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Ojibwa-Potawatomi-Ottawa language

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Ojibwa-Potawatomi-Ottawa language
ᐊᓂᔑᓈᐯᒧᐎᓐ Anishinaabemowin
Pronunciation/ənɪʃʰɪnaːpeːmowɪn/ or /ənɪʰʃɪnaːpeːmowɪn/
Native to Canada,
 United States
Regionwestern Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba and into Saskatchewan, with outlying groups as far west as British Columbia; in the United States, from Michigan westward to Montana
Native speakers
70,606 (Ojibwe: 32,460, Oji-Cree: 12,600 and Algonquin: 2,680, Ottawa: 7,128; Potawatomi: 30 in Canada;[1] Ojibwe: 13,838, Ottawa: 872 and Potawatomi: 998 in the United States[2])
Algic
Latin alphabet of various orthographies in Canada and the United States, and Ojibwe syllabics in Canada, and formerly, pictographs, and Great Lakes Algonquian syllabary in the United States.
Language codes
ISO 639-3Variously:
alq – Algonquin
oji – Ojibwa (generic)
ojs – Severn Ojibwa
ojg – Eastern Ojibwa
ojc – Central Ojibwa
ojb – Northwestern Ojibwa
ojw – Western Ojibwa
ciw – Chippewa
otw – Ottawa
pot – Potawatomi

Location of all Anishinaabe Reservations/Reserves and cities with an Anishinaabe population in North America, with diffusion rings about communities speaking the Anishinaabe language

The Ojibwa-Potawatomi-Ottawa language (also called the Anishinaabe language or Anishinaabemowin, ᐊᓂᔑᓈᐯᒧᐎᓐ in Eastern Algonquian syllabics) is the second most commonly spoken First Nations language in Canada (after Cree),[1] and the third most spoken in North America (behind Navajo and Cree). It is spoken by the Anishinaabeg who are the Algonquin, Nipissing, Ojibwa (Chippewa), Saulteaux, Mississaugas and Odawa (Ottawa). Very closely related to Anishinaabe peoples, and speakers included in this group are the Anishinini language and the Potawatomi language. 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.

Classification

The Ojibwa-Potawatomi-Ottawa language is divided into two major groups—the Ojibwa-Ottawa language, often referred to as the "Ojibwa language" though Ojibwa language is just one component of the language, and the Potawatomi language. The Ojibwa-Potawatomi-Ottawa language is an Algonquian language, of the Algic family of languages, and is descended from Proto-Algonquian. Among its sister 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 group of languages is 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. This article deals primarily with the Southwestern Ojibwe dialect spoken in the northern United States, around Minnesota and Wisconsin. Therefore, some of the descriptions given here will not necessarily hold true for other dialects of the Ojibwa-Potawatomi-Ottawa language, unless an example is specifically given here. Otherwise, for specific detail on an individual language belonging to the Ojibwa-Potawatomi-Ottawa language, please see the individual language's article.

Geographic distribution

Pre-contact distribution of the Nakawēmowin, Ojibwemowin and Omaamiwininimowin dialects of the Ojibwa-Potawatomi-Ottawa language

The Ojibwa-Potawatomi-Ottawa language is spoken by approximately 70,606 people in North America and can be divided into the Ojibwa-Ottawa language and the Potawatomi language. Of the Ojibwa-Ottawa language, the largest component of the Ojibwa-Ottawa language, the Ojibwa language (also known as Ojibwemowin), which includes the Chippewa language (Southwestern Ojibwa), Western Ojibwa language (Saulteaux language or Plains Ojibwa language), Northwestern Ojibwa language, Central Ojibwa language, Mississauga language (Eastern Ojibwa language) and the Ottawa language, is spoken by 14,710 people in the United States[2] and by as many as 39,588 in Canada,[1] making it one of the largest Algic languages by speakers. The various dialects are spoken in northern Montana, northern North Dakota, northern Minnesota, northern Wisconsin and Michigan in the United States, and north into eastern British Columbia, southern Alberta, southern Saskatchewan, southern Manitoba and Ontario in Canada. The second largest Ojibwa-Ottawa language component is the Severn Ojibwa language also known as the Oji-Cree language, Northern Ojibwa language, Anishinini language or Anishininiimowin, spoken by as many as 12,600 people in eastern Manitoba and northern Ontario in Canada;[1] it was one of only six indigenous languages in Canada to report an increase in use. The Ojibwa-Ottawa language also includes the Algonquin language, spoken by 2,680 people in northeastern Ontario and west-central Quebec;[1] all languages similar to the Algonquin language are described as being an Algonquian language. Smaller branch of the Ojibwa-Potawatomi-Ottawa language, the Potawatomi language, spoken by approximately 1,000 people in Ontario, northeastern Wisconsin, Michigan, northern Indiana, northeastern Kansas and Oklahoma.

