Peter Took Karate...An Introduction to Mi'kmaw Language

“Míkmaq (Míkmawísimk)Míkmaq is an Algonquian language with about

8,000 speakers in Canada and the USA, mainly in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, but also in Quebec, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Maine. The Míkmaq called themselves L'nu'k (the people) and their language L'nui'sin. The word Míkmaq comes from their word nikmaq, meaning "my kin-friends." The language is also known as Micmac, Mi'gmaq, Miigmao or Restigouche. ”

Source: http://www.omniglot.com/writing/mikmaq.htm

Mi’kmaq Writing Systems

“Míkmaq was originally written with a 'hieroglyphic' system. In 1691 a French missionary named Fater La Clerq noticed Míkmaq children using the system as a memory aid and adapted [it] to write scriptures. In 1894 a method of writing Míkmaq with Latin alphabet was devised by Silas T. Rand, who used it to translate religious works, a number of other material and a grammar. A new Latin spelling system was developed in 1974.”

Source: http://www.omniglot.com/writing/mikmaq.htm

For Homework, Translate This….

The Ave Maria

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Mikmaq_sample_(ave_Maria).jpg

Peter Took Karate Just Like Mary Never Quit School.

Will You?

Mi'kmaw AlphabetSmith/Francis Orthography (1974)

Source: http://www.firstnationshelp.com/ali/posters/poster1.html

Pronunciation Guide

Mi’kmaq letter Phonetic Sound Sample Mi’kmaq Word

Translation

P B PI’EL PETER

T D TIAM MOOSE

K G KMTN MOUNTAIN

J JA JAKEJ LOBSTER

L UL LNU INDIAN

M M MUIN BEAR

N N NISKAM GOD

Q QAME’K ACROSS THE WATER

S S SAPONUK TOMORROW

W W WAPE’K WHITE

Y Y SALEWEY SALT

Pronunciation Guide

A – E – I – O – U Ah – Ay – Ee – Oh – Oo

A’ – E’ – I’ – O’ – U’Ahh – Aay – Eee – Ohh – Ooo

~ (SHWA)Ugh sound

Standard Greetings

Kwe’ – Greetings

Me’tal-wlein – How are you?

O’welei – I’m fine

Wela’lin – Thank You (singular)

Wela’lioq – Thank You (plural)

Weliaq – You’re Welcome

Source: http://www.firstnationhelp.com/ali/lessons.php

The word Mi’Kmaq

“According to research undertaken by Bernie Francis and Virick C. Francis, the word 'Mi'kmaq' is the unpossessed form of the possessed nouns nikmaq, kikmaq, and wikma - my people, your people, his/her people.

The word 'Micmac' is a mispronunciation of the Mi'kmaw word.

Mi'kmaq is the plural form of the singular Mi'kmaw, and when one uses the word Mi'kmaq it always refers to more than one Mi'kmaw person or the entire nation.”

Source: http://mikmawey.uccb.ns.ca/miscellany.html

Mi’kmaq or Mi’kmaw?

“The word Mi'kmaw can be adjectival - Mi'kmaw person, Mi'kmaw Nation, singular - a Mi'kmaw came to see me, and a noun - it is understood well by a Mi'kmaw.

The word Mi'kmaq means nothing more than "the people". When the 'M' is deleted and any of the possessed prefixes are added ( n, k, and w in the singular, or k,n,k and w in the plural) the word becomes possessed.

With singular prefixes they translate as "my people, "your people", and "his/her people". With plural prefixes they translate as "our (incl.) people", "our (excl.) people", "your (pl.) people", and "their people".”

