Cutting firewood, gathering birch bark (fire starter!), snaring rabbits and hooking for perch (or whatever).... Going to Midnight mass, visiting mom and dad and jamming with friends.... In spite of looking after elderly parents health issues and giving my husband attention (cooking up a storm!), I was able to do a few things that recharged my batteries. I have to admit I would have liked to have gotten more done on my school work but first things first.... And, that means family!
Anyhow, back to Michif and linguistics in a few days! Let's see what I can do...!
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Taanshi kiyawaaw? Hello/how are you (folks)?
This is my first blog for Michif languages and linguistics. And, yes, I mean languageS (plural) and not language (singular). See what you think and leave a comment if this interests you....
The reality of being Michif (Metis) has always meant being multi-lingual and not only mono- or bi-lingual. Our elders by both necessity and choice speak/spoke many languages including languages we presently call Michif. Those of our Metis elders who identify/ied themselves as being "Michif" call/ed the language they speak/spoke as a mother tongue "Michif". Some Metis elders never call/ed the language(s) they speak/spoke "Michif" but Cree, Saulteaux, Dene, etc. (Actually, there are at least three different LANGUAGES that Metis elders (and others) at times call "Michif" There is Michif, the mixed language (sometimes just called "Cree"), a unique Metis dialect of Cree from Ile a la Crosse (sometimes called Ile a la Crosse Michif or Northern Michif) and a unique Metis dialect of French (sometimes called Michif French, or just Michif) and perhaps more.... However, since all Metis elders/other Metis who speak our traditional languages carry and keep cultural/linguistic knowledge and wisdom that is important to who we are as a people. Thus all languages that we as a people spoke and still speak today are precious and equally deserving of respect and attention as part of our heritage.
We Metis are and always have been a multilingual nation of people. Of course, children may or may not have been raised one, two or more languages in the home, however they soon learned to speak more than one when confronted with the need to do so in the multilingual communities in which they lived. So, the reason why we understood each other so well was not because we spoke dialects of the same language, but because we shared history, culture and lifestyle AND we were consummate "code switchers". We learned and then switched between different languages so that we could have the best communication between ourselves. The key for us was that effectively using different languages for communication among diverse speakers. We didn't try to standardize how people should speak. And, when we were having trouble understanding someone's speech we accommodated each other by switching to a language that would best allow communication. It was because of this skill that Metis people were often sought after as interpreters and translators!
(However, this did not mean that Metis people always fully understood the difficult legal and other formal language government officials. etc. asked them to interprete. Being Indigenous people--mixed heritage--but born in and of this land and NOT colonialists or settlers from an European or Euro-Canadian culture, it would have been almost impossible for our anscestors to have understood the true meaning of the treaties and script and their ramifications.)
As a people, we weren't afraid of being marked as being multi-lingual, we embraced it as that was an intrinsic part of our identity. However, since the resistances and dispersals in the late 1880's, we have lost more and more of our traditional multilingualism. English (in most cases) has become the dominant language and many in our communities have stopped teaching/learning our traditional languages. Thus most of us have now become monolingual or no longer speaker more than one Aboriginal language....
Make no mistake, however! There are still Metis elders who are bi-, tri- and even multilingual. Although one or more languages may have disappeared from a variety of Metis communities, there are still some where more than two languages are spoken. Camperville is an excellent example of that. (There are others as well...) Some of our oldest elders here can still speak four or five languages--Saulteaux, Michif (the mixed language), (Plains) Cree, and English (and until recently French)! And, older Metis people here often code switch amongst themselves in groups. It is not uncommon to hear at least Saulteaux, Michif and English being spoken at the same time. It is not that they are being jumbled together but that each speaker gauges which language is best understood by their speaking partner and uses that for communication--which is the one of the most (if not the most) important uses of language!
So, we Metis should not try to be like a nation that only speaks or acknowledges speaking one language. We should be proud of the diversity that led to our birth as a nation and be proud that traditionally we found a way to accommodate all the linguistic expressions of origins as a people. We may call ourselves Michif or Metis and be united in our political quest for proper recognition by the Canadian government but we should not allow policies that are politically expedient in term of nation building ("one nation, one language") and deny the lived reality of our ancestors and elders. Remember although the concept of idea of each nation having its own language may have come from the United Nations, the founding nations of that organization were colonials powers! We should not be allowing colonial powers or countries with legacies of colonialism dictate how we view our history or define our identity as a people. We have started with writing our history from our perspective. It is time we started to look at our traditional language use and nation buidling from this perspective as well. This is the only way that we can be true to ourselves, our elders and our ancestors--and the dreams Louis Riel and other Metis heroes have held (and continue to hold!) for our nation.
