Before moving forward in Anishinaabemowin (Ojibwe) it is important to practice pronunciation and understand the most common spelling system. The double vowel system was created by Charles Fiero (working with fluent speakers) in the late 1950s and is used by Anishinaabe teachers, elders, translators, administrators, language activists, and students seeking a common Anishinaabemowin orthography. It is currently used in over 200 Anishinaabe communities in and around Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, North Dakota, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. Although this is a system of writing that the Anishinaabeg use on both sides of the international boundary, we also recognize the value and importance of syllabics and folk-phonetics as part of Anishinaabe linguistic heritage.

In 1996 elders, teachers, translators, and students from Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota gathered at Naasaab Izhi-anishinaabebii’igeng: A Conference to Find a Common Anishinaabemowin Writing System. Together they chose the double vowel system as the “International Anishinaabe orthography.” While still recognizing the importance of syllabics and folk-phonetic systems, they recognized a need to make the language easier for students to learn today.

The list below is designed to give English speakers a clear description of Anishinaabe phonetics, the way the language sounds. Time spent getting these sounds correct will help you recognize and write words you have heard and sound out new words you encounter on the page. The left column is the sound represented in the double vowel system which provides one representation for each sound unlike English where some vowels are represented multiple ways. On the right are example words in which the sound occurs, along with a translation into English. Bear in mind that dialect variation exists. Symbols enclosed in square brackets [ ] indicate the IPA symbol for the sound; this is most useful for people who have some experience using the International Phonetic Alphabet.

Read through the words carefully. It is important to note when the vowels are long and when they are short, there are common mistakes English speakers make. Paying attention to this will help your pronunciation and ability to speak and read later. For example: “zh” is an uncommon sound in English, be sure you are not saying “sh”. Another common mistake is to mix up the “g” and “j” sounds. “G” is always pronounced as in “good” or “great”. “J” is always pronounced as in “jump.”

Anishinaabemowin is in a state of revitalization and in many regions remained an oral language until very recently. As revitalization began, teachers were faced with the difficult task of deciding how to spell as they were also compiling word lists and attempting to document the rules of grammar. The double vowel system was created by Charles Fiero (working with fluent speakers) in the late 1950s and is used by Anishinaabe teachers, elders, translators, administrators, language activists, and students seeking a common Anishinaabemowin orthography, or way of writing. A writing system based on shapes, called syllabics, was created by James Evans around 1840. It is primarily used in northern Ontario and Manitoba.

All words are made of sound (phonemes) and meaning (morphemes). Many fluent speakers emphasize that the best way to learn the language is to be sure you are sounding out the meaning, which involves learning careful pronunciation and recognizing how sounds create meaning. For example, “minobimaadizi” means to live well. The phonemes “mi” and “no” come together to make the morpheme “mino” which always implies positive goodness when it comes at the front of a word. It is not used as a word alone and no exact word in another language will ever capture exactly what “mino” can mean in Anishinaabemowin so learning to hear and say it correctly is important.

Sometimes you will see a very long word. The language traditionally had no stress for emphasis or meaning. Speakers now will often put stress on alternate phonemes with a consonant. Sometimes the influence of English is apparent and speakers will put stress on a word based on the meaning of various word parts (morphemes) or their intended emphasis.

Whenever possible, listen to recordings of elders and teachers and record yourself to hear where you can improve. Take each word slowly, breaking it into parts or reading it backward if necessary. Most importantly, try to practice every day with words at first, and then phrases, so that you become comfortable speaking out loud.

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Vowels

a	This is the sound “schwa” as in English but, cup, among, tuba.
	anishinaabe namadabi mazina’igan	‘anishinaabe’ ‘sit down’ ‘book’
aa	In English, this sound occurs in words like father, pot, opposite. Note that slight variation may exist between speakers, and a single English speaker might not pronounce the vowels in these words exactly the same way.
	gaawiin maajitaadaa waabamaa	‘no’ ‘let’s begin’ ‘see him / her’
e	This sound has no exact counterpart in English, but occurs in the French word café. In English, we tend to pronounce café, as if it rhymes with obey or say. Try to produce a clear simple [e]. This vowel should sound a bit like the “e” in bet.
	epiichi giiwedin biindige	‘during’ ‘north’ ‘enter’
i	In English, this sound occurs in words like bit, little, sip. It is not difficult for English speakers to say, but in English this sound never occurs at the ends of words, as it does in Anishnaabemowin. Be careful not to mispronounce the single “i” at the end of a word. One “i” is always a short “i.”
	ikido mawi	‘to say’ ‘cry’
ii	This sound occurs in the English word knee, peach, beat, each.
	aaniin biindigen googii	‘hello’ ‘enter, welcome, come in’ ‘dive’
o	The letter “o” in Anishnaabemowin represents a variety of sounds in English. In the east it may be optional or sound like the “au” in caught, or the “u” in put. In the west it is often a long “o” as in “boat,” “know,” or “toe.”
	opin anokii bagizo	‘potato’ ‘works’ ‘swim’
oo	This combination always represents a long vowel sound. In the east it sounds like the “o” sound as in “boat,” “know,” or “toe.” In the west it sounds like the long “u” in “loon” and “too.”
	oodena goon boozhoo	‘town’ ‘snow’ ‘greetings, hello’

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Nasal Vowels

Sometimes a nasal sound is used in eastern dialects. Often the same sound is represented only by a “y” in western dialects. For example, in the phrase, “When am I working? – Aaniin apii waa-anokiiyaanh?,” the word “anokiiyaanh” includes a nasal ending represented by “nh” spelled in the east, while in the west it is “anokiiyaan.” You may also see the “nh” at the end of double vowels in both eastern and western dialects as in “giigoonh” which translates to “fish.”

