Anishinaabe language dialects

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The subgrouping of Anishinaabemowin dialects based on lexical innovations and mutual intelligibility (rather than morphology or pronunciation), according to Evelyn Todd and Richard Rhodes. EOj = Eastern Ojibwe; SWOj = Southwestern Ojibwe; COj = Central Ojibwe; NWOj = North(western) Ojibwe.

The Anishinaabe language or the Ojibwe group of languages or Anishinaabemowin (ᐊᓂᔑᓈᐯᒧᐎᓐ in Eastern Ojibwe syllabics) has quite a few divergent dialects, arranged in a dialect continuum.

The primary ones are Nipissing and Algonquin, Plains Ojibwe (Saulteaux/Bungee), Eastern Ojibwe (Mississaugas), Northern Ojibwe (Northwestern Ojibwa/Ontario Saulteaux), Odaawaa (Ottawa), Severn Ojibwe (Oji-Cree/Northern Ojibwa), and Southwestern Ojibwe (Chippewa). Though now considered a separate language, the Potawatomi language still exhibits strong similarities to the Anishinaabe language, due to their relatively recent division.

As their fur trading with the French increased the Ojibwas’ power, the Anishinaabe language became the trade language of the Great Lakes region, and was for hundreds of years an extremely significant presence in the northern United States. As its result a pidgin form of the Anishinaabemowin, known as "Broken Ojibwa" or "Broken Oghibbeway", developed, relying on Anishinaabemowin for its vocabulary. The Bungee language, a mixed language, also developed during this era. However, it is often debated upon if it is a mixture of Anishinaabe language with other languages or a mixture of a Cree language with other languages.

[edit] Anishininiimowin

Ethnologue entries and SIL codes: OJS (Severn Ojibwe)

Main article: Anishinini language

Called in English Oji-Cree, Cree-Saulteaux, Cree-Ojibwa, Severn Ojibwe or Northern Ojibwa, the Anishinini language or Anishininiimowin is spoken in northern northwestern Ontario and east-central Manitoba. It is a transition language that can be considered either a dialect of Anishinaabemowin or a dialect of Nēhināwēmowin (Cree Language), or an independent language in its own right. Anishininiimowin speakers generally prefer to write the language using syllabics. Among vocabulary words not common between Anishinaabemowin and Nēhināwēmowin, Anishininiimowin draws equally from both. However, considering that Anishinini language, contemporary Ojibwemowin dialect of Anishinaabe language and Swampy Cree dialect of the Cree language are all the n-dialect of each of their respective languages, often it is impossible to make a distinction of Anishininiimowin from either Anishinaabemowin or Nēhināwēmowin. In addition, Anishininiimowin vowel qualities are more in line with Anishinaabemowin, and more specifically with that of the Algonquin language of Anishinaabemowin, even with words drawn from Nēhināwēmowin. It has several dialects or sub-dialects, known by the region of its use: Winisk River, Severn River, Sandy Lake and Island Lake.

[edit] Anicinàbemowin

Ethnologue entries and SIL codes: ALQ (Algonquin)

Main article: Algonquin language

The Algonquin language proper, also known as Northern Algonquin dialect, Northern Omàmiwininìmowin or simply as just Omàmiwininìmowin, or more generally as Anicinàbemowin, was the first language of the Ojibwe language group in contact with the Europeans. It is the eastern-most form of Anishinaabemowin. Due to associated trade with the continent's interior, all languages similar in structure to the Algonquin language were then described as being an Algonquian language. The Algonquin language is spoken along the Ottawa River valley of present day Quebec-Ontario border, centered around Lake Abitibi. Algonquin is considered by some to be a particularly divergent dialect of Anishinaabemowin, and by others to be a distinct language, which is very similar to Anishinaabemowin, due to Northern Omàmiwininìmowin often acting a transition language between the Ojibwe language group with the Abnaki and Atikamekw languages.

The Ojibwe often do describe the Nipissing and Algonquins collectively as Odishkwaagamii ("those at the end of the lake") and their language as Odishkwaagamiimowin. Nipissing describe their language in English, not as being Ojibwa, but instead as Algonquin. However, among the Algonquins, they refer to the Nipissing as Odickwàgamì, while calling themselves Omàmiwinini ("people down-stream") and their language as Omàmiwininìmowin.

Speakers of this dialect generally use the Algonquin Roman but some speakers will use the eastern Ojibwe syllabics, with either the a-finals or i-finals, with the exception of the northern-most communities showing some use of mixed-finals.

