Chippewa language
Encyclopedia
Chippewa is an Algonquian
language spoken from upper Michigan
westward to North Dakota
in the United States
. It represents the southern component of the Ojibwe language
. Its ISO-3 designation is "ciw".
Chippewa is part of the Algonquian language family and an indigenous language of North America. Chippewa is part of the dialect continuum
of Ojibwe (including Chippewa, Ottawa
, Algonquin
, and Oji-Cree
), which is closely related to Potawatomi
. It is spoken on the southern shores of Lake Superior and in the areas toward the south and west of Lake Superior in Michigan and Southern Ontario. The speakers of this language generally call it Anishinaabemowin (the Anishinaabe
language) or more specifically, Ojibwemowin (the Ojibwa
language). There is a large amount of variation in the language. Some of the variations are caused by ethnic or geographic heritage, while other variations occur from person to person. There is no single standardization of the language as it exists as a dialect continuum
: “It exists as a chain of interconnected local varieties, conventionally called dialects.” Some varieties differ greatly and can be so diverse that speakers of two different varieties cannot understand each other. In the southern range of are where the language is spoken, it is mostly spoken by the older generations of the Anishinaabe people, and many of its speakers also speak English.
and Fr. Frederick Baraga in the 19th century, Frances Densmore, Jan P. B. de Josselin de Jong, Charles Fiero, Earl Nyholm and John Nichols in the 20th century. However, the Chippewa dialect of Ojibwemowin have continued to steadily decline. Beginning in the 1970s many of the communities have aggressive put their effort in their language revitalization efforts, but have only managed to produce some fairly educated second-language speakers. Today, majority of the first-language speakers of this dialect of the Ojibwe language are elderly, whose numbers are quickly diminishing, while the number of second-language speakers among the younger generation are growing. However, none of the second-language speakers have yet to transition to a fluency that of a first-language speaker.
In the summer of 2009, Anton Treuer of Bemidji State University
conducted an informal survey of number of first-language speakers of the Chippewa dialects in Minnesota and Wisconsin in order to convene a language session to address the need of vocabulary associated with math and sciences. Together with other Reservations that were not surveyed, Treuer estimates only around 1,000 first-language speakers of the Chippewa dialect in the United States.
, the Chippewa Language or the Southwestern dialect of the Ojibwe language is divided into four smaller dialects:
. There are four verb types used to show if the verb is transitive, if the subject of the verb is animate or inanimate, if the object of the verb is animate or inanimate, and the plurality of the subject. There is also a verb type that may only be used in the inverse. There are case markings that come at the beginning of words to show what verb type or noun type the word is. Other classes of words include adverbs, numbers, particles, pre-nouns, and pre-verbs. Pre-verbs and pre-nouns are not whole words; however, they are modifying forms that freely combine with nouns, verbs, or adverbs to add meaning. These words come before that which they are describing, and may not be at the beginning of the word if other meanings are added to the word. Hyphens in Chippewa signify the break between a stem and a pre-noun or pre-verb. The language uses postpositions, which are attached to the ends of words and are not separated from the words they govern. For example, the word ashangewigamig means “welfare office” in Chippewa, but the word ashangewigamigong means “to the welfare office.” The “-ong” ending and other similar endings in Chippewa are locatives that corresponds with the English words “in”, “at”, “on”, “by”. Chippewa also generally uses an adjective-noun order; however, sometimes the two words are modified and combine to form a single word. Many times one word is used to show phrases. Prepositional phrases and some noun phrases are expressed in a single word. Noun-verb combinations are also sometimes expressed in a single word. The Chippewa language has pronouns to show person (first, second, or third), and number (singular or plural). The language also has an inclusive and an exclusive first-person plural pronoun. These pronouns are included in the verb and usually serve at the beginning of the verb along with a relational suffix.
Algonquian languages
The Algonquian languages also Algonkian) are a subfamily of Native American languages which includes most of the languages in the Algic language family. The name of the Algonquian language family is distinguished from the orthographically similar Algonquin dialect of the Ojibwe language, which is a...
language spoken from upper Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
westward to North Dakota
North Dakota
North Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States of America, along the Canadian border. The state is bordered by Canada to the north, Minnesota to the east, South Dakota to the south and Montana to the west. North Dakota is the 19th-largest state by area in the U.S....
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It represents the southern component of the Ojibwe language
Ojibwe language
Ojibwe , also called Anishinaabemowin, is an indigenous language of the Algonquian language family. Ojibwe is characterized by a series of dialects that have local names and frequently local writing systems...
. Its ISO-3 designation is "ciw".
Chippewa is part of the Algonquian language family and an indigenous language of North America. Chippewa is part of the dialect continuum
Dialect continuum
A dialect continuum, or dialect area, was defined by Leonard Bloomfield as a range of dialects spoken across some geographical area that differ only slightly between neighboring areas, but as one travels in any direction, these differences accumulate such that speakers from opposite ends of the...
of Ojibwe (including Chippewa, Ottawa
Ottawa language
Ottawa is a dialect of the Ojibwe language, spoken by the Ottawa people in southern Ontario in Canada, and northern Michigan in the United States. Descendants of migrant Ottawa speakers live in Kansas and Oklahoma...
