Mi'kmaq language
Encyclopedia
The Mi'kmaq language is an Eastern Algonquian
language spoken by nearly 9,100 Mi'kmaq in Canada
and the United States
out of a total ethnic Mi'kmaq population of roughly 20,000. The word Mi'kmaq is a plural word meaning 'my friends' (singular Míkm); the adjectival form is Míkmaw. The language's native name is Lnuismk, Míkmawísimk or Míkmwei (in some dialects).
The obstruent
s (/p, t, k, kʷ, t͡ʃ, s, x, xʷ/) are voiceless initially or next to another obstruent, but allophonically voiced [b], [d], [ɡ], [ɡʷ], [d͡ʒ], [z], [ɣ], [ɣʷ] between sonorant
s (vowels or the voiced consonants /m, n, w, l, j/). Thus ⟨Mi'kmaq⟩, phonemically /miːkmax/, is pronounced [miːɡmax].
Mi'kmaq is written using a number of Roman alphabet schemes based on those devised by missionaries in the 19th century. Previously, the language was written in Mi'kmaq hieroglyphic writing
, a script of partially native origin. The Francis-Smith orthography used here was developed in 1974, and adopted as the official orthography of the Míkmaq Nation in 1980. It is the most widely used orthography, used by Nova Scotian Mikmaq and by the Míkmaq Grand Council. It is quite similar to the "Lexicon" orthography, differing from it only in its use of the straight apostrophe ⟨'⟩ or acute accent ⟨´⟩ instead of the colon ⟨:⟩ to mark vowel length. When the Francis-Smith orthography was first developed, the straight apostrophe (often called a "tick") was the designated symbol for vowel length, however due to software applications incorrectly auto-correcting the tick to a curly apostrophe, a secondary means of indicating vowel length was formally accepted: the acute accent. The barred-i ⟨ɨ⟩ is sometimes replaced by the more common circumflex-i ⟨î⟩. In Listuguj orthography, an apostrophe marks long vowels, and the letter ⟨g⟩ is used instead of the letter ⟨k⟩. The 19th-century Pacifique orthography omits ⟨w⟩ and ⟨y⟩, using ⟨o⟩ and ⟨i⟩ for these. It also ignores vowel length. The 19th-century orthography of Silas Tertius Rand
is also given in the table below; this orthography is more complex than the table suggests, particularly as far as vowel quantity and quality is concerned.
Eastern Algonquian languages
The Eastern Algonquian languages constitute a subgroup of the Algonquian languages. Prior to European contact, Eastern Algonquian consisted of at least seventeen languages collectively occupying the Atlantic coast of North America and adjacent inland areas, from the Canadian Maritime provinces to...
language spoken by nearly 9,100 Mi'kmaq in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
out of a total ethnic Mi'kmaq population of roughly 20,000. The word Mi'kmaq is a plural word meaning 'my friends' (singular Míkm); the adjectival form is Míkmaw. The language's native name is Lnuismk, Míkmawísimk or Míkmwei (in some dialects).
Vowels
| Front Front vowel A front vowel is a type of vowel sound used in some spoken languages. The defining characteristic of a front vowel is that the tongue is positioned as far in front as possible in the mouth without creating a constriction that would be classified as a consonant. Front vowels are sometimes also... |
Central Central vowel A central vowel is a type of vowel sound used in some spoken languages. The defining characteristic of a central vowel is that the tongue is positioned halfway between a front vowel and a back vowel... |
Back Back vowel A back vowel is a type of vowel sound used in spoken languages. The defining characteristic of a back vowel is that the tongue is positioned as far back as possible in the mouth without creating a constriction that would be classified as a consonant. Back vowels are sometimes also called dark... |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| short | long | short | long | short | long | |
| Close Close vowel A close vowel is a type of vowel sound used in many spoken languages. The defining characteristic of a close vowel is that the tongue is positioned as close as possible to the roof of the mouth without creating a constriction that would be classified as a consonant.This term is prescribed by the... |
i | iː | u | uː | ||
| Mid Close-mid vowel A close-mid vowel is a type of vowel sound used in some spoken languages. The defining characteristic of a close-mid vowel is that the tongue is positioned two-thirds of the way from a close vowel to a mid vowel... |
e | eː | ə | o | oː | |
| Open Open vowel An open vowel is defined as a vowel sound in which the tongue is positioned as far as possible from the roof of the mouth. Open vowels are sometimes also called low vowels in reference to the low position of the tongue... |
a | aː | ||||
Consonants
| Labial Labial consonant Labial consonants are consonants in which one or both lips are the active articulator. This precludes linguolabials, in which the tip of the tongue reaches for the posterior side of the upper lip and which are considered coronals... |
Alveolar Alveolar consonant Alveolar consonants are articulated with the tongue against or close to the superior alveolar ridge, which is called that because it contains the alveoli of the superior teeth... |
