bode'wadmimo speak
Potawatomi
bode'wadmimo speak
Potawatomi
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Potawatomi dictionary
Orthography rationale nIshnabe'k The People mzenegenek books |
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Orthography - quick reference
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The Potawatomi language belongs to the Algonkian language group; as such it is related in structure and vocabulary to the Ojibwe, Menominee, Kickapoo, Miami-Illinois, Shawnee and Cree languages, and most closely resembles Ojibwe and Kickapoo. Linguists classify it as a separate language that became a distinct entity long ago. Most Potawatomi who are involved with the language feel strongly that this is so.
The most important characteristic of the language is that it is oral. English, by comparison, is a written language. Pretty much all of us started school when we were young and quickly learned that words have definite shapes and boundaries, defined by blank spaces. In a truly oral language, that isn't the case.
Potawatomi has been written down from time to time, but a definitive and commonly accepted writing system has never been developed. There is a "traditional" orthography, and several others that were developed over the years, including ours. For the most part, though, people are free to write the language as they hear it, and no one is criticized for misspelling in Potawatomi.
First speakers of Potawatomi (that is, people for whom Potawatomi is their first language) are few and elderly. In the grant request the Prairie Band submitted (see below) to the Administration for Native Americans (ANA) in March, 1997 the number of fluent speakers of the language within the band was estimated to be twenty-one. The average age of this group was 78.
There is a widespread concern throughout the tribe that the language will be lost if quick and careful steps are not taken to preserve and revitalize it. At least half of the bands are making some effort in this direction. The Hannahville band is teaching the language in its reservation school; the school's website contains language lessons, including sound files. The Forest Band is very active; Jim Thunder, Jr. is creating teaching materials and running an annual language summer camp during which participants speak only Potawatomi. Linguist Laura Buszard-Welcher is analyzing and documenting the language with the help of several northern Potawatomi and is working with Don Perrot to produce an extensive set of teaching materials. Both the Citizen Nation and the Pokagon band have language projects. Susan Campbell has organized a class in the Seattle area that has been meeting regularly for over a year.
Potawatomi, as spoken by the Prairie Band, has developed unique characteristics because the band is geographically distant from the traditional bands in the north. Our band, too, is making earnest efforts to preserve its language, among them:
A number of elders that live on the reservation have worked diligently for many years, passing on the language one on one, to the young people that wish to learn.
A small group organized as a class more than five years ago and is learning the language from the elders. For more detail on their efforts, see "Teach Your Children ," a chapter in Gary Mitchell's recent book Stories of the Potawatomi People.
BWAKA's efforts began formally in 1992 when we sought and obtained a grant from the Kansas Humanities Council to videotape elders speaking the language. From this we have developed a number of materials most of which have been incorporated into the website; additional materials are still in development. Our work is described in the BWAKA section .
Jackie Mitchell introduces the language to preschoolers attending the Head Start Program in the reservation's Penoje Wigwam (children's house).
Thanks to the efforts of Jackie and her brother, Gary, the tribal historian, who prepared the request, the Prairie Band received a $75,000 ANA grant in June, 1997, that will be used to fund a number of coordinated efforts on the reservation to preserve and teach the language. Joan Pahmahmie was recently selected as project director, and Potawatomi language classes began in the local school district in January, 1998, with Jim McKinney as the teacher.
Several individuals and families have made their own efforts to write down or record the Potawatomi language. We wish to express our appreciation to these folks (such as the Battese family) for their encouragement and for sharing their stories and resources with us. If you have a recording or text in Potawatomi, we would certainly love to add it to our growing collection!
Our language pages reflect our total efforts.* In order to present Potawatomi materials in an environment so dependent on writing we had to develop a good writing system first. We tapped many different sources to come up with a symbol set or orthography that we feel serves the needs of Potawatomi speakers and learners. We've tried really hard to keep it both simple and accurate. In these pages we share the orthography in two forms:
| Iwgwien! (Thanks lots!)
to the Kansas Humanities Council, an affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities, who has provided partial funding for this project. |
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a short and to-the-point reference sheet, and
an in-depth orthography rationale, which spends time telling why we made the choices we did, supported by examples from previous attempts.
Our next task was to combine the materials we had collected and develop a basic dictionary. Our first word list was approximately 800 words; our present on-line dictionary is a revision and enhancement of the first, with more than 1200 entries and nearly 400 attached sound files, to help you with your pronunciation. Our dictionary is a work in progress and we are eager to receive feedback on its accuracy and usefulness.
Our third effort has been to make available written materials in the Potawatomi language. Many writings in Potawatomi are still under copyright. We have some very old documents that we can share with you:
Johnston Lykins' translation of the Gospel According to Matthew and Acts of the Apostles into Potawatomi, published in 1844.
The entire text of Father Maurice Gailland's 1866 prayerbook, Potewatemi Neme'winin ipi Nemenigamowinin Potawatomi Prayers and Hymns, is on line in scanned form. The images are pretty small.
Here are some of the prayers from the book, transcribed, with the corresponding English versions.
Father Gailland translated the excerpts from the Gospels that were read during the Catholic Mass on Sundays and the principal holydays into Potawatomi. Here are the excerpts that were taken from the Gospel According to Matthew. We are adding the gospel excerpts from the Gospel According to Luke.
Finally, in our nizhokmake'wen -- resources and help section, we list languages materials obtainable from other sources. Studiers of the language should also spend some time with our literature list.
This is only a beginning; we dream of a much fuller and richer educational offering, but it will take time to build. We will try very hard to fulfill the promises we have made to our many friends and to ourselves.
Our goal is to reach the Potawatomi people, the majority of whom are young people, and live off-reservation. Multimedia allows opportunities not possible with previous text-based systems to teach an oral language orally, and in context. We don't want to only preserve the language (under glass), we want Potawatomi people again to be speaking the language.
* We'd like to make a few disclaimers.
|
Potawatomi dictionary
Orthography rationale nIshnabe'k The People mzenegenek books |
|
Orthography - quick reference
Home Page: news & updates nizhokmake'wen resources/help BWAKA - about us |