Jean-André Cuoq (1821–1898) was a Roman Catholic priest and a

philologist Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defined as th ...

in the

Algonquin Algonquin or Algonquian—and the variation Algonki(a)n—may refer to: Languages and peoples *Algonquian languages, a large subfamily of Native American languages in a wide swath of eastern North America from Canada to Virginia **Algonquin la ...

and

Mohawk language Mohawk (; ''Kanienʼkéha'', " anguageof the Flint Place") is an Iroquoian language currently spoken by around 3,500 people of the Mohawk nation, located primarily in current or former Haudenosaunee territories, predominately Canada (southern O ...

Early life

Jean-André Cuoq was born on June 6, 1821, to Jean-Pierre Cuoq and Rosalie Desholme, in

Le Puy-en-Velay Le Puy-en-Velay (, literally ''Le Puy in Velay''; oc, Lo Puèi de Velai ) is the prefecture of the Haute-Loire department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of south-central France. Located near the river Loire, the city is famous for its ca ...

, France. He entered the ''Company of Saint-Sulpice'' in Paris in 1844. He was ordained as a priest in the Order of Saint-Sulpice in December 1845. He was sent to

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

, Canada, on November 29, 1846. He was then sent to the mission of the

Lac des Deux-Montagnes Lake of Two Mountains (French: ''Lac des Deux Montagnes'') is part of the river delta widening of the Ottawa River in Quebec, Canada, at its confluence with the St. Lawrence River. Lake of Two Mountains has four outflows: Rivière des Mille Îl ...

(

Oka, Quebec Oka is a small village on the northern bank of the Ottawa River (''Rivière des Outaouais'' in French), northwest of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Located in the Laurentian Mountains, Laurentians valley on Lake of Two Mountains, where the Ottawa has ...

) in 1847 as a missionary to the Nipissings.

Later life

Cuoq remained in Oka for many years as a companion of Fr. Nicolas Dufresne (1789–1863), who was the director of that mission and missionary to the

Mohawk Mohawk may refer to: Related to Native Americans *Mohawk people, an indigenous people of North America (Canada and New York) *Mohawk language, the language spoken by the Mohawk people *Mohawk hairstyle, from a hairstyle once thought to have been t ...

s. Cuoq at first studied Nipissing, but after Fr. Dufresne was withdrawn from the mission in 1857 and sent to a seminary in Montreal, Cuoq applied himself in studying the

. In 1864, Cuoq was sent to

Collège de Montréal The Collège de Montréal is a subsidized private high school for students attending grades 7–11 located in downtown Montreal, Quebec, Canada. A former Roman Catholic minor seminary, it was founded on June 1, 1767 as the ''Petit Séminaire' ...

, where he was charged with a class, remaining there two to three years, until he returned to Lac des Deux-Montagnes, where he remained until 1875. He was then attached to the parochial church of Notre Dame at Montreal, remaining there several years until he returned to the Lac des Deux-Montagnes about 1885. Due to his missionary work he was named by the Algonquins (Nipissings) , meaning "double beautiful leaf" or "second Bellefeuille", and by the Iroquois (Mohawks) , meaning "fixed star," probably because of the immobility of his left eye which had been damaged by an accident in his youth. His numerous works, all published in Montreal, gained him admission to many scientific societies of Europe and America. Cuoq died in

, 1898. The former Cuoq

Township A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Ca ...

Bas-Saint-Laurent The Bas-Saint-Laurent (Lower Saint-Lawrence), is an administrative region of Quebec located along the south shore of the lower Saint Lawrence River in Quebec. The river widens at this place, later becoming a bay that discharges into the Atlanti ...

, now part of

Matane Regional County Municipality, Quebec La Matanie is a regional county municipality, located in the Bas-Saint-Laurent region of Quebec, in Canada. From January 1, 1982 to March 9, 2013, it was known as Matane. The county seat is the city of Matane. Subdivisions There are 12 subdiv ...

, was named in his honour.

