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bode'wadmimo speak Potawatomi
Potawatomi dictionary nIshnabe'k The People mzenegenek books |
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Orthography rationale
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The symbols used to write Potawatomi are much like those in
English. They include the following:
The symbols that are different from English are c and zh (among the consonants), and e' and I (among the vowels). However Potawatomi vowels almost always are just a single sound (exceptions are some u's and e's), so we'll list the entire vowel set below. Each Potawatomi symbol below is followed by an English word which uses the sound, and then by a Potawatomi example (and its translation).
| a | pot | maji (leave) |
| e | pet | nijena (how are you?) |
| e' | pat | jIshe' (uncle) |
| i | feet | siwtagen (salt) |
| I | fit | nijItso (how much?) |
| o | both | numosh (dog) |
| u | buck OR book | mukcako (frog); waskuk (pepper) |
| zh | leisure | bozho (shake hands) |
| c | chair | cmokman (non-Indian) |
Sometimes y and w act as "semivowels," when they follow other vowels, making "long" vowels or diphthongs. Y functions as an i; w as an o. Here are some examples:
| ey | hey | dIneym (my husband) |
| ay | die | misho naynuk (our grandfathers) |
| aw | cow | ahaw (okay) |
| iw | beautiful | iwgwien (thanks) |
Some other symbols used (rarely) in Potawatomi that are never written in English are:
| : | (lenthened vowel) | e':he' (yes) |
| ' | (glottal stop) | ego:wi'i (don't do that) |
The rest of the letters work as they do in English. However it is worth noting: the g is always a hard g; consonsant clusters are always pronounced, if sometimes the pronunciation is slight (no silent letters). Some examples: kno (eagle); bkwes'kIn (bread); mdatso (ten); kcumajin (run hard).
Our attempt is to make each symbol as "reliable" as possible. One symbol, one sound.
|
bode'wadmimo speak Potawatomi
Potawatomi dictionary nIshnabe'k The People mzenegenek books |
|
Orthography rationale
Home page: news & updates nizhokmake'wen resources/help BWAKA - about us |