Timucua Language & Name

WHAT LANGUAGE DID THEY SPEAK?  All Timucua people spoke the same language.  This language was very different from the languages spoken by other Florida native groups like the Apalachee (in the Tallahassee area) and the Calusa (south of the Tampa Bay area).  After meeting the Europeans, many Timucua people learned to speak Spanish, French, and English in addition to their own language.  Some Timucua even learned to read and write in Spanish! 

WHAT IS A DIALECT?  The Timucua living in some areas of Florida and Georgia spoke the language differently from other Timucua people.  This difference is called a dialect (die-uh-lect).  There were 9 different Timucua dialects.  All Timucua people could understand each other, but some of their words or pronunciations were a bit different.  Here’s an example of a modern dialect.  In the southern United States, people say “y’all” instead of “you all.”  In the northern U.S, people call a water fountain a “bubbler.”  In England, an elevator is called a “lift.”  In Australia, your “mate” is your friend.  People in England, Australia, the northern United States, and the southern United States speak English differently, but we can all still understand each other.   It was the same for the Timucua. 

WHERE DID THE NAME “TIMUCUA” COME FROM?  The Timucua people did NOT call themselves by this name.  They probably had a name for themselves that meant “the people.”  So how did the name “Timucua” get started?  Here’s one idea:  A French explorer asked Chief Saturiwa where he got some pieces of silver.  The Chief pointed to the West and said he captured it from Thimogona (Tee-mo-go-na).  Chief Saturiwa had actually captured it from his enemy, Chief Outina.  (Outina had gotten it from a Spanish shipwreck.)  The word “thimogona” probably meant “enemy.”  Chief Saturiwa captured the silver from his enemy.  But the French explorers thought the word “Thimogona” referred to all of the nearby native people.  They started calling all of the Indians “Thimogona” or “Timogoa” or “Timoga” or “Timucua.”  See how the name got changed?  The Timucua people never called themselves by this name.  The Spanish would probably have pronounced it Timucua (Tee-moo-qua).

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