, Algonquin
Algonquin language
Algonquin 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...
, and Oji-Cree
Oji-Cree language
The Severn Ojibwa or the Oji-Cree language is the indigenous name for a dialect of the Ojibwe language spoken in a series of Oji-Cree communities in northern Ontario and at Island Lake, Manitoba, Canada...
), which is closely related to Potawatomi
Potawatomi language
Potawatomi is a Central Algonquian language and is spoken around the Great Lakes in Michigan and Wisconsin, as well as in Kansas in the United States, and in southern Ontario in Canada, 1300 Potawatomi people, all elderly...
. It is spoken on the southern shores of Lake Superior and in the areas toward the south and west of Lake Superior in Michigan and Southern Ontario. The speakers of this language generally call it Anishinaabemowin (the Anishinaabe
Anishinaabe
Anishinaabe or Anishinabe—or more properly Anishinaabeg or Anishinabek, which is the plural form of the word—is the autonym often used by the Odawa, Ojibwe, and Algonquin peoples. They all speak closely related Anishinaabemowin/Anishinaabe languages, of the Algonquian language family.The meaning...
language) or more specifically, Ojibwemowin (the Ojibwa
Ojibwa
The Ojibwe or Chippewa are among the largest groups of Native Americans–First Nations north of Mexico. They are divided between Canada and the United States. In Canada, they are the third-largest population among First Nations, surpassed only by Cree and Inuit...
language). There is a large amount of variation in the language. Some of the variations are caused by ethnic or geographic heritage, while other variations occur from person to person. There is no single standardization of the language as it exists as a dialect continuum
Dialect continuum
A dialect continuum, or dialect area, was defined by Leonard Bloomfield as a range of dialects spoken across some geographical area that differ only slightly between neighboring areas, but as one travels in any direction, these differences accumulate such that speakers from opposite ends of the...
: “It exists as a chain of interconnected local varieties, conventionally called dialects.” Some varieties differ greatly and can be so diverse that speakers of two different varieties cannot understand each other. In the southern range of are where the language is spoken, it is mostly spoken by the older generations of the Anishinaabe people, and many of its speakers also speak English.
Number of Speakers
The Chippewa dialect have been the focus of many academic works, from William Whipple WarrenWilliam Whipple Warren
William Whipple Warren was a mixed-blood Ojibwe historian, interpreter, and legislator in the Minnesota Territory. He moved from Wisconsin to Crow Wing in the fall of 1845. Warren suffered from lung problems for many years and died as a young man of 28 from tuberculosis on June 1, 1853.-Early life...
and Fr. Frederick Baraga in the 19th century, Frances Densmore, Jan P. B. de Josselin de Jong, Charles Fiero, Earl Nyholm and John Nichols in the 20th century. However, the Chippewa dialect of Ojibwemowin have continued to steadily decline. Beginning in the 1970s many of the communities have aggressive put their effort in their language revitalization efforts, but have only managed to produce some fairly educated second-language speakers. Today, majority of the first-language speakers of this dialect of the Ojibwe language are elderly, whose numbers are quickly diminishing, while the number of second-language speakers among the younger generation are growing. However, none of the second-language speakers have yet to transition to a fluency that of a first-language speaker.
In the summer of 2009, Anton Treuer of Bemidji State University
Bemidji State University
Bemidji State University is a public state university in Bemidji, Minnesota, USA, located on the shores of Lake Bemidji. It is a part of Minnesota State Colleges and Universities .-History:BSU was founded in 1919 as Bemidji State Normal School...
conducted an informal survey of number of first-language speakers of the Chippewa dialects in Minnesota and Wisconsin in order to convene a language session to address the need of vocabulary associated with math and sciences. Together with other Reservations that were not surveyed, Treuer estimates only around 1,000 first-language speakers of the Chippewa dialect in the United States.
| Reservation | Number of first-language speakers |
Estimated number of second-language speakers |
Number of total population |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red Lake | 400 | 2,400 | 10,570 |
| Mille Lacs | 150 | 1,150 | 3,942 |
| Leech Lake | 90 | 950 | 8,861 |
| Bois Forte | 20 | 110 | 3,052 |
| White Earth | 15 | 650 | 19,291 |
| Grand Portage | 3 | 90 | 1,127 |
| Fond du Lac | 0 | 520 | 4,044 |
| St. Croix | 25 | 80 | 1,080 |
| Lac Courte Oreilles | 10 | 130 | 6,146 |
| Lac du Flambeau | 3 | 120 | 3,457 |
| Bad River | 2 | 100 | 6,921 |
| Red Cliff | 1 | 50 | 4,470 |
| Mole Lake | 1 | 20 | 1,279 |
Dialects
According to EthnologueEthnologue
Ethnologue: Languages of the World is a web and print publication of SIL International , a Christian linguistic service organization, which studies lesser-known languages, to provide the speakers with Bibles in their native language and support their efforts in language development.The Ethnologue...
