The Language

"When we speak the language to each other at home" is the translation of today's episode. Host Mskwaankwad interviews Jess about her family's efforts to raise their 3 year old son in the language at home. Stay tuned for a special guest on the last 10 seconds!

Aan'kinootmaageng ("Awn ki note maw gang") is one way to say "translating" in the language. It's not as easy as it sounds, and there is no, one way to do so. Today we talk about the pitfalls of translating and how we work with and around them. 

Mskwaankwad talks us through his journey in the field of linguistics, including  its usefulness to Indigenous language revitalization, its pitfalls, and everything else in between.  Today's episode, "En'kamgak gchi-kinoomaage-gamgoong (En-kum-guck chi ki-no-maw-geh gum-gohng)" translates to "What happens in the big school (university)."

Greetings from immersion. We check in half way through the two week immersion program called Eshki-Nishnaabemjig and share our tired but grateful reflections. 

What makes a good immersion good? Today we talk about the successes of the Eshki-Nishnaabemjig Immersion Program and how to run immersion for grown ups. Eshki-Nishnaabemjig means new/young speakers of the language. 

Ezhi-nokiimgak Anishinaabemwin (How Anishinaabemwin Works). This is one way to say "grammar" in the language. Today we try to make a compelling case for how grammar study can drastically improve an adult learner's fluency and understanding. 

Negaabnigyaang wii-kinoomaagziyaang ezhi-Nishnaabemong, or "What stops us from learning how to speak the language." In this episode, Jessica and Mskwaankwad talk about obstacles and barriers that hold us back from learning. Getting started can be tough, and we hope that talking about it is helpful to those that need the extra encouragement. You can do it!

It was just one year ago today, on May 27th, 2021, when Tk'emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation announced to the world that they had uncovered 215 children’s graves at the former Kamloops Indian Residential School. Since then, hundreds of other unmarked graves have come to light. We take this opportunity to reflect and share on what this means to us at The Language podcast. The Indian Residential School Survivors and Family hotline is available 24/7 and can be reached at 1-800-721-0066.

 For those interested in applying to Eshki-Nishnaabemjig Immersion, email [email protected] or look them up on facebook: @eshki.nishnaabemjig

The Language is a podcast dedicated to the revitalization of Anishinaabemowin. Our language urgently needs you to learn it and it is our hopes that we will recruit some new learners with this show. For this inaugural episode, hosts Jessica Miigwanaabiikwe Shonias and Mskwaankwad Menoomnii introduce themselves and share their language learning journeys that have gotten them to this point today.