Indoojibwem!

Indoojibwem!

When I set out to look for learning materials on the web, I was initially excited to find so many search results for the language. This excitement quickly faded with the number of 404 - Not Found messages I kept getting on each click of a link. So I've created this space as a repository of resources for learning Anishinaabemowin, or more specifically, Ojibwemowin. With time, I hope it can be of use not just to me, but to others.

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Stepping through a course - Lesson 11

This is a very short lesson. I think beginning with this lesson, in addition to just giving the translation of each sentence and introducing any new vocabulary, I'll also include a couple more example sentences of my own. It's time to start getting used to creating my own output.

Dialog - 

M: Giwii-naawakwe-wiisin na?
F: Henyanh. Niwii-naawakwe-wiisin.
M: Wegonen waa-minikweyan aniibiishaaboo maagizhaa nibi?
F: Nibi niwii-minikwen.

And the line-by-line breakdown:


M: Giwii-naawakwe-wiisin na?
  • We have a new word - naawakwe, which is a verb meaning "be noon"/"be midday. When combined with "wiisin" we create a new verb meaning "eat lunch". So the sentence reads "Do you want to eat lunch?"
F: Henyanh. Niwii-naawakwe-wiisin.
  • "Yes. I want to eat lunch"
M: Wegonen waa-minikweyan, aniibiishaaboo maagizhaa nibi?
  • Another new word here: "maagizhaa", means "maybe" or perhaps". When stuck between two nouns or objects, it means "or". So he asks: "What would you like to drink, tea or water? Remember that because we're using the question word  for "what" (wegonen), we need to use the conjunct conjugation of minikwe.
F: Nibi niwii-minikwen.
  • I want to drink water.

New words this lesson:
  • maagizhaa - maybe; perhaps; or
  • naawakwe-wiisini - eat lunch; eat at midday; eat at noon
  • naawakwe (vii) -be noon; be midday

A couple new phrases mixed in with what we've already learned:
  • Maagizhaa niwii-babaamose. (Maybe I'll go for a walk.)
  • Wegonen waa-minikweyan, makade-mashkikiwaaboo maagizhaa doodooshaaboo? (What would you like to drink, coffee or milk?)  
  • Giwii-naawakwe-wiisin noongom? (Will you eat lunch today?)

Progressing further through the course, we'll keep producing our own sentences at the end of each lesson. 

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