GRAMMAR & WORD LISTS
Before we start our language lessons, let's first examine the meaning and purpose of grammar in relation to Anishinaabemowin, the Ojibwe language.
Ojibwe grammar, in truth, cannot stand alone. It offers the framework and rules necessary for creating meaning and purpose, yet this framework alone is inadequate for fully comprehending the language.
Anishinaabemowin, similar to all Indigenous languages of Turtle Island, is an ORAL language. It was not documented in writing until the European colonizers arrived on our lake and river shores. Since the 1970s, Anishinaabemowin (the dialects of the Anishinaabe people, including the Ojibweg, Odaawaag, and Bodewadmik) has been marketed for the advantage of Indian language programs. Anishinaabe linguists, to secure funding and their positions, are merely adapting the grammar to suit English speakers. This commercialization of the Anishinaabe language is similar to the sale of any other aspect of Anishinaabe culture. It's crucial to understand that this represents just another form of subtle colonization. Traditionally, the language was spoken in various ways, without differentiating between animate and inanimate words. Everything was regarded as animate, and its grammar reflected this ancient perspective. There were no rigid syntax rules; the word order in a sentence was never fixed. Words and sometimes entire sentences were spoken in reverse. Some sentences were structured from the inside out, or from the inside to the left or right, in whatever way the speaker preferred. Today's textbook grammarians simply imitate the English structure, but there are many ways to speak Anishinaabe. Anishinaabe and English are distinct. English is English, and Anishinaabe is Anishinaabe.
Grammar is merely a tool, and an artificial one at that. It's important to understand that Anishinaabe/Ojibwe grammar is just a categorization of the Anishinaabe/Ojibwe language. Grammar cannot exist independently. Language came first, and categorizations and grammar followed much later. The rules of grammar should reflect the practical and spiritual perspectives of our Peoples. Imposing artificial rules on Anishinaabemowin reduces a language full of vitality and spirit. Learning the language through grammar is akin to wearing ill-fitting shoes.
Grammar is merely a method used by grammarians and language educators to organize and classify language. It does not inherently belong to the Ojibwe language. While grammar can be useful, it is not the definitive method for learning Anishinaabe dialects. Anishinaabemowin, as spoken by our ancestors, did not have grammar, only sounds and words.
We believe that the implementation of College-funded teaching methods centered on English grammar and syntax in the 1970s has made learning to speak the language as our ancestors did unnecessarily complex. This idea is depicted in the image above, titled "The Grammar Dilemma." The tree in the background represents the Ojibwe language. It has many branches. The goldfinches and the water drum symbolize the ancient phonetics (speech sounds) of the Ojibwe language, while the open book in the foreground represents the foreign grammatical framework adopted from the English language.
How does Anishinaabemowin, the Ojibwe language, differ from Indo-European languages like English, German, French, Spanish, Russian, and Latin, as well as Asian languages such as Japanese, which are all centered around nouns? In these languages, nouns are assigned a gender (masculine, feminine, or occasionally neuter), which influences the articles, adjectives, and pronouns associated with the noun.
Anishinaabemowin is distinct from the previously mentioned languages because, first if all, it is an oral language and secondly, it is centered around verbs. The majority of its vocabulary consists of doodamowi-ikidowinan (verbs), with actions forming the basis of its structure. This dynamic language employs prefixes and suffixes for doodamowi-ikidowin ayaanzinaagotood (verb conjugation), allowing it to express complex ideas that would require full sentences in languages like English, categorizing it as a polysynthetic language. In Ojibwe, verbs provide information not only about the subject (such as animacy, person, and number) but also about the object. The language features various verb classes, differentiated by whether they are transitive or intransitive and whether they have cat. 1 animate ("bimaadizi") or cat. 2 animate ("bimaadad") subjects.
Considering all the points mentioned above, it is clear that the Nisidotam method does not concentrate exclusively on grammar. Rather, we prioritize a phonetic approach to the language, offering a pure and simple way to learn to speak the Ojibwe language.
We will soon launch our first lessons on getting acquainted with speech sounds using Jessie Cree's sound cards. A word list will be provided at a later time.
Ahaaw, miigwech gibidizindaw—Okay, thank you for listening.