Potawatomi Language

Potawatomi (, also spelled Pottawatomie; in Potawatomi , , or ) is a Central Algonquian language. It was historically spoken by the Pottawatomi people who lived around the Great Lakes in what are now Michigan and Wisconsin in the United States, and in southern Ontario in Canada. Federally recognized tribes in Michigan and Oklahoma are working to revive the language.

Classification

Potawatomi is a member of the Algonquian language family (itself a member of the larger Algic stock). It is usually classified as a Central Algonquian language, with languages such as Ojibwe, Cree, Menominee, Miami-Illinois, Shawnee and Fox. The label ''Central Algonquian'' signifies a geographic grouping rather than the group of languages descended from a common ancestor language within the Algonquian family. Of the Central languages, Potawatomi is most similar to Ojibwe, but it also has borrowed a considerable amount of vocabulary from the Sauk.

Generally, in developments since Indian Removal in the 19th century, Potawatomi has become differentiated in North America among separated populations. It is divided between Northern Potawatomi, spoken in Ontario, Canada; and Michigan and Wisconsin of the United States; and Southern Potawatomi, which is spoken in Kansas and Oklahoma, where certain Pottawatomi ancestors were removed who had formerly lived in Illinois and other areas east of the Mississippi River.

Phonology

Here, the phonology of the Northern dialect is described, which differs somewhat from that of the Southern dialect, spoken in Kansas.

There are five vowel phonemes, four diphthongs, and nineteen consonant phonemes.

, which is often written as , represents an open-mid front unrounded vowel, . represents the schwa, , which has several allophonic variants. Before , it becomes ; before , , and word-finally, it becomes .

is pronounced in Michigan and elsewhere. When it is in a closed syllable, it is pronounced . There are also four diphthongs, , spelled . Phonemic are realized as .

Obstruents, as in many other Algonquian languages, do not have a voicing distinction per se but what is better termed a "strong"/"weak" distinction. "Strong" consonants, written as voiceless (), are always voiceless, often aspirated, and longer in duration than the "weak" consonants, which are written as voiced () and are often voiced and are not aspirated. Nasals before another consonant become syllabic, and , , and are dental: .

Vowels

Consonants

Lenis type consonants can frequently be voiced in various surroundings as for plosives and affricates, and for fricatives.

Writing systems

Current writing system

Though no standard orthography has been agreed upon by the Potawatomi communities, the system most commonly used is the "Pedagogical System" developed by the Wisconsin Native American Languages Program (WNALP). As the name suggests, it was designed to be used in language teaching. The system is based on the Roman alphabet and is phonemic, with each letter or digraph representing a contrastive sound. The letters used are a b ch d e é g ' h i j k m n o p s sh t w y z zh.

In Kansas, a different system called BWAKA is used. It too is both based on the Roman alphabet and phonemic, with each letter or digraph representing a contrastive sound. The letters used are ' a b c d e e' g h i I j k m n o p s sh t u w y z zh.

Traditional system

The traditional system used in writing Potawatomi is a form of syllabic writing. Potawatomi, Odawa, Sauk, Meskwaki and Ho-Chunk communities all used it. Derived from the Roman alphabet, it resembles handwritten Roman text. However, unlike the Unified Canadian Aboriginal Syllabics or the Cherokee alphabet, it has not yet been incorporated into the Unicode standards.

Each Potawatomi syllabic block in the system has at least two of the seventeen alphabetic letters, which consist of thirteen consonants and four vowels. Of the thirteen phonemic consonantal letters, the , written , is optional.

Morphology

Potawatomi has six parts of speech: noun, verb, pronoun, prenoun, preverb, and particle.

Pronouns

There are two main types of pronoun: personal pronouns and demonstrative pronouns. As nouns and verbs use inflection to describe anaphoric reference, the main use of the free pronouns is for emphasis.

Personal pronouns

Personal pronouns, because of vowel syncope, resemble those of Odaawaa but structurally resemble more those in the Swampy Cree language:

Verbs

Correspondences to Ojibwe

The relatively-recent split from Ojibwe makes Potawatomi still exhibit strong correspondences, especially with the ''Odaawaa'' (Ottawa) dialect.

Language revitalization

Cecelia Miksekwe Jackson, one of the last surviving native speakers of Potawatomi, died in May 2011, at the age of 88. She was known for working to preserve and teach the language.

Donald Neaseno Perrot, a native speaker who grew up in the Powers Bluff, Wisconsin, area, has a series of Potawatomi videos, a website, and books available to preserve the language.

The federally recognized Pokégnek Bodéwadmik Pokagon Band of Potawatomi started a master-apprentice program in which a "language student (the language apprentice) will be paired with fluent Potawatomi speakers (the language masters)" in January 2013. In addition, classes in the Potawatomi language are available, including those at the Hannahville summer immersion camp, with webcast instruction and videoconferencing.

There are also free online language courses on Mango Languages from the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi, released in October 2022. and on Memrise from the Citizen Potawatomi Nation in Oklahoma.

Notes

Further reading

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External links

Potawatomi Language Vocabulary, Audio and Video, Interactive Language Games, Online CoursesThe Neshnabe Institute for Cultural Studies – Dedicated to Potawatomi Language Revitalization
Smokey McKinney, 1997
Prairie Band Potawatomi Language DepartmentCitizen Potawatomi Department of LanguageHannahville Indian Community Department of Culture, Language and HistoryForest County Potawatomi Cultural Center, Library and Museum
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20140301070810/http://beta.pokagonband-nsn.gov/departments/language-and-culture/potawatomi-language-programs Pokégnek Bodéwadmik Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Department of Language and Culture]
Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Potawatomi Department of Language and CultureOLAC resources in and about the Potawatomi languagePotawatomi Dictionary
by the Citizen Potawatomi Nation

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Central Algonquian languages
Anishinaabe languages
Indigenous languages of the North American eastern woodlands
First Nations languages in Canada
Indigenous languages of Oklahoma
Native American language revitalization