[edit] Anishinaabemowin

[edit] Odishkwaagamiimowin

The Nipissing Algonquin language, also known as Southern Algonquin dialect, Southern Omaamiwininimowin or Odishkwaagamiimowin, is the form of Anishinaabemowin spoken by the Nipissing First Nation, located about Lake Nipissing in Ontario, and the by the Algonquin communities, such as the Maniwaki Algonquin community, that spread from Oka, Quebec. Though the people identify themselves as being Algonquin, the language is considered a divergent dialect of Eastern Ojibwa, acting as a transition between it and Anicinàbemowin.

The Ojibwe often do describe the Nipissing and Algonquins collectively as Odishkwaagamii ("those at the end of the lake") and their language as Odishkwaagamiimowin. Nipissing describe their language in English, not as being Ojibwa, but instead as Algonquin. However, among the Algonquins, they refer to the Nipissing as Odishkwaagamii, while calling themselves Omaamiwinini ("people down-stream") and their language as Omaamiwininimowin.

Speakers of this dialect generally use the Algonquin Roman.

[edit] Ojibwemowin

Anishinaabe language spread in the United States.

The Ojibwemowin dialect of the Anishinaabe language is commonly referred as the Ojibwa language, Chippewa language, or Anishinaabe language proper. Of all the dialects of the Anishinaabeg, this dialect is the most numerous in number of speakers. Depending on the sources, this dialect is generally broken down to three smaller sub-dialects, driven mainly by the differing political climate affecting Ojibwemowin, resulting in differences in some word usage. Ethnologue entries and SIL International generally will group all of the Ojibwemowin spoken in the United States as "Chippewa,"

Canada's Treaty No. 3 and western Robinson-Superior Treaty areas as the "Northwestern Ojibwa," and eastern Robinson-Superior and Robinson-Huron Treaty areas between Lake Nipigon and Lake Nipissing as "Central Ojibwa." However, The Linguasphere Register calls Ethnologue's "Central Ojibwa" as "Eastern Anissinapek" and extends the boundaries into Michigan. The Linguasphere Register also combines the other two Ethnologue dialects with the Anihšināpēmowin dialect and call this combination "Southwestern Anissinapek", but provides a third dialect spoken around Lake of the Woods as "Southern Anissinapek."

Speakers of this dialect do not have a set orthography to present the language in writing, thus varying from community to community, and even from one speaker to another. For the purposes of international communication, though, often the Double vowel spelling is used. Among educators, the Double vowel system is gaining popularity due to its ease of use. Syllabics are generally used in Canada and in areas adjacent to Canada in the United States. Roman spelling is found throughout the range of this dialect, but the Ojibwemowin speakers in Canada when using a Roman spelling, generally prefer either the Folk Spelling or the Hybrid spelling, though Double vowel system is gaining popularity. In the United States, Double vowel and the Folk systems are generally used.

[edit] Central

Ethnologue entries and SIL code: OJC (Central Ojibwe)

Main article: Central Ojibwa language

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[edit] Northwestern

Ethnologue entries and SIL code: OJB (North(west)ern Ojibwe)

Main article: Northwestern Ojibwa language

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[edit] Southwestern

Ethnologue entries and SIL code: CIW (Southwestern Ojibwe ("Chippewa"))

Main article: Chippewa language

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[edit] Anihšināpēmowin

Ethnologue entries and SIL codes: OJW (Plains Ojibwe/Saulteaux ("Western Ojibwe"))

Main article: Western Ojibwa language

Known as Plains Ojibwe, Saulteaux or Bungee, these Western Ojibwe call themselves Nakawē and their form of Anihšināpēmowin as Nakawēmowin. This dialect is sometimes broken down by sub-regions as "Manitoba Saulteaux" (spoken in Manitoba and part of Saskatchewan) and "Western Saulteaux" (spoken in Saskatchewan and westward). Unlike Ojibwemowin where speakers often resist importing non-Anishinaabe words, Nakawēmowin often incorporates words from other languages. The Nakawēmowin dialect have higher instances of Cree, French and English word borrowings. While the Manitoba Saulteaux is more like their woodlands counterpart of Ontario Saulteaux, Western Saulteaux further incorporate words from other languages found in the northern Great Plains of Saskatchewan, Alberta and eastern British Columbia. Another distinct feature of Nakawēmowin, when compared to the Ojibwemowin, is the variability in some communities between sh and zh with s and z, but more commonly where sh and zh have merged with s and z.