, the Chippewa Language or the Southwestern dialect of the Ojibwe language is divided into four smaller dialects:
- Upper Michigan-Wisconsin Chippewa: on Keweenaw Bay, Lac Vieux DesertLac Vieux Desert Indian ReservationLac Vieux Desert Indian Reservation is an Indian reservation located in Watersmeet Township of southeastern Gogebic County, in the western part of Michigan's Upper Peninsula. It is the landbase for the Lac Vieux Desert Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. The reservation has a total land area of...
, Lac du Flambeau, Red Cliff, Bad River, Lac Courte Oreilles, St. Croix and Mille LacsMille Lacs Indian ReservationMille Lacs Indian Reservation is the land-base for the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe in Central Minnesota, about 100 miles north of Minneapolis-St. Paul...
(District III). - Central Minnesota Chippewa: on Mille LacsMille Lacs Indian ReservationMille Lacs Indian Reservation is the land-base for the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe in Central Minnesota, about 100 miles north of Minneapolis-St. Paul...
(Districts I and II), Fond du LacFond du Lac Indian ReservationThe Fond du Lac Indian Reservation is an Indian reservation in northern Minnesota near Cloquet in Carlton and St. Louis counties, with off-reservation holdings in Douglas County in Wisconsin...
, Leech LakeLeech Lake Indian ReservationThe Leech Lake Indian Reservation or Gaa-zagaskwaajimekaag in the Ojibwe language, is an Native American reservation located in the north-central Minnesota counties of Cass, Itasca, Beltrami, and Hubbard. It is the land-base for the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe...
, White EarthWhite Earth Indian ReservationThe White Earth Indian Reservation is the home to the White Earth Nation, located in northwestern Minnesota. It is the largest Indian reservation in that state...
and Turtle MountainTurtle Mountain Indian ReservationTurtle Mountain Indian Reservation is an Indian Reservation located primarily in northern North Dakota. It is the land-base for the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians ....
. - Red Lake Chippewa: on Red LakeRed Lake Indian ReservationThe Red Lake Indian Reservation covers 1,258.62 sq mi in parts of nine counties in northern Minnesota, United States. It is divided into many pieces, although the largest piece is centered about Red Lake, in north-central Minnesota, the largest lake entirely within that state. This section lies...
- Minnesota Border Chippewa: on Grand PortageGrand Portage Indian ReservationThe Grand Portage Indian Reservation is located in Cook County near the tip of Minnesota's Arrowhead Region in the extreme northeast part of the state. The community was considered part of the Lake Superior Band of Chippewa, but is not a party to the treaties that group signed...
and Bois ForteBois Forte Indian ReservationBois Forte Indian Reservation is an Indian reservation formed for the Bois Forte Band of Chippewa...
Syntax
Like other varieties of Anishinaabemowin, in Chippewa a great deal of information is already contained in the words, so the sentence order can be quite free, but the primary word order is subject–verb–object. There are three general parts of speech: nouns, verbs, and others. Nouns types are broken down by number and by whether they are animate or inanimate genderAnimacy
Animacy is a grammatical and/or semantic category of nouns based on how sentient or alive the referent of the noun in a given taxonomic scheme is...
. There are four verb types used to show if the verb is transitive, if the subject of the verb is animate or inanimate, if the object of the verb is animate or inanimate, and the plurality of the subject. There is also a verb type that may only be used in the inverse. There are case markings that come at the beginning of words to show what verb type or noun type the word is. Other classes of words include adverbs, numbers, particles, pre-nouns, and pre-verbs. Pre-verbs and pre-nouns are not whole words; however, they are modifying forms that freely combine with nouns, verbs, or adverbs to add meaning. These words come before that which they are describing, and may not be at the beginning of the word if other meanings are added to the word. Hyphens in Chippewa signify the break between a stem and a pre-noun or pre-verb. The language uses postpositions, which are attached to the ends of words and are not separated from the words they govern. For example, the word ashangewigamig means “welfare office” in Chippewa, but the word ashangewigamigong means “to the welfare office.” The “-ong” ending and other similar endings in Chippewa are locatives that corresponds with the English words “in”, “at”, “on”, “by”. Chippewa also generally uses an adjective-noun order; however, sometimes the two words are modified and combine to form a single word. Many times one word is used to show phrases. Prepositional phrases and some noun phrases are expressed in a single word. Noun-verb combinations are also sometimes expressed in a single word. The Chippewa language has pronouns to show person (first, second, or third), and number (singular or plural). The language also has an inclusive and an exclusive first-person plural pronoun. These pronouns are included in the verb and usually serve at the beginning of the verb along with a relational suffix.