Miꞌkmaq language facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Miꞌkmaq |
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| Mi'kmawi'simk | ||||
| Native to | Canada, United States | |||
| Region | Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Gaspé Peninsula, the island of Newfoundland, northern Maine, Boston, Massachusetts | |||
| Ethnicity | 168,420 Miꞌkmaq (2016 census) | |||
| Native speakers | 7,140, 4% of ethnic population (2016 census) | |||
| Language family |
Algic
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| Writing system | Latin Komqwejwiꞌkasikl |
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| Recognised minority language in |  Canada |
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The Mi’kmaq language (pronounced mig-mah), also called Mi'kmawi'simk, is spoken by the Miꞌkmaq people. It is an Eastern Algonquian language. About 11,000 people speak Miꞌkmaq in Canada and the United States. The total Miꞌkmaq population is around 20,000.
The Miꞌkmaq people call their language Lnuismk, Miꞌkmawiꞌsimk, or Miꞌkmwei. The word Miꞌkmaq means 'my friends'. The word Miꞌkmaw is used to describe something related to the Miꞌkmaq people or their language.
Contents
Sounds of the Miꞌkmaq Language
The Miꞌkmaq language has special sounds, just like English or any other language. It uses vowels and consonants.
Vowel Sounds
Miꞌkmaq has different vowel sounds. Some vowels are short, and some are long. For example, the 'a' sound can be short or long.
Consonant Sounds
Miꞌkmaq consonants can sound different depending on where they are in a word. For instance, some sounds are voiceless (like a whisper) at the start of a word. But they become voiced (like a normal sound) in the middle of a word.
For example, the 't' sound in tiꞌam (moose) is voiceless. But the 'k' sound in Miꞌkmaq is voiced, sounding more like a 'g'.
Miꞌkmaq also has long and short consonant sounds. Sometimes, a long consonant can even add an extra small vowel sound before another consonant.
How Miꞌkmaq Sentences Work
Miꞌkmaq has a very flexible word order. This means the order of words in a sentence can change. It depends on what the speaker wants to emphasize.
For example, if you want to say "I saw a moose," you might put the word for "moose" earlier in the sentence if you want to highlight the moose.
Miꞌkmaq is a polysynthetic language. This means that verbs often contain a lot of information. They can include who is doing the action (the subject) and who or what the action is done to (the object). For example, the word sapmiꞌk means "I saw him."
Verbs in Miꞌkmaq also show when something happened (past, present, future).
Nouns in Miꞌkmaq
Nouns in Miꞌkmaq are either animate (living things or things treated as living) or inanimate (non-living things). This is a common feature in Algonquian languages.
The way verbs are used changes based on whether the noun is animate or inanimate.
- Nemitu means "I see (an inanimate noun)."
- Nemi'k means "I see (an animate noun)."
How Miꞌkmaq is Written
Today, Miꞌkmaq is mostly written using the Latin alphabet. This is the same alphabet English uses. Missionaries created these writing systems in the 1800s.
Before that, the Miꞌkmaq language used a special writing system called Miꞌkmaw hieroglyphic writing. This system used pictures and symbols. It was partly developed by the Miꞌkmaq people themselves. This makes Miꞌkmaq one of the few Native American languages that had its own writing system before Europeans arrived.
The most common way to write Miꞌkmaq today is the Francis-Smith orthography. It was created in 1974 and became official in 1980. It uses an apostrophe (ꞌ) or an accent mark (´) to show if a vowel sound is long.
There are other ways to write Miꞌkmaq, but the Francis-Smith way is the most widely used.
Miꞌkmaq Number System
Miꞌkmaq uses a decimal number system, just like English. This means it is based on groups of ten.
Numbers 1 to 10
- 1: newt
- 2: taꞌpu
- 3: siꞌst
- 4: neꞌw
- 5: naꞌn
- 6: asꞌgom
- 7: lluigneg
- 8: ugumuljin
- 9: pesgunateg
- 10: neꞌwtisgaꞌq
How Numbers Are Formed
Numbers like 10, 20, and 30 use a part of the first nine numbers as a prefix. For example, neꞌwtisgaꞌq (10) comes from newt (1). Tapuisgaꞌq is 20, and nesisgaꞌq is 30.
For numbers like 60, 70, and so on, the number (like 6 for 60) comes before a separate word for ten, teꞌsisgaꞌq. So, 60 is asꞌgom teꞌsisgaꞌq.
To say numbers like 28, you combine the tens number with the single digit. You use the word jel, which means "and" or "also." So, 28 is tapuisgaꞌq jel ugumuljin (twenty and eight).
For numbers over 99, Miꞌkmaq uses words for "hundred" (gasgꞌptnnaqan) and "thousand" (pituimtlnaqn). So, 300 is siꞌst gasgꞌptnnaqan. The numbers 100 and 1,000 are just the words for hundred and thousand themselves.
