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 languages of the Americas, indigenous la ...

or a particularly divergent Ojibwe dialect. It is spoken, alongside French and to some extent English, by the Algonquin First Nations of

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

and

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

. 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

(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 (; Ojibwe writing systems#Ojibwe syllabics, syll.: ᐅᒋᐺ; plural: ''Ojibweg'' ᐅᒋᐺᒃ) are an Anishinaabe people whose homeland (''Ojibwewaki'' ᐅᒋᐺᐘᑭ) covers much of the Great Lakes region and the Great Plains, n ...

by many. But, although the speakers call themselves '' Omàmìwininì or'' , the Ojibwe call them ('those at the end of the lake'). Among (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 (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 Algon ...

include

Mississauga Mississauga is a Canadian city in the province of Ontario. Situated on the north-western shore of Lake Ontario in the Regional Municipality of Peel, it borders Toronto (Etobicoke) to the east, Brampton to the north, Milton to the northwest, ...

(often called "Eastern Ojibwe") and Odawa. The

Potawatomi language Potawatomi (, also spelled Pottawatomie; in Potawatomi , , or ) is a Central Algonquian languages, Central Algonquian languages, Algonquian language. It was historically spoken by the Potawatomi, Pottawatomi people who lived around the Great Lake ...

was considered a divergent dialect of Anishinaabemowin (the Anishinaabe language) but now is considered a separate language. Culturally, (Algonquin) and the Michi Saagiig (Mississaugas) were not part of the Ojibwe–Odawa–Potawatomi alliance known as the Council of Three Fires. The (Algonquins) maintained stronger cultural ties with the

Abenaki The Abenaki ( Abenaki: ''Wαpánahki'') are Indigenous people 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 pred ...

, Atikamekw and

Cree The Cree, or nehinaw (, ), are a Indigenous peoples of the Americas, North American Indigenous people, numbering more than 350,000 in Canada, where they form one of the country's largest First Nations in Canada, First Nations. They live prim ...

. Among sister Algonquian languages are Blackfoot, Cheyenne,

, Fox,

Menominee The Menominee ( ; 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 recognized tribe of Na ...

, Potawatomi, and Shawnee. The Algic family contains the Algonquian languages and the so-called " Ritwan" 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 constitute a true genetic subgroup. The northern (Algonquin language) dialect of Anishinabemowin as spoken at Winneway, Quebec (Long Point), and

Timiskaming First Nation Timiskaming (former official designation Timiskaming 19) is a First Nations reserve in the Abitibi-Témiscamingue region of Quebec, Canada, just north of the head of Lake Timiskaming. It belongs to the Timiskaming First Nation, an Algonquin ...

, Quebec, is a similar dialect to the

Oji-Cree The Anisininew or Oji-Cree are a First Nation in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Manitoba, residing in a band extending from the Missinaibi River region in Northeastern Ontario at the east to Lake Winnipeg at the west. The Oji-Cree pe ...

dialect (Severn/Anishininimowin) of northwestern Ontario, despite being geographically separated by .

Dialects

There are several dialects of (the Algonquin language), generally grouped broadly as ''Northern Algonquin'' and ''Western Algonquin''. Speakers at Kitigan Zibi 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 A phoneme () is any set of similar Phone (phonetics), speech sounds that are perceptually regarded by the speakers of a language as a single basic sound—a smallest possible Phonetics, phonetic unit—that helps distinguish one word fr ...

s and major allophones 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 one of multiple possible spoken soundsor '' phones''used to pronounce a single phoneme in a particular language. For example, in English, the voiceless plos ...

s. So ('day') is pronounced , but ('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, ('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 not). 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