = Tross | pages =p 48] ,Canada , in the early 16th century, Canada's name stems from the Saint-Lawrence Iroquoian word "canada" [cite book | first = Bruce G. |last = Trigger | coauthors = Pendergast, James F. | year = 1978 |chapter=Saint-Lawrence Iroquoians | title = Handbook of North American Indians Volume 15 | location= Washington |publisher= Smithsonian Institution | pages= pp. 357–361 | id = OCLC 58762737] , which holds the same meaning. This Iroquoian language was spoken by the inhabitants ofStadacona and the neighbouring region near present-dayQuebec City in the 16th century, [cite book | first = Jacques | last = Cartier | origyear = 1545 | date =2004-05-01 | url = http://www.gutenberg.org/files/12356/12356-h/12356-h.htm | title = Relation originale de Jacques Cartier | location = Paris | publisher = Tross | pages =p 48] with words having similarities to those in related Iroquoian languages, most notably in Mohawk and Oneida."Kanata" as factual truth
Both the
Canadian Encyclopedia of 1985 and various publications of the Government of Canada, such as " [http://www.canadianheritage.gc.ca/progs/cpsc-ccsp/sc-cs/o5_e.cfm The Origin of the Name Canada] " published by theDepartment of Canadian Heritage , suggest that the word "Canada" stems instead from a "Huron-Iroquois" word, "kanata", meaning village or settlement. Although this would appear at first to be an astounding historical error, since neither the Hurons nor the Iroquois lived in the St. Lawrence valley in the 16th century at the time of Jacques Cartier's visits, it should be remembered that this statement reflects theories first advanced in the 18th and 19th centuries that were later discredited by archeological evidence and linguistic comparative studies of the late 20th century. Several prominent authors, notably W. Kaye Lamb, the former Dominion Archivist who authored the article on [http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0001216 Canada] in the Canadian Encyclopedia of 1985, were apparently unaware of the many archeological and linguistic studies published since 1950. This "Huron-Iroquois" theory was later integrated into the article on [http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9110588/Canada Canada] in theEncyclopædia Britannica of 1996.Modern Use
This discredited story of the origin of Canada's name appears to have been the reason for the choice (by popular vote in a local election), in 1978, of "Kanata" as the name for the new city to the west of
Ottawa ,Ontario . The former city of Kanata, since 2001, has been a part of the City of Ottawa.ee also
*
Canada's Name
* Saint-Lawrence Iroquoian
*Jacques Cartier References
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