Editing Delaware languages (section)

=== Dialects and varieties ===
Munsee and Unami are linguistically very similar. They are both dialects of one language by [[Lenape]] speakers, and together are referred to as the language of the Lenni Lenape or Delaware Indians, as can be seen in the ''Grammar of the language of the Lenni Lenape or Delaware Indians'', written by the Moravian missionary [[David Zeisberger]] and published in a translation from German into English by [[Peter Stephen Du Ponceau|Peter Stephen du Ponceau]] in 1827. Zeisberger does not even mention the "dialect" names when describing varying grammatical features, while the translator refers to them in two annotations.<ref>Zeisberger, 1827, p. [https://archive.org/stream/grammaroflanguag00zeis#page/36/mode/2up 36], [https://archive.org/stream/grammaroflanguag00zeis#page/n57/mode/2up 57].</ref> Despite their relative closeness the two are sufficiently distinguished by features of syntax, phonology, and vocabulary that speakers of both consider them not [[Mutual intelligibility|mutually intelligible]] so that, more recently, linguists have treated them as separate languages.<ref>Goddard, Ives, 1979, p. v</ref>

Munsee Delaware was spoken in the central and lower [[Hudson River|Hudson River Valley]], western [[Long Island]], the upper [[Delaware River|Delaware River Valley]], and the northern third of [[New Jersey]] in present-day [[North Jersey]].<ref name="Goddard, Ives 1997, p. 43">Goddard, Ives, 1978a, pp. 213-214; Goddard, Ives, 1997, p. 43</ref> While dialect variation in Munsee was likely there is no information about possible dialectal subgroupings.<ref>Goddard, Ives, 1978, p. 72</ref>

Unami Delaware was spoken in the area south of Munsee speakers in the Delaware River Valley and New Jersey, south of the [[Delaware Water Gap]] and the [[Central Jersey|Raritan Valley]].<ref name="Goddard, Ives 1997, p. 43" />

Three dialects of Unami are distinguished: Northern Unami, Southern Unami, and Unalachtigo.

Northern Unami, now extinct, is recorded in large amounts of materials collected by Moravian missionaries but is not reflected in the speech of any modern groups.<ref>Goddard, Ives, 1971, p. 14; Goddard, Ives, 1979</ref> The Northern Unami groups were south of the Munsee groups, with the southern boundary of the Northern Unami area being at Tohickon Creek on the west bank of the Delaware River and between Burlington and Trenton on the east bank.<ref name="Goddard, Ives, 1978a, p. 215">Goddard, Ives, 1978a, p. 215</ref>

The poorly known Unalachtigo dialect is described as having been spoken in the area between Northern and Southern Unami, with only a small amount of evidence from one group.<ref name="Goddard, Ives, 1978a, p. 215" />

Southern Unami, to the south of the Northern Unami-Unalachtigo area, is reflected in the Unami Delaware spoken by Delawares in Oklahoma.<ref name="Goddard, Ives, 1978a, p. 215" />