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The Ojibwe language is spoken in a series of occupying adjacent territories, forming a language complex in which mutual intelligibility between adjacent dialects may be comparatively high but declines between some non-adjacent dialects. Mutual intelligibility between some non-adjacent dialects, notably Ottawa language, Severn Ojibwe, and Algonquin, is low enough that they could be considered distinct languages. There is no single dialect that is considered the most prestigious or most prominent, and no standard writing system that covers all dialects. The relative autonomy of the regional dialects of Ojibwe is associated with an absence of linguistic or political unity among Ojibwa.
The general name for the language in Ojibwe is , written in one common orthography as and as ᐊᓂᐦᔑᓈᐯᒧᐎᓐ in 'Eastern' syllabics, with local pronunciation and spelling variants, and in some cases distinctive local names for particular dialects. The dialects of Ojibwe are spoken in Canada from western Quebec, through Ontario, Manitoba and parts of Saskatchewan, with outlying communities in Alberta and British Columbia,Valentine, J. Randolph, 1994, p. 6Nichols, John, 1980, pp. 1–2 and in the United States from Michigan through Wisconsin and Minnesota, with a number of communities in North Dakota and Montana, as well as migrant groups in Kansas and Oklahoma.Rhodes, Richard, and Evelyn Todd, 1981 The dialects of Ojibwe are divided into distinctive northern and southern groups, with intervening transition dialects that have a mixture of features from the adjacent dialects.
This article lays out the general structure of Ojibwe dialectology, with links to separate articles on each dialect. The Potawatomi language is closely related to Ojibwe; information is at . An Ojibwe pidgin language is discussed at Broken Oghibbeway, and the use of various dialects of Ojibwe as lingua franca is at . Ojibwe Loanword are found in Menominee and Michif language; for discussion see .
Two analyses of the relationships between the Ojibwe dialects are in agreement on the assignment of the strongly differentiated Ottawa dialect to a separate subgroup, and the assignment of Severn Ojibwe and Algonquin to another subgroup, and differ primarily with respect to the relationships between the less strongly differentiated dialects. Rhodes and Todd recognize several different dialectal subgroupings within Ojibwe: (a) Ottawa; (b) Severn and Algonquin; (c) a third subgroup which is further divided into (i) a subgrouping of Northwestern Ojibwe and Saulteaux, and a subgrouping consisting of Eastern Ojibwe and a further subgrouping comprising Southwestern Ojibwe and Central Ojibwe (see figure, this section).Rhodes, Richard and E. Todd, 1981, p. 61, Fig. 5
Valentine has proposed that Ojibwe dialects are divided into three groups: a northern tier consisting of Severn Ojibwe and Algonquin; a southern tier consisting of "Odawa, Chippewa, Eastern Ojibwe, the Ojibwe of the Border Lakes region between Minnesota and Ontario, and Saulteaux; and third, a transitional zone between these two polar groups, in which there is a mixture of northern and southern features."J. Randolph Valentine, 1994, p. 39 In this article the classification proposed by Valentine is utilized for the classification and subgrouping of Ojibwe dialects.
The distinction between the northern and southern dialect groupings is argued to "align to some extent with traditional subsistence patterns, in that the southern groups typically harvested maple sugar and wild rice, allowing for population aggregations that promoted such social institutions as medicine societies and totemic clan structures."Valentine, J. Randolph, 1994, p 45 Similarly, northern groups have made most extensive use of northern "waterways that flow into James and Hudson Bays, while southern groups were situated on the Great Lakes, Huron and Superior."
