Mohawk language

Mohawk ( ) or Kanienʼkéha (IPA: [ɡanjʌ̃ʔˈɡɛha], '[language] of the Flint Place') is an Iroquoian language currently spoken by around 3,500 people of the Mohawk nation, located primarily in current or former Haudenosaunee territories, predominantly in Canada (southern Ontario and Quebec), and to a lesser extent in the United States (western and northern New York), although the historical center of the language was further south. The word "Mohawk" is an exonym. In the Mohawk language, the people say that they are from Kanien꞉ke ('Mohawk Country' or 'Flint Stone Place') and that they are Kanienʼkehá꞉ka ('People of the Flint Stone Place' or 'People of the Flint Nation'). The Mohawks were extremely wealthy traders, as other nations in their confederacy needed their flint for tool-making. Their Algonquian-speaking neighbors (and competitors), the People of Muh-heck Heek Ing or Mohicans, called the People of Kanien꞉ke "Maw Unk Lin" or 'Bear People'. The Dutch heard and wrote this name as "Mohawks" and so the People of Kanien꞉ke are often referred to as Mohawks. The Dutch also referred to the Mohawk as Egils or Maquas. The French adapted those terms as Aigniers or Maquis, or called them by the generic Iroquois.