Algonquin language explained

Algonquin
Nativename:Anicinâbemowin
States:Canada
Region:Quebec and into Ontario
Ethnicity:Algonquin
Speakers:3,330
Date:2016 census
Ref:[1]
Familycolor:Algic
Fam1:Algic
Fam2:Algonquian
Fam3:Ojibwe-Potawatomi
Fam4:Ojibwe
Fam5:Severn-Algonquin[2]
Iso3:alq
Glotto:algo1255
Glottorefname:Algonquin
Notice:IPA
Person:Anicinàpe (Omàmìwininì)
People:Anicinàpek (Omàmiwininiwak)
Language:Anicinàbemowin (Omàmìwininìmowin)

Algonquin (also spelled Algonkin; in Algonquin: Anicinàbemowin or Anishinàbemiwin) is either a distinct Algonquian language closely related to the Ojibwe language or a particularly divergent Ojibwe dialect. It is spoken, alongside French and to some extent English, by the Algonquin First Nations of Quebec and Ontario. As of 2006, there were 2,680 Algonquin speakers,[3] 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.

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. But, although the speakers call themselves Omàmìwininì or Anicinàbe|nocat=y, the Ojibwe call them ('those at the end of the lake'). Among (Algonquins), however, the Nipissing are called Otickwàgamì (the Algonquin orthography for the Ojibwe) and their language as Otickwàgamìmowin. The rest of the Omàmìwininìmowin (Algonquin) communities call themselves Omàmiwininiwak ('down-stream men'), and the language 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 Anishinaabemowin (the Anishinaabe language) but now is considered a separate language. Culturally, (Algonquin) and the Michi Saagiig (Mississaugas) were not part of the Ojibwe–Odawa–Potawatomi alliance known as the Council of Three Fires. The (Algonquins) maintained stronger cultural ties with the Abenaki, Atikamekw and Cree.

Among 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.

The northern (Algonquin language) dialect of Anishinabemowin as spoken at Winneway, Quebec (Long Point), and Timiskaming First Nation, Quebec, is a similar dialect to the Oji-Cree dialect (Severn/Anishininimowin) of northwestern Ontario, despite being geographically separated by 800km (500miles).

Dialects

There are several dialects of (the Algonquin language), generally grouped broadly as Northern Algonquin and Western Algonquin. Speakers at Kitigan Zibi consider their language to be Southern Algonquin, though linguistically it is a dialect of Nipissing Ojibwa which, together with Mississauga Ojibwa and Odawa, form the Nishnaabemwin (Eastern Ojibwa) group of the Ojibwa dialect continuum.

Phonology

Consonants

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

BilabialAlveolarPost-
alveolar
VelarGlottal
Plosive/
Affricate
voicedpronounced as /link/ (b)pronounced as /link/ (d)pronounced as /link/ (dj)pronounced as /link/ (g)
voicelesspronounced as /link/ (p)pronounced as /link/ (t)pronounced as /link/ (tc)pronounced as /link/ (k)pronounced as /link/ (')
aspiratedpronounced as /pʰ/ (p)pronounced as /tʰ/ (t)pronounced as /kʰ/ (k)
Fricativevoicedpronounced as /link/ (z)pronounced as /link/ (j)
voicelesspronounced as /link/ (s)pronounced as /link/ (c)pronounced as /link/ (h)
Nasalpronounced as /link/ (m)pronounced as /link/ (n)
Approximantpronounced as /link/ (w)pronounced as /link/ (i)

In an older orthography still popular in some of the Algonquin communities, known as the Malhiot (pronounced as /[mɛːjot]/) spelling, which the above Cuoq spelling was based upon, are listed below (with IPA notation in brackets):

BilabialAlveolarPost-
alveolar
VelarGlottal
Plosivevoiced   pronounced as /link/
(p) pronounced as /link/
   pronounced as /link/
   pronounced as /link/
(t) pronounced as /link/
   pronounced as /link/
   pronounced as /link/
(ĸ) pronounced as /link/
   pronounced as /link/
voicelesspronounced as /link/ NONE
aspirated
Affricatevoiced(tc) pronounced as /link/
   pronounced as /link/
voiceless
Fricativevoiced(s) pronounced as /link/
   pronounced as /link/
(c) pronounced as /link/
   pronounced as /link/
voiceless(h) pronounced as /link/
Nasal(ʍ) pronounced as /link/(ʌ) pronounced as /link/
Approximant(ȣ) pronounced as /link/(ı) pronounced as /link/

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 ('day') is pronounced pronounced as /[kʰiːʒɪɡ]/, but ('working day') is pronounced pronounced as /[ʌnokiː kiːʒɪɡ]/.[4]

Vowels

short and long
Malhiot
short
Cuoq
short
IPA
long
Cuoq
[5]
long
IPA
apronounced as /[ʌ]/~pronounced as /[ɑ]/à (also á or aa)pronounced as /[aː]/
ɛepronounced as /[e]/~pronounced as /[ɛ]/è (also é or ee)pronounced as /[eː]/
ıipronounced as /[ɪ]/ì (also í or ii)pronounced as /[iː]/
oo or upronounced as /[ʊ]/~pronounced as /[ɔ]/ò (also ó or oo)pronounced as /[oː]/~pronounced as /[uː]/
  1. Web site: Language Highlight Tables, 2016 Census - Aboriginal mother tongue, Aboriginal language spoken most often at home and Other Aboriginal language(s) spoken regularly at home for the population excluding institutional residents of Canada, provinces and territories, 2016 Census – 100% Data. Canada. Government of Canada, Statistics. www12.statcan.gc.ca. en. 2017-11-17.
  2. Web site: Severn-Algonquin . 2022-05-24 . 2022-10-29 . . Hammarström . Harald . https://web.archive.org/web/20221030034000/https://glottolog.org/resource/languoid/id/seve1242 . 2022-10-30 . live . . Forkel . Robert . Haspelmath . Martin . Bank . Sebastian.
  3. .
  4. Web site: Algonquin Pronunciation and Spelling Guide . Redish, Laura . Lewis, Orrin . Algonquin . Native-languages.org . 2007-08-28. https://web.archive.org/web/20070920185254/http://www.native-languages.org/algonquin_guide.htm. 20 September 2007 . live.
  5. Optionally indicated.

[6]

Diphthongs

Malhiot Cuoq IPA Malhiot Cuoq IPA
ᴀȣawpronounced as /[ɔw]/ᴀıaipronounced as /[aj]/
ɛȣewpronounced as /[ew]/ɛıeipronounced as /[ej]/
ıȣiwpronounced as /[iw]/
owpronounced as /[ow]/

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, ndj, ng, nh, nhi, nj or nz. For example, ('fish') is pronounced pronounced as /[kiːɡõːz]/, not pronounced as /[kʰiːɡoːnz]/.

Stress

Word stress in Algonquin is complex but regular. Words are divided into iambic feet (an iambic foot being a sequence of one "weak" syllable plus one "strong" syllable), counting long vowels (à, è, ì, ò) as a full foot (a foot consisting of a single "strong" syllable). The primary stress is then normally on the strong syllable of the third foot from the end of the word—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 not). The strong syllables of the remaining iambic feet each carry secondary stress, as do any final weak syllables. For example: pronounced as //ni.ˈbi//, pronounced as //ˈsiː.ˌbi//, pronounced as //mi.ˈki.ˌzi//, pronounced as //ˈnaː.no.ˌmi.da.ˌna//.

See also

Further reading

External links