[edit] Nishnaabemwin

A defining characteristic of many of the more northern and eastern dialects is that they exhibit a great deal of vowel syncope, the deletion of vowels in certain positions within a word. In these dialects, generally all unstressed short vowels are lost (see the article on Ojibwe phonology for a discussion of Ojibwe stress). For example, the name for the language itself in the Odaawaa language, also known as Daawaamwin, is Nishnaabemwin, where the unstressed vowels from Anishinaabemowin have been lost. The main difference between Jibwemwin (Eastern Ojibwe or Mississaugas) and Daawaamwin is the choice of words and expressions. Otherwise, both divisions of Nishnaabemwin have little or no difficulties understanding each other. This dialect is generally written with a modified Fiero-Nichols Double vowel system called Rhodes Double vowel system. Daawaamwin speakers sometime use the Great Lakes Aboriginal syllabics when putting their language in writing. Ontario Ministry of Education calls this dialect Central Ojibwa.

[edit] Jibwemwin

Ethnologue entries and SIL code: OJG (Eastern Ojibwe)

Main article: Eastern Ojibwa language

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[edit] Daawaamwin

Ethnologue entries and SIL code: OTW (Odaawaa)

Main article: Odawa language

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[edit] Neshnabémwen

Ethnologue entries and SIL code: POT (Potawatomi)

Main article: Potawatomi language

The only language in the Neshnabémwen group is the Potawatomi language, also known as Bodéwadmimwen. Neshnabémwen, which like the Nishnaabemwin, the name indicates this language or dialect exhibits a great deal of vowel syncope. Unlike the Nishnaabemwin, Neshnabémwen also reduces the quality of the unstressed short vowels not lost in syncope to a schwa. In addition, Neshnabémwen retains in some words a postconsonantal "y", which is no longer found in any of the other Ojibwe group languages. Because of the development of these differences and some vocabulary wording differences of significance since the contact period, such as large-scale borrowing from the Sac and Fox, though Potawatomi was at one time a full member of the Ojibwe language group, it is now considered a separate language. However, among the Anishinaabeg, many still consider the Potawatomi language as a dialect of Anishinaabemowin.

[edit] Anishinaabe pidgin and mixed languages

[edit] Broken Ojibwa

Please help improve this section by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion.

Broken Ojibwa or Broken Oghibbeway was a pidgin form of the Anishinaabe language, more specifically the Odaawaa dialect of the Anishinaabe language, that developed during the Fur trade era and used as a lingua franca among traders and Indians from various tribes such as the Menominis and the Ho-chunks. During the height of its use, Broken Ojibwa was found primarily in Wisconsin and eastern Minnesota but also along the Mississippi River waterway.

[edit] Bungee language

Main article: Bungee language

The Bungee language or Bungee dialect, used by the Nakawē Métis population, further incorporates Cree, Oji-cree and Saulteaux with French, English, Scottish Gaelic and other languages of the northern Great Plains. Many communities write using western Cree-Ojibwe syllabics, but others use the Saulteaux-Cree Roman. Due to this mixture, it is often debated whether Bungee is a mixutre of Cree with other languages, or a mixture of Anishinaabemowin with other languages.

[edit] Michif language

Ethnologue entries and SIL codes: CRG (Michif)

Main article: Michif language

Like the Bungee language, the Michif language used by the Nakawē Métis population is a mixed language. It is, however, composed primarily of Cree and French with very strong influences from the Anishinaabe and Assiniboine languages.

[edit] Language code correspondence table

[edit] See also

• Anishinaabe language
  • Ojibwe phonology
  • Ojibwe grammar
  • Ojibwe writing systems
• Algonquin language
• Odawa language
• Potawatomi language
• Anishinini language
• Bungee language

[edit] Bibliography

• Cappel, Constance. 2006. Odawa Language and Legends: Andrew J. Blackbird and Raymond Kiogima. Philadelphia: Xlibris.
• Rhodes, Richard A. & Evelyn M. Todd (1981). "Subarctic Algonquian Languages". In Subarctic, ed. June Helm, vol. 6 of Handbook of North American Indians, ed. William C. Sturtevant. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution.
• Valentine, Jerry Randolph (1994). Ojibwe Dialect Relationships. Ph.D. dissertation for the University of Texas at Austin.

[edit] External links

• Ojibwe Language Society
• Rand Valentine's introduction to Ojibwe
• Freelang Ojibwe Dictionary — Freeware off-line dictionary, updated with additional entries every 6-10 weeks.
• Language Museum report for Ojibwe
• Aboriginal Languages of Canada — With data on speaker populations
• Language Geek Page on Ojibwe — Syllabary fonts and keyboard emulators are also available from this site.
• Our Languages: Nakawē (Saskatchewan Indian Cultural Centre)
• Ethnologue report for Ojibwe
• The Linguasphere Register. 1999 / 2000 edition. Algic sector.