[2][3] Speakers of Algonquian languages stretch from the east coast of North America to the Rocky Mountains.

In west-to-east order, the subsequent branchings were: This historical reconstruction accords best with the observed levels of divergence within the family, whereby the most divergent languages are found furthest west (since they constitute the earliest branches during eastern migration), and the shallowest subgroupings are found furthest to the east (Eastern Algonquian, and arguably Core Central).

[9] Goddard also points out that there is clear evidence for pre-historical contact between Eastern Algonquian and Cree-Montagnais, as well as between Cheyenne and Arapaho–Gros Ventre.

[10] It has been suggested that the "Eastern Great Lakes" languages – what Goddard has called "Core Central", e.g., Ojibwe–Potawatomi, Shawnee, Sauk–Fox–Kickapoo, and Miami-Illinois (but not Cree–Montagnais or Menominee) – may also constitute their own genetic grouping within Algonquian.

Ex: (Menominee) paehtāwāēwesew "He is heard by higher powers" (paeht- 'hear', -āwāē- 'spirit', -wese- passivizer, -w third-person subject) or (Plains Cree) kāstāhikoyahk "it frightens us".

Anthropological linguists have conversely argued the strong connection between animacy and items viewed as having spiritual importance.

Many eastern and midwestern U.S. states have names of Algonquian origin (Massachusetts, Connecticut, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, etc.

), as do many cities: Milwaukee, Chicago, et al. Ottawa, the capital of Canada, is named after the Algonquian nation, the Odawa people.

[17] For a more detailed treatment of geographical names in three Algonquian languages, see the external link to the book by Trumbull.