Oji-Cree Language - Relationship To Other Ojibwa Dialects

Relationship To Other Ojibwa Dialects

Although sometimes described as a separate language, Severn Ojibwa is most accurately described as a dialect of the larger Ojibwe language complex with a number of distinctive innovations in addition to an increment of vocabulary borrowed from Cree and a modest amount of Cree morphology.

Valentine has proposed that Ojibwe dialects are divided into three groups: a northern tier consisting of Severn and Algonquin; a southern tier consisting of "Odawa, Chippewa, Eastern Ojibwe, the Ojibwe of the Border Lakes region between Minnesota and Ontario, and Saulteaux; and third, a transitional zone between these two polar groups, in which there is a mixture of northern and southern features."

It has been noted that, along with Algonquin and Odawa, Severn Ojibwa "…show many distinct features, which suggest periods of relative isolation from other varieties of Ojibwe." However, while each of these dialects has undergone innovations that make each of them distinctive in some respects, their status as part of the Ojibwa language complex is not in dispute. Many communities adjacent to these relatively sharply differentiated dialects show a mix of transitional features, reflecting overlap with other nearby dialects.