Ojibwe dialects are distinguished by features of phonology, morphology, syntax, and lexicon. Some dialects, most notably Severn Ojibwe, Algonquin, and Ottawa are characterized by many distinct features; such extensive differentiation is associated with lengthy "periods of isolation from other varieties of Ojibwe".Valentine, J. Randolph, 1994, pp. 43–44 Dialects that are adjacent to strongly differentiated dialects may show a mixture of transitional features.Valentine, J. Randolph, 1994, p. 42 For example, the Border Lakes dialect is not strongly distinguished from the adjacent Western Ojibwe (Saulteaux) and Southwestern Ojibwe (Chippewa) dialects, and is characterized by the "grading of a few minor features."Valentine, J. Randolph, 1994, p. 41
In some situations there is a mismatch between speakers' self-designations and what is supported by linguistic data.Valentine, J. Randolph, 1994, pp. 43, 78 For example, the communities at Golden Lake, Ontario and Maniwaki, Quebec are described by speakers at those locations as members of the Algonquin dialect, although linguistically both are distinct from the clearly Algonquin communities north of those locations, and are assigned to the Nipissing dialect.Valentine, J. Randolph, pp. 32, 78-79
The degree of mutually intelligibility between nonadjacent dialects of Ojibwe varies considerably; recent research has helped to show the extent of the distance between Ottawa and the maximally different Severn Ojibwe dialect spoken in northwestern Ontario.Valentine, J. Randolph, 1994 Because the dialects of Ojibwe are at least partly mutually intelligible, Ojibwe is usually considered to be a single language with a number of dialects.Rhodes, Richard, and Evelyn Todd, 1981, p. 52 However, the relatively low degrees of mutual intelligibility between some nonadjacent Ojibwe dialects led to the suggestion that Ojibwe "...could be said to consist of several languages...".Rhodes, Richard and E. Todd, 1981, p. 52
Severn Ojibwe, also called Oji-Cree or Northern Ojibwa, and Anihshininiimowin in the language itself, is spoken in northern Ontario and northern Manitoba. Although there is a significant increment of vocabulary borrowed from several Cree language dialects, Severn Ojibwe is a dialect of Ojibwe. Two minor sub-dialects have been identified: Big Trout Lake, and Deer Lake, with Big Trout Lake being further subdivided into a Severn subgroup and a Winisk River subgroup.Valentine, J. Randolph, 1994, p. 118 Severn Ojibwe is primarily written by its speakers using the Cree syllabary.Nichols, John. 1996.
The Algonquin dialect of Ojibwe is spoken in communities in northwestern Quebec and eastern Ontario (to be distinguished from the name of the Algonquian language family). Algonquin is spoken along the Ottawa River valley east of the Quebec-Ontario border, centered around Lake Abitibi. Recognized Algonquin communities include: Amos (Pikogan), Cadillac, Grand Lac Victoria, Hunter's Point, Kipawa (Eagle Village), Notre Dame du Nord (Timiskaming), Rapid Lake (Barriere Lake), Rapid Sept, Lac Simon, Québec, Winneway (Long Point).Gilstrap, Roger, 1978 The communities of Grand Lac Victoria (Kitcisakik) on Grand Lac Victoria and Lac Rapide on Cabonga Reservoir are within La Vérendrye Wildlife Reserve, a provincial park in Québec.
Algonquin is sometimes referred to as 'Northern Algonquin' to distinguish it from the southern communities at Golden Lake, Ontario and Maniwaki, Québec which have traditionally been grouped with Algonquin, but are here classified as belonging to the Nipissing dialect.Valentine, J. Randolph, 1994, p. 32
Although speakers of Ojibwe in the community of Kitigan Zibi (also called River Desert and formerly called Maniwaki) at Maniwaki, Québec self-identify as Algonquin, the language spoken there is Nipissing; Maniwaki speakers were among those who migrated from Oka, Quebec. Similarly, the nineteenth-century missionary Grammaire de la language algonquine ('Grammar of the Algonquin language') describes Nipissing speech.Cuoq, Jean André, 1891
Algonquin orthography is not standardized. Some older texts were written in a French-based orthography in which the acute accent is used to indicate vowel length and the use of several consonant symbols accords with their general French values.McGregor, Ernest, 1987, pp. vii-xi Modern Algonquin-language resources tend to use a more English-based system, in which long vowels are marked with a grave accent (or alternatively by doubling the vowel).Omàmiwininì Pimàdjwowin, n.d.
The Nipissing dialect term omàmìwininì 'downriver people' refers to Algonquin speakers,Cuoq, Jean André, 1896, p. 298McGregor, Ernest, 1987, p. 282 with the term for the language being omàmìwininìmowin. The general Algonquin self-designation is AnicinàbeCuoq, Jean André, 1896, p. 48; Cuoq does not write the accent. or orthographic equivalent Anishinàbe.McGregor, Ernest, 1987, p. 41
There is support for a Western Algonquin subdialect, extending "…inland from Lake Huron and east of Lake Superior…" toward the Ontario-Québec border. Representative communities from this area include Temagami, Ontario and Biscotasing, Ontario.Valentine, J. Randolph, 1994, pp. 32, 110
The Ottawa dialect is spoken in southern Ontario and northern Michigan, with main communities on Manitoulin Island, Ontario; at Walpole Island, Ontario; as well as Saugeen and Cape Croker.Valentine, J. Randolph, 2001 Ottawa and the neighboring Eastern Ojibwe dialect are characterized by extensive vowel Syncope, which deletes metrically weak short vowels.
