Documentation:RelLex/An English-Dakota Dictionary
An English-Dakota Dictionary
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Language Name
Dakota and Lakota (occasional variations).
Alternate Language Names
Dakota: Dakhota, Dakhótiyapi, Dakȟótiyapi, Dakotah.
Lakota: Lakȟótiyapi, Lakhota, Lakhóta, Teton, Teton Sioux.
Region
Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Ontario, Canada; Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Minnesota, and Iowa, United States.
Who
John Poage Williamson.
Others Involved
There is no information included in this resource about others involved.
Carolynn I. Schommer (Foreword 1992 version).
Publishing Information
The first version of this dictionary was published in 1902 by the American Tract Society. It was later reprinted in 1992 by Minnesota Historical Society Press.
How People are Cited
This dictionary does not cite any authors or contributors.
How Information is Cited
This dictionary does not cite the source of any of its information.
Where is Information Coming from
This dictionary does not indicate where information is coming from or what sources were used.
According to the description offered on the Library Thing website, the 1992 edition contains a foreword by Carolynn I. Schommer, a Dakota speaker, describing the historical and cultural context of this dictionary.
Tools and Framework used
This dictionary is available as a physical and digital book.
Access
The physical book is accessible through libraries. It appears the physical version of the 1992 reprint was available for purchase at one point from the Minnesota Historical Society Press website for $22.95 USD. However, as of mid-2025, the website is only available through the Internet Archive, a website which records past renditions of websites, and, therefore, the dictionary is no longer available for purchase. The digital version of the 1902 version is accessible through libraries and is open access through Hathi Trust as a scanned PDF.
Included Languages and Directionality
English to Dakota. Some Lakota terms throughout the dictionary as variations.
Dialects Included
This dictionary mainly includes information from the Santee dialect, but also contains information from the Yankton dialect as well as what the author defines as the Teton dialect (i.e., Lakota).
Type of Dictionary
This is a bilingual, mono-directional dictionary.
How are Entries Organised
Entries are listed alphabetically by English and contain the English headword, the part of speech, and the Dakota translation. Some entries contain variations of the Dakota word that also relate to the English headword. Some entries also include variations of the Dakota in another dialect (i.e., Yankton) or in Lakota (i.e., Teton). No other information is included within entries.
Prior to the dictionary section, the author provides the Dakota sound system through the alphabet, a brief description of what he calls the four dialects (Santee, Yankton, Teton, and Assiniboin), and information on forming sentences in Dakota. Following this, there are descriptions of each of the parts of speech, including information on nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions, and exclamations.
Other Features
| Feature | Included | More Information |
|---|---|---|
| Guide to use and understand | ❌ | |
| Audio | ❌ | |
| Images | ❌ | |
| Example phrases | ❌ | |
| Speakers marked | ❌ | |
| Dialects marked | ✅ | Marked by the first letter of the dialect in entries where more than one is included |
Other Notes
While this is an outdated resource in many ways, it seems to continue to be a valuable resource for the Santee dialect. We are unable to access the 1992 re-print to see how or if it differs at all from the 1902 publication.
The author references the Dakota grammar and Dakota-English Dictionary created by Stephen R. Riggs as a companion to this resource.
This dictionary, along with the English to Dakotah Dictionary (2015) compiled by Eric L. DuMarce, was used to create the Dakota Online Dictionary - Beta hosted by the Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate Dakotah Language Institute.
External Links
Reference the 1992 version of An English-Dakota Dictionary on WorldCat: https://search.worldcat.org/title/26397355
Find a reprint listing for the 1992 version on the Minnesota Historical Society Press website for $22.95 USD (as of mid-2025, it is no longer available to purchase, but the listing is possible to view through the Way Back Machine/Internet Archive): https://web.archive.org/web/20230424214124/http://shop.mnhs.org/products/english-dakota-dictionary
Access the open access PDF of the 1902 version, titled An English-Dakota Dictionary: Waṡicun ḳa Dakota Ieska Wowapi, from Hathi Trust: https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=hvd.tz12ih&seq=2
Access the open access Dakota Online Dictionary - Beta hosted by the Sissteon-Wahpeton Oyate Dakotah Language Institute here: https://dictionary.swodli.com/index.html