Palatal Palatal consonant Palatal consonants are consonants articulated with the body of the tongue raised against the hard palate... |
Velar Velar consonant Velars are consonants articulated with the back part of the tongue against the soft palate, the back part of the roof of the mouth, known also as the velum).... |
||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| plain | lab. | ||||
| Plosive Stop consonant In phonetics, a plosive, also known as an occlusive or an oral stop, is a stop consonant in which the vocal tract is blocked so that all airflow ceases. The occlusion may be done with the tongue , lips , and &... |
p | t | k | kʷ | |
| Affricate Affricate consonant Affricates are consonants that begin as stops but release as a fricative rather than directly into the following vowel.- Samples :... |
t͡ʃ | ||||
| Fricative Fricative consonant Fricatives are consonants produced by forcing air through a narrow channel made by placing two articulators close together. These may be the lower lip against the upper teeth, in the case of ; the back of the tongue against the soft palate, in the case of German , the final consonant of Bach; or... |
s | x | xʷ | ||
| Nasal Nasal consonant A nasal consonant is a type of consonant produced with a lowered velum in the mouth, allowing air to escape freely through the nose. Examples of nasal consonants in English are and , in words such as nose and mouth.- Definition :... |
m | n | |||
| Approximant Approximant consonant Approximants are speech sounds that involve the articulators approaching each other but not narrowly enough or with enough articulatory precision to create turbulent airflow. Therefore, approximants fall between fricatives, which do produce a turbulent airstream, and vowels, which produce no... |
w | l | j |
The obstruent
Obstruent
An obstruent is a consonant sound formed by obstructing airflow, causing increased air pressure in the vocal tract, such as [k], [d͡ʒ] and [f]. In phonetics, articulation may be divided into two large classes: obstruents and sonorants....
s (/p, t, k, kʷ, t͡ʃ, s, x, xʷ/) are voiceless initially or next to another obstruent, but allophonically voiced [b], [d], [ɡ], [ɡʷ], [d͡ʒ], [z], [ɣ], [ɣʷ] between sonorant
Sonorant
In phonetics and phonology, a sonorant is a speech sound that is produced without turbulent airflow in the vocal tract; fricatives and plosives are not sonorants. Vowels are sonorants, as are consonants like and . Other consonants, like or , restrict the airflow enough to cause turbulence, and...
s (vowels or the voiced consonants /m, n, w, l, j/). Thus ⟨Mi'kmaq⟩, phonemically /miːkmax/, is pronounced [miːɡmax].
Writing system
Mi'kmaq hieroglyphic writing
Míkmaq hieroglyphic writing was a writing system and memory aid used by the Míkmaq, a Native American people of the east coast of what is now Canada....
, a script of partially native origin. The Francis-Smith orthography used here was developed in 1974, and adopted as the official orthography of the Míkmaq Nation in 1980. It is the most widely used orthography, used by Nova Scotian Mikmaq and by the Míkmaq Grand Council. It is quite similar to the "Lexicon" orthography, differing from it only in its use of the straight apostrophe ⟨'⟩ or acute accent ⟨´⟩ instead of the colon ⟨:⟩ to mark vowel length. When the Francis-Smith orthography was first developed, the straight apostrophe (often called a "tick") was the designated symbol for vowel length, however due to software applications incorrectly auto-correcting the tick to a curly apostrophe, a secondary means of indicating vowel length was formally accepted: the acute accent. The barred-i ⟨ɨ⟩ is sometimes replaced by the more common circumflex-i ⟨î⟩. In Listuguj orthography, an apostrophe marks long vowels, and the letter ⟨g⟩ is used instead of the letter ⟨k⟩. The 19th-century Pacifique orthography omits ⟨w⟩ and ⟨y⟩, using ⟨o⟩ and ⟨i⟩ for these. It also ignores vowel length. The 19th-century orthography of Silas Tertius Rand
Silas Tertius Rand
Silas Tertius Rand was a Canadian Baptist clergyman, missionary, ethnologist, linguist and translator. His work centred on the Mi'kmaq people of Maritime Canada and he was the first to record the legend of Glooscap.-Life:...
is also given in the table below; this orthography is more complex than the table suggests, particularly as far as vowel quantity and quality is concerned.
| IPA | a | aː | e | eː | i | iː | ə | tʃ | k | l | m | n | o | oː | p | x | s | t | u | uː | w | j |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Francis-Smith | a | a'/á | e | e'/é | i | i'/í | ɨ | j | k | l | m | n | o | o'/ó | p | q | s | t | u | u'/ú | w | y |
| Listuguj | a | a' | e | e' | i | i' | ' | j | g | l | m | n | o | o' | p | q | s | t | u | u' | w | y |
| Lexicon | a | a: | e | e: | i | i: | ɨ | j | k | l | m | n | o | o: | p | q | s | t | u | u: | w | y |
| Pacifique | a | e | i | tj | g | l | m | n | ô | p | s | t | o | |||||||||
| Rand | ă | a â | ĕ | ā | ĭ | e | ŭ | ch | c k | l | m | n | ŏ | o ō | b | h | s | d t | ŏŏ | oo u | w | y |