Introduction to Ojibwe Noun and Pronoun Grammar

Algonquin language family is the most populous and widespread Native language family in North America. Before the arrival of Europeans Algonquin languages were widespread in eastern and some western regions of the USA and in Southern Canada. Many Native American nations belong to Algonquin language family, speaking relative languages and dialects.
One of the most widespread Algonquin languages is Anishinaabe language � Anishinaabemowin. It belongs to the Central Algonquin group and includes three dialects: Ojibwe, Ottawa (Odawa) and Potawatomi (Bodewadmi). Anishinaabe is a name, which these three nations call themselves. The most populous Anishinaabe nation is Ojibwe. Ojibwe is also one of the most populous Native nations in North America. But nowadays only 25% of Ojibwe people speak their own language as native one.

1. All words are read as they�re written.
2. Double vowels stand for long vowels and should be read as long single sound (eg.: /aa/ is [a:], but not [aa]. There are seven vowel sounds (short and long) in Fiero system:
2.1. short /a/ sounds like u in mud;
2.2. long /aa/ sounds like a in father;
2.3. short /i/ sounds like i in sit or Jim;
2.4. long /ii/ sounds like ee in seen or ea in sea;
2.5. /e/ sounds like ay in pray;
2.6. short /o/ sounds like �oh� or oe in doe;
2.7. long /oo/ sounds like oo in loon or o in do;
3. There is also /zh/ which sounds like su in measure.
4. An apostrophe /�/stands for glottal stop.
5. /nh/ stand after nasal vowels to indicate them (/nh/ are not pronounced).
6. There are no sounds l, r, v, f or letters f, l, q, r, u, v and x.

There are two genders in Ojibwe language: animate and inanimate.

To animate gender belong nouns for people, animals, some plants and some objects which can house spirit (the sun, the moon, stars, some nature objects, and religious and cultural items). All other nouns belong to inanimate gender.
Usually, but not always, it is rather easy to predict gender logically. Though sometimes it is out of some logical reason.

Animate nouns in plural take an ending /-ag/, but inanimate nouns - /-an/. A vowel in the ending can be different, but consonants /-g/ and /-n/ always indicate the gender.

Noun gender is very important. Depending on this category different verbs and demonstrative pronouns are used � animate or inaniamte. You can see from the example that with an animate noun bakwezhigan (bread) an animate verb �bring� and a pronoun �that� are used, but with an inanimate noun mazina�igan (book) � an inanimate verb and a pronoun:

Biish a'aw bakwezhigan. - Bring me that bread. (animate)
Biidoon i'iw mazina'igan. - Bring me that book. (inanimate)

Different demonstrative pronouns are used with animate and inanimate nouns:

There are seven personal pronouns in Ojibwe:

In Ojibwe language nouns can appear not only in their usual form but in five other forms: possessive, locative, diminutive, pejorative and vocative.

Possessive form indicates that a noun is possessed by someone. It forms by adding to a noun possessive suffixes and prefixes, meaning: my, your, his, her, etc:

Some nouns in Possessive take additional suffix /-iim/ (in example: -m). There is no rule indicating which nouns take it and which don't. You should remember such words. (In some regions this suffix in not used at all.)

Note. In square brackets there is a suffix of another grammatical category � obviative.

Dependent Nouns

In Ojibwe there are dependent nouns which are never used without a possessive form. These are kin terms and body parts. They are considered out of sense without possessive. There are some examples:

Note. In square brackets there is a suffix of another grammatical category � obviative.

In this noun form a noun answers the questions: where? where to? where from?, etc.
Locative forms with suffixes: /-ang, -ing, -ong/ (a vowel in a suffix depends on a stem of a noun).

atoon o�ow onaagaaning � put that (inanim.) on a dish
namadabin apabiwing � sit on a chair
adaawewigamigong nind-izhaa � I�m going to the store

This form indicates a small size of an object.
It is made by adding a suffix /-ens/ to a noun, or depending on a stem: /-ins, -oons, -ns, -s/.  

This form describes a noun in a pejorative way, as �damn�.
It forms with a suffix /-iish/.

i-iw jiimaaniish - that damn boat

This is a vocative form of kin terms which is used to address people.

Ninga /mother/                    -        Ning! /mom!/
Mishomis /grandfather/        -       Misho! /grandfather!/
Nokomis /grandmother/       -       Noko! /grandmother!/, etc.

White Eagle Soaring: Dream Dancer of the 7th Fire