Michif language
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Michif Michif | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spoken in: | Canada | |
| Region: | Métis communities in the Prairies; mostly Manitoba, Saskatchewan and northwestern Ontario | |
| Total speakers: | 500–1000, endangered | |
| Language family: | mixed language based on Cree and Canadian French, with influences from English, Ojibwe and Assiniboine | |
| Official status | ||
| Official language of: | Métis Nation | |
| Regulated by: | Métis National Council | |
| Language codes | ||
| ISO 639-1: | none | |
| ISO 639-2: | mis | |
| ISO/FDIS 639-3: | crg | |
| Note: This page may contain IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode. See IPA chart for English for an English-based pronunciation key. | ||
Michif (also Mitchif, Mechif, Michif-Cree, Métif, Métchif) is the language of the Métis people of Canada and the northern United States, who are the descendants of First Nations women (mainly Cree, Nakota and Ojibwe) and fur trade workers of European ancestry (mainly French Canadians). Nowadays; Michif is spoken in scattered Métis communities in the provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba in Canada and in North Dakota and Montana in the USMichif emerged over two hundred years ago as a mixed language (not to be confused with a creole). The language solidified sometime between 1820 and 1840.
Michif combines Cree and Canadian French, with some additional borrowing from English and First Nation languages such as Ojibwe and Assiniboine. In general, Michif noun phrase phonology, lexicon, morphology, and syntax are derived from Canadian French, while verb phrase phonology, lexicon, morphology, and syntax are from a southern variety of Plains Cree. (Plains Cree is a western dialect of Cree.) Articles and adjectives are also Canadian French, but demonstratives are Plains Cree.
The Michif language is unusual (and possibly even unique) among mixed languages, in that, rather than choosing to simplify its grammar, it chose the most complex and demanding elements of the chief languages that went into it. French noun phrases retain lexical gender and adjective agreement; Cree verbs retain much of their polysynthetic structure. This suggests that, instead of haltingly using words from another's tongue, the people who devised Michif were fully fluent in both French and Cree.
The number of speakers is estimated at fewer than 1,000; it was probably double or triple this number around the turn of the century but never much higher .
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[edit] Phonology
Michif combines two separate phonological systems: one for French elements, and one for Cree elements. For instance, /y/, /l/, /r/ and /f/ exist only in French words, whereas clusters (or preaspirated stops) such as /ht/ and /hk/ exist only in Cree words. Only in the stress system there is some Cree influence on French words.
[edit] Morphology
[edit] Syntax
[edit] Noun phrase
Nouns are always accompanied by a French determiner or a possessive. Cree demonstratives can be added to French noun phrases. Adjectives are French (Cree has no adjectives), and as in French they are either pre- or postnominal. Prenominal adjectives agree in gender (like in French), however, postnominal adjectives do not agree in gender (unlike French).
[edit] Verb phrase
The verb phrase is that of Plains Cree with little reduction (there is no dubitative or preterit verb forms).
[edit] Word order
Michif word order is basically that of Cree (relatively free). However, the more French elements are used, the closer the syntax seems to conform to norms of spoken French.
[edit] Lexicon
Nouns: 83-94% French; Cree or Ojibwe, English
Verbs: 88-99% Cree
Question words: Cree
Personal pronouns: Cree
Postpositions: Cree
Prepositions: French
Conjunctions: 55% Cree; 40% French
Numerals: French
Demonstratives: Cree
[edit] Language genesis
In languages of mixed ethnicities, the language of the mothers usually provides the grammatical system, and the language of the fathers provides the lexicon. The reasons are following: children know mother’s language better; men are often immigrant, whereas women are native to the region, if the bilingual children need either of their parents’ language to converse with outsiders, it is most likely to be the language of the mothers. Thus, the model of language mixing predicts that Michif should have the Cree grammatical system and the French lexicon. However, Michif has Cree verb phrase and French noun phrase. The explanation lies in the polysynthetic nature of Cree morphology, which is responsible for the unusual distribution of Cree and French elements in Michif.
In Cree verbs can be very complex with up to twenty morphemes, incorporated nouns and unclear boundaries between morphemes. In other words, in Cree verbs it is very difficult to separate grammar from lexicon. As a result, in Michif the grammatical and bound elements are Cree, and the lexical and free elements are French; the verb is totally Cree, because the verb consists only of grammatical and bound element.
[edit] See also
[edit] Bibliography
- Evans, Donna. 1982. "On coexistence and convergence of two phonological systems in Michif."
- Bakker, Peter: 1997. A language of our own: The genesis of Michif, the mixed Cree-French language of the Canadian Métis. New York, Oxford University Press
- Weaver, Deborah. 1982. Obviation in Michif.
- Weaver, Deborah. 1983. "The effect of language change and death on obviation in Michif."
[edit] External links
| Languages derived from French see also French-based creole languages |
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In the Americas: Haitian Creole (kreyòl ayisyen) • Michif • Lanc-Patuá |
da:Michif (sprog) de:Michif eo:Miĉifa lingvo fr:Michif pl:Język miszif
