A Concise Dictionary of Minnesota Ojibwe

by John D. Nichols

Book Overview

The most up-to-date resource for those interested in the linguistic and cultural heritage of the Anishinaabe, A Concise Dictionary of Minnesota Ojibwe contains more than 7,000 of the most frequently used Ojibwe words. Presented in Ojibwe-English and English-Ojibwe sections, this dictionary spells words to reflect their actual pronunciation with a direct match between the letters used and the speech sounds of Ojibwe. It contains many ancient words and meanings as well as language added in the twentieth century.

Most entries give several sample inflected forms such as the plural, diminutive, and locative forms of nouns and first person and participle forms of verbs. The basic patterns of Ojibwe word structure and the organization of the dictionary entries are clearly explained in the introduction. The most widely used modern standard writing system for Ojibwe is used throughout, and some of the key objects of Ojibwe life are authentically illustrated by coauthor and artist Earl Nyholm.

Acknowledged as one of the three largest Native American languages, Ojibwe is spoken in many local varieties in the Upper Midwest and across Central and Eastern Canada. Minnesota Ojibwe is spoken in Central and Northern Minnesota, and is very similar to the Ojibwe spoken in the Ontario-Minnesota border region, Wisconsin, and Michigan's Upper Peninsula. A Concise Dictionary of Minnesota Ojibwe is an essential reference for all students of Ojibwe culture, history, language, and literature.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B00A2PO6VC
• ISBN13: 9780816624287
• Release Date: December 1994
• Publisher: University of Minnesota Press
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 0.86 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.4" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

Great Book

Great book, has everything. Used this for my college Ojib class and I still use it all the time to look up things. If you're trying to learn our native language or just want to know the ojib words for things this is a great book.

Excellent

I realy liked this book, because I use it for my Ojibwe Language Class and I had one copy but I sent it to my nephew in Kansas

Superb

John Nichols and Earl Nyholm are two of the top linguistic experts on the Ojibwe language, and this dictionary is a collaboration between the two of them. It contains many words for parts of modern life (bemisemagak, "airplane," wiisiniwigamig, "restaurant," odaabaan, "car"), but also a wealth of terms for traditional aspects of Ojibwe life (zibaaska'iganagooday, "jingle dress," bagida'waa, "fish with a net," wiigwaasi-makak, "birch-bark basket"). It may not have 100,000 words like large dictionaries of well-studied languages like English, but it does have over 7,000 (which, for a language like Ojibwe, which has only recieved a lot of serious scholarship relatively recently, is quite impressive). Which may not sound like a lot, but I've found that, whenever I need to look something up, it's almost certain to be in there. The first few pages offer a (very brief) sketch of the phonology and a quick overview of some aspects of the grammar, although only enough to be used as a starting point for more detailed study using other resources. The book does not purport to be a grammar, however, but merely a dictionary, and a "concise" one at that. For a "concise" dictionary to nearly always have the word I'm looking up (I've been using it for about a year now, and there are still only a few words I've tried looking up that I haven't found) is a fairly impressive feat, at least in my mind. I'd highly recommend it to anyone interested in the Ojibwe people or the language.

Ojibwe Dictionary

Given the price, I was not expecting this dictionary to be as long or as detailed as it is. Both the English-Ojibwe and the Ojibwe-English sections have multiple examples and word forms for each entry. There are 7000 words included here. I've bought $75 dictionaries with less material than this. An excellent value. Includes a pronunciation guide and a basic grammatical overview.

This is a great informational book!

As I am researching the Ojibwa peoples currently, I find myself pulling this book out 3-4 times a day, and it has not failed me yet. The vocabulary covered in this book is simply enormous, and if you're tired of looking at online dictionaries, pick up this book--well worth the cover price.My only complaint is that Ojibwe, being a 'verb-based' language rather than a noun-based like our own, is very hard to piece together in sentances. There is a tiny chapter at the beginning of this trying to explain it, but it doesn't do a very good job. Thus it's frustrating to look up one word and find 4 different spellings for it.