Source: http://mikmawey.uccb.ns.ca/miscellany.html

Body Parts

Root Word (Rarely Used In Practice)

Pukik – Eye

Tun – Mouth

Siskun – Nose

Pitn – Hand

Possessive

Npukik – My Eye

Ntun – My Mouth

Nsiskun – My Nose

Npitn – My Hand

Days By Numbers

Days Of The Week

Amskwesewey - Monday

Ta’puewey -Tuesday

Si’stewey - Wednesday

Ne’wewey -Thursday

Kweltamultimk - Friday

Kespitek - Saturday

Ekntie’wimk - Sunday

Numbers

Amskwes - First

Ta’pu - Two

Si’st - Three

Ne’w - Four

Na'n - Five

Asukom - Six

Luiknek - Seven

Source: http://www.firstnationshelp.com/ali/posters/poster1.html

Colours

Source: http://www.firstnationhelp.com/ali/posters/poster8.html

Food for Thought

Why is the Mi’kmaw Language important? Does it have a place in the modern world?If there was no one left who could speak the Mi’kmaw

language, what would our society/culture lose as a result?

Should an effort be made to revitalize the Mi’kmaw Language?

If so, who bears the responsibility of this revitalization process?

How does the educational system need to change in order to fascilitate this process?

Source: http://www.aboriginalsustainabilitynetwork.org/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/unamaki-map-labelled.jpg

More Food for Thought

“The contemporary North American school is a political, social and cultural institution that embodies and transmits the values, knowledge and behaviours of white culture” – Eben Hampton, p. 37, Redefinition of Indian Education

“Non-Native teachers, in working with their Native colleagues, discovered how much Native languanges, value systems, and traditional educational practices contrasted with their own. They realized that they would have to learn about the first language and culture of any child they taught – and would have to take account of these in their teaching.”

“The teacher’s task is to help students discover the information and ‘ways of knowing’ accessible to them through English, as well as to recognize the insights their mother tongue has given them.” Robert Leavitt, Language in Education

Source: First Nations Education in Canada: The Circle Unfolds

Further Study,Learning Outcomes

Further Study

A wide variety of interactive lessons in the Mi’kmaw language are available from the First Nations Help Deskès Aboriginal Language Initiative. These may provide teachers with valuable lesson planning materials.

Finally, whatever your ancestry may be, make an effort to both learn about the Mi’kmaw culture and language.

Learning Outcomes

Mi’kmaw Studies 10: Curriculum. Nova Scotia Department of Education, Implementation Draft 2003.

C2: Students will be expected to demonstrate an understanding of the uniqueness of the Mi’kmaw language, its inherent worldview, and the importance of language as an important part of the Mi’kmaw culture.

References

Books

• First Nations Education in Canada: The Circle Unfolds. Marie Battiste and Jean Barman, Eds. UBC Press, Vancouver, 1995.

• Endangered Languages: Current issues and future prospects. Lenore A. Grenoble and Lindsay J. Whaley, Eds. Cambridge University Press, 1998

• Mi’kmaw Studies 10: Curriculum. Nova Scotia Department of Education, Implementation Draft 2003.

Internet Resources

• Statistics Canada. 2007. Eskasoni 3, Nova Scotia (table). Aboriginal Population Profile. 2006 Census. Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 92-594-XWE. Ottawa. Released January 15, 2008.http://www12.statcan.ca/census-recensement/2006/dp-pd/prof/92-594/index.cfm?Lang=E

• Native Languages of the Americas:Mi'kmaq (Mi'kmawi'simk, Mi'kmaw, Micmac, Mikmaq)

http://www.native-languages.org/mikmaq.htm

• Mi’kmaq Spirit http://www.muiniskw.org/

• First Nations Help Desk Aboriginal Language Initiative http://www.firstnationhelp.com/ali/

• Omniglot Writing Systems and Languages of the World http://www.omniglot.com/writing/mikmaq.htm

• Wikipedia: Mi’kmaq http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mi%27kmaq, Mi’kmaq Hieroglyphic Writing http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C3%ADkmaq_hieroglyphic_writing

• Mi’kmaq Resource Centre http://mikmawey.uccb.ns.ca/miscellany.html

• Aboriginal Sustainability Network http://www.aboriginalsustainabilitynetwork.org/peoples-places/mikmaq/