Ojibwe writing systems

The different systems used to write Ojibwe are typically distinguished by their representation of key features of the Ojibwe inventory of sounds. Differences include: the representation of vowel length, the representation of nasal vowels, the representation of fortis and lenis consonants; and the representation of consonants which require an International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) symbol that differs significantly from the conventional alphabetic symbol.

The double vowel orthography is an adaptation of the linguistically oriented system found in publications such as Leonard Bloomfield's Eastern Ojibwa.[10] Its name arises from the use of doubled vowel symbols to represent long vowels that are paired with corresponding short vowels;[11] a variant in which long vowels are represented with a macron (ˉ) over short vowels is also reported for several publications in the early 1970s.[12] Development of the double vowel system is attributed to Charles Fiero.[13] At a conference held to discuss the development of a common Ojibwe orthography, Ojibwe language educators agreed that the double vowel system was a preferred choice but recognized that other systems were also used and preferred in some locations.[14] The double vowel system is widely favored among language teachers in the United States and Canada and is taught in a program for Ojibwe language teachers.[11][15]

The double vowel orthography is used to write several dialects of Ojibwe spoken in the circum-Great Lakes area. Significant publications in Chippewa (Southwestern Ojibwe) include a widely used dictionary[16] and a collection of texts.[17] The same system with minor differences is used for several publications in the Ottawa and Eastern Ojibwe dialects (see below Ottawa-Eastern Ojibwe double vowel system).

One of the goals underlying the double vowel orthography is promoting standardization of Ojibwe writing so that language learners are able to read and write in a consistent way. By comparison, folk phonetic spelling approaches to writing Ottawa based on less systematic adaptations of written English or French are more variable and idiosyncratic and do not always make consistent use of alphabetic letters.[13]

Letters of the English alphabet substitute for specialized phonetic symbols, in conjunction with orthographic conventions unique to Ojibwe. The system embodies two principles: (1) alphabetic letters from the English alphabet are used to write Ojibwe but with Ojibwe sound values; (2) the system is phonemic in nature in that each letter or letter combination indicates its basic sound value and does not reflect all the phonetic detail that occurs. Accurate pronunciation thus cannot be learned without consulting a fluent speaker.[18]

The long vowels /iː, oː, aː/ are paired with the short vowels /i, o, a/, and are written with double symbols ⟨ii, oo, aa⟩ that correspond to the single symbols used for the short vowels ⟨i, o, a⟩. The long vowel /eː/ does not have a corresponding short vowel, and is written with a single ⟨e⟩.[19]

The short vowels are:[20] ⟨i, o, a⟩.

The long vowels are:[20] ⟨ii, oo, aa, e⟩.

The short vowel represented as orthographic ⟨a⟩ has values centering on [ə ~ ʌ]; short ⟨i⟩ has values centering on [ɪ]; and short ⟨o⟩ has values centring on [o ~ ʊ]. The long vowel ⟨aa⟩ has values centering on [aː]; long ⟨ii⟩ has values centering on [iː]; and long ⟨oo⟩ has values centering on [oː ~ uː]. The long vowel ⟨e⟩ has values centering on [eː ~ ɛː].

The long nasal vowels are phonetically [ĩː], [ẽː], [ãː], and [õː]. They most commonly occur in the final syllable of nouns with diminutive suffixes or words with a diminutive connotation.[21] Orthographically they are represented differently in word-final position as opposed to word-internally.

