Ojibwe and Cree Grammar Summary

Publisher: Ministry of Education Ontario
Publication date: 2002
Number of pages: 128This course briefly introduces some of the central ideas of Algonquian grammar, as they pertain especially to teachers of the languages (Ojibwe and Cree). Topics includethe sound system (phonology and orthography), and the systems of morphology (word structure), syntax (sentence structure and function), and discourse (textual structure and function). The emphasis in all instruction is on the four key skills of language learners, speaking, listening, reading and writing, and how a knowledge of grammar can help Algonquian language teachers to be as effective as possible. The first week of the course examines the sound systems of the various dialects of Ojibwe and Cree, and the most popular roman and syllabic orthographies in use in Ontario. The second week introduces the classification of parts of speech, focus especially on nouns, pronouns, and verbs. Each of these types is explicated in terms of its grammatical properties. The third week considers the various sentence-types that commonly occur in Ojibwe and Cree, as well as examining the linguistic resources in Algonquian languages for expressing functional notions such as time, circumstance, quantification, manner, and location. This course briefly introduces some of the central ideas of Algonquian grammar, as they pertain especially to teachers of the languages (Ojibwe and Cree). Topics includethe sound system (phonology and orthography), and the systems of morphology (word structure), syntax (sentence structure and function), and discourse (textual structure and function). The emphasis in all instruction is on the four key skills of language learners, speaking, listening, reading and writing, and how a knowledge of grammar can help Algonquian language teachers to be as effective as possible. The first week of the course examines the sound systems of the various dialects of Ojibwe and Cree, and the most popular roman and syllabic orthographies in use in Ontario. The second week introduces the classification of parts of speech, focus especially on nouns, pronouns, and verbs. Each of these types is explicated in terms of its grammatical properties. The third week considers the various sentence-types that commonly occur in Ojibwe and Cree, as well as examining the linguistic resources in Algonquian languages for expressing functional notions such as time, circumstance, quantification, manner, and location.