The most general term for the Ottawa dialect is , which is also applied to Eastern Ojibwe. The term '(speaking the) Ottawa language' is also used to refer specifically to Ottawa.Baraga, Frederic, 1878, p. 336 gives
Ottawa is generally written with a version of the Double vowel writing system.Rhodes, Richard, 1985
The Eastern Ojibwe dialect is spoken east of Georgian Bay, Ontario. The main Eastern Ojibwe communities are Curve Lake, Ontario and Rama, Ontario. Eastern Ojibwe and the neighboring Ottawa language dialect are characterized by extensive vowel Syncope, which deletes metrically weak short vowels.
The most general term for the Eastern Ojibwe dialect is , which is also applied to Ottawa. The term '(speaking the) Ojibwe language' is not restricted to a specific dialect; a recent Eastern Ojibwe dictionary notes that and are interchangeable.Snache, Irene, 2005,
Eastern Ojibwe is generally written with a version of the Double vowel writing system.Snache, Irene, 2005, pp. 111–112
Southwestern Ojibwe is spoken in Minnesota and Wisconsin.Nichols, John, 1980Nichols, John and Earl Nyholm, 1995 This dialect is also referred in English as "Chippewa". The general Ojibwe term is applied to this dialect.Nichols, John and Earl Nyholm, 1995, p. 10 Southwestern Ojibwe is most generally written using the Double vowel writing system.Nichols, John and Earl Nyholm, 1995, pp. xxiii-xxviii
Border Lakes Ojibwe is spoken in the Lake of the Woods area of Ontario near the borders of Ontario, Minnesota, and Manitoba. Although communities within the Border Lakes area have been considered part of the Saulteaux dialect,Rhodes, Richard and Evelyn Todd, 1981, p. 54, Fig. 2 current classification treats Border Lakes as a separate dialect in the Southern tier. Communities identified as Border Lakes include Lac La Croix, Emo (Rainy River First Nation), and Whitefish Bay, all in Ontario.Valentine, J. Randolph, 1994, p. 33
Saulteaux Ojibwe (also Western Ojibwe or Plains Ojibwe) is spoken in the Canadian provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta, with an outlying group in British Columbia. The language is referred to, as written in the local orthography, , ,Cote, Margaret, 1984 or (as written in the local system).
The writing system commonly used for Saulteaux incorporates the Americanist phonetic symbols /š/ for and /č/ for ; marks long vowels with the macron; writes lenis consonants with voiceless symbols, and writes fortis consonants with /h/ before a lenis consonant, as in the name for the language, .
Nipissing communities have sometimes been classified as Eastern Ojibwe,Rhodes, Richard, 1976Rhodes, Richard and Evelyn Todd, 1981 but other research notes that several features distinguish the dialect documented at Gitigan Zibi (Maniwaki) from Eastern Ojibwe material documented from the core Eastern Ojibwe communities of Curve Lake and Rama.O'Meara, John, 1993
The Nipissing dialect of Ojibwe is spoken in the area of Lake Nipissing in Ontario. A representative community in the Nipissing dialect area is Golden Lake, although the language is moribund at that location.Valentine, J. Randolph, 1994, p. 110Day, Gordon, 1978 Although speakers of Ojibwe in the community of Kitigan Zibi (also called River Desert) at Maniwaki, Québec self-identify as Algonquin,McGregor, Ernest, 1987 the language spoken there is Nipissing. Maniwaki speakers were among those who migrated from Oka, Quebec. Similarly, the nineteenth-century missionary Grammaire de la language algonquine ('Grammar of the Algonquin language') describes Nipissing speech.
