'Abenakian syncope' was an areal feature that had spread from the Abenakian languages to Mahican, a Delawaran language, and was beginning to spread into SNEA during the early colonial period. The feature was obligatory in the Quiripi, Unquachoag, Montauk, Mohegan and Pequot dialects of the Long Island sound, frequent in Nipmuc and mostly absent in Massachusett and Narragansett. For example the 'Fox Sachem' of the Pequot was known to late-stage speakers as whereas the English name 'Uncas' likely preserves an older dialectal and pre-syncopated stage pronunciation of , cf. Massachusett () , indicating that the transition was not complete in New England when the English colonists arrived. When it appears in Massachusett documents, it seems to be indicative of dialectal features or in forced situations, such as sung versions of the Massachusett translations of the "Psalms of David" in the "Massachusee Psalter."