Some Facts About The Ojibwe Language

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.

These people were also known as the Ojibway or the Anishinaabemowin and they encompassed a couple of tribes in the area. They lived near the Great Lake somewhere in between Canada and the US. Today, that area is known as the border between Canada and the United States of America. Also, the dialect they are speaking is the Central Algonquian dialect making it one of the main languages to their community.

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, there have been organizations who want to help preserve the dialect by making schools in states like Michigan and Minnesota. The whole aim of these schools is to ensure that that those who have Ojibway heritage, or those that do not for that matter, learn to read and write it. In fact, the Ojibway Peoples Dictionary was created to aid in these types of efforts.

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.

The alphabet consists of twenty four letters with a few of them not being found in the English language. To give one an idea, the letters that one can find in this alphabet are the regular letters of the alphabet and letters with the two consonants making a different sound compared to the single vowels. There is also the an aa, ee, oo, and ii which are part of the double vowel system.

Aside from the standard alphabet, there is also the nasal vowels. These are iinh, eenh, oonh, and aanh. As the name states, these are the ones that have a nasal sound when spoken.

So for those who are interested in learning or just simply knowing about this dialect, here are a few things that one may want to know. This dialect, although to the brink of extinction, is slowly being revived already. So it is not surprising if there are some schools teaching it.

When you are searching for information about Ojibwe language, come to our web pages today. More details are available at http://www.zintkalaluta.org now.