Algonquin (also spelled Algonkin; in Algonquin: or ) is either a distinct Algonquian language closely related to the

Ojibwe language Ojibwe , also known as Ojibwa , Ojibway, Otchipwe,R. R. Bishop Baraga, 1878''A Theoretical and Practical Grammar of the Otchipwe Language''/ref> Ojibwemowin, or Anishinaabemowin, is an indigenous language of North America of the Algonquian la ...

or a particularly divergent Ojibwe dialect. It is spoken, alongside

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

and to some extent English, by the Algonquin First Nations of

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Government of Canada, Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is ...

and

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

. As of 2006, there were 2,680 Algonquin speakers,. 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

Omàmìwininìmowin (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 The Ojibwe, Ojibwa, Chippewa, or Saulteaux are an Anishinaabe people in what is currently southern Canada, the northern Midwestern United States, and Northern Plains. According to the U.S. census, in the United States Ojibwe people are one of ...

by many. But, although the speakers call themselves '' Omàmìwininì or'' , the Ojibwe call them (those at the end of the lake). Among Omàmìwininì (Algonquins), however, the Nipissing are called (the Algonquin orthography for the Ojibwe ) and their language as . The rest of the Omàmìwininìmowin (Algonquin) communities call themselves (down-stream men), and the language (speech of the down-stream men). Other than Omàmìwininìmowin (Algonquin), languages considered as particularly divergent dialects of the

Anishinaabe language Ojibwe , also known as Ojibwa , Ojibway, Otchipwe,R. R. Bishop Baraga, 1878''A Theoretical and Practical Grammar of the Otchipwe Language''/ref> Ojibwemowin, or Anishinaabemowin, is an indigenous language of North America of the Algonquian la ...

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, Omàmìwininì (Algonquin) and the Michi Saagiig (Mississaugas) were not part of the Ojibwe–Odawa–Potawatomi alliance known as the Council of Three Fires. The Omàmìwininìwak (Algonquins) maintained stronger cultural ties with the

Abenaki The Abenaki ( Abenaki: ''Wαpánahki'') are an Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands of Canada and the United States. They are an Algonquian-speaking people and part of the Wabanaki Confederacy. The Eastern Abenaki language was pre ...

, Atikamekw and Cree. Among sister Algonquian languages are Blackfoot,

Cheyenne The Cheyenne ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains. Their Cheyenne language belongs to the Algonquian languages, Algonquian language family. Today, the Cheyenne people are split into two federally recognized tribe, federally recognize ...

, Cree,

Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelv ...

Menominee The Menominee (; mez, omǣqnomenēwak meaning ''"Menominee People"'', also spelled Menomini, derived from the Ojibwe language word for "Wild Rice People"; known as ''Mamaceqtaw'', "the people", in the Menominee language) are a federally reco ...

Potawatomi The Potawatomi , also spelled Pottawatomi and Pottawatomie (among many variations), are a Native American people of the western Great Lakes region, upper Mississippi River and Great Plains. They traditionally speak the Potawatomi language, a m ...

, and

Shawnee The Shawnee are an Algonquian-speaking indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands. In the 17th century they lived in Pennsylvania, and in the 18th century they were in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, with some bands in Kentucky a ...

. The Algic family contains the Algonquian languages and the so-called "

Ritwan The Algic languages (also Algonquian–Wiyot–Yurok or Algonquian–Ritwan) are an indigenous language family of North America. Most Algic languages belong to the Algonquian subfamily, dispersed over a broad area from the Rocky Mountains to ...

" 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 The Eastern Algonquian languages constitute a subgroup of the Algonquian languages. Prior to European contact, Eastern Algonquian consisted of at least 17 languages, whose speakers collectively occupied the Atlantic coast of North America and adj ...

constitute a true genetic subgroup. The northern Omàmìwininìmowin (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 .

Dialects

There are several dialects of Omàmìwininìmowin (the Algonquin language), generally grouped broadly as ''Northern Algonquin'' and ''Western Algonquin''. Speakers at

Kitigan Zibi Kitigan Zibi (also known as River Desert, and designated as Maniwaki 18 until 1994) is a First Nations reserve of the Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg First Nation, an Algonquin band. It is situated near the confluence of the Désert and Gatineau R ...

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

phoneme In phonology and linguistics, a phoneme () is a unit of sound that can distinguish one word from another in a particular language. For example, in most dialects of English, with the notable exception of the West Midlands and the north-wes ...

s and major

allophones In phonology, an allophone (; from the Greek , , 'other' and , , 'voice, sound') is a set of multiple possible spoken soundsor ''phones''or signs used to pronounce a single phoneme in a particular language. For example, in English, (as in ''s ...

of Algonquin in Cuoq spelling, one of several common orthographies, and its common variants are listed below (with IPA notation in brackets): In an older orthography still popular in some of the Algonquin communities, known as the Malhiot () spelling, which the above Cuoq spelling was based upon, are listed below (with IPA notation in brackets):

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

allophone In phonology, an allophone (; from the Greek , , 'other' and , , 'voice, sound') is a set of multiple possible spoken soundsor ''phones''or signs used to pronounce a single phoneme in a particular language. For example, in English, (as in '' ...

s. So kìjig ("day") is pronounced , but anokì kìjig ("working day") is pronounced .

Vowels

Diphthongs

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, kìgònz ("fish") is pronounced , not .

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 it doesn't). The strong syllables of the remaining iambic feet each carry secondary stress, as do any final weak syllables. For example: , , , .

References

External links

French - Algonquin dictionary from the Algonquin Nation Tribal CouncilOLAC resources in and about the Algonquin language
{{DEFAULTSORT:Algonquin Language Central Algonquian languages Anishinaabe languages Indigenous languages of the North American eastern woodlands First Nations languages in Canada Languages of the United States