Consonants

b

bakade aniibiish gizheb

‘hungry’ ‘leaf’ ‘morning’

ch

michaagami miigwech

‘it is a big body of water’ ‘thanks’

d

debwe biidoon waagaakwad

‘tells the truth’ ‘bring it!’ ‘ax’

g

giin waagosh ikwewag

‘you’ ‘fox’ ‘women’

h

howah nahaaw

‘oh my!’ ‘okay’

j

jina onjibaa biingeji

‘a little while’ ‘to be from a place’ ‘feel cold inside’

k

makizin amik

‘moccasin’ ‘beaver’

m

miinan jiimaan miijim

‘blueberries’ ‘kiss, canoe’ ‘food’

n

naanan

‘five’

p

opin baapi

‘potato’ ‘laugh’

s

asin wiiyaas

‘stone, rock’ ‘meat’

sh

ashigan animosh

‘bass’ ‘dog’

t

tawag

‘ear’

w

waabang bizindaw

‘tomorrow’ ‘listen to someone’

y

wiiyaw nday

‘someone’s body’ ‘my dog’

z

ziibi zid aakozi

‘river’ ‘foot’ ‘to be sick’

zh

zhaabonigan izhinikaazo biizh

‘needle’ ‘to be named’ ‘bring someone!’

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Consonant Clusters

sk

miskwaa

‘is red’

shp

ishpiming

‘up above, in heaven’

sht

shtigwaan

‘head’

shk

ishkode gaayaashk

‘fire’ ‘gull’

mb

wiimbaa

‘it is hollow’

nd

aanind

‘some’

nj

biinji-ayi’iing nininj

‘inside’ ‘my hand’

ng

bangii waabang

‘a little bit’ ‘tomorrow’

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Anishinaabemon (Speak Anishinaabemowin)

To confidently move forward with the language, practice saying words every day. As you hear or read new words you need to train your ear to differentiate between the long and short vowel sounds and to recognize the common combinations in Anishinaabemowin. The audio sets below are designed to include the full range of sounds. You can also read the text explanation of how these sounds compare to English.

Reading Practice 1

anishinaabe namadabi mazina’igan gaawiin maajtaadaa waabamaa epiichi giiwedin biindige ikido mawi aaniin biindigen googii	‘anishinaabe’ ‘sit down’ ‘book’ ‘no’ ‘let’s begin’ ‘see him / her’ ‘during’ ‘north’ ‘enter’ ‘to say’ ‘cry’ ‘hello’ ‘enter, welcome, come in’ ‘dive’

Reading Practice 2

opin anokii bagizo oodena goon boozhoo anokiiyaanh/anokiiyaan giigoonh bakade aniibiish gizheb michaagami miigwech debwe	‘potato’ ‘works’ ‘swim’ ‘town’ ‘snow’ ‘greetings, hello’ ‘I am working’ ‘a fish’ ‘hungry’ ‘leaf’ ‘morning’ ‘it is a big body of water’ ‘thanks’ ‘tells the truth’

Reading Practice 3

biidoon waagaakwad giin waagosh ikwewag howah nahaaw jina onjibaa biingeji makizin amik miinan jiimaan	‘bring it!’ ‘ax’ ‘you’ ‘fox’ ‘women’ ‘oh my!’ ‘okay’ ‘a little while’ ‘to be from a place’ ‘feel cold inside’ ‘moccasin’ ‘beaver’ ‘blueberries’ ‘kiss, canoe’

Reading Practice 4

miijim naanan opin baapi asin wiiyaas ashigan animosh tawag waabang bizindaw wiiyaw nday ziibi	‘food’ ‘five’ ‘potato’ ‘laugh’ ‘stone, rock’ ‘meat’ ‘bass’ ‘dog’ ‘ear’ ‘tomorrow’ ‘listen to someone’ ‘someone’s body’ ‘my dog’ ‘river’

Reading Practice 5

zid aakozi zhaabonigan izhinikaazo biizh miskwaa ishpiming shtigwaan ishkode gaayaashk wiimbaa aanind biinji-ayi’iing nininj bangii waabang

‘foot’ ‘to be sick’ ‘needle’ ‘to be named’ ‘bring someone!’ ‘is red’ ‘up above, in heaven’ ‘head’ ‘fire’ ‘gull’ ‘it is hollow’ ‘some’ ‘inside’ ‘my hand’ ‘a little bit’ ‘tomorrow’