How do you say eternity in Sioux language?

Answer 1

The Great Sioux Nation refers to several tribes of Native Americans who resided and still do in the United States and parts of Canada. There are three major divisions within the Sioux Nation based on dialect and subculture. Those three divisions are:

1.) The Isanti, meaning "knife", and reside in the extreme east of the Dakotas, Minnesota, and northern Iowa. They are often referred to as the Santee or Eastern Dakota.

2.) Ihanktowan-Ihanktwana, meaning "Village at the end" and "little village at the end", reside in the Minnesota river area and are considered to be the Middle Sioux. They are often referred to as Yankton or Western Dakota.

3,) Teton or Tetonwan, its meaning uncertain, perhaps meaning "Dwellers on the prairie", are the westernmost Sioux, and are the Sioux most often portrayed in films and paintings and stories because they are well known for their hunting and warrior culture. They are referred to as the Lakota.

Of these divisions, there are variances in terms of dialect but the two major dialects are Nakota and Lakota and the differences in pronunciation and word usage would be similar to that of England and the United States. Both languages can be spoken and understood by the peoples of the Great Sioux Nation. There is a limited amount of information about the Sioux language and for the most part was a language that survived through oral traditions. The language was put in written form by missionaries around 1840 and the language has evolved to incorporate words to accommodate for modern times, but it is difficult to gain access to the language on the inter net and in libraries and is a language better learned by spending time with the people who speak it.

That being said, there is a site that offers an extensive vocabulary list of Lakota words, but the poster apologizes up front for any misspelling or mistakes in translations. The words offered on that site for "new" and "beginning" are:

"Teca" and "Otoka", respectively.

It is unclear if "teca otoka" is how the Sioux would say "new beginnings", and it would be nice to have some one from the Great Sioux Nation answering questions here on Wikianswers as I too, would like to know how to say "new beginnings" in Lakota.

The site from which this translation was made is: Language.nativeweb.org/Lakota_translation.htm.

Answer 2

The Lakota word for infinity is woptechashni. There is no word exactly corresponding to eternity.