Language Canada United States Total (by speakers) Total ethnic population
Algonquin 2,680 0 2,680 8,266
Oji-Cree 12,600 0 12,600 12,600
Ojibwa 32,460 13,838 46,298 219,711
Ottawa 7,128 872 8,000 60,000
Potawatomi 30 998* 1,028 25,000
Total (by Country) 63,898 15,708 70,606 325,577

* Of the 998 recorded speakers of Potawatomi language in the United States, only 50 were first-language speakers, most of them elderly.[3]

Lingua franca

As 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 and across all of Canada.

The Anishinaabe language replaced the Wyandot language as the lingua franca of the Great Lakes region sometime during the middle of 17th century and remained as a lingua franca in the region until replaced by English in the late 19th century. Consequently, various dialects of the Anishinaabe language were understood by non-Anishinaabe peoples of the Great Lakes as well as by other peoples beyond the Great Lakes. At the height of its use as the major diplomatic and trade language of the region, the Anishinaabe language was found from the Ohio River valley in the south to James Bay in the north and from Ottawa River in the east to the Rocky Mountains in the west. Due to the status being the lingua franca, the Anishinaabe language greatly influenced other Algonquian languages, such as the Menomini language, as well as spurring the creation of a pidgin language known as "Broken Ojibwa".

Dialects

Main article: Ojibwa-Potawatomi-Ottawa language dialects

The Ojibwa-Potawatomi-Ottawa language is divided into two language groups—Ojibwa-Ottawa language and Potawatomi language. The Ojibwa-Ottawa language has quite a few divergent dialects. The primary ones are Nipissing and Algonquin, Plains Ojibwe (Saulteaux), 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, due to relatively recent diversion from the Ojibwa-Ottawa language, the Potawatomi language still exhibit strong characteristics to the Ojibwa-Ottawa language. The Potawatomi language has two major dialects, the northern dialect spoken in Ontario, Michigan and Wisconsin, and the southern dialect spoken primarily in Kansas.

During the Fur Trade, a pidgin form of the Ojibwa-Potawatomi-Ottawa language, known as "Broken Ojibwa" or "Broken Oghibbeway", developed, relying on Anishinaabemowin for its vocabulary. It is often debated whether the Bungee language, a mixed language, is a mixture of the Ojibwa-Potawatomi-Ottawa language with other languages, or a mixture of a Cree language with other languages.

Well-known speakers of Anishinaabemowin

See also

References

  • Mithun, Marianne. 1999. The Languages of Native North America. Cambridge: University Press.
  • Nichols, John D. and Earl Nyholm. 1995. A Concise Dictionary of Minnesota Ojibwe. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
  • Rhodes, Richard A. 1985. Eastern Ojibwa-Chippewa-Ottawa Dictionary. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.
  • Valentine, J. Randolph. 2001. Nishnaabemwin Reference Grammar. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e Statistics Canada 2006
  2. ^ a b http://www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/phc-5-pt1.pdf U.S. Census Bureau, 2000 Census of Population and Housing, Characteristics of American Indians and Alaska Natives by Tribe and Language: 2000. PHC-5. Washington, DC, 2003.
  3. ^ Hinton, Leanne and Hale, Kenneth (2001). The Green Book of Language Revitalization in Practice, p. 342. Emerald Group Publishing. ISBN 0123493536.

Further reading

  • Beardy, Tom. Introductory Ojibwe in Severn dialect. Parts one and two. Thunder Bay, Ontario: Native Language Instructors' program, Lakehead University, 1996. ISBN 0886630185
  • Cappel, Constance, editor, "Odawa Language and Legends: Andrew J. Blackbird and Raymond Kiogima," Philadelphia: Xlibris, 2006.
  • Northrup, Jim, Marcie R. Rendon, and Linda LeGarde Grover. Nitaawichige = "to Do Something Skillfully" : Selected Poetry and Prose by Four Anishinaabe Writers. Duluth, Minn: Poetry Harbor, 2002. ISBN 1886895287
  • Toulouse, Isadore. Kidwenan An Ojibwe Language Book. Munsee-Delaware Nation, Ont: Anishinaabe Kendaaswin Pub, 1995. ISBN 1896027164
  • Vizenor, Gerald Robert. Summer in the Spring Anishinaabe Lyric Poems and Stories. American Indian literature and critical studies series, v. 6. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1993. ISBN 0806125187
  • Williams, Angeline, Leonard Bloomfield, and John Nichols. The Dog's Children Anishinaabe Texts. Winnipeg, Man: University of Manitoba Press, 1991. ISBN 0887551483
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