Algonquin language

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For the larger language family of which Algonquin is but one member, see Algonquian.
Algonquin
ᐊᓂᔑᓈᐯᒧᐎᓐ Anicinâbemowin
Spoken in: Canada 
Region: Quebec and into Ontario.
Total speakers: 2,275 (1998 Statistics Canada)
Language family: Algic
 Algonquian
  Central
   Anishinaabe
    Algonquin
Language codes
ISO 639-1: none
ISO 639-2: alg
ISO 639-3: alq
Note: This page may contain IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode.

Algonquin (or Algonkin or Anicinàbemowin) is either an distinct Algonquian language closely related to the Anishinaabe language or a particularly divergent Anishinaabe dialect. It is spoken, alongside French and to some extent English, by the Algonquin First Nations of Quebec and Ontario. As of 1998, there were 2,275 Algonquin speakers, less than 10% of whom were monolingual. Algonquin is the language for which the entire Algonquian language subgroup is named. The similarity among the names often causes considerable confusion. Like many Native American languages, it is strongly verb based, with most meaning being incorporated into verbs instead of using separate words for prepositions, tense, etc.

Contents

[edit] Classification

Algonquin is an Algonquian language, of the Algic family of languages, and is descended from Proto-Algonquian. It is considered a particularly divergent dialect of Ojibwe by many, acting as a transitional language between the Ojibwe languages and the Abenaki languages. However, though the speakers call themselves Anicinàbe ("Anishinaabe") like the Ojibwe, the speakers of this language are not identified as "Ojibwe" and are called Odishkwaagamii (those at the end of the lake) by the Ojibwe. Among the Algonquins, however, the Nipissing are called Otickwàgamì (the Algonquin orthography for the Ojibwe Odishkwaagamii) and their language as Otickwàgamìmowin while the rest of the Algonquin communities call themselves Omàmiwininiwak (down-stream men), and the language as Omàmiwininìmowin (speech of the down-stream men).

Other than Algonquin, languages considered as particularly divergent dialects of the Anishinaabe language include Mississauga (often called "Eastern Ojibwe") and Odawa. The Potawatomi language was considered a divergent dialect of the Anishinaabe language but now is considered a separate language. Culturally, the Algonquin and the Mississaugas were not part of the Ojibwe-Odawa-Potawatomi alliance known as the Council of Three Fires, with Algonquins maintaining stronger cultural ties with Abenaki, Atikamekw and Cree.

Among her sister Algonquian languages are Blackfoot, Cheyenne, Cree, Fox, Menominee, Potawatomi, and Shawnee. The Algic family contains the Algonquian languages and the so-called "Ritwan" languages, Wiyot and Yurok. Ojibwe and its similar languages are frequently referred to as a "Central Algonquian" language; however, Central Algonquian is an areal grouping rather than a genetic one. Among Algonquian languages, only the Eastern Algonquian languages constitute a true genetic subgroup.

[edit] Dialects

There are several dialects of Algonquin. Speakers at Maniwaki consider their language to be Algonquin, though linguistically it is a dialect of Eastern Ojibwe.

[edit] Phonology

[edit] Consonants

The consonant phonemes and major allophones of Algonquin in one of several common orthographies are listed below (with IPA notation in brackets):

  Bilabial Alveolar Postalveolar Velar Glottal
Stop voiced   b  [b]   d  [d]     g  [g]  
voiceless   p  [p]   t  [t]     k  [k]  
vls. aspirated   p  [pʰ]   t  [tʰ]     k  [kʰ]  
Affricate voiced       dj  [ʤ]    
voiceless       tc¹  [ʧ]    
Fricative voiced     z  [z]   j  [ʒ]    
voiceless     s  [s]   c¹  [ʃ]     h  [h]
Nasal     m  [m]   n  [n]      
Approximant     w  [w]   y  [j]      
1. Some communities use "tc" and "c", others use "tch" and "ch", while yet others use "ch" and "sh".

[edit] Aspiration and Allophony

The Algonquin consonants p, t and k are unaspirated when they are pronounced between two vowels or after an m or n; plain voiceless and voiceless aspirated stops in Algonquin are thus allophones. So kìjig (day) is pronounced [kʰiːʒɪg], but anokì kìjig (working day) is pronounced [ʌnokiː kiːʒɪg].[1]

[h] can be pronounced as either [h] or [ʔ].

[edit] Vowels

short
  • a [ʌ]
  • e [e] or [ɛ]
  • i [ɪ]
  • o or u [ʊ]
long
  • à (also á or aa) [aː]
  • è (also é or ee) [eː]
  • ì (also í or ii) [iː]
  • ò (also ó or oo) [oː]

[edit] Diphthongs

  • aw [aw]
  • ay [aj]
  • ew [ew]
  • ey [ej]
  • iw [iw]
  • ow [ow]

[edit] Nasal Vowels

Algonquin does have nasal vowels, but they are allophonic variants (similar to how in English vowels are sometimes nasalized before m and n). In Algonquin, vowels automatically become nasal before nd, ng, nj or nz. For example, kìgònz is pronounced [kʰiːɡõːz], not [kʰiːɡoːnz].[1]

[edit] Stress

Word stress in Algonquin is regular, but it's very complicated. If divides each word into iambic feet, counting long vowels (à, è, ì, ò) as an entire foot, then the stress is usually on the strong syllable of the third from last foot--which, in words that are five syllables long or less, usually translates in practical terms to the first syllable (if it has a long vowel) or the second syllable (if it doesn't). Then the strong syllables of the other feet each have a secondary stress. For example: ni-ˡbi, ˡsì-ˈbi, mi-ˡki-ˈzi, ˡnà-no-ˈmi-da-ˈna.[1]

[edit] Algonquin names for animals

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c Redish, Laura & Lewis, Orrin. Algonquin Pronunciation and Spelling Guide. Algonquin. Native-languages.org. Retrieved on 2007-08-28.

[edit] Further reading

  • Artuso, Christian. 1998. noogom gaa-izhi-anishinaabemonaaniwag: Generational Difference in Algonquin. Winnipeg: The University of Manitoba Press.
  • Cuoq, Jean André. 1866. Études philologiques sur quelques langues sauvages de l'Amérique. Montréal: Dawson.
  • Cuoq, Jean André. 1886. Lexique de la Langue Algonquine. Montréal: J. Chapleau & Fils.
  • Cuoq, Jean André. 1891? Grammaire de la Langue Algonquine. [S.l.: s.n.]
  • Marianne Mithun. 1999. The Languages of Native North America. Cambridge Language Surveys. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  • Mcgregor, Ernest. 1994. Algonquin Lexicon. Maniwaki, QC: Kitigan Zibi Education Council.

[edit] External links

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Non-official languages
Quebec English · Algonquin · Atikamekw · Abenaki · Cree · Mi'kmaq · Innu-aimun · Inuktitut