Dino lingo canada10/29/2023 Michif is the most commonly spoken and most well-known Métis language, but it is not the only one. The Manitoba Métis Federation and the Métis Resource Centre, among others, have also produced Michif dictionaries and language programs. In 1998, Heritage Canada provided the Métis National Council with funding to work towards Michif preservation. Language revitalization efforts are underway by Métis communities in Canada. However, some language experts argue that the number is probably In the 2016 census, 1,170 people identified as Michif speakers. Michif persistence, however, is one indicator of the temporal depth and historical distinctiveness of Métis cultural traditions. Most Métis do not speak Michif, having grown up in settings where English or French dominated, such as at home or at places of business, or at residential school, whereĬhildren were forced to abandon their Indigenous tongue. In Manitoba, where 17.5 per cent of Michif speakers live, 80 speakers reported Michif as their mother tongue. Manitoba), the Qu’Appelle valley ( Saskatchewan) and the Grand Coteau du Missouri (North Dakota).Īccording to data from Statistics Canada in 2016, 235 people reported Michif as their mother tongue in Saskatchewan (41.9 per cent of those speakers live in this province). Michif is still spoken in areas where Métis bison hunters once wintered, such as around the Assiniboine and Qu’Appelle rivers ( There are a few spelling systems that currently exist, including the Turtle Mountain spelling used in North Dakota in the United States (the first system developed) and others created by linguists such as Rita Flamand, Robert Papen and Norman Fleury. Asideįrom local language differences, lack of a uniform spelling system can beĪttributed to Michif’s history as an oral language. Pronounced in regional dialects, creating much variation in spelling. This means is that Michif-speaking communities spell words as they are There is no standardized spelling system for Michif. Theįollowing examples of Michif phrases illustrate how French and Cree are combined in a unique way to create the language: Possessives, prepositions and negative elements come from both languages. Michif typically consists of French nouns, numerals, articles and adjectives, combined with Cree syntax, verb structures, demonstratives, question words and personal pronouns. However, few Michif speakers can understand or speak those languages fluently. Once dismissed as “poor French” or a disorderly mix of elements, Michif exhibits a complex language structure, which suggests that the people who spoke it were bilingual in Cree and French they may have also spoken other languages including Ojibwe. ( See also Buffalo Hunt.)Īlthough not spoken by all Métis (wealthy Métis, and many fishers, farmers and ranchers did not speak Michif), it became the language of the Métis people over the course of the 19th and 20th centuries. Historically, the Michif language was spoken mainly by Métis bison hunters at their wintering camps. Their offspring - the Métis - are said to have created the language on the Plains in the early 1800s by blending varieties of French and Cree - French Michif (or Métis French) and Plains Cree. Michif is one outgrowth of long contact between Cree and The term Michif can also refer to the Métis people themselves - the word stemming from the Plains pronunciation of Métif, meaning “of mixed blood.” In this article, Michif refers specifically to the Cree Michif language unless otherwise specified. Simply referred to as Michif, such as French Michif. This label is a means of distinguishing this particular language from other Métis languages that are also sometimes Rob is $148.Michif is a Métis language, sometimes called Cree Michif or Métis Cree. Thank you for your support.ĭepending on if you’re a regular reader of SEBG, you may or may not know that my girls are half-Filipino. By purchasing through these links, I may make a commission.
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