Ojibwe dialects

Ethnologue entry and ISO 639-3 code: OJS (Severn Ojibwe)

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 dialects, Severn Ojibwe is a dialect of Ojibwe.[16] 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.[19] Severn Ojibwe is primarily written by its speakers using the Cree syllabary.[20]

Ethnologue entry and ISO 639-3 code: ALQ (Algonquin)

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).[21] 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.[22]

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.[16] Similarly, the nineteenth-century missionary Grammaire de la language algonquine ('Grammar of the Algonquin language') describes Nipissing speech.[23]

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.[24] 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).[25]

The Nipissing dialect term omàmìwininì 'downriver people' refers to Algonquin speakers,[26][27] with the term for the language being omàmìwininìmowin.[27] The general Algonquin self-designation is Anicinàbe[28] or orthographic equivalent Anishinàbe.[29]

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.[30]

Ethnologue entry and ISO 639-3 code: OTW (Ottawa)

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.[31] Ottawa and the neighboring Eastern Ojibwe dialect are characterized by extensive vowel Syncope, which deletes metrically weak short vowels.[16]

The most general term for the Ottawa dialect is Nishnaabemwin, which is also applied to Eastern Ojibwe. The term Daawaamwin '(speaking the) Ottawa language' is also used to refer specifically to Ottawa.[32]

Ottawa is generally written with a version of the Double vowel writing system.[33]

Ethnologue entry and ISO 639-3 code: OJG (Eastern Ojibwe)

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 dialect are characterized by extensive vowel Syncope, which deletes metrically weak short vowels.

The most general term for the Eastern Ojibwe dialect is Nishnaabemwin, which is also applied to Ottawa. The term Jibwemwin '(speaking the) Ojibwe language' is not restricted to a specific dialect; a recent Eastern Ojibwe dictionary notes that Jibwemwin and Nishnaabemwin are interchangeable.[34]

Eastern Ojibwe is generally written with a version of the Double vowel writing system.[33][35]

Ethnologue entry and ISO 639-3 code: CIW (Southwestern Ojibwe ("Chippewa"))

Southwestern Ojibwe is spoken in Minnesota and Wisconsin.[36][37] This dialect is also referred in English as "Chippewa". The general Ojibwe term Anishinaabemowin is applied to this dialect.[38] Southwestern Ojibwe is most generally written using the Double vowel writing system.[39]

There is no Ethnologue entry or ISO 639-3 code for this dialect of Ojibwe.

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,[40] current classification treats Border Lakes as a separate dialect in the Southern tier.[16] Communities identified as Border Lakes include Lac La Croix, Emo (Rainy River First Nation), and Whitefish Bay, all in Ontario.[41]

Ethnologue entry and ISO 639-3 code: OJW (Plains Ojibwe/Saulteaux ("Western Ojibwe"))

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, Anihšināpēmowin, Nahkawēwin,[42] or Nahkawēmowin (as written in the local system).

The writing system commonly used for Saulteaux incorporates the Americanist phonetic symbols /š/ for /ʃ/ and /č/ for /tʃ/; 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, Anihšināpēmowin.

There is no Ethnologue entry or ISO 639-3 code for the Nipissing dialect of Ojibwe.

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.[46][47] Although speakers of Ojibwe in the community of Kitigan Zibi (also called River Desert) at Maniwaki, Québec self-identify as Algonquin,[48] the language spoken there is Nipissing. Maniwaki speakers were among those who migrated from Oka, Quebec.[16] Similarly, the nineteenth-century missionary Grammaire de la language algonquine ('Grammar of the Algonquin language') describes Nipissing speech.[23]

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'.[49][50] It is also cited from Ojibwe dialects other than Nipissing or Algonquin with the meaning 'Algonquin Indian', for example from Southwestern Ojibwe;[51] other sources ranging from the seventeenth to nineteenth centuries cite the same form from several different Ojibwe dialects, including Ottawa.[52]

Speakers of this dialect generally use a French-based writing system.[48][53]

There is no Ethnologue entry or ISO 639-3 code for the North of Superior dialect of Ojibwe.

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.[54]

There is no Ethnologue entry or ISO 639-3 code for the Berens River dialect of Ojibwe.

Berens River Ojibwe is spoken along the Berens River in northern Ontario. Reported communities include Pikangikum and Poplar Hill, both in Ontario.[55]

Ethnologue entry and ISO 639-3 code: OJB (Northwestern Ojibwe)

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.[41]

Ethnologue entry and ISO 639-3 code: OJC (Central Ojibwe)

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.[44][56] In the analysis accepted in this article Central Ojibwe is not recognized; it is divided into North of (Lake) Superior and Nipissing.[16]