# Potawatomi: Sho-wae-cae-mette



## PHenry1026

Does anyone know the origin of Sho-wae-cae-mette?

Sho-wae-cae-mette, was an American Regatta crew that flourished in the late 1800s. An article on Sho-wae-cae-mette can be found here.

Also how would you pronounce Sho-wae-cae-mette? (IPA pronunciation preferred).


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## PaulQ

> The name of the Grassley's boat, Sho Wae  Cae Mette, was taken from a rowing team from Monroe that competed  internationally in the late 1870s. The origin comes from the Potawatomi  Native American language. It means "lightning on the water."
> Read  more at  http://www.toledoblade.com/North/20...onal-sailing-regatta.html#Esxx1sXTdlAgqeFO.99


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## PHenry1026

Paul, thanks for the answer.

I still need a pronunciation for Sho Wae  Cae Mette (IPA pronunciation preferred).


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## Loob

You could always email the writer of the article Paul found.


(Brilliant detective work, Paul!)


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## PHenry1026

I have e-mailed the author of the article but this is not really a great idea and is likely to go nowhere.  

Therefore, anyone who knows how to pronounce Sho Wae  Cae Mette please post the pronunciation here.


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## JulianStuart

Or you could try to work it out from the language of origin : Potawatomi.  There's a pronunciation guide here.


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## sandpiperlily

JulianStuart said:


> Or you could try to work it out from the language of origin : Potawatomi.  There's a pronunciation guide here.



Good suggestion, but Americans don't necessarily pronounce Native-inspired names in the way that actual speakers of the language of origin would.

My totally uneducated guess, just sounding it out in my head so definitely not a definitive answer:
Sho = show, rhymes with blow, grow, etc [however, the article linked in the OP says their nickname was "the shoes" so it might be "shoe" instead!]
Wae = way, rhymes with say, bay, etc
Cae = cay, rhymes with way
Mette = met, rhymes with bet, set, etc


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## JulianStuart

sandpiperlily said:


> Good suggestion, but Americans don't necessarily pronounce Native-inspired names in the way that actual speakers of the language of origin would.
> 
> My totally uneducated guess, just sounding it out in my head so definitely not a definitive answer:
> Sho = show, rhymes with blow, grow, etc [however, the article linked in the OP says their nickname was "the shoes" so it might be "shoe" instead!]
> Wae = way, rhymes with say, bay, etc
> Cae = cay, rhymes with way
> Mette = met, rhymes with bet, set, etc


I assumed, perhaps too quickly, that the OP wanted to know how the tribe pronounced it.  Otherwise, we can all guess, as well as he can, how to pronounce it


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## sandpiperlily

JulianStuart said:


> I assumed, perhaps too quickly, that the OP wanted to know how the tribe pronounced it.  Otherwise, we can all guess, as well as he can, how to pronounce it



Ah, and I assumed, perhaps too quickly as well, that the OP wanted to know how the regatta team pronounced its name.  Those might be the same answer, or might be different.


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## Loob

Hmm, good point, sandpiperlily....

PHenry1026, perhaps you should tell us your reason for asking the question.

Do you want to know:

~ how it is/was pronounced in the original language?
~ how the 19th-century rowing team pronounced it?
~ how Dave and Sue Grassley pronounce it?

Or something different?


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## PHenry1026

Julian your assumption was correct.

 Using the pronunciation guide you provided, I came up with /ʃoʊ.wæ.tʃæ.mɛtɛ/ (AmE).  Very sure this is incorrect but perhaps there is native American linguist somewhere on these forums.


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## PaulQ

More resources here, http://www.omniglot.com/writing/potawatomi.htm including dictionaries. You could have a go at translating "lightning on the water." into Potawatomi.

However, I see that the 1870 crew were all lumberjacks, and I also see that in Potawatomi  "on the water" -> kwedbyék and that the Potawatomi word for "lightening" also seems unrelated to anything in Sho Wae  Cae Mette.

I suspect therefore that the lumberjacks were pulling someone's leg... but then on the other hand, my grasp of Potawatomi has been criticised...


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