In the final syllable of a word the long vowel is followed by word-final ⟨nh⟩ to indicate that it is nasal; the use of ⟨h⟩ is an orthographic convention and does not correspond to an independent sound. The examples in the table below are from the Ottawa dialect.[22]

Word-internally long nasal vowels are represented by orthographic ⟨ny⟩, as in Southwestern Ojibwe mindimooyenyag 'old women'.[23]

The nasalized allophones of the vowels, which occur predictably preceding the nasal+fricative clusters ns, nz, and nzh are not indicated in writing, in words such as gaawiin ingikendanziin "I don't know it", jiimaanens "small boat", and oshkanzhiin "someone's fingernail(s)".[24] Long vowels after the nasal consonants ⟨m⟩ or ⟨n⟩ are frequently nasalized, particularly when followed by ⟨s, sh, z, or zh⟩. In such cases the nasalization is sometimes overtly indicated by optionally writing ⟨n⟩ immediately after the vowel: moonz or mooz "moose."[24]

In the original Double Vowel system, nasal long vowels now represented with ⟨-ny-⟩/⟨-nh⟩ were written with the ogonek diacritic in some publications,[25] while in others they are represented by underlining the vowel.[24][26] The Double Vowel system used today employing ⟨-ny-⟩/⟨-nh⟩ for long nasal vowels is sometimes called "Fiero-Nichols Double Vowel system" since John Nichols popularized this convention.

The affricates /tʃ/ and /dʒ/ are written ⟨ch⟩ and ⟨j⟩, and the fricatives /ʃ/ and /ʒ/ are written ⟨sh⟩ and ⟨zh⟩. The semivowels /j/ and /w/ are written ⟨y⟩ and ⟨w⟩.

The lenis obstruents are written using voiced characters:[27] ⟨b, d, g, j, z, zh⟩

The fortis consonants use voiceless characters:[27] ⟨p, t, k, ch, s, sh⟩.

The remaining consonants are written ⟨m, n, w, y, h⟩, in addition to the glottal stop /ʔ/, which is written ⟨'⟩.

Although the double vowel system treats the digraphs ⟨ch, sh, zh⟩ each as single sounds, they are alphabetized as two distinct letters. The long vowel written with double symbols are treated as units and alphabetized after the corresponding short vowel. The resulting alphabetical order is:[28]

a aa b (ch) d e g h ' i ii j k m n o oo p s t w y z

The consonant clusters that occur in many Ojibwe dialects are represented with the following sequences of characters:

mb, nd, ng, nj, nz, ns, nzh, sk, shp, sht, shk

The consonant cluster ⟨nw⟩ represents syllable onset [n] followed by a syllable medial [w], while the rare consonant cluster ⟨n'w⟩ represents a nasaled vowel followed by ⟨w⟩; in some varieties of Southwestern Ojibwe, the rare nasaled vowel followed by a glottal stop is represented with ⟨n'⟩, in words such as niiyawen'enh "my namesake" and aan'aan'we "pintail duck".

A minor variant of the double vowel system is used to write the Ottawa and Eastern Ojibwe varieties spoken in Michigan and southwestern Ontario, as exemplified in a prominent dictionary.[29] Other publications making use of the same system include a reference grammar[30] and a collection of texts dictated by an Ottawa speaker from Walpole Island First Nation, Ontario.[31]

The two dialects are characterized by loss of short vowels because of vowel syncope. Since vowel syncope occurs frequently in the Ottawa and Eastern Ojibwe dialects, additional consonant clusters arise.

The letter h is used for the glottal stop [ʔ], which is represented in the broader Ojibwe version with the apostrophe. In Ottawa, the apostrophe is reserved for a separate function, as noted below.[16] In a few primarily expressive words, orthographic h has the phonetic value [h]: aa haaw "OK".[32]

The apostrophe ’  is used to distinguish primary (underlying) consonant clusters from secondary clusters that arise when the rule of syncope deletes a vowel between two consonants. For example, orthographic ng must be distinguished from n'g. The former has the phonetic value [ŋ] (arising from place of articulation assimilation of /n/ to the following velar consonant /ɡ/, which is then deleted in word-final position as in mnising [mnɪsɪŋ] "at the island"), and the latter has the phonetic value [ŋɡ] as in san'goo [saŋɡoː] "black squirrel".[33]

