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Ojibwe grammar

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The Ojibwe language is an Algonquian North American indigenous language spoken throughout the Great Lakes region and westward onto the northern plains. It is one of the largest indigenous language north of Mexico in terms of number of speakers, and exhibits a large number of divergent dialects. For the most part, this article describes the Minnesota variety of the Southwestern dialect. The orthography used is the Fiero Double-Vowel System.

Like many North American languages, Ojibwe is polysynthetic, meaning it exhibits a great deal of synthesis and a very high morpheme-to-word ratio (e.g., the single word for "they are Chinese" is aniibiishaabookewininiiwiwag, which contains six morphemes: leaf-liquid-make-man-be-PLURAL, or approximately "they are leaf-drink [i.e., tea] makers"). It is agglutinating, and thus builds up words by stringing morpheme after morpheme together, rather than having several affixes which carry numerous different pieces of information.

Like most Algonquian languages, Ojibwe distinguishes two different kinds of third person, a proximate and an obviative. The proximate is a traditional third person, while the obviative (also frequently called "fourth person") marks a less important third person if more than one third person is taking part in an action. In other words, Ojibwe uses the obviative to avoid the confusion that could be created by English sentences such as "John and Bill were good friends, ever since the day he first saw him" (who saw whom?). In Ojibwe, one of the two participants would be marked as proximate (whichever one was deemed more important), and the other marked as obviative.

Gender

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The gender distinction in Ojibwe is not a masculine/feminine contrast, but is rather between animate and inanimate. Animate nouns are generally living things, and inanimate ones generally nonliving things, although that is not a simple rule because of the cultural understanding as to whether a noun possesses a "spirit" or not (generally, if it can move, it possesses a "spirit"). Objects with great spiritual importance for the Ojibwe, such as rocks, are very often animate rather than inanimate, for example. Some words are distinguished purely by their noun class; for example, mitig, if it is animate (plural mitigoog), means "tree;" if it is inanimate (plural mitigoon), it means "stick."

Number

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Number in Ojibwe is a simple singular/plural contrast. Nouns and pronouns can be either singular or plural, and verbs inflect for the number of their subject and object, although some nouns and verbs lack singular forms. Plural forms differ from word to word depending on the word's gender, root, and historical stress. By examining the plural form of the word, one can generally determine the word's gender and root. Animate plurals end in -g, while inanimate plural nouns (and obviative nouns) end in -n. The underlying form of a root determines the "linking vowel" — the vowel that appears before the plural suffix (-g or -n) but after the root itself.

Person

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There are seven Ojibwe inflectional categories expressing person/gender combinations for each of the two numbers (singular and plural).[1] However, the singular and plural categories do not always exactly correspond. The total number of 14 "persons" arises from taking into consideration all the contrasts of animate/inanimate, proximate/obviative, and singular/plural.

Characteristics of the resulting 14 persons are built into Ojibwe nouns and pronouns, thus dictating which verb forms would be used in speech. In nouns and verbs, all 14 forms of persons may or may not present themselves, as words are divided as either animate or inanimate genders and very few words exist as both, but all 14 forms of persons generally do appear with pronouns.

Pronouns

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Ojibwe pronouns, along with distinguishing singular and plural number and first, second, third, and fourth (obviative) persons, also carry a distinction between inclusive and exclusive first person plural. Pronouns may present themselves either as independent words or as series of prefixes and suffixes.

An inclusive first person plural indicates that the pronoun includes the addressee, i.e., "we including you" (giinawind). An exclusive first person plural indicates that the addressee is not included, i.e., "we excluding you" (niinawind).

The other personal pronouns are the first singular niin, second singular giin, third singular wiin, second plural giinawaa, and third plural wiinawaa.

Like the independent words, Ojibwe pronominal prefixes indicate first person with n-, second person with g- and third person with w-. However, the associated suffixes for these persons will be different depending on if the word is a verb or a noun.[8]

Word begins with... 1 or
"n-"
2 or
"g-"
3 or
"w-"
o ((n)i)ndo- gido- odo-
a aa e i ((n)i)nd- gid- od-
aa (by some Red Lake speakers) niy- giy- ow-\oy-
oo n- g- od-
ii n- g- w-
b (n)im- gi- (o)-
d g ' j z zh (n)in- gi- (o)-
p t k h ch m n s sh w y ni- gi- (o)-

In many Ojibwe-speaking communities, the first person prefix is used without the initial n. Due to vowel syncope in some communities, those prefixes are further reduced without the initial i. However, among Saulteaux communities, the first person prefix nim- and nin- are instead reduced to ni-, nind- to nid- and nindo- to nido-.

Ojibwe also has a set of demonstrative pronouns, distinguishing animate/inanimate, here/there/yonder/over here, singular/plural, and proximate/obviative. The demonstratives differ in their phonetic forms very significantly across Ojibwe dialects and communities, so this table, based on the Minnesota dialect of Southwestern Ojibwe, will not be entirely correct for many speakers:

Animate Inanimate
Singular Plural Obviative Singular Plural
Demonstrative Proximal (Nearest) Here (wa')aw o(n)gow onow (o')ow onow
Mesioproximal Over here (wa')awedi o(n)gowedi(g) onowedi(n) o'owedi onowedi(n)
Mesiodistal There (a')aw i(n)giw iniw (i')iw iniw
Distal (Farthest) Over there/Yonder (a')awedi i(n)giwedi(g) iniwedi(n) (i')iwedi iniwedi(n)
Dubitative awegwen awegwenag awegwenan wegodogwen wegodogwenan
Interrogative awenen awenenag awenenan awegonen awegonenan

Ojibwe also has a set of "indefinite" pronouns (awiiya, "someone", gegoo, "something," both of which can be preceded by gaawiin or akina to mean "no one, nothing" and "everyone, everything," respectively).

In contrast to the Southwestern Ojibwe's demonstrative pronouns, Central Ojibwe, Northwestern Ojibwe and Western Ojibwe—which includes a larger set of obviatives—have a larger set of demonstratives:

Animate Inanimate
Singular Plural Singular Obviative Plural Obviative Singular Plural Singular Obviative Plural Obviative
Demonstrative Nearest
.
.
.
.
.
Farthest
Here wa'a(we) ogo(we)/
ogoweniwag
ono(we)/
onoweniwan
ono(we)/
onoweniwa'
o'o(we)/
owe
ono(we)/
onoweniwan
o'oweni ono(we)/
onoweniwan
Over here wa'a(we)di ogo(we)di(g)/
ogowediniwag
ono(we)di(n)/
onowediniwan
ono(we)di(')/
onowediniwa'
o'o(we)di/
owedi
ono(we)di(n)/
onowediniwan
o'owedini ono(we)din/
onowediniwan
There a'a(we)/
awe
igi(we)/
igiweniwag
ini(we)/
iniweniwan
ini(we)/
iniweniwa'
i'i(we)/
iwe
ini(we)/
iniweniwan
i'iweni ini(we)/
iniweniwan
Over there/Yonder a'a(we)di/
awedi
igi(we)di(g)/
igiwediniwag
ini(we)di(n)/
iniwediniwan
ini(we)di(')/
iniwediniwa'
i'i(we)di/
iwedi
ini(we)di(n)/
iniwediniwan
i'iwedini ini(we)din/
iniwediniwan

Verbs

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Ojibwe verbs mark information not only on the subject (their animacy, person, and plurality) but also on the object. There are several different classes of verbs in the language, which differ based on whether they are transitive or intransitive and whether they take animate or inanimate subjects. These are the main classes:

