Anishinaabemowin Word Parts

anishinaabemowinwordparts
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Looking for someone to share your Anishinaabemowin learning journey with? Join Dené and Rochelle as they share stories from their experience as adult Anishinaabemowin learners, and follow along as they work to better understand Anishinaabemowin word parts (initials, medials, finals and more). Whether you call it Nishnaabemwin, Anishinaabemowin, Saulteaux, Nakawemowin, or Ojibwe - We can all get closer to our learning goals if we work together.

Episodes

  1. 3d ago

    Ep 12: Alan Corbiere (part 4)

    Anishinaabemowin Word Parts: Alan Corbiere on Plant and Bird Names   In the fourth summer-session episode of Anishinaabemowin Word Parts, hosts Rochelle and Dené conclude their interview series with Alan Corbiere. Alan explains his interest in how beings are named, emphasizing the value of documenting and understanding Anishinaabe bird and plant names and their connection to morphemes. He notes that endings in tree terms may reflect an Anishinaabe classificatory system distinct from Western taxonomy, and why learners should do research and consult elders when learning and teaching tree and bird names. He shares some of his observations about regional variation and language change including examples involving apple trees, Blue jay/Canada jay, and sparrowhawk/nuthatch terms. The three also discuss how Latin-based English terms can help new learners understand Ojibwe's word-part structure.   The episode highlights two resources to be listed in show notes: The Poplar River Plant Guide https://www.manitobamuseumshop.ca/shop.html?location_id=75207&product_id=462  The Plants Used by the Great Lakes Ojibwe https://www.miinojibwe.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Plants-1.pdf

  2. Aug 4

    Ep 11: Alan Corbiere (part 3)

    Morphology, Adult Immersion, and Intergenerational Transmission In this, the third episode of the interview series with Alan Corbiere, Alan discusses how Anishinaabemowin’s descriptiveness comes from morphology, but the language is still often taught word-for-word. He also describes some hands-on morpheme-ordering activities inspired by Mohawk educator Brian Maracle, which ARP developed to help learners construct words. Alan also summarizes Brian Maracle’s language revitalization reflections:  prioritize local control by learners rather than institutions, use a “root word method” to teach thinking like speakers, and focus on young adults who become fluent, form families, and can reestablish intergenerational transmission. The hosts reflect on learning from the efforts of other Indigenous language communities, taking risks and trying new things as learners and teachers, the limits of school-based programs, the need for community platforms to highlight/encourage learners and the importance of collective effort to create change and revitalize our language.

  3. Jul 21

    Ep 10: Alan Corbiere (part 2)

    Episode 10: Alan Corbiere on Morphology, Word Parts, and Learning Anishinaabemowin Rochelle and Dené celebrate the 10th episode of Anishinaabemowin Word Parts and continue part two of their interview with Alan Corbiere from M’Chigeeng. They discuss how learning morphology and word parts helps learners understand and construct words, interpret unfamiliar words in context, and speak more descriptively. Alan shares stories of being corrected by his dad, figuring out words through morphemes, experimenting with creating phrases, and how Mary Ann Corbiere's courses and Basil Johnston's recordings helped him move beyond rote memorization. The hosts reflect on learner journeys, choosing reliable teachers, and preview an upcoming discussion of Mohawk adult immersion programs.   Note this episode is missing video due to technical issues.

  4. Jul 7

    Ep 9: Alan Corbiere (Part 1)

    Anishinaabemowin Word Parts: Interview with Alan Corbiere on Preverbs, Directionality, and Learning Resources   Hosts Rochelle and Dené introduce their interview with Alan Corbiere (Anishinaabe from M’Chigeeng), who explains how preverbs placed before verb initials help convey direction, process, and nuance, sharing examples about movement toward/away from places and how speakers differ from learners, especially when it comes to abstract verbs like knowing. Alan discusses how breaking words into parts sparked his interest in morphology and describes using audio resources and picture-based drills for teaching. Rochelle and Dené reflect that since English lacks these motion markers it can be challenging for learners to incorporate them effectively.    Note Basil Johnston recordings and resources are available at winterspiritcreations.com

  5. Jun 23

    Ep.8 Word Parts with Friends

    Learning Moments, Corrections, and Summer Language Inspiration Rochelle and Dené emphasize they are not authorities, they share a few corrections from previous episodes and announce their podcast was selected as one of 16 projects in the Indigenous Screen Office podcasting program. They highlight that summer is a great time for language learning and share clips from several inspiring friends on their favorite word parts and words, including... Alicia Corbiere from Maajiibizadaa https://www.facebook.com/people/Maajiibizadaa/61574405190568/ Jojo Kewayosh-Deleary Miss Potawatomi ⁠https://www.instagram.com/miss.potawatomi.2526/ Esbikenh from ⁠https://www.youtube.com/@barbara_nolan Miigwanaabiikwe (Jess) from The Language (podcast) ⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-language/id1626000171 Gaagige Ganawendamaang Anishinaabemowin ⁠https://gaagige.ca

