let's learn nêhiyawewin!

I'm nêhiyaw-Métis. I'm learning Cree (Y-dialect) in university and in my community. let's learn together! -- many of the photos I post are from other resources. I do not own them.

[allthingslinguistic]

Canadian Aboriginal Syllabics is a writing system that uses letter rotation to indicate the accompanying vowel sound. It’s used to write Inuktitut, Cree, and sometimes also Ojibwe and Blackfoot. This brilliant visualization is from the Bachelor of Arts in Cree Language at University nuhelot’įne thaiyots’į nistameyimâkanak Blue Quills. 

[languageoclock]

how do i improve my pronunciation?

theres a widespread myth that its impossible to learn to sound like a native speaker of a language other than ur mother tongue if u didnt learn it as a child and while being surrounded by it 24/7. this is far from the truth!! having good pronunciation and a native-like accent that u can be proud of is definitely achievable, especially if u have the right mindset and are determined to work hard (★^∀^★) ★  remember that babies usually have over a year of pure input before they actually begin to speak their first language. get as much audio exposure as u can. listen to the language in lots of different contexts (radio tv music movies conversations speeches audiobooks youtube videos..) and just try to replicate what the language sounds like to ur ears without necessarily trying to say actual words or worrying about grammar. @polysprachig made this video that goes into more detail on this topic and u may also wanna check out this article ★  pick the specific accent that u want to emulate. this is especially important for people learning pluricentric languages like english/portuguese/arabic/etc where there is more than one spoken standard. the more widely spoken the accent u choose is, the easier it will be to find audio materials to listen to and people who speak with that accent (eg there are a lot of tv shows and movies in american and british english.. but not many in australian english). blending multiple completely different dialects/accents (and mixing up slang from different regions and social groups) can make u sound very weird and unnatural, however narrowing down a particular region whose accent u want to imitate will allow u to easily develop a sense of belonging and closeness to the language. ★  pay really careful attention to the sounds that are different in ur target language to ur native language(s) and any other languages u already speak. look for videos/instructions online for how to pronounce the sounds that u find difficult and practise every day by listening to them in natural speech and copying them as best u can.. pretend to be an annoying parrot that mimics everything it hears!! ★  get to know ur mouth. u may have to adjust the position of ur jaw, tongue, lips, the way u breathe or the amount of saliva if ur mouth to comfortably replicate some sounds. if ur mouth doesnt feel a little uncomfortable with a new sound, u may not be pronouncing it right. ★  find a native speaker to listen to u speak for a little while and ask if they can narrow down any areas u seem to have particular trouble with. concentrate on accuracy rather than speed ★  find the lyrics to some songs u love in ur target language and sing along as best u can. it takes away ur intrinsic need to worry about vocabulary or grammar and allows u to just focus on naturally replicating the way the language sounds ★  childrens books are often available with audio accompanyment that u can listen to while u read the text and also pause and repeat after if u wish. its like the perfect combination of simple easy to understand language and nice clear voices because theyre specifically designed to help children learn to read their own native language! ★  subtitles can help u mentally connect the symbols of the written language with the sounds of the spoken language, but they can also slow the speed at which u accustom urself to processing the spoken language without assistance.. try watching content both with and without subtitles to see what works best for u ★  if ure having trouble with the pronunciation of a particular word or phrase u can try looking it up on rhinospike or forvo ★  dont worry if u fear ure not making any progress.. u will improve slowly with consistent practice and also get the opportunity to hone ur listening skills at the same time!!

[dbejfdewfbwekf-deactivated20211]

*switches language mid sentence*

[jandaway]

3 Questions to Ask Yourself Before Learning an Indigenous Language as a Non-Native

Learning a Native language isn’t as simple as you might think. These questions will help you make sure you do it in a non-oppressive way.

this. this. a thousand times THIS.

[languageoclock]

what do we want? 
improved foreign language education in English speaking countries

when do we want it? 
when we’re younger and have better neuroplasticity

[intheirlanguage]

Why telling learners that your native language is the hardest language ever is probably a bad idea:

(This goes for non-natives talking about other languages as well. We are all guilty in this so lets join together and cleanse ourselves of this sin and never commit it again.)

1. It’s downright discouraging. Seriously, if someone tells you “oh that math class you have to take next semester is like the hardest class ever” are you going to be walking into that class next semester super confident in your ability to complete it successfully or are you going to drag yourself into your seat thinking “maybe I should’ve chosen a different class…”

2. Difficulty cannot be measured. Seriously. Saying a language is hard or not hard means nothing. There is no system on earth that has managed to genuinely label whether a language is difficult or easy because there are too many variables. So is your native language hard? Literally nobody knows because it changes with every person. Some people will have trouble. Some won’t.