Let us not be afraid acknowledge the importance of being a unified but linguistically diverse people and work towards the revitalization of all our languages--whether they be Michif (the mixed language), unique Metis dialects of Cree also called "Michif", a dialect of French also called "Michif", and any other of our traditional languages such as Saulteaux, Dene, etc....
This is my first blog for Michif languages and linguistics. And, yes, I mean languageS (plural) and not language (singular). See what you think and leave a comment if this interests you....
The reality of being Michif (Metis) has always meant being multi-lingual and not only mono- or bi-lingual. Our elders by both necessity and choice speak/spoke many languages including languages we presently call Michif. Those of our Metis elders who identify/ied themselves as being "Michif" call/ed the language they speak/spoke as a mother tongue "Michif". Some Metis elders never call/ed the language(s) they speak/spoke "Michif" but Cree, Saulteaux, Dene, etc. (Actually, there are at least three different LANGUAGES that Metis elders (and others) at times call "Michif" There is Michif, the mixed language (sometimes just called "Cree"), a unique Metis dialect of Cree from Ile a la Crosse (sometimes called Ile a la Crosse Michif or Northern Michif) and a unique Metis dialect of French (sometimes called Michif French, or just Michif) and perhaps more.... However, since all Metis elders/other Metis who speak our traditional languages carry and keep cultural/linguistic knowledge and wisdom that is important to who we are as a people. Thus all languages that we as a people spoke and still speak today are precious and equally deserving of respect and attention as part of our heritage.
We Metis are and always have been a multilingual nation of people. Of course, children may or may not have been raised one, two or more languages in the home, however they soon learned to speak more than one when confronted with the need to do so in the multilingual communities in which they lived. So, the reason why we understood each other so well was not because we spoke dialects of the same language, but because we shared history, culture and lifestyle AND we were consummate "code switchers". We learned and then switched between different languages so that we could have the best communication between ourselves. The key for us was that effectively using different languages for communication among diverse speakers. We didn't try to standardize how people should speak. And, when we were having trouble understanding someone's speech we accommodated each other by switching to a language that would best allow communication. It was because of this skill that Metis people were often sought after as interpreters and translators!
(However, this did not mean that Metis people always fully understood the difficult legal and other formal language government officials. etc. asked them to interprete. Being Indigenous people--mixed heritage--but born in and of this land and NOT colonialists or settlers from an European or Euro-Canadian culture, it would have been almost impossible for our anscestors to have understood the true meaning of the treaties and script and their ramifications.)
As a people, we weren't afraid of being marked as being multi-lingual, we embraced it as that was an intrinsic part of our identity. However, since the resistances and dispersals in the late 1880's, we have lost more and more of our traditional multilingualism. English (in most cases) has become the dominant language and many in our communities have stopped teaching/learning our traditional languages. Thus most of us have now become monolingual or no longer speaker more than one Aboriginal language....
Make no mistake, however! There are still Metis elders who are bi-, tri- and even multilingual. Although one or more languages may have disappeared from a variety of Metis communities, there are still some where more than two languages are spoken. Camperville is an excellent example of that. (There are others as well...) Some of our oldest elders here can still speak four or five languages--Saulteaux, Michif (the mixed language), (Plains) Cree, and English (and until recently French)! And, older Metis people here often code switch amongst themselves in groups. It is not uncommon to hear at least Saulteaux, Michif and English being spoken at the same time. It is not that they are being jumbled together but that each speaker gauges which language is best understood by their speaking partner and uses that for communication--which is the one of the most (if not the most) important uses of language!
So, we Metis should not try to be like a nation that only speaks or acknowledges speaking one language. We should be proud of the diversity that led to our birth as a nation and be proud that traditionally we found a way to accommodate all the linguistic expressions of origins as a people. We may call ourselves Michif or Metis and be united in our political quest for proper recognition by the Canadian government but we should not allow policies that are politically expedient in term of nation building ("one nation, one language") and deny the lived reality of our ancestors and elders. Remember although the concept of idea of each nation having its own language may have come from the United Nations, the founding nations of that organization were colonials powers! We should not be allowing colonial powers or countries with legacies of colonialism dictate how we view our history or define our identity as a people. We have started with writing our history from our perspective. It is time we started to look at our traditional language use and nation buidling from this perspective as well. This is the only way that we can be true to ourselves, our elders and our ancestors--and the dreams Louis Riel and other Metis heroes have held (and continue to hold!) for our nation.
Let us not be afraid acknowledge the importance of being a unified but linguistically diverse people and work towards the revitalization of all our languages--whether they be Michif (the mixed language), unique Metis dialects of Cree also called "Michif", a dialect of French also called "Michif", and any other of our traditional languages such as Saulteaux, Dene, etc....
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