    Ep.8 Word Parts with Friends

  6. Jun 9

    Ep 7: Conditions of the Body

    Conditions of the body is a pattern built from three parts: a descriptive initial, a body-part medial (nose, foot, etc.) and a final -e. They describe how this pattern helps learners understand Anishinaabemowin’s verb-based descriptiveness, leverage familiar body-parts, and describe animals, family members, and medical situations.  Quizlet - https://tinyurl.com/2h29e56z  Aaniin Gaa-izhiseyan? will be available online https://www.wakingupojibwe.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Digital-Edition-Aaniin-Gaa-izhiseyan-What-Happened-to-You.pdf through https://www.wakingupojibwe.ca/ Talking Gookom's Language (book) by Patricia M. Ningewance Book Gookom’s Language: Learning Ojibwe - Mazinaate Rochelle held up was made by Ogimaagwanebiik (Nancy Jones) with OOG https://ojibwemotaadidaa.weebly.com/

    Ep 7: Conditions of the Body

  7. May 26

    Ep 6: What are Medials? ( -aabiig)

    In this episode Dené and Rochelle explore medials—middle word parts that can be hard for English speakers to recognize—and discuss how medials create more specific, “elegant” expressions. They outline some categories including: classifiers, incorporated nouns, environmental medials. They focus on -abiig- (string-like), sharing a clip from an interview with Alan Corbiere and give practical examples involving yarn, cords and cables, and even body parts.

    Ep 6: What are Medials? ( -aabiig)

  8. May 12

    Ep 5: More on finals and laughing (-aapi)

    Continuing the discussion of Anishinaabemowin finals this episode focuses on the final -aapi, used for many kinds of laughing. Guest Co-hosts Kay and Norman introduce us to a variety of words, such as laughing happily, bursting out laughing, giggling, falling over laughing, and farting from laughing. Dené and Rochelle discuss when they use these words and encourage everyone to do some laughing this week and try out a new -aapi word. Rochelle recorded at https://www.ziibiinglab.org/

  9. Apr 28

    Ep 4: What are verb finals?

    This week Rochelle and Dené discuss verb “finals.” They discuss how recognizing them helps learners identify verb types and related words, and why finals are crucial for distinguishing categories such as intransitive, transitive, animate and inanimate verbs. Using examples, they show other information found in finals, including actions (running, dancing, singing), causation (by heat, by hand, by tools), perceptions (sound/taste/feel), and landscape or weather-related verbs.

  10. Apr 14

    Ep 3: More on Initials (Minw-)

    Dené and Rochelle focus on the initial mino/minw/min which means good, but also can extend beyond simple judgment to meanings like pleasant, positive, happily, doing something well, fitting well and being comfortable. They explore why Os and Ws are good to pay attention to while developing your own pronunciation and why minw- looks and sounds different sometimes. They emphasize listening to speakers in your community to guide your pronunciation.

  11. Mar 31

    Ep 2: What are initials? (baashk-)

    This episode explores “initials,” word parts that begin verbs and can add meanings like extent, direction, or manner. Using the initial “baashk-” as an example, they discuss  literal “burst/explosion”, and figurative meanings, sudden, intense emotions or events (e.g., bursting into tears or laughter, sudden rain). They also share humorous learner cautions, including double meanings and dictionary translations.

  12. Mar 17

    Introduction episode

    Dené and Rochelle share their background as adult Anishinaabemowin learners. They discuss Ojibwe word-building—initials, medials, and finals—and how word parts can clarify meaning. They emphasize that they are not experts, and they expect to make mistakes, but they hope to reduce isolation for learners by discussing real learning journeys.

  • 12 Episodes

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
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About

Looking for someone to share your Anishinaabemowin learning journey with? Join Dené and Rochelle as they share stories from their experience as adult Anishinaabemowin learners, and follow along as they work to better understand Anishinaabemowin word parts (initials, medials, finals and more). Whether you call it Nishnaabemwin, Anishinaabemowin, Saulteaux, Nakawemowin, or Ojibwe - We can all get closer to our learning goals if we work together.

Information

  • Creator
    anishinaabemowinwordparts
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    12
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2026 All rights reserved.
  • Show Website
    Anishinaabemowin Word Parts

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