There are some systems of measuring language difficulty that do exist, the most famous being from the Foreign Service Institute. But here’s the thing about those: they only pertain to the native speakers of one language (so telling someone that a certain language is level 4 on the FSI chart when they’re a native Bulgarian speaker is basically useless information to them) and usually presume these people to be monolingual, and they’re also usually limited to a specific demographic. The FSI one for example is primarily using data from their own experience teaching people most of whom are over the age of 40 and are taught in small, intensive classes. It’s a very different experience if you have one bilingual 20 year old self studying with a few skype friends that are supportive native speakers. You’re going to get very different numbers just changing basic variables such as age, native language, accessibility to materials, willingness, etc.

3. Difficulty doesn’t actually matter anyway. Even if you did manage to actually label languages as “hard” or “not hard” in some way that works (so basically we’re in fantasy-land now), it’s a pointless measurement. The qualities of the language don’t matter nearly as much as the qualities of the person. Because a seriously determined person is going to do what they’re going to do and no amount of irregular noun declensions and weird verb tenses is going to stop them.

4. It’s a bit insulting. You’re essentially doubting their ability to learn the language. You’re also doubting the ability of all other language learners. You’re basically saying “it’s super difficult (so you’re going to struggle a lot and maybe do marginally alright)”. That’s generally the secondary meaning that comes with the word “difficult” in that context.

5. You’ve just set them on the path to quitting. Because now whenever they start struggling with some aspect of the language or their pronunciation doesn’t seem to be getting any better they’re going to be having the deadliest of thoughts when it comes to language learning “this language is too hard.” And you helped give them that idea. You don’t just wake up one morning thinking “Nepali is the hardest language ever”. It’s not some natural part of our shared cultural memory that “Nepali” is synonymous with “difficult”. You learn that because that’s what people tell you.

I used to study Mandarin Chinese for about three years. And for all those three years (and pretty much every time it was brought up afterwards) people would always say “that’s a really hard language.” These are people that had never in their lives heard a single word of Mandarin Chinese or even knew anything about the language itself other than it’s a language spoken in China and it’s hard. Now here I am a young impressionable language learner and what do I think when I start struggling in my studies of Mandarin Chinese? It’s too hard. Honestly, if I started studying Nepali like right now I’d probably be doing pretty well because no one along the way has ever told me that it was difficult or discounted my ability to learn it. I would feel good to go.

6. They probably already know what they’re in for. Most people don’t just pick up a language like “ooh look at this thing I know nothing about I’m gonna learn it.” (For the people that do do that, your spontaneity is cool, keep it up, you) They’ve probably heard about it, maybe done some research about it, maybe have a friend that speaks it. Fact of the matter is they’re probably fairly aware of some of the things that language is bringing with it, especially if they’ve already started studying it. And if they’re not, see the first topic in this list.

Here’s the thing though, there’s probably a lot of you that have done this who are thinking “well that’s not what I meant”. I hear you, and I get what you’re saying. It is probably absolutely not what you meant. But it’s what a lot of people hear. And in communication what one person says is just important as what the other person hears. And if someone isn’t hearing you right that’s a sign that you’ve got to change the way you’re saying it.

So next time someone comes to you saying “I’m studying (Language X)” instead of saying “that’s like the hardest language ever”, try something else. Say things like “work hard and you’ll succeed” or “I’m so excited for you” and “if I can help in any way, let me know.”

If you for some reason HAVE to talk about the difficulty of a specific language. There are better ways to do it. Consider the following:

I’ve heard that’s a hard language…

…But I’m certain you’ve got this. Work hard!

…If I can help in any way let me know, I want to help you reach your goal!

…so you better not let that stop you ‘cause I know you are capable of succeeding if you put your mind to it.

Also like don’t call people crazy for learning a certain language. Just like don’t. For so many reasons. Don’t do it.

[empath-warrior]

Find me on Twitter @CourteneyMorin and @ConvoCree

[vronsk-aya]

The only way to start speaking a language is to start speaking it badly

[waitingformycoffin]

English is a global language because English speakers have been global conquerors. It’s not about the quality of English nouns and verbs, it’s about the quality of English guns and money.