The term odishkwaagamii 'those at the end of the lake' is attributed to Algonquin speakers as a term for Nipissing dialect speakers, with related odishkwaagamiimowin 'Nipissing language'.Cuoq, Jean André, 1886, p. 314McGregor, Ernest, 1987, p. 275 It is also cited from Ojibwe dialects other than Nipissing or Algonquin with the meaning 'Algonquin Indian', for example from Southwestern Ojibwe;Baraga, Frederic, 1878, p. 314 other sources ranging from the seventeenth to nineteenth centuries cite the same form from several different Ojibwe dialects, including Ottawa.Day, Gordon, 1978, p. 791
Speakers of this dialect generally use a French-based writing system.Cuoq, Jean Andre, 1886
The North of Superior dialect is spoken on the north shore of Lake Superior in the area to the west and east of Lake Nipigon. Communities include (east to west) Pic Mobert, Pic Heron, Pays Plat, Long Lac, Aroland, Rocky Bay, and Lake Helen, all in Ontario.Valentine, J. Randolph, 1994, pp. 28, 33
Berens River Ojibwe is spoken along the Berens River in northern Ontario. Reported communities include Pikangikum and Poplar Hill, both in Ontario.Valentine, J. Randolph, 1994, pp. 31, 417-422
The Northwestern dialect of Ojibwe is spoken approximately from northwest of Lake Nipigon, north of the Lake of the Woods area south of the Berens River to the Manitoba border. Communities identified as Northwestern include (east to west) Armstrong, Osnaburgh House, Cat Lake, Lac Seul, Grassy Narrows, and Red Lake.
The Central Ojibwe dialect (also known as Central Ojibwe, Ojibway) is recognized in some analyses as a dialect of Ojibwe spoken in Ontario from Lake Nipigon in the west to Lake Nipissing in the east.Raymond G. Gordon Jr., ed. 2005. Ethnologue: Languages of the World. 15th edition. Dallas: Summer Institute of Linguistics. In the analysis accepted in this article Central Ojibwe is not recognized; it is divided into North of (Lake) Superior and Nipissing.
| pota1247 Potawatomi | ||||
| Southern Potawatomi | ||||
| wini1244 Winisk River Ojibwa | ||||
| seve1241 Severn River Ojibwa | ||||
| Deer Lake | ||||
| 62-ADA-dhb Ojibwa-Northwestern | ||||
| algo1255 Algonquin | ||||
| Northern AlgonquinMoseley, Christopher, 2007, p. 68 | ||||
| Western Algonquin | ||||
| mini1254 Miniwaki | ||||
| cent2136 Central Ojibwa | ||||
| North of Superior Ojibwe | ||||
| east2542 Eastern Ojibwa | ||||
| otta1242 Ottawa | ||||
| Ottawa-Ottawa | ||||
| brok1252 Broken Oghibbeway | ||||
| uppe1274 Upper Michigan-Wisconsin Chippewa | ||||
| cent2135 Central Minnesota Chippewa | ||||
| minn1250 Minnesota Border Chippewa | ||||
| redl1238 Red Lake Chippewa | ||||
| turt1236 Turtle Mountain Chippewa | ||||
| west1510 Western Ojibwa | ||||
| rain1239 Rainy River Ojibwa | ||||
| lake1257 Lake of the Woods Ojibwa | ||||
| lacs1238 Lac Seul Ojibwa | ||||
| alba1270 Albany River Ojibwa | ||||
| bere1251 Berens River Ojibwa | ||||
| R: Rama | ||
| CL: Curve Lake | ||
| ( CI: Christian Island) | ||
| ( CT: Chippewa of the Thames) | ||
| CC: Cape Croker | ||
| W: Walpole Island | ||
| ( KP: Kettle Point) | ||
| S: Sarnia | ||
| BC: Bay City | ||
| CV: Cross Village | ||
| M: Manitoulin | ||
| N/A (Upper Peninsula Michigan) | ||
| N/A (Northeastern Wisconsin) | ||
| RC: Red Cliff | ||
| BR: Bad River | ||
| LCO: Lac Courte Oreilles | ||
| SC: St. Croix | ||
| ML: Mille Lacs (District 3) | ||
| ML: Mille Lacs (District 1 & 2) | ||
| WE: White Earth (Central & South) | ||
| FL: Fond du Lac | ||
| LL: Leech Lake (Central & South) | ||
| LL: Leech Lake (North) | ||
| BF: Bois Forte | ||
| N/A (Grand Portage) | ||
| RL: Red Lake (Ponemah) | ||
| N/A (White Earth (North)) | ||
| N/A (Turtle Mountain) | ||
| LLC: Lac La Croix | ||
| NI: Nigigoonsiminikaaning | ||
| N/A (Western Canadian Border Lakes) | ||
| LS: Lac Seul | ||
| Frenchman's Head | ||
| CL: Cat Lake | ||
| Os: Osnaburgh (Mishkeegogamang) | ||
| Slate Falls | ||
| Pi: Pikangikum | ||
| Poplar Hill | ||
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