Labialized stop consonants [ɡʷ] and [kʷ], consisting of a consonant with noticeable lip rounding, occur in the speech of some speakers. Labialization is not normally indicated in writing, but a subscript dot is used in a dictionary of Ottawa and Eastern Ojibwe to mark labialization: g̣taaji "he is afraid" and aaḳzi "he is sick".[34]

The Ottawa-Eastern Ojibwe variant of the Double vowel system treats the digraphs sh, zh, ch as two separate letters for purposes of alphabetization. Consequently, the alphabetical order is:

a b c d e g (g̣) h (ḥ) i j k (ḳ) m n o p s t w y z

The Cree-Saulteaux Roman system, also known as the Cree Standard Roman Orthography (Cree SRO), is based on the Canadian Aboriginal syllabics and is found in northern Ontario, southern Manitoba and southern Saskatchewan. Compared to the Fiero or Rhodes double vowel systems, long vowels, including ⟨e⟩, are shown with either macron or circumflex diacritic marks, depending on the community's standards. Though syncope is not a common feature with Saulteaux, the occasional vowel loss is indicated with a ⟨'⟩ Nasaled vowels are generally not marked. The resulting alphabetical order is:

' a â c ê h i î k m n o ô p s š t w y

Although speakers of the dialects of Ojibwe spoken in northern Ontario most commonly write using the syllabary, an alphabetic system is also employed. This system is similar to the Cree-Saulteaux Roman system, the most notable difference being the substitution of conventional letters of the alphabet for symbols taken from the International Phonetic Alphabet, which results in the use of ⟨sh⟩ instead of ⟨š⟩ and the use of double vowels to represent long vowels.

This system is used in several pedagogical grammars for the Severn Ojibwe dialect,[35][36] a translation of the New Testament in both the Severn Ojibwe and the Berens River dialects,[37] and a text collection in the Northwestern Ojibwe dialect.[38]

The short vowels are:[39] i, o, a

The long vowels are:[40] ii, oo, aa, e

The consonants are:[41]

p, c, h, k, m, n, s, sh, t, y, w

The letter ⟨c⟩ is used to represent the postalveolar affricate /tʃ/; the digraph ⟨sh⟩ is used to represent the postalveolar fricative /ʃ/.

The lenis consonants are:[42]

p, c, k, s, sh, t

Consonant clusters of h followed by a lenis consonant correspond to fortis consonants in other dialects:[42]

hp, hc, hk, hs, hsh, ht

The consonant clusters that occur in Ojibwe dialects that use the Northern orthography are represented with the following sequences of characters:[43]

mp, nt, nc, nk, ns, nhs, nsh, sk, shp, sht, shk

Unlike the other Roman systems modeled after English, the Algonquin Roman system is instead modeled after French. Its most striking features are the use of either circumflex or grave diacritic mark over the long vowels, /tʃ/ and /dʒ/ written as ⟨tc⟩ and ⟨dj⟩, and /ʃ/ and /ʒ/ are written as ⟨c⟩ and ⟨j⟩. However, in the Maniwaki dialect of Algonquin, /tʃ/ is written as ⟨ch⟩ and /ʃ/ is written as ⟨sh⟩.

The n-dash (–) is used to mark where no equivalent is found. Also, ⟨v⟩ is used as a generic vowel indicator.

Folk spelling of Anishinaabemowin is not a system per se, as it varies from person to person writing speech into script. Each writer employing folk spelling would write out the word as how the speaker themself would form the words. Depending on whether the reference sound representation is based on English or French, a word may be represented using common reference language sound representation, thus better able to reflect the vowel or consonant value. However, since that requires the knowledge of how the speaker themself speaks, folk spelling quickly becomes difficult to read for those individuals not familiar with the writer.

