The Ojibwe were a race of people who used to live in Canada in Ontario up until the US border somewhere in Montana and Michigan. They were a race of people who spoke the Ojibwe language, which is one of the rarest languages in the world as it is the native tongue of the older generation wherein the current generation don't practice it anymore. Here are a few things one might find interesting about this lost dialect.
Now, just to give an idea, this race of people are also known as the Anishinaabemowin or the Ojibway. As mentioned above, they settle in various places through Canada up until the US borders. They live near the Great Lakes making that area their main settlement or home town. Their dialect is known as the Central Algonquian language, previously used by all tribes in that area.
Unfortunately though, this dialect is actually close to being endangered, as announced by the state of Minnesota. It is actually quite sad that it was already added to the Atlas of Worlds Languages in Danger because only the previous generations are the ones who use it. While the baby boomers of that heritage may understand, they do not really speak it nor teach it to their children.
Of course, this prompted a lot of groups to try and revive as well as preserve the dialect by opening schools that teach it. What these schools aim to do is to get the next generation to try to learn how to read and write it so that it will still be there for the next generations. With that, these groups were able to come up with the Ojibway Peoples Dictionary which was used for these lessons.
Now, it is very interesting to note that the Dictionary makes use of a double vowel system when it comes to writing. Unlike the usual English alphabet, it is possible to see to letters combined to form one sound. One will also find that an apostrophe is found in the alphabet which actually symbolizes a stop and is done by releasing air from the glottis.
For those who do not know about the alphabet yet, there are some letters straight from the English alphabet but others are not. The ones from the English alphabet include most letters in the alphabet while some other added ones include aa, ee, ii, oo, ch, sh, and zh. As mentioned above, the ones that have two letters in them act as a single unit letter to make a completely different sound than a single letter unit.
There are also the nasal vowels in the alphabet. These include the aanh, oonh, eenh and the iinh. These, as the name implies, are nasal vowels that give off a nasal sound when one pronounces them.
Basically, these are some things to know about the Ojibway dialect. While it is about to be endangered, many people are trying to bring it back. This is to ensure the preservation of the culture of the people who used to live along the Great Lake area.
Now, just to give an idea, this race of people are also known as the Anishinaabemowin or the Ojibway. As mentioned above, they settle in various places through Canada up until the US borders. They live near the Great Lakes making that area their main settlement or home town. Their dialect is known as the Central Algonquian language, previously used by all tribes in that area.
Unfortunately though, this dialect is actually close to being endangered, as announced by the state of Minnesota. It is actually quite sad that it was already added to the Atlas of Worlds Languages in Danger because only the previous generations are the ones who use it. While the baby boomers of that heritage may understand, they do not really speak it nor teach it to their children.
Of course, this prompted a lot of groups to try and revive as well as preserve the dialect by opening schools that teach it. What these schools aim to do is to get the next generation to try to learn how to read and write it so that it will still be there for the next generations. With that, these groups were able to come up with the Ojibway Peoples Dictionary which was used for these lessons.
Now, it is very interesting to note that the Dictionary makes use of a double vowel system when it comes to writing. Unlike the usual English alphabet, it is possible to see to letters combined to form one sound. One will also find that an apostrophe is found in the alphabet which actually symbolizes a stop and is done by releasing air from the glottis.
For those who do not know about the alphabet yet, there are some letters straight from the English alphabet but others are not. The ones from the English alphabet include most letters in the alphabet while some other added ones include aa, ee, ii, oo, ch, sh, and zh. As mentioned above, the ones that have two letters in them act as a single unit letter to make a completely different sound than a single letter unit.
There are also the nasal vowels in the alphabet. These include the aanh, oonh, eenh and the iinh. These, as the name implies, are nasal vowels that give off a nasal sound when one pronounces them.
Basically, these are some things to know about the Ojibway dialect. While it is about to be endangered, many people are trying to bring it back. This is to ensure the preservation of the culture of the people who used to live along the Great Lake area.
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