Algonquian languages

The Algonquian languages (/æl.ˈɡɒŋ.k(w)i.ən/ al-GONG-k(w)ee-ən; also Algonkian) are a branch of the Algic language family. The name of the Algonquian language family is distinguished from the orthographically similar Algonquin dialect of the Indigenous Ojibwe language (Chippewa), which is a senior member of the Algonquian language family. The term Algonquin has been suggested to derive from the Wolastoqey word elakómkwik (pronounced [ɛlæˈɡomoɡwik]), meaning 'they are our relatives/allies'.

Speakers of Algonquian languages stretch from the east coast of North America to the Rocky Mountains. The proto-language from which all of the languages of the family descend, Proto-Algonquian, was spoken around 2,500 to 3,000 years ago. There is no scholarly consensus about where this language was spoken.