Potawatomi language
| Potawatomi | |
|---|---|
| Neshnabémwen | |
| Native to | United States, Canada |
| Region | Michigan, Indiana, Wisconsin, Kansas, and southern Ontario |
|
Native speakers
|
9 (2012) |
|
Algic
|
|
|
Latin (various alphabets), Great Lakes Algonquian syllabics |
|
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | |
| Glottolog | pota1247 |
| Linguasphere | 62-ADA-dc (Potawatomi) |
Potawatomi (also spelled Pottawatomie; in Potawatomi Bodéwadmimwen, or Bodéwadmi Zheshmowen, or Neshnabémwen) is a Central Algonquian language. It was historically spoken by the Pottawatomi people who lived around the Great Lakes in what are now Michigan and Wisconsin in the United States, and in southern Ontario in Canada. In 2012 only nine Potawatomi people, all elderly, were known to be native speakers of the language. Federally recognized tribes in Michigan are working to revive the language.
Cecilia Miksekwe Jackson, one of the last surviving native speakers of Potawatomi, died in May 2011, at the age of 88. She was known for working to preserve and teach the language.
The federally recognized Pokégnek Bodéwadmik Pokagon Band of Potawatomi started a master-apprentice program in which a "language student (the language apprentice) will be paired with fluent Potawatomi speakers (the language masters)" in January 2013. In addition, classes in the Potowatomi language are available, including those at the Hannahville summer immersion camp, with webcast instruction and videoconferencing.
Potawatomi is a member of the Algonquian language family (itself a member of the larger Algic stock). It is usually classified as a Central Algonquian language, with languages such as Ojibwe, Cree, Menominee, Miami-Illinois, Shawnee and Fox. The label "Central Algonquian" signifies a geographic grouping rather than the group of languages descended from a common ancestor language within the Algonquian family. Of the Central languages, Potawatomi is most similar to Ojibwe, but it also has borrowed a considerable amount of vocabulary from the Sauk.
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