Numbers in Miꞌkmaq also change based on whether you are counting animate or inanimate things. For example, to say "two people," you use taꞌpusijik. But for "two days," you say taꞌpugnaꞌq.
Bringing the Language Back
The Miꞌkmaq language is considered "vulnerable" by UNESCO. This means it is not always used, and English is often chosen instead. However, younger generations of Miꞌkmaq people still speak it.
One reason for fewer fluent speakers is the Canadian Indian residential school system. These schools tried to force Indigenous children to give up their culture and language. This led to many children not learning their mother tongue.
But there are many efforts to bring the language back!
- In Wagmatcook, Cape Breton, people are creating children's books in Miꞌkmaq.
- Miꞌkmaq immersion schools help children learn the language. This helps them connect with their Indigenous identity.
- Community educators are also improving their own language skills.
- Cape Breton University has a college that focuses on Miꞌkmaq history, culture, and education.
- In 2013, a Miꞌkmaq language instructor shared that parents were excited to hear their children speaking Miꞌkmaq in the car.
- At the Lnu Siꞌpuk Kinaꞌmuokuom Miꞌkmaq school in Indian Brook, Miꞌkmaq language classes are required from kindergarten to grade 12.
- In 2021, Emma Stevens, a member of the Eskasoni First Nation, sang the Beatles song "Blackbird" in Miꞌkmaq. This helped raise awareness and support for the language.
Miꞌkmaq Language History
Miꞌkmaq is part of the Algic languages family. This family of languages was once spoken across a large part of North America. Miꞌkmaq belongs to the Eastern Algonquian subgroup. These languages were spoken along the Atlantic coast.
Miꞌkmaq is related to other languages like Malecite-Passamaquoddy and Massachusett. The Miꞌkmaq people also had an alliance with other tribes in the Eastern Algonquian group, called the Wabanaki Confederacy. This means they have a long history of language contact.
Miꞌkmaq shares many similar words with its related languages. For example, the Miꞌkmaq word for "woman" is eꞌpit. This is similar to the Maliseet word ehpit.
Just like many Native American languages, Miꞌkmaq uses an animate/inanimate system for nouns. This means words are grouped based on whether they are considered living or non-living. For example, in Miꞌkmaq, both the word for "sun" (naꞌguꞌset) and "earth" (ugsꞌtqamu) are animate.
The Miꞌkmaq language has also influenced other languages. Many Acadian French and Chiac words come from Miꞌkmaq. This is because Acadians and Miꞌkmaq people lived together for a long time. You can also find Miꞌkmaq words in place names in Quebec and Nova Scotia, like Antigonish and Shubenacadie.
Some English words also come from Miꞌkmaq. For example, "caribou" and "toboggan" are Miꞌkmaq words. The word "caribou" likely comes from the Miꞌkmaq word xalibu or Qalipu, meaning "the one who paws."
In the 1500s, Basque sailors traded with Native Americans. This led to a mix of Basque and Miꞌkmaq words being used. This mixed language was still used in the early 1700s.
Miꞌkmaq Place Names
Many places in Canada and the United States have names that come from the Miꞌkmaq language. Here are some examples:
- Places ending in Quoddy, like Passamaquoddy and Shubenacadie, mean a fertile area.
- Amqui: from Miꞌkmaq amqui (place of amusement or pleasure).
- Aroostook County: from Mi'kmaq meaning "beautiful/clear water."
- Bouctouche: from Mi'kmaq Tjipogtotjg (pronounced Chebooktoosk) meaning "great little harbour."
- Cascapédia: from Miꞌkmaq kaska (broad) and pegiag (river).
- Causapscal: from Miꞌkmaq Goesôpsiag, meaning "stony bottom" or "swift water."
- Gaspé Peninsula: from Miꞌkmaq Gespedeg (land recently acquired).
- Gaspé, Quebec: Gespeg (land's end).
- Kouchibouguac, New Brunswick: from Miꞌkmaq Pijeboogwek (river of long tides).
- Matapédia: from Miꞌkmaq matapegiag (river junction).
- Paspébiac: from Miꞌkmaq papgeg ipsigiag, meaning "split flats" or "lagoon."
- Quebec: from Miꞌkmaq Gepèèg.
- Restigouche: from Miꞌkmaq Listuguj.
- Lac-Humqui: from Miꞌkmaq amqui (place of amusement or pleasure).
- Sayabec: from Miꞌkmaq Sakpediak.
- Shediac: from Miꞌkmaq Es-ed-ei-ik, meaning "running far in" (referring to the tide).
- Tatamagouche: from Takamegoochk, meaning "barred across the entrance with sand."
A book called The Language of this Land, Miꞌkmaꞌki by Bernie Francis and Trudy Sable explores how the Miꞌkmaq language and the land are connected.
Images for kids
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Bible translations into the Miꞌkmaq language.
See also
In Spanish: Idioma micmac para niños