“A Linguist Explains Emoji and What Language Death Actually Looks Like”, by Gretchen McCulloch at The Toast (via waitingformycoffin)

[linguisticious-blog]

Linguistics overview.

[empath-warrior]

Tânisikîyah, waciyê, kiyatamiskâtinâwâw kahkiyaw nitôtem'tik! I’m officially part of the Nehiyawewin team for an hour long show at CFWE with my fav Nisga'a pal @dusterockets who will be hosting the show and learning Cree from Jim and I! Launch date for Aboriginal Day, the 25th this month! Woo!! I’m so excited to share the nehiyaw language with everyone, so penehiyawe! Come and speak Cree! Pekiskinohamâkosi! Come and learn! Kinânaskom'tin nitôtem'tik, kiwâpamâwak mwestas. ❤ (at Edmonton, Alberta)

edit: the soft launch is out!!! Stay posted for when we’ll be starting our full segments every Saturday from 8am-9am MDT. Show will be available in Fort McMurray, Cold Lake, Lac La Biche, and St. Paul.

[the-northborn-siren]

This is pretty cool idk if there was a post made about already but here~

[empath-warrior]

Tânisikîyah, waciyê, kiyatamiskâtinâwâw kahkiyaw nitôtem'tik! I’m officially part of the Nehiyawewin team for an hour long show at CFWE with my fav Nisga'a pal @dusterockets who will be hosting the show and learning Cree from Jim and I! Launch date for Aboriginal Day, the 25th this month! Woo!! I’m so excited to share the nehiyaw language with everyone, so penehiyawe! Come and speak Cree! Pekiskinohamâkosi! Come and learn! Kinânaskom'tin nitôtem'tik, kiwâpamâwak mwestas. ❤

[napiblackfootyeg]

HUGE news from CFWE #awesometohear #nativeradio #keepingourlanguagealive

[empath-warrior]

Please feel free to reblog everyone!! Additionally, this will be accessible for all people, even if you’ve never spoken a word of Cree. You don’t have to be Cree to join either! This is welcome to all that want to gain skills in speaking nehiyawewin. We will begin with teaching the basics of the language, with cuts to more advanced Cree. Join us online at www.cfweradio.ca or tune in to: 98.5 FM Edmonton (amiskwacîwâskahikan) 96.7 FM Cold Lake/St.Paul 90.5 FM Lac La Biche 94.5 FM Ft.McMurray

[selchieproductions]

Languages do not die. They don’t just grow old, weary and ready to embrace the coldness of death. They are killed, murdered by policies, intergenerational traumas, and external as well as internalised oppression all stemming from another language community which seeks to subdue it by force, either seen or unseen by the very language community being ushered towards the end of its existence.

[nativeonhere-deactivated2025011]

“Because the loss of indigenous languages is tied closely to the usurpation of indigenous lands, the destruction of indigenous habitats, and the larger society (generally into the lower-class margins of that society), language death has become part of a human rights struggle (nettle and Romaine, 2000) Language choice is part of the right of indigenous peoples to their own land, the autonomy, and to cultural and economic self-determination.

The Green Book of Language Revitalization (http://amzn.to/1SvvqMB) “Usurpation means taking someone’s power or property by force. Locking the teacher outside of the classroom and taking charge of math class is a form of usurpation.” - Dictionary (via itsdanggad)

[nehiyawewin]

Greetings and being grateful/saying thank you

Wâciyê - Hello Ahâw niyotôtem'tik - I acknowledge you my friends Kiyatamiskâtinâwâw kahkiyaw - I greet you all. In saying this, it’s a recognition that we all come from the same place and we are not above one another. (also spelled kitatamiskâtinâwâw) Tân'si - Hello (sometimes also how ate you, as it stems from tânisikîyah) Tânisikîyah - Hello, how are you? It’s literal translation is how are you though. Tânisîyisi - How Kîya - you With elision, it becomes tânisikîyah.

Kinânaskom'tin - I thank you. ->1S first person singular to 2S second person singular. Conjugation is different if this is plural. Ninânaskomon - I am grateful. I am thankful. Hiy Hiy - thank you.

There are so many greetings and ways to say thank you! Stay posted, and please add the greetings or thank yous that you know!

[nehiyawewin]

Within our language, family values, ethics, rules of conduct, beliefs, family roles, core values, spirituality, self-concept, childrearing practices, humor, gender roles (including gender roles outside of the colonial binary), manners, and interpretations of the world are all reflected. Nêhiyawek! Akamêyimok! Speak Cree! Don’t give up!