Anishinaabemowin Word Parts

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 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/

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.

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.

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.