Folk spellings continue to be widely used and, in some cases, are preferred to more systematic or analytical orthographies. Prominent Ottawa author Basil Johnston has explicitly rejected it, preferring to use a form of folk spelling in which the correspondences between sounds and letters are less systematic.[44][45] Similarly, a lexicon representing Ottawa as spoken in Michigan and another based on Ottawa in Oklahoma use English-based folk spelling distinct from that employed by Johnston.[46][47]

James Evans, a missionary from Kingston upon Hull, UK, had prepared the Speller and Interpreter in English and Indian. in 1837, but was unable to get its printing sanctioned by the British and Foreign Bible Society. Evans continued to use his Ojibwe writing system in his work in Ontario. However, his students appear to have had conceptual difficulties working with the same alphabet for two different languages with very different sounds. Furthermore, the structure of the Ojibwe language made most words quite long when spelled with Latin letters, and Evans himself found this approach awkward. His book also noted differences in the Ojibwe dialectal field. The "default" dialect was the Ojibwemowin spoken at Rice Lake, Ontario (marked as "RL"). The other two were Credit, Ontario, (marked as "C") and areas to the west (marked as "W").

The Evans system recognized short and long vowels but did not distinguish between lenis and fortis consonants. Another distinct character of was the use of ⟨e⟩ and ⟨o⟩ to serve as both a consonant and vowel. As a vowel, it served as /i/ and /o/, but as a consonant, it served as /j/ and /w/. Evans distinguished long vowels from short vowels by doubling the short vowel value. He also used three diacritics to aid the reader in pronunciation. He used a macron (¯) over a vowel or vowels to represent nasals (/Ṽ/) and diaereses (¨) over the vowel to indicate a glottal stop (/ʔ/); if the glottal stop was final, he duplicated the vowel and put a circumflex (ˆ) over the duplicated vowel. "Gladness," for example, was written as buubenandumooen (baapinendamowin in the Fiero system).

Evans eventually abandoned his Ojibwe writing system and formulated what would eventually become the Canadian Aboriginal syllabics. His Ojibwe syllabics parsing order was based on his Romanized Ojibwe.

Bishop Frederic Baraga, in his years as a missionary to the Ojibwa and the Odawa, became the foremost grammarian of Anishinaabemowin during the latter half of the 19th century.

His work A Dictionary of the Otchipwe Language, explained in English is still considered the best reference regarding the Ojibwe vocabulary of western Upper Peninsula of Michigan and northern Wisconsin. In his dictionary, grammar books, and prayer book, the sound representations of Ojibwe are shown in the table below. There has also been discussion regarding if Baraga represented nasals. In his earlier editions of the dictionary, circumflex accents were used to indicate nasals (-nh / -ny-) but in his later editions, they appear instead to represent long vowels or stressed vowels, believed to be changed by the editor of his dictionary. Baraga represented pronominal prefixes separate from the word but indicated preverbs attached with a hyphen to the main word. End-of-line word breaks not at the preverb hyphen were written with a hyphen at the end of the line, followed by another hyphen at the beginning of the next line.

Jean-André Cuoq was a missionary to the Algonquin and the Iroquois. He wrote several grammar books, hymnals, a catechism, and his premier work, Lexique de la Langue Algonquine, in 1886, focusing on the form of Anishinaabemowin spoken among the southern Algonquins. His published works regarding the Algonquin language used basic sounds, without differentiating vowel lengths, but, unlike earlier works by Malhiot, he differentiated consonant strengths. Additionally, unlike Baraga, Cuoq further broke words down to their root forms and clarified ambiguously defined words found in Baraga's dictionary.

In later works using the Cuoq system, such as Dictionnaire Français-Algonquin by George Lemoine, long vowels were indicated by a circumflex ⟨ˆ⟩ placed over the vowel, while the unstressed short vowels were indicated by a diaeresis ⟨¨⟩ placed over the vowel. As a relic to an older Malhiot system, upon which the Cuoq system is based, ⟨w⟩ of the Cuoq system can also be found as ⟨ȣ⟩ (or the substitute ⟨8⟩).