Thank you for this explanation... I have been wondering why I have not been able to find some of the Ojibway words in the Potawatomi dictionary. I also am close to a college that teaches the Blackfoot language... but was told it was different from the Potawatomi Algonquin language... This did not make much sense till now. Thanks sooo much... If you look at the English language from NY to LA.. south to north... Sometimes it sounds like a different language in the distant areas too... coupled with the foreign accents all around... lol... pama mine' Anita ----- Original Message ----- From: "R D Winthrop" <RDWinthrop@a1access.net> To: <NISHNAWBE-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Thursday, December 11, 2003 9:13 AM Subject: Re: [NISHNAWBE] Ojibway Language > > >Sorry to be so naive... but ... what is the comparison of the Ojibway and > >Potawatomi language? Both are Algonquin language. Are the dialects very > >different IF at all? > > Algonquin is a family of language stocks which, with some exceptions, > at Contact covered pretty much cover the greater part of northeastern > quadrant of North America; notable exception is the Iroquoian family > clustered mainly around the lower Great Lakes (includes Wendat > (Huron)) and in the southeast (Cherokee). > > The Algonquin family is often academically split into Northwestern and > Eastern branches; included in the former are languages often not > thought of as Algonquin including those spoken by Cheyenne, Blackfoot, > and Arapahoe. Also in the Northwestern branch are those spoken by > Cree, Shawnee, Fox, Menominee, and Illinois as well as Potawatomi and > Ojibway (Odawa / Otttawa is generally treated as not significantly > different from Ojibway but as a dialect.) > > The Eastern branch -- that is, east of the Niagara Escarpment (Bruce > Peninsula) -- include Micmac, Malacite, Abenaki, Mohegan-Pequot, > Narragansett,Mohegan, Muncie, Powhattan and others. Generally > speaking, these Eastern languages have not fared so well since Contact > as have the more widespread and/or remote Northwestern tongues = about > a dozen of them have effectively disappeared, and others are vestigal. > > I'm simplifying, but Ojibwe / Odawa are probably dialects, that is > variations of the same language. Potawatomi doesn't differ a lot -- it > uses the same building blocks, the same grammar, etc. but sounds a > little different, some words vary, etc., so it is usually treated as a > different language. Theory is that the languages diverged pretty late > in their linguistic history, so they're not far apart; flip side of > that is that the closer related they are, the less time has elapsed > since divergence. > > Even within Ojibwe / Odawa there is a lot of regional variation in > vocabulary, pronunciation, etc so that a southeastern Ojibwe speaker > from Michigan would speak / hear somewhat differently from a plains > Ojibwe in Manitoba; should be mutually intelligible, as would a > Potawatomi - Ojibway conversation. > > Potawatomi, Ojibwe & Odawa tongues can safely be referred to as > Anishinaabemowin. > > >> _Dictionary of The Ojibway Language_ by Fredric Baraga. It is 422 pages > >> and is really nice, a paper back with a price tag of $24.95. Barnes and > >> Noble also carries this book. It has a new forwrd by: John D. Nichols. > > Baraga was the hardest-working Supulcian in North America in mid 19th > c. -- he's all over the Superior country, and he worked hard at his > linguistic work, having his first dictionary published in Detroit in > the 1850s. U Minnesota, bleess their hearts, have it in print and I > recommend it to anyonme who does much work digging around in > Anishinaabemowin, although I gotta fess up and tell you I was > discourageed from using Baraga for a long time by the Speaker who > tries to get me to understand his language -- says it's too rooted in > the 19th century, and he's right that it is, but that's not > necessarily a bad thing for historical work in that period ... > > If you search for the book at places like these ought to find it new > for considerably less than list; if Used is okay, even less. > > These are comparison shopper sittes listing a range of sellers > http://www.pricescan.com/home_books.asp (< $20) > http://www.addall.com/ (< $20) > http://www.alibris.com/ (used only) > > This is a single seller i like to get a 'base price' on new books > from -- they're fast and reliable in my experience, a good seller. > http://www.alldirect.com/ ($15.47 + s/h) > > U Minnesota also published A CONCISE DICTIONARY OF MINNESOTA OJIBWE by > John D. Nichols and Earl Nyholm [ISBN=0816624283] which is also > available in paper, sometimes under $10. It is more contemporary, > easier to use, but orthography and some words are a little different > over der in Minnie-Soter than they are on this side of the Lake ;} > > regards - rdw > > > ============================== > To join Ancestry.com and access our 1.2 billion online genealogy records, go to: > http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=571&sourceid=1237