Function Subject Type Object Theme Abbreviated
verb inanimate intransitive none VII[9][10][11]
verb inanimate intransitive none inherently plural VIIp[11]
verb animate intransitive none VAI[9][10][11]
verb animate intransitive none pseudo-VAI VAI2[9][10]
verb animate intransitive none optional object VAIo[9][10][11]
verb animate intransitive none inherently plural VAIp[11]
verb animate transitive inanimate -am stem VTI[9][10][11]
verb animate transitive inanimate -oo stem VTI2[9][10]
verb animate transitive inanimate -i stem VTI3[9][10]
verb animate transitive inanimate -aam stem VTI4[9]
verb animate transitive animate VTA[9][10][11]
verb animate transitive animate inverse only VTAi[11]

Verbs mark tenses with prefixes (a'-, aorist past, gii'-, simple past, ga(d)- and da-, future, and wii'-, desiderative future), but also can take a myriad of affixes known as "preverbs", which convey a great amount of additional information about an action. For example, the preverb izhi- means "in such a way," and so its addition to the verb root -ayaa-, "to be," makes the verb izhi-ayaa, "to be a certain way." The preverb bimi-, "along," combines with the verb root -batoo-, "to run," to form bimibatoo, "to run along, run by." The preferred order of these prefixes are personal prefix, tense prefix, directional prefix, relative prefix, any number of preverbs, and finally the verb.[12] In addition, the initial syllable may be modified by an initial vowel change or by an initial syllable reduplication.[13][14][15]

Furthermore, there are three so-called "orders" of Ojibwe verbs. The basic one is called Independent Order, and is simply the indicative mood. There is also a Conjunct Order, which is most often used with verbs in subordinate clauses, in questions (other than simple yes–no questions), and with participles (participles in Ojibwe are verbal nouns, whose meaning is roughly equivalent to "someone who is (VERB), does (VERB)," for example, the word for "traveler," bebaamaadizid, is the third singular conjunct of babaamaadizi, "to travel about," and literally means "someone who travels about"). The final order is the Imperative Order, used with commands and corresponding to the imperative mood.

Negatives are generally introduced by the leading word gaawiin, which is usually translated as "no," before introducing the actual words in their negative form. Negatives are generally formed by adding sii (or zii) for independent order and si (or zi) for conjunct order, both adding the negative element immediately after the root but before other suffixes. The sii/si are found after vowels while the zii/zi are found after n. In some words, the final consonant is dropped and the sii/si are added to the remaining vowel, in other words the final m is converted to n before adding zii/zi, yet in other words a linking vowel i (or aa) is added after the final consonant and then the sii/si added. Imperatives do not follow the sii (zii)/si (zi) pattern.

There are three imperatives in Ojibwe: the immediate imperative, used to indicate that the action must be completely right away (nibaan!, "Sleep (right now)!"), the delayed imperative, used to indicate that the action should be completely eventually, but not immediately (nibaakan!, "Sleep (in a little bit)!"), and the prohibitive imperative, used to indicate that the action is prohibited ((gego) nibaaken!, "Don't sleep!"). Like the negatives, the "k" in -k, -ken, -keg and -kegon take on the lenis form and become "g" after n. Also like the negatives, the general the connector vowel between the imperative suffix and the terminal consonant here is i; however, for k/g, the connector vowel instead is o.

All verbs can also be marked for four "modes:" indicative (neutral), dubitative (the speaker is unsure about the validity of what they are saying, for example: bakade, "he is hungry," but bakadedog, "he must be hungry; he could be hungry"), preterit (which emphasizes that the action occurred in the past, and is also used to refer to attempted or intended but uncompleted actions, for example: imaa ninamadab, "I'm sitting there," but imaa ninamadabiban, "I was sitting there; I meant to sit there"), or preterit-dubitative (which expresses doubt about a past action: imaa namadabigoban, "she must have sat there; she could have sat there").

Intransitives

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As an example of some of the Ojibwe verbal distinctions at work, consider the conjugation of positive and negative indicative long-vowel-final VAI verbs (using the example nibaa, "to sleep"):

Subject Independent
Positive Negative1
Conjugation Example Gloss Conjugation Example Gloss
Giin (2s) g _ Ø ginibaa "You sleep" g _ sii(n)2 ginibaasiin "You don't sleep"
Giinawaa (2p) g _ m3 ginibaam "You guys sleep" g _ siim3 ginibaasiim "You guys don't sleep"
Giinawind (21) g _ mi(n)2 ginibaamin "We (inclusive) sleep" g _ siimi(n)2 ginibaasiimin "We (inclusive) don't sleep"
Niinawind (1p) n _ mi(n)2 ninibaamin "We (exclusive) sleep" n _ siimi(n)2 ninibaasiimin "We (exclusive) don't sleep"
Niin (1s) n _ Ø ninibaa "I sleep" n _ sii(n)2 ninibaasiin "I don't sleep"
Indefinite (X) Ø _ m nibaam "Someone sleeps" Ø _ siim nibaasiim "Someone doesn't sleep"
Wiin (3s) Ø _ Ø nibaa "S/he/it sleeps" Ø _ sii(n)2 nibaasiin "S/he/it doesn't sleep"
Wiinawaa (3p) Ø _ wag nibaawag "They sleep" Ø _ siiwag nibaasiiwag "They don't sleep"
Obviative (3') Ø _ wan nibaawan "S/he/it (obviate) sleeps" Ø _ siiwan nibaasiiwan "S/he/it (obviate) doesn't sleep"
Subject Conjunct
Positive Negative1
Conjugation Example Gloss Conjugation Example Gloss
Giin (2s) Ø _ yan4 nibaayan "That you sleep" Ø _ siwan nibaasiwan "That you don't sleep"
Giinawaa (2p) Ø _ yeg nibaayeg "That you guys sleep" Ø _ siweg nibaasiweg "That you guys don't sleep"
Giinawind (21) Ø _ yang nibaayang "That we (inclusive) sleep" Ø _ siwang nibaasiwang "That we (inclusive) don't sleep"
Niinawind (1p) Ø _ yaang nibaayaang "That we (exclusive) sleep" Ø _ siwaang nibaasiwaang "That we (exclusive) don't sleep"
Niin (1s) Ø _ yaan nibaayaan "That I sleep" Ø _ siwaan(h)5 nibaasiwaan "That I don't sleep"
Indefinite (X) Ø _ ng nibaang "That someone sleeps" Ø _ sing nibaasing "That someone don't sleep"
Wiin (3s) Ø _ d nibaad "That s/he/it sleeps" Ø _ sig nibaasig "That s/he/it don't sleeps"
Wiinawaa (3p) Ø _ waad nibaawaad "That they sleep" Ø _ siwaa nibaasiwaa "That they don't sleep"
Obviative (3') Ø _ nid nibaanid "That s/he/it (obviate) sleeps" Ø _ sinid/sinig nibaasinid
nibaasinig
"That s/he/it (obviate) don't sleep"
Subject Imperative (Immediate) Imperative (Prohibitive)
Conjugation Example Gloss Conjugation Example Gloss
Giin (2s) Ø _ n nibaan "You! Sleep!" (now) Ø _ ken nibaaken "You! Don't Sleep!"
Giinawaa (2p) Ø _ (o)k/(o)g nibaag
nibaayok
"You guys! Sleep!" (now) Ø _ kegon nibaakegon "You guys! Don't Sleep!"
Giinawind (21) Ø _ daa6 nibaadaa "Let's sleep!" (now) Ø _ siidaa6 nibaasiidaa "Let's not sleep!"
Subject Imperative (Delayed)
Positive Negative1
Conjugation Example Gloss Conjugation Example Gloss
Giin (2s) Ø _ (:)kan7 nibaakan "You! Sleep!" (soon) Ø _ siikan nibaasiikan "You! Don't sleep!" (soon)
Giinawaa (2p) Ø _ (:)keg7 nibaakeg "You guys! Sleep!" (soon) Ø _ siikeg nibaasiikeg "You guys! Don't sleep!" (soon)
Giinawind (21) Ø _ (:)kang7 nibaakang "Let's sleep!" (soon) Ø _ siikang nibaasiikang "Let's not sleep!" (soon)
1 s following n becomes a z.
2 In Odaawaa, the final n is absent.
3 Instead of m, naawaa is used in Algonquin and Severn Ojibwe.
4 In Odaawaa and some Algonquin, yin is used instead of yan.
5 In Odaawaa, nh is used instead of n.
6 Instead of daa, daan is used by some Algonquin speakers, daag is used by some Saulteaux speakers, and ga-__min is used by some Severn Ojibwe and Saulteaux speakers.
7 Short vowels are lengthened before adding the suffix.

Also as an example of some of the Ojibwe verbal distinctions at work, consider the conjugation of positive and negative indicative long-vowel-final VII verbs (using the example ozhaawashkwaa, "to blue"). Note that unlike VAI verbs, VII do not have imperatives:

Subject Independent
Positive Negative1
Conjugation Example Gloss Conjugation Example Gloss
Singular (0s) Ø _ (w)2 ozhaawashkwaa "It blues" Ø _ sinoo(n)3 ozhaawashkwaasiinoon "It doesn't blue"
Plural (0p) Ø _ wan/oon5,6 ozhaawashkwaawan "They blue" Ø _ sinoon ozhaawashkwaasiinoon "They don't blue"
Singular Obviative (0s') Ø _ ini(w)2 ozhaawashkwaani "It (obviate) blues" Ø _ sinini(w)2,4 ozhaawashkwaasinini "It (obviate) doesn't blue"
Plural Obviative (0p') Ø _ iniwan ozhaawashkwaaniwan "They (obviate) blue" Ø _ sininiwan ozhaawashkwaasininiwan "They (obviate) don't blue"
Subject Conjunct
Positive Negative1
Conjugation Example Gloss Conjugation Example Gloss
Singular (0s) Ø _ g ozhaawashkwaag "That it blues" Ø _ sinog ozhaawashkwaasinog "That it don't blue"
Plural (0p) Ø _ g7 ozhaawashkwaag "That they blue" Ø _ sinog ozhaawashkwaasinog "That they don't blue"
Singular Obviative (0s') Ø _ inig ozhaawashkwaanig "That it (obviate) blues" Ø _ sininig ozhaawashkwaasininig "That it (obviate) don't blue"
Plural Obviative (0p') Ø _ inig ozhaawashkwaanig "That they (obviate) blue" Ø _ sininig ozhaawashkwaasininig "That they (obviate) don't blue"
1 s following n becomes a z.
2 In some words, a final w is present.
3 In Odaawaa, the final n is absent.
4 In Odaawaa, sinooni instead of sinini(w).
5 wan for vowel finals; oon for consonant finals.
6 In Odaawaa, vowel finals can take either wan or noon; in some North of Superior Ojibwe, wanoon is used.
7 In Odaawaa, gin instead of g.

Passives in intransitives can be expressed by using the INVERSE marker igw, which may undergo a minor structural modification. Some examples of verb final containing the INVERSE marker igw are:

active passive
VAI VII gloss VAI VII gloss
endam N/A thinks X endaagozi endaagwad thought of X
imaaso imaate smells X imaagozi imaagwad smelled of X

Transitives

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Ojibwe, as with other Algonquian languages, also exhibits a direct–inverse system, in which transitive verbs are marked for whether or not the direction of the action follows a "topicality hierarchy" of the language. The topicality hierarchy in Ojibwe is 2 > 1 > X > 3 > 3’ > 0, determined by 1) person, 2) gender, and 3) obviation.[16] Ojibwe has no case distinctions among agent, patient and experiencer theta roles, so in a transitive verb with two participants, the only way to distinguish subject from object is through direct/inverse/goal suffixes.

Note: C, N, nN, S and Y are used in some of the tables below to indicate a generic consonant, n\zh varying consonant, n\nzh varying consonant, s\sh varying consonant, and Ø\i varying palatializer, respectively.

Direction
Type
ACTOR DIRECTION GOAL Theme
local 1-GOAL (2) 1 -Y-
2-GOAL 2 (1) -iN-
non-local DIRECT 3 -aa-
INVERSE 3 -igw-

The local goals, non-local goals and reflective cause the stem to undergo minor adjustments:

VT
Stem
1-GOAL
Y
1-GOAL
iN-Y1
2-GOAL
iN
DIRECT
aa
INVERSE
igw
RECIPROCATIVE
idw
REFLECTIVE
idw-izw
POSSESSIVE
im
-C -C- -Cizh- -Cin- -Caa- -Cigw- -Cidiw- -Cidizw- -Cim-
-d -j- -dizh- -din- -daa- -jigw- -jidiw- -jidizw- -dim-
-t -ch- -tizh- -tin- -taa- -chigw- -chidiw- -chidizw- -tim-
-m -m- -mizh- -min- -maa- -ngw- -ndiw- -ndizw- -mim-
-m1 -m- -mizh- -min- -maa- -migw- -midiw- -midizw- -mim-
-n -n- -nizh- -nin- -naa- -ngw- -ndiw- -ndizw- -nim-
-N -zh- -nizh- -nin- -naa- -nigw- -nidiw- -nidizw- -nim-
-nN -nzh- -nizh- -nin- -naa- -nigw- -nidiw- -nidizw- -nim-
-S -sh- -sizh- -sin- -saa- -sigw- -sidiw- -sidizw- -sim-
-Cw -C- -Cozh- -Con- -Cwaa- -Cogw- -Codiw- -Codizw- -Com-
-CVw -CVw- -CVVzh- -CVVn- -CVwaa- -CVVgw- -CVVdiw- -CVVdizw- -CVwim-
-Caw -Caw- -Coozh- -Coon- -Cawaa- -Caagw- -Caadiw- -Caadizw- -Cawim-
-CVVw -CVVw- -CVVzh- -CVVn- -CVVwaa- -CVVgw- -CVVdiw- -CVVdizw- -CVVm-

1. In Oji-Cree (Severn Ojibwe) language, in Algonquin language, and in some Central Ojibwa language (especially in North of Superior Ojibwe)

Transitive verbs can become VAI class of verbs by adding the actor-focused DETRANSITIVE marker ige, which modifies the stem in a similar fashion as the INVERSE marker igw. However, due to differences in dialects, how the actor-focused DETRANSITIVE marker ige may show up differently.

Dialect VTA VAI
(RECIPROCATIVE
with plural ending)
VAI
(REFLEXIVE)
VAI VTI VAI
(actor-focused
DETRANSITIVE)
Oji-Cree enim enimidowag enimidizo enindam enindan eninjige
Algonquin enim enindiwag enindizo enindam enindan eninge
Southwestern Ojibwe enim enindiwag endizo endam endan enjige
Odaawaa and Eastern Ojibwe enim endiwag endizo endam endan enge
gloss think X
about S.O.
think X
about each other
think X
about oneself
think X think X
about S.T.
think X
about things

For the first person and second person GOALs, their ACTORs are specified if the words are in their Independent Order, and can also be known as local direct (first person GOAL) and local inverse (second person GOAL). A DIRECT suffix indicates that the action is performed by someone higher on the person hierarchy on someone lower on the person hierarchy (e.g., by the addressee on the speaker, or by a proximate third person on an obviative):

obizindawaan

o-

3-

bizindaw

listen.to

-aa

-DIRECT

-n

-3OBVIATIVE

o- bizindaw -aa -n

3- listen.to -DIRECT -3OBVIATIVE

"He listens to the other one."

An inverse suffix indicates that the action is performed by someone lower on the person hierarchy on someone higher on the person hierarchy (e.g., by the speaker on the addressee, or by an obviative third person on a proximate):

obizindaagoon

o-

3-

bizindaw

listen.to

-igoo

-INVERSE

-n

-3OBVIATIVE

o- bizindaw -igoo -n

3- listen.to -INVERSE -3OBVIATIVE

"The other one listens to him."

As can be seen, the only difference between these two verbs is the direct–inverse opposition, rather than case markers (or word order, when distinct nominals are used). An inverse verb is not equivalent to a passive verb. There is a separate passivity marker, denoted in literature as "indefinite person (X)", ranked in topicality hierarchy below first and second persons, but higher than animate and inanimate third persons:

bizindawaa

 

X-

bizindaw

listen.to

-aa

-DIRECT

{} bizindaw -aa

X- listen.to -DIRECT

"He is listened to."

To illustrate this, a generic VTA and VTI paradigm table, arranged by person hierarchy, is shown below. Note that the reflexive forms shown in a darker background with the reflexive theme /-idizo/ happen to be VAI. The table depicts only the paradigm for Independent Order, Positive Voice, Neutral Mode. Letters omitted in a particular form are indicated with that letter struck-through.

Subject Animate Object Inanimate Object1
2s 2p 21 1p 1s X 3s 3p 3' 0s 0p
2s g__idizo —— —— g__(Y)in2
g__(Y)imin
g__(Y)iminOTW
g__(Y)inaamOJB,OJW
g__izhinaam3,ALQ,OJS,PIC
g__izhinim3,OJS(4)
g__(Y)i
g__izh3,PIC
g__izhinan3,ALQ,OJS
g__aawi2 g__aa g__aag g__aan
g__aaOTW
g__imaanBLK,CIW,PIC
g__(:)n g__(:)nan
2p —— g__idizom
g__idizonaawaaALQ,OJS
—— g__(Y)imin
g__(Y)iminOTW
g__(Y)inaamOJB,OJW
g__izhinaam3,ALQ,OJS,PIC
g__izhinim3,OJS(4)
g__(Y)im
g__izhim3,ALQ,OJS,PIC
g__aawim2 g__aawaa g__aawaag g__aawaa
g__aawaanPOT
g__imaawaaCIW,PIC
g__imaawaanBLK
g__(:)naawaa g__(:)naawaan
21 —— —— g__idizomin
g__idizominOTW
—— —— g__aawimin2 g__aanaan
g__aanaanOTW
g__aaminPAR, POT
g__aanaanig
g__aaminPAR, POT
g__aanaan
g__aanaanOTW
g__aaminPAR, POT
g__imaanaanBLK,CIW,PIC
g__(:)naan
g__(:)naanOTW
g__(:)minCIW, PAR
g__(:)naanin
g__(:)minCIW,PAR
1p g__inin2
g__inimALQ
g__iniminWAL, POT
g__iniminOTW
g__igoo
g__iniminWAL, POT, 2
g__iniminOTW
g__igoom
—— n__idizomin
n__idizominOTW
—— n__aawimin2 n__aanaan
n__aanaanOTW
n__aaminPAR, POT
n__aanaanig
n__aaminPAR, POT
n__aanaan
n__aanaanOTW
n__aaminPAR, POT
n__imaanaanBLK,CIW,PIC
n__(:)naan
n__(:)naanOTW
n__(:)minCIW,PAR
n__(:)naanin
n__(:)minCIW,PAR
1s g__in g__inim
g__ininimBLK,CIW, PIC
—— —— n__idizo n__aawi2 n__aa n__aag n__aan
n__aanOTW
n__imaanBLK,CIW,PIC
n__(:)n n__(:)nan
X g__igoo
g__igowi2
g__igoom
g__igowim2
g__igoomin
g__igoominOTW
g__igowimin2
n__igoomin
n__igoominOTW
n__igowimin2
n__igoo
n__igowi2
Ø__idizom Ø__aa
Ø__aaganiiALQ
Ø__aaw2
Ø__aawag
Ø__aaganiiwagALQ
Ø__aawan
Ø__aaganiiwanALQ
Ø__imaawanBLK,CIW,PIC
Ø__(:)m Ø__(:)m
3s g__igo g__igowaa g__igonaan
g__igonaanOTW
g__igominPAR
n__igonaan
n__igonaanOTW
n__igominPAR
n__igo Ø__igo
Ø__igow2
Ø__idizo
w__aanALQ,BLK
      ——
w__aanALQ,BLK
w__aan w__(:)n w__(:)nan
3p g__igoog g__igowaag g__igonaanig
g__igominPAR
n__igonaanig
n__igominPAR
n__igoog Ø__igowag       ——
w__aawaanALQ,BLK
Ø__idizowag
w__aawaanALQ,BLK,OJC
w__aawaan w__(:)naawaa w__(:)naawaan
3' g__igoon2
g__igo
g__igowaan2
g__igowaa
g__igonaanin2
g__igonaan
g__igonaanOTW
g__igominPAR
n__igonaanin2
n__igonaan
n__igonaanOTW
n__igominPAR
n__igoon2
n__igo
Ø__igowan w__igoon w__igowaan
w__igoonALQ
Ø__idizowan
w__igoonALQ
w__(:)nini
w__iniOJG,OTW
w__(:)nini
w__iniOJG,OTW
0s g__igon g__igonaawaa g__igonaan
g__igonaaOTW
g__igominPAR,PIC
n__igonaan
n__igonaanOTW
n__igominPAR,PIC
n__igon Ø__igom2
w__igoniniCIW
w__igon w__igonaawaa w__igonini
w__igonOJG,OTW
—— ——
0p g__igonan g__igonaawaan g__igonaanin
g__igominPAR,PIC
n__igonaanin
n__igominPAR,PIC
n__igonan Ø__igom2
w__igoniniCIW
w__igonan w__igonaawaan w__igonini
w__igonanOJG,OTW
—— ——

Preverbs

[edit]

Ojibwe language is rich in its use of preverbs, which is a prefix that comes before verbs, nouns, and particles, to provide an additional layer of meaning. In Ojibwe, there are four classes of preverbs ranked in importance by six degrees:

  • class 1—tense, aspect, mode, or syntactic prefix appearing on verbs
    • mode-subordinator:
      • subordinator: e-, gaa-, waa-
      • modal: ga[d]-, da-, daa-, ji-, ge[d]-.
    • tense-negativity
      • tense: a'- [e'-], gii'- [gaa'-], wii'- [waa'-].
      • negativity: aano-, bwaa-.
  • class 2—directional prefix occurring on verbs
  • class 3—relational prefix occurring on verbs (and on some nouns and particles): ako- [eko-], onji- [wenji-], izhi- [ezhi-], apiichi- [epiichi-], dazhi- [endazhi-], daso- [endaso-].
  • class 4—lexical prefix occurring on verbs, nouns, or particles.
    • aspectual
    • manner, degree, quality/evaluative, quantitative/numeric

Preverbs, when they occur before a noun, are called a prenoun. Preverb class units when written are separated with a hyphen, with the exception of the class 4 preverb indicating manner, degree, quality/evaluative, or quantitative/numeric, which can also serve as functional part of a word stem as an initial. If several preverbs of the same class occur, they are written as a single block in order of rank of importance, with the most important preverb located closest to the word. Pronominal prefixes are written directly onto the head of the word group, so it may be found attached directly to the preverb if a preverb is present. When constructed, an Ojibwe word (in the example below, a verb) may have some or all of the pieces in the following form:

prefix word stem suffix
pronominal
prefix
preverb-
(class 1)
preverb-
(class 2)
preverb-
(class 3)
preverb-
(class 4)
verb (initial) verb (medial) verb (concrete final) verb (abstract final) negativity pronominal
suffix
mode

Example, using nibaa, "to sleep"

Ojibwe English Comment
nibaa he/she sleeps has no preverb
ninibaamin we sleep likewise, with pronominal prefix and pronominal suffix
gii'-nibaa he/she slept has past tense preverb (class 1)
ningii'-nibaamin we slept likewise, with pronominal affixes
gii'-maajii-nibaa he/she started to sleep has past tense preverb (class 1), and a lexical preverb (class 4)
ningii'-maajii-nibaamin we started to sleep likewise, with pronominal affixes

Nouns

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Nouns distinguish plurality, animacy, obviation, and case with suffixes. Animacy is only overtly marked on plural nouns. There are no core cases to distinguish categories such as "subject" or "object", but rather various oblique cases, including a locative (e.g., wiisiniwigamig, "restaurant", wiisiniwigamigong, "in the restaurant") and a vocative plural (e.g., Ojibwedog, "(you) Ojibwes!"). Other suffixes are: pejorative (e.g., jiimaan, "canoe", jiimaanish, "worthless canoe"), diminutive (e.g., zhooniyaa, "money", zhooniyaans, "coin"), contemptive (e.g., odaabaan, "car", odaabaanenh, "just some old car"), preterit (which marks a deceased or no-longer existent person or object, e.g. nookomis, "my grandmother", nookomisiban, "my late grandmother"), and preterit-dubitative (which marks a deceased or no-longer existent person or object which was never known by the speaker, e.g. a'aw mindimooyenh, "that old woman", a'aw mindimooyenyigoban, "that late old woman I never knew").

Some nouns are considered "dependent" and cannot be presented by themselves. Instead, these dependent nouns are presented with pronoun prefixes/suffixes attached to them. An example of a dependent noun is nookomis ("my grandmother") where the dependent root -ookomis- ("grandmother") must be presented with a pronoun affix, which in this case is n-.

Verb to noun transforms

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Other nouns are derived from verbs by transforming them to their participle form. Of the choices, third person (and thus third person plural) is the most common form. Though each class of verbs may have their own participle-forming patterns, for simplicity, only the VAI neutral mode, positive participles are shown in the example, again, using nibaa ("sleep").

Note: C, V, and VV are used in some of the tables below to indicate a generic consonant, a generic short vowel, and a generic long vowel, respectively.

Subject VAI (ending in -V or -VV) Neutral Mode, Positive Participles VAI2 (ending in -am) Neutral Mode, Positive Participles
Conjugation
OTW, CIW
Conjugation
OJB, OJC, OJW
Conjugation
OJS
Conjugation
ALQ
Conjugation
OTW, CIW
Conjugation
OJB, OJC, OJW
Conjugation
OJS
Conjugation
ALQ
Example
CIW
Gloss
Giin (2s) Ø * yan Ø * yan Ø * yan Ø * yan Ø * aman Ø * aman Ø * aman Ø * aman nebaayan "Sleeper"
Giinawind (21) Ø * yang Ø * yang Ø * yang Ø * yang Ø * amang Ø * amang Ø * amang Ø * amang nebaayang "Sleepers"
Giinawaa (2p) Ø * yeg Ø * yeg Ø * yeg Ø * yeg Ø * ameg Ø * ameg Ø * ameg Ø * ameg nebaayeg "Sleepers"
Niin (1s) Ø * yaan(h)1 Ø * yaan Ø * yaan Ø * yaan Ø * amaan(h)1 Ø * amaan Ø * amaan Ø * amaan nebaayaan "Sleeper"
Niinawind (1p) Ø * yaang Ø * yaang Ø * yaang Ø * yaang Ø * amaang Ø * amaang Ø * amaang Ø * amaang nebaayaang "Sleepers"
Indefinite (X) Ø * ng Ø * ng Ø * ng Ø * ng Ø * aming Ø * aming Ø * aming Ø * aming nebaang "Sleeper"
Wiin (3s) Ø * d Ø * d Ø * j Ø * j Ø * ang Ø * ang Ø * ang Ø * ang nebaad "Sleeper"
Wiinawaa (3p) Ø * jig Ø * waad Ø * waaj Ø * waaj Ø * angig Ø * amowaad Ø * amowaaj Ø * amowaaj nebaajig "Sleepers"
Obviative singular (3's) Ø * nijin Ø * nid Ø * nij Ø * nj Ø * aminijin Ø * aminid Ø * aminij Ø * aminj nebaanijin "Sleeper(s)"
Obviative plural (3'p) Ø * nijin Ø * nijin Ø * njin Ø * aminijin Ø * aminijin Ø * aminjin

* For participles, the word experiences initial vowel change.
1 -nh in Odaawaa.

Verbs additionally can be transformed into nouns representing concepts by adding -win, or into nouns representing an object by adding -gan or -n, or if a VAI into a gerund by dropping the final vowel or if VAI2 by adding -o.

Plurals and obviative

[edit]

Plurals and obviative suffixes are the easiest to add to Ojibwe words. By examining the plural, one can generally determine the underlying root of the word. Generally, animate plurals end with -g, while inanimate plurals and obviatives end with -n. Often, a linking vowel is required to join the root to one of these endings. Underlying -w or -y or an augment may affect the choice of linking vowels. A few plurals do not follow this rule, for example, mishi, misan "piece(s) of firewood".

Singular Inanimate
Plural
Animate
Plural
Obviative1 Singular
Example
Plural
Example
Gloss
Consonant Stem
C Can Cag Can miin miinan "blueberries"
Long-vowel Stem
CVV CVVn CVVg CVVn ajidamoo ajidamoog "squirrels"
CVV CVVwan CVVwag CVVwan bine binewag "partridges"
CVw CVwan CVwag CVwan wadow wadowag "bloodclots"
CVVw CVVwan CVVwag CVVwan niwiiw niwiiwag "my wives"
CVV CVVyan CVVyag CVVyan nimaamaa nimaamaayag "my mamas"
CVVnh CVVnyan2 CVVnyag2 CVVnyan2 giigoonh giigoonyag "fishes"
Short-vowel Stem
CV CVwan CVwag CVwan inini ininiwag "men"
CVw CVwan CVwag CVwan bigiw bigiwan "gums"
W Stem
C Coon Coog Coon mitig mitigoon "sticks"
C Cwan Cwag Cwan nigig nigigwag "otters"
Cwa Cwan Cwag Cwan makwa makwag "bears"
Cwa Cwan Cwag Cwan ikwa ikwag "lice"
Y Stem
C Ciin Ciig Ciin aniib aniibiig "elms"
Ci Ciin Ciig Ciin anwi anwiin "bullets
C Cwiin Cwiig Cwiin nining niningwiin "my armpits"
Augment Stem
C Can Cag Can ninow ninowan "my cheeks"
C Coon Coog Coon nikatig nikatigoon "my foreheads"
Ca Cawan Cawag Cawan oodena oodenawan "towns"
Cay Cayan Cayag Cayan omooday omoodayan "bottles"
C Can Cag Can nindengway nindengwayan "my faces"
Can Canan Canag Canan ma'iingan ma'iinganag "wolves"
Can Canan Canag Canan nindooskwan nindooskwanan "my elbows"
Cana Canan Canag Canan mikana mikanan "roads"
Participle Stem
C Cin Cig Cin maaniwang maaniwangin "fruits"
d3 jin jig jin naawogaaded naawogaadejig "quadrupeds"

1 In Central Ojibwa, Northwestern Ojibwa and Western Ojibwa, singular obviative ends with " n " while plural obviative ends with " ' ". This distinction in obviative is not made in other Ojibwe language dialects.
2 In Eastern Ojibwe language and in the Ottawa language, contemptive plurals are CVVnyig and CVVnyin instead of CVVnyag and CVVnyan.
3 In Oji-Cree language, this is a " j " and not a " d ".

Diminutives and contemptives

[edit]

Diminutives in Ojibwe express an idea of something that is smaller or younger version of the noun. All diminutives are treated as a Consonant Stem when made into one of the plural forms or into the obviative form, thus taking on the linking vowel -a-. Contemptives are formed in a similar fashion as diminutives and are used to express negative or depreciative attitude the speaker may have of the noun. Contemptive plurals and obviatives remain as contemptives, but can take on the linking vowel -i- to add a possible pejorative. Many words to express fauna are often in contemptive forms. In the Ojibwemowin spoken in Wisconsin and certain areas of northwestern Ontario, often contemptives are reduced from -nh/-ny- forms to /-y-; in Algonquin and in most Northwestern Ojibwe, the contemptives instead is reflected by -nzh. In Odaawaa, the frequency of contemptives in fauna are higher than in other Anishinaabemowin dialects. For example, it is from the Daawaamwin word jidmoonh ("red squirrel") where the English word "chipmunk" has its origins, while the same word in Ojibwemowin is ajidamoo. When contemptive suffix is added for terms of endearment, any other d, t, z and s in the word are changed to j, ch, zh and sh respectively.

Singular Diminutive Contemptive Singular
Example
Diminutive
Example
Gloss
Consonant Stem
C Cens Cenh miin miinens "little blueberry"
Long-vowel Stem
CVV CVVns CVVnh ajidamoo ajidamoons "little squirrel"
CVV CVVns CVVnh bine binens "little partridge"
CVw CVns CVnh wadow wadons "little bloodclot"
CVVw CVVns CVVnh niwiiw niwiins "my little wife"
CVV CVVns CVVnh nimaamaa nimaamaans "my little mama"
CVVnh CVVns CVVnh giigoonh giigoons "little fish"
Short-vowel Stem
CV CVVns CVVnh inini ininiins "little man"
CVw CVVns CVVnh bigiw bigiins "little gum"
W Stem
C Coons Coonh mitig mitigoons "twig"
C Coons Coonh nigig nigigoons "little otter"
Cwa Coons Coonh makwa makoons "bear cub"
Cwa Coons Coonh ikwa ikoons "little louse"
Y Stem
C Ciins Ciinh aniib aniibiins "young elm"
Ci Ciins Ciinh anwi anwiins "little bullet"
C Cwiins Cwiinh nining niningwiins "my little armpit"
Augment Stem
C Cens Cenh ninow ninowens "my little cheek"
C Cwens Cwenh nikatig nikatigwens "my little forehead"
Ca Cawens Cawenh oodena oodenawens "hamlet"
Cay Cayens Cayenh omooday omoodayens "vial"
C Caans Caanh nindengway nindengwayaans "my little face"
Can Caans Caanh ma'iingan ma'iingaans "little wolf"
Can Caans Caanh nindooskwan nindooskwaans "my little elbow"
Cana Caans Caanh mikana mikaans "trail"
Participle Stem
C Coons Coonh maaniwang maaniwangoons "little fruit"
d doons doonh naawogaaded naawogaadedoons "little quadruped"

Locatives, possessives and obviation possessor theme

[edit]

Locatives indicate a location, and are indicated with -ng. Locatives do not take on any plurals or obviative suffixes, but obviation possessor or the number can be added before the locative suffix. Another set of affixes in the Anishinaabe language is indicated by the possessive theme -m or the obviative possessor theme -ni. Generally, dependent nouns and nouns ending with either -m or -n do not take the possessive theme -m. A small group of nouns also do not ever take the possessive theme suffix.

Singular Locative Possessive
Theme
Obviative
Possessor
Theme
Singular
Example
Locative
Example
Gloss
Consonant Stem
C Cing Cim Cini miin miining "by/on the blueberry"
Long-vowel Stem
CVV CVVng CVVm CVVni / CVVnini ajidamoo ajidamoong "by/on the squirrel"
CVV CVVng CVVm CVVni / CVVwini bine bineng "by/on the partridge"
CVw CVng CVm CVni / CVVnini wadow wadong "by/on the bloodclot"
CVVw CVVng CVVm CVVni / CVVwini niwiiw niwiing "by/on my wife"
CVV CVVying CVVm CVVyini nimaamaa nimaamaaying "by/on my mama"
CVVnh CVVnying CVVm CVVnyini giigoonh giigoonying "by/on the fish"
Short-vowel Stem
CV CVVng CVVm CVVni / CVVnini inini ininiing "by/on the man"
CVw CVVng CVVm CVVni / CVVnini bigiw bigiing "by/on the gum"
W Stem
C Cong Com Coni / Coonini mitig mitigong "by/on the tree"
C Cong Com Coni / Coonini nigig nigigong "by/on the otter"
Cwa Coong Coom Cooni / Coonini makwa makoong "by/on the bear"
Cwa Cong Com Coni / Coonini ikwa ikong "by/on the louse"
Y Stem
C Ciing Ciim Ciini / Ciinini aniib aniibiing "by/on the elm"
Ci Ciing Ciim Ciini / Ciinini anwi anwiing "by/on the bullet"
C Cwiing Cwiim Cwiini / Cwiinini nining niningwiing "by/on my armpit"
Augment Stem
C Caang Caam Caani ninow ninowaang "by/on my cheek"
C Cwaang Cwaam Cwaani nikatig nikatigwaang "by/on my forehead"
Ca Caang Caam Caani oodena oodenawaang "by the village"
Cay Caang Caam Caani omooday omoodaang "by/on the bottle"
C Caang Caam Caani nindengway nindengwayaang "by/on my face"
Can Caning Canim Canini ma'iingan ma'iinganing "by/on the wolf"
Can Canaang Canaam Canaani nindooskwan nindooskwanaang "by/on my elbow"
Cana Canaang Canaam Canaani mikana mikanaang "by/on the road"
Participle Stem
C Cong Com Coni/Coyani maaniwang maaniwangong "by/on the fruit"
d dong dom doni/doyani naawogaaded naawogaadedong "by/on the quadruped"

Rarely do either the possessive theme -m or the obviative possessor theme -ni stand by themselves. The above examples for the possessive theme -m were for the first person singular. For other persons or number, again using the possessive theme -m as an example, the word is conjugated as following:

Subject Possessive
Conjugation 3s Example Gloss
3s
Possessum
3p
Possessum
3'
Possessum
3"
Possessum4
0s
Possessum
0p
Possessum
Locative
Possessum
Giin (2s) g _ m g _ mag g _ man g _ manan g _ m g _ man g _ ming gizhiishiibim "your (sg.) duck"
Giinawaa (2p) g _ miwaa g _ miwaag g _ miwaan g _ miwaanan g _ miwaa g _ miwaa(n)2 g _ miwaang gizhiishiibimiwaa "your (pl.) duck"
Giinawind (21) g _ minaan g _ minaanig1 g _ minaanin g _ minaaninan g _ minaan g _ minaanin1 g _ minaaning gizhiishiibiminaan "our (inclusive) duck"
Niinawind (1p) n _ minaan n _ minaanig1 n _ minaanin n _ minaaninan n _ minaan n _ minaanin1 n _ minaaning nizhiishiibiminaan "our (exclusive) duck"
Niin (1s) n _ m n _ mag n _ man n _ manan n _ m n _ man n _ ming nizhiishiibim "my duck"
Wiin (3s) w _ man w _ manan w _ m w _ man w _ ming ozhiishiibiman "his/her/its duck"
Wiinawaa (3p) w _ miwaan w _ miwaanan w _ miwaa(n)2,3 w _ miwaa(n)2 w _ miwaang ozhiishiibimiwaan "their duck"
Obviative (3'(s/p)) w _ mini(in)5 w _ mini(in)5,6 w _ miniwan7

1 In the Algonquin, the plural suffix remains as -an/-ag, rather than becoming -in/-ig.
2 Terminal -n is not found in Algonquin language.
3 Terminal -n is not found in Potawatomi, Eastern Ojibwe and Ottawa languages.
4 In the Potawatomi language
5 -in is used in Algonquin and Oji-Cree (Severn Ojibwe) languages
6 Only in Algonquin and in OjiCree is the inanimate possessed by an obviate marked.
7 Historically

Pejoratives and vocative plurals

[edit]

Pejoratives, marked with the -sh suffix, generally indicates a stronger negative feelings a speaker may have than that of the contemptive. However, pejorative may also indicate a term of affection. Some words take on different meaning in the pejorative, such as aniibiish, which means "no good elm" but also means "leaf". In some dialects, some words are always shown in their pejorative forms, such as animosh for "dog".

Vocative plurals mimic pejorative conjugation patterns. It is identified with the -dog suffix, which in the Ottawa dialect shows up instead as -dig suffix.

Singular Affective Pejorative Vocative Plural Singular
Example
Pejorative
Example
Gloss
Consonant Stem
C Cis Cish Cidog miin miinish "no good blueberry"
Long-vowel Stem
CVV CVVs CVVsh CVVdog ajidamoo ajidamoosh "no good squirrel"
CVV CVVs CVVsh CVVdog bine binesh "no good partridge"
CVw CVs CVsh CVdog wadow wadosh "no good bloodclot"
CVVw CVVs CVVsh CVVdog niwiiw niwiish "my no good wife"
CVV CVVs CVVsh CVVdog nimaamaa nimaamaash "my no good mama"
CVVnh CVVs CVVsh CVVdog giigoonh giigoosh "no good fish"
Short-vowel Stem
CV CVwis CVwish CVwidog inini ininiwish "no good man"
CVw CVwis CVwish CVwidog bigiw bigiwish "no good gum"
W Stem
C Cos Cosh Codog mitig mitigosh "no good tree"
C Cos Cosh Codog nigig nigigosh "no good otter"
Cwa Coos Coosh Coodog makwa makoosh "no good bear"
Cwa Cos Cosh Codog ikwa ikosh "no good louse"
Y Stem
C Ciis Ciish Ciidog aniib aniibiish "no good elm"
Ci Ciis Ciish Ciidog anwi anwiish "no good bullet"
C Cwiis Cwiish Cwiidog nining niningwiish "my lousy armpit"
Augment Stem
C Caas Caash Caadog ninow ninowaash "my no good cheek"
C Cwaas Cwaash Cwaadog nikatig nikatigwaash "my no good forehead"
Ca Caas Caash Caadog oodena oodenawaash "damn village"
Cay Caas Caash Caadog omooday omoodaash "no good bottle"
C Caas Caash Caadog nindengway nindengwayaash "my no good face"
Can Canis Canish Canidog ma'iingan ma'iinganish "no good wolf"
Can Canaas Canaash Canaadog nindooskwan nindooskwanaash "my no good elbow"
Cana Canaas Canaash Canaadog mikana mikanaash "no good road"
Participle Stem
C Cos Cosh Cidog maaniwang maaniwangosh "no good fruit"
d dos dosh jidog naawogaaded naawogaadedosh "no good quadruped"


When the diminutive suffix ens or the affective suffix is, is followed by the other, the s becomes z, as in izens or enzis. When the pejorative suffix ish is added to the diminutive suffix ens, combination yields enzhish, while adding the diminutive suffix ens to the pejorative suffix ish, just as with any other Consonant Stem patterns, yields ishens. In Northwestern Ojibwe dialect when the pejorative suffix ish is added, any other d, t, z and s in the word are changed to j, ch, zh and sh respectively.

Singular vocatives do not follow a systematic pattern like plural vocatives do, with various strategies in achieving the vocative case:

nominative vocative gloss mechanism for vocative
noos noose! my father adding a vowel
Aanji-binesi Aanji-bines! Changing Bird dropping the final vowel
Noodinookwe Noodinook! Wind-woman dropping the final vowel and medial w
ningashi ninga! my mother dropping the final vowel and affective suffix
ningwizis ningwis! my son dropping of affective suffix
nookomis nooko! my grandmother dropping of affective suffix and the possessive theme m
noozhishenh noozis! my grandchild dropping of contemptive suffix and de-palatalize effected affective suffix consonants

However, many irregular forms of achieving the vocative case also exist, including in some dialects unchanged forms such as noozhishenh! (my grandchild) used as a vocative, and vocative beyond the regular changed forms such as ninge! (my mother).

Adjectives

[edit]

Ojibwe has no adjectives per se but verbs that function as adjectives. Thus, instead of saying "the flower is blue," Ojibwe says something like to "the flower blues" (ozhaawashkwaa waabigwan) or "be a blueing flower" (waabigwan-ozhaawashkwaa). Ojibwe has a copula, in some situations, which has a verb (several, in fact) that can be translated as "to be" and used in situations to equate one thing with another. However, a copula is not always used in Ojibwe, such as if demonstrative pronouns are used (jiimaan o'ow, "this is a canoe").

Adverbs

[edit]

Particles

[edit]

Ojibwe language with its iambic accent system and relatively atonal word stresses, has any nuance of expressing word emphasis, stress, mood, etc., being expressed by particles like these:

  • mii — discourse sequencer, topical focuser
  • (i)dash — topical shift indicator; may even appear as -sh
  • (i)go — emphasises heightened assertiveness
  • (i)sa — emphasises novelty
  • (i)sha — emphasises contradiction
  • (i)maa — emphasises cooperation (either actual or desired)
  • (i)naa — emphasises evaluative information
  • wii — unexpectedness indicator

The short initial 'i' is omitted typically when following a word or particle ending in a vowel or ending in 'n'.

Other particles may be interjections like these:

  • ambe — "come on..."
  • (a)tayaa — "indeed"
  • (a)was — "go away"
  • boozhoo — "hello"
  • enh — "yes"
  • gaawiin — "no"
  • (i)kawe — "hold on..."
  • miigwech — "thank you"

The short initial vowel may be omitted typically in excited speech.

Counting

[edit]

Ojibwe numbers are classified as a biquinary base-10 system.

