APWAD - A Potawatomi Word a Day

APWAD uses a Simplified Orthography (see www.neaseno.org/orthography.htm)

Vowel sounds:

• a          ah          as in Father
• é          eh          as in bet
• i           ee          as in bee
• o         oh          as in go
• e          uh          as in put, could

Consonant hints:

• G is always a “hard” g, and is often used interchangeable with the K sound.  Be careful, because this is not always the case.  For example, ézhi-kwé would refer to a woman over there, while jigwé refers to thunder. 

ézhi-kwé:

 

jigwé:

• The sounds represented by L, R, F, V, and TH are not used in Potawatomi. 
• Older writings often used TTH or TTHE to represent a CH or J sound.  In this simplified orthography, we use CH or J instead of the older form. 
• Older writings often used L to represent a B or P sound.  In this simplified orthography, we use B or P.
• D and T are often interchangeable, as well as B and P. 
• Many consonants are used in combinations that seem unfamiliar to first speakers of English.  Take your time with them.
• Some consonants may sound “silent” to an untrained ear.  The sounds are there in the speech of fluent speakers, but an English-speaking ear is trained to pick out English sounds, and may miss some of the more subtle tones of the language.

Potawatomi was once a primarily oral language, written only in a system of syllabics.  As the Potawatomi people came into contact with Europeans, they began using the English alphabet in an attempt to communicate.  Older writings were unique to the speaker/writer who wrote the words in the style that made sense to them.  You will find that spellings may be different here and there, but the words themselves are the same.  This is because what you SEE, in English letters is not Potawatomi…what you HEAR is the Potawatomi language. 

The Potawatomi language has 2 main dialects, Northern and Southern, as well as regional differences.  A third dialect, Neshnabémwen, is spoken further north into Canada.  The Potawatomi, Ojibwe, and Odawa form the Three Fires Confederacy, and their languages are very similar.  In response to the pressures of the American government’s removal policies, some of the Potawatomi, Ojibwe, and Odawa began living together in Canada and over time developed Neshnabémwen.   Therefore, you will see words here that you may be unfamiliar with, as we list words from all dialects.  *Keep in mind that the Potawatomi language, and all of the Neshnabék languages, are vast and very descriptive languages, and there are more than several ways to say the same thing in each.*

The most commonly misunderstood aspect of the Neshnabék languages is the concept of animacy and inanimacy.  Simply put, Animate objects are alive, and Inanimate objects are not.  Putting that into use is much more difficult and requires alot of thought and practice, because what is alive to a Neshnabé may not be considered alive to an English thinker.  The whole sentence, including the verb, the demonstrative, and the noun endings, all have to agree with the animacy/inanimacy of the subject and the object.  We highly recommend to all students that you work with a Fluent speaker in listening to how sentences are constructed and what words are animate/inanimate.  We offer online classes at http://www.neaseno.org/onlineclass.htm.

For more info on Potawatomi orthography and spelling, see www.neaseno.org/thoughts.htm…