Anishinaabemowin

Boozhoo! Aniish ezhiayaayin?

What's "Anishinaabemowin"? Well, let me preface this by saying that you not only owe it to yourself, but you also owe it to these people to take some interest in their culture, especially after Americans wrecked their livelihoods.

Anishinaabemowin is the language of the Ojibwe Native American group. I'm not going to get into their history because a) I don't know enough about to speak on it, and b) I respect ALL Native Americans enough to not attempt to bullshit everything that pertains to them. If you want their history, read a legitimate book or meet some real Native Americans. I just can't bring myself to attempt to try to explain it all here.

Before I get into the ease or difficulty of the language, I wanted to first say that I NEED to meet some Ojibwe speakers. I love this language. But I'd probably be hard-pressed to find some here because Ojibwe speakers typically live in the northern part of the United States.

Easy? Or difficult?

I'd classify it as easy! It's surprisingly engaging. There are some long words, almost like in Turkish, but they aren't tongue-twisters, and they aren't easy to forget.

The trickiest part is probably the writing. I say this because sometimes there are two a's when it only sounds like there is one. You have to pay close attention to the accents when the word is spoken, and that'll give you an idea as to if the vowel is singular or plural.

Here are some words for you that I learned in this second lesson.

Hello: Boozhoo
You too?: Giin dash
Thank you: Miigwetch
No: Gaawin

I could continue, but that would make it too easy for you! ;)

I cannot WAIT to continue learning this Native American language. I'm proud to be one of the few who know some of this. I'm not sure how many people are actively studying it, and it's making me almost believe that it's dying out.

There is no word for "goodbye" in Ojibwe, so instead I'll say that I'll see you again!

Constructive comments, tips, advice, and questions are more than welcome!

Giga-waabamin,

Your Favorite Polyglot
Twitter: @mistercapoeira