Ojibwe phonology facts for kids

The Ojibwe language (also called Anishinaabemowin) is a language spoken by Native peoples in Canada and the United States. It's part of the Algonquian language family. Ojibwe is spoken around the Great Lakes and in parts of the northern plains.

Just like English has different accents, Ojibwe has many dialects. Each dialect has its own way of saying words. This article will help you understand the sounds (or phonology) of Ojibwe. We'll mostly look at the Southwestern Ojibwe dialect, spoken in Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Sounds of Ojibwe: Phonemes

In Ojibwe, there are usually 29 main sounds, called phonemes. These include 11 vowel sounds and 18 consonant sounds.

Vowel Sounds

Ojibwe has seven main vowel sounds. These vowels can be either short or long. The length of a vowel is important because it can change the meaning of a word.

For example, a short 'a' sound is like the 'u' in "but". A long 'a' sound is like the 'a' in "father".

Here's a simple way to see the main vowel sounds:

Some Ojibwe words also have nasal vowels. These are vowel sounds made by letting air out through your nose, like the 'on' in French "bon". These nasal vowels often appear at the end of words. For example, in words like bineshiinh ('bird') or awesiinh ('wild animal').

When written, a long vowel followed by "nh" (like aanh) shows that the vowel is nasal. The 'h' doesn't make a separate sound here.

Consonant Sounds

Ojibwe has 18 consonant sounds. Some of these sounds can be pronounced in slightly different ways depending on the dialect.

Here are the main consonant sounds:

Some Ojibwe dialects have "strong" (fortis) and "soft" (lenis) consonant sounds. Strong consonants are said with more force and are longer. Soft consonants are said with less force and are shorter. In some places, this difference has changed to simply "voiced" (vibrating vocal cords) or "voiceless" (no vocal cord vibration) sounds.

In some dialects, the 'sh' sound has merged with 's', and 'zh' with 'z'. So, wazhashk ('muskrat') might sound like wazask.

How Sounds Fit Together: Phonotactics

Ojibwe usually doesn't have many consonant clusters (two or more consonants together). Most clusters are found in the middle of words. For example, you might hear -sk- or -mb-.

However, some dialects allow more clusters. This happens because some short vowels can disappear from words.

Word Rhythm: Prosody

Ojibwe words have a special rhythm. Words are divided into "feet," like beats in music. The first part of a foot is usually "weak," and the second part is "strong."

Long vowels and the last syllable of a word are always "strong." Strong syllables get more emphasis, like a slight stress. The main stress in a word usually falls on the strong syllable that is third from the end of the word.

For example, the word bebezhigooganzhii ('horse') is divided into (be)(be)(zhi-goo)(gan-zhii).

Sound Changes in Words: Phonological Processes

One interesting thing about some eastern Ojibwe dialects is that short vowels can disappear from words. This is called vowel syncope.

For example, the word oshkinawe ('young man') in some dialects becomes shkinawe or even shkinwe. This change has happened more recently, in the last 80 years or so.

Sometimes, the end of a word's root can change when a suffix is added. For instance, a root ending in '-n' might change to '-zh' when certain suffixes are added.

Also, in some dialects, consonant sounds can become "strong" (voiceless/fortis) after words that show past or future tense. For example, gii-baapi ('s/he laughed') might be pronounced with a stronger 'p' sound.

How Ojibwe Sounds Changed Over Time

The Ojibwe language has changed a lot from its older form, called Proto-Algonquian.

One big change was that many voiceless (no vocal cord vibration) consonant sounds in Proto-Algonquian became voiced (vocal cords vibrate) in Ojibwe. Also, some sounds like *r and *θ in Proto-Algonquian became the 'n' sound in Ojibwe.

The vowel system also changed. Some short vowels merged, and their quality changed.

Here are some examples of how words changed from Proto-Algonquian to Ojibwe: