Historical Phonology
In the evolution from Proto-Algonquian to Ojibwe, the most sweeping change was the voicing of all Proto-Algonquian voiceless obstruents except when they were in clusters with *h, *ʔ, *θ, or *s (which were subsequently lost). Proto-Algonquian *r and *θ became Ojibwe n.
The relatively symmetrical Proto-Algonquian vowel system, *i, *i·, *e, *e·, *a, *a·, *o, *o· remained fairly intact in Ojibwe, although *e and *i merged as i, and the short vowels, as described above, underwent a quality change as well.
Some examples of the changes at work are presented in the table below:
| Proto-Algonquian | Ojibwe reflex (Saulteaux) |
Ojibwe reflex (Fiero) |
Gloss |
|---|---|---|---|
| *penkwi | pinkwi | bingwi | "ashes" |
| *mekiθe·wa | mikiš | migizh | "to bark at" |
| *ši·ʔši·pa | šîhšîp | zhiishiib | "duck" |
| *askyi | ahki | aki | "earth" |
| *-te·h- | -têh- | -de'- | "heart" (root) |
| *erenyiwa | inini | inini | "man" |
| *wespwa·kana | ohpwâkan | opwaagan | "pipe" |
For illustrative purposes, chart of phonological variation between different Cree dialects of Proto-Algonquian *r have been reproduced here but for the Anishinaabe languages, with the inclusion of Swampy Cree for illustrative purposes only, with corresponding Cree orthography in parentheses:
| Dialect | Location | Reflex of *l |
Word for "Native person(s)" ← *erenyiwa(ki) |
Word for "You" ← *kīrawa |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Swampy Cree | ON, MB, SK | n | ininiw/ininiwak ᐃᓂᓂᐤ/ᐃᓂᓂᐗᒃ | kīna ᑮᓇ |
| Algonquin | QC, ON | n | irini/irinìk inini/ininìk ᐃᓂᓂ/ᐃᓂᓃᒃ (inini/ininīk) |
kìn ᑮᓐ (kīn) |
| Oji-Cree | ON, MB | n | inini/ininiwak ᐃᓂᓂ/ᐃᓂᓂᐗᒃ | kīn ᑮᓐ |
| Ojibwe | ON, MB, SK, AB, BC, MI, WI, MN, ND, SD, MT | n | inini/ininiwag ᐃᓂᓂ/ᐃᓂᓂᐗᒃ (inini/ininiwak) |
giin ᑮᓐ (kīn) |
| Ottawa | ON, MI, OK | n | nini/ninwag (nini/ninwak) |
gii (kī) |
| Potawatomi | ON, WI, MI, IN, KS, OK | n | neni/nenwek (nəni/nənwək) |
ki |
Read more about this topic: Ojibwe Phonology
Famous quotes containing the word historical:
“This seems a long while ago, and yet it happened since Milton wrote his Paradise Lost. But its antiquity is not the less great for that, for we do not regulate our historical time by the English standard, nor did the English by the Roman, nor the Roman by the Greek.... From this September afternoon, and from between these now cultivated shores, those times seemed more remote than the dark ages.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)