Published works

*Cuoq, J. A. ''Le Livre de la prière; Recueil de Prière, d'Hymnes et de Cantiques chantés à l'église.'' (in Algonquin) (Montréal: John Lowell, 1852). *Cuoq, J. A. ''Catéchisme et Cantiques.'' (in Algonquin) (Montréal: John Lowell, 1854). *Cuoq, J. A. and "Le Ciel." ''De Riligieuse Narration. Le Livre, ou Histoire de la Religion; Résumé de l'histoire de l'Ancien Testament.'' (in Algonquin) (Montréal: J. Lowell, 1859). *Cuoq, J. A.
Kaiatonserase
ou Vade-mecum ou Chantre Iroquois.'' (in Mohawk)(Tiotaki ontréal John Lovell, 1860). *Mathevet, Jean Claude. (J. A. Cuoq and J. Tallet, editors). ''Vie de Notre-Seigneur.'' (in Algonquin) (Montréal: J. Valois, 1861). *Cuoq, J. A. ''Le Libre des sept Nations, ou Paroissien Iroquois noté en plain-chant, avec quelques Cantiques algonquins.'' (Montréal: J. Lowell, 1861). *Cuoq, J. A. ''Jugement erroné de M. Ernest Renan sur les langues sauvages.'' (Montréal: Eusèbe Sénécal, 1864)(Reprint: Montréal: Dawson, Brothers J.-B. Roland et Fils, 1869). *Cuoq, J. A. ''Ienenrinekenstha Kanesatakeha: ou Processional Iroquois à l'usage de la Mission du Lac des Deux Montagnes.'' (in Mohawk)(Tiotaki ontréal John Lovell, 1864). *Cuoq, J. A. ''Catechisme algonquin avec syllabaire et cantiques: Nìina aïamie kakȣedjindiȣinimasinaigan àte gaïe aïamie nikamonan.'' (in Algonquin)(Kanactàgeng ontréal (Lac des Deux Montangnes) John Lovell, 1865). *Cuoq, J. A. ''Études philologiques sur quelques langues sauvages de l'Amerique.'' (Montréal: Dawson, Brothers, 1866). *Cuoq, J. A. "Quels étaient les sauvages que rencontra Jacques Cartier sur les rives du Saint-Laurent?" in ''

Annales de philosophie chrétienne Annals are a concise form of historical writing which record events chronologically, year by year. The equivalent word in Latin and French is ''annales'', which is used untranslated in English in various contexts. List of works with titles contai ...

.'' (September, 1869). *Cuoq, J. A.
Lexique de la langue Iroquoise, avec Notes et Appendices.
' (Montréal: J Chapleau et fils, 1882). *Cuoq, J. A.
Lexique de la langue Algonquine.
' (Montréal: J Chapleau et fils, 1886). *Cuoq, J. A.
Grammaire de la langue Algonquine
in ''Proceedings and transactions of the Royal Society of Canada: Déliberations et mémoires de la Société royale du Canada.'' (Ottawa: Royal Society of Canada, Part 1: 1891; Part 2: 1892). *Cuoq, J. A. "Anòtc Kekòn" in ''Proceedings and transactions of the Royal Society of Canada: Déliberations et mémoires de la Société royale du Canada.'' (Ottawa: Royal Society of Canada, 1893). *Cuoq, J. A. and J. Tallet. ''Nouveau Manuel algonquin.'' (Montréal: J. Valois, 1893). *Cuoq, J. A. ''Le saint Rosaire.'' (Montréal: Beauchemin, .d. He wrote also many other works destined to further the Christianization of Native Americans.

References

*Bertrand, Louis. "189: M. Cuoq" in
Bibliothèque sulpicienne; ou, Histoire littéraire de la Compagnie de Saint-Sulpice: XIXe siècle.
' (Paris: A. Picard et fils, 1900). pp. 533–538. *"L'Abbé Cuoq—Notice biographique" in
Proceedings and transactions of the Royal Society of Canada: Déliberations et mémoires de la Société royale du Canada.
' (Ottawa: Royal Society of Canada, 1902). Transactions: Section I, Part V p. 127–129 *Pilling, James Constantine.
Bibliography of the Algonquian Languages.
' (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1891). pp. 99–102.

External links

"Jean-André Cuoq" in ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''

"Jean-André Cuoq" in ''Genealogie Québec: Liste des ecclésiastiques''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cuoq, Jean-Andre 1821 births 1898 deaths French philologists French Roman Catholic missionaries Roman Catholic missionaries in Canada French expatriates in Canada People from Le Puy-en-Velay Linguists of Algic languages Missionary linguists