Ones Hundreds
1 bezhig [(n)ingod1,3,8] 6 (n)ingodwaaswi3,7 100 midaasimidana7 / (n)ingodwaak3 600 (n)ingodwaaswaak3
2 niizh 7 niizhwaaswi7 200 niizhwaak 700 niizhwaaswaak
3 niswi 8 (n)ishwaaswi3,7 300 niswaak 800 (n)ishwaaswaak3
4 niiwin4 9 zhaangaswi6,7 400 niiwaak 900 zhaangaswaak
5 naanan 10 midaaswi7 500 naanwaak 1,000 midaaswaak
Tens Thousands
10 midaaswi7 [(n)ingodana1] 60 (n)ingodwaasimidana3,5,7 1,000 midaaswaak [(n)ingodanaak1,3] 6,000 (n)ingodwaasimidanaak3,5,7
20 niishtana [niizh((m)i)dana2] 70 niizhwaasimidana5,7 2,000 niishtanaak 7,000 niizhwaasimidanaak5,7
30 nisimidana5 80 (n)ishwaasimidana3,5,7 3,000 nisimidanaak5 8,000 (n)ishwaasimidanaak3,5,7
40 niimidana4 90 zhaangasimidana5,7 4,000 niimidanaak 9,000 zhaangasimidanaak5,7
50 naanimidana5 100 midaasimidana5,7 5,000 naanimidanaak5 10,000 midaasimidanaak5,7

1 In theory
2 Historically, either niizh midana or niizhidana.
3 Many speakers omit the initial n (shown in parentheses).
4 In Algonquin and Algonquin-influenced communities, new and newin midana are used instead of niiwin and niimidana, respectively.
5 In Northwestern Ojibwe, Oji-cree, and Algonquin, o is used instead of i as the connector vowel for the suffixes -midana and -midanaak.
6 In some dialects, such as in parts of Eastern Ojibwe, zhaang is used instead of zhaangaswi; the shorter form was historically recorded as being the more pervasive form, but it now is rarely used.
7 Richard Rhodes reports that some Algonquin speakers use a connector, -di, before -swi, -somidana, and -somidanaak.
8 (n)ingod is "one" in Potawatomi but "something" in Ojibwe.

Modifications of sound

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Ojibwe initials of words may experience morphological changes under three modification strategies: initial consonant change, initial vowel change and initial syllable reduplication.

Initial consonant change

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Ojibwe consonants are divided into lenis and fortis values:

  • lenis-fortis pairs: h (if distinguished), bp, dt, gk, jch, zs, zhsh
  • unpaired fortis: h (if not distinguished), m, n, w, y

When either the past tense preverb gii'- or the desiritive future tense wii'- is added to a verb, if the verb begins with a lenis consonant, it may change to its fortis counterpart; it is common for many writers to omit the writing of the glottal stop, so they graphically indicate this consonant shift by writing the fortis consonant counterpart. In some dialects, such as with the Red Lake Ojibwe in Minnesota, this rule is suspended if the consonant in the verb's second syllable already contains a fortis consonant. In some dialects as in Odaawaa, this rule is not applied.

Ojibwe (without gii-) English Ojibwe (with gii-) English Comment
ayekozi he/she is tired gii-ayekozi he/she was tired not applicable, as this word begins with a vowel
nibaa he/she sleeps gii-nibaa he/she slept initial consonant is already a fortis
jiibaakwe he/she cooks gii-chiibaakwe he/she cooked initial consonant changes to its fortis counterpart
jaka'ige he/she pokes gii-jaka'ige he/she poked Red Lake: initial consonant is not changed due to a fortis consonant (in this case, k) in the second syllable
zhaabobide he/she drives through gii-zhaabobide he/she drove through Odaawaa: this dialect does not implement the initial consonant change

Initial vowel change

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In general, verbs in Conjunct and Participial orders and nouns of Subjunctive order change the vowel quality of the first syllable in the manner shown in the table below.

unchanged changed
-a- -e-
-aa- -ayaa-
-e- -aye-
-i- -e-
-ii- -aa-
-o- -we-
-oo- -waa-

However, in some words beginning in dan-, dazh-, das-, dash- or daa- instead take on the prefix en- to form endan-, endazh-, endas-, endash- or endaa-. The directional prefix bi-, meaning "over here," instead becomes ba-.

Initial syllable reduplication

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Words typically conveying repetitive actions have their very first syllable experience reduplication. Reduplication may be found in both verbs and in nouns. Vowel syncope process Eastern Ojibwe and Odaawaa experiences happen after the word has gone through reduplication. The most general reduplication pattern for the initial syllable is C1V1C1V2C2V1 but the table below shows the most common reduplication strategies.

unchanged reduplicated unchanged reduplicated
a- aya- Ca- CaCa-
aa- aayaa- Caa- CaaCaa-
e- eye- Ce- CeCe-
i- ayi- Ci- CaCi- or CeCi-
ii- aayii- Cii- CaaCii- or CeCii- or CiiCii-
o- (reduced from *wa) wawe- or waye- Co- CaCe-
o- (reduced from *wi) wawo-1 or wawi- Co- CaCo-
oo- oo'oo- Coo- CaaCoo- or CeCoo- or CooCoo-

1 ayo- in Algonquin.

In some words, the reduplicated consonant shifts from their lenis value to their fortis value. Yet in some stems, initial Cw- retains the -w- while others do not. Those words experiencing the prefix en- may change to in- before experiencing reduplication. Other prefixes such as gino- (long) does not follow the typical C1V1C1V2C2V1 pattern, and instead becomes gagaano-.

Syntax

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As Ojibwe is highly synthetic, word order and sentence structure is relatively free, since a great deal of information is already encoded onto the verb. The subject can go before or after the verb, as can the object; however, the subject and the object together cannot go before the verb. In general, whichever participant is deemed more important or in-focus by the speaker is placed first, before the verb, and the less important participant follows the verb. Ojibwe tends to prefer a VS order (verb–subject) when subjects are specified with separate nominals or pronouns (e.g., bakade a'aw asabikeshiinh, be.hungry that.there.ANIMATE net.make.PEJORATIVE.CONTEMPTIVE, "that spider is hungry").

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ (Valentine 2001, p. 122)
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Kegg, 1990, pp. 143–144
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n (Valentine 2001, pp. xxxv–xxxvii)
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Nichols, 1998, pp. 291–292
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Ontario Ministry of Education, Native Languages: A Support Document for the Teaching of Language Patters—Ojibwe and Cree, p. 97
  6. ^ (Valentine 2001, p. 219)
  7. ^ Valentine, Theft of Fire, as 3pObv
  8. ^ Kegg, 1990, p. 136
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i Kegg, 1990, pp. 141–143
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h Nichols & Nyholm, 1995, pp. xii–xiii
  11. ^ a b c d e f g h Rhodes, 1985, pp.xiv–xv
  12. ^ Kegg, 1990, p. 135
  13. ^ Kegg, 1990, p. 137
  14. ^ Nichols and Nyholm, 1995, p. xv
  15. ^ (Valentine 2001, pp. 155–156, 508–510, 913–915)
  16. ^ (Valentine 2001, pp. 266–265)

References

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  • Artuso, Christian (1998). Noogom gaa-izhi-anishinaabemonaaniwag: Generational Difference in Algonquin (MA thesis). University of Manitoba.
  • Kegg, Maude (1990). Nookomis Gaa-inaajimotawid: What my grandmother Told Me. Bemidji, MN: Indian Studies Publications.
  • Mithun, Marianne (1999). The Languages of Native North America. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  • Nichols, John D., ed. (1988). An Ojibwe Text Anthology. London, ON: Centre for Research and Teaching of Canadian Native Languages.
  • Nichols, John D.; Nyholm, Earl (1995). A Concise Dictionary of Minnesota Ojibwe. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
  • Picard, Marc (1984). "On the Naturalness of Algonquian ɬ". International Journal of American Linguistics. 50 (4): 424–437. doi:10.1086/465851.
  • Rhodes, Richard A. (1985). Eastern Ojibwa-Chippewa-Ottawa Dictionary. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.
  • Valentine, J. Randolph (2001). Written at The Ojibway Heritage Center, Walpole Island. Nishnaabemwin Reference Grammar. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. ISBN 0-8020-4870-6.
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