Foreign Language Study

A user-friendly guide that teaches the core Nakoda vocabulary and how to use it in conversation

Practising Nakoda contains basic Nakoda vocabulary, organized into 30 themes (such as animals, clothing, directions, and time) and divided into sections meant to enhance daily and ceremonial communication (including dances, ceremonies, and ceremonial clothing). The guide provides the basic words for every theme from which the reader can forge a general view of word formation patterns.

In a thematic dictionary, words are not organized alphabetically but are grouped according to the root element or their meaning. Since Nakoda is a polysynthetic language where words are often built up with many elements that attach to the root, this is a necessary format that enhances the learner’s “morphological awareness.” The guide will help learners identify the root of each word, along with the “morphemes,” critical to the successful learning of the Nakoda language, and the comprehension of complex vocabulary.

Speaking Cree in the Home, Belinda Daniels and Andrea Custer provide an introductory text to help families immerse themselves, their children, and their homes in nēhiyawēwin—the Cree language.
 
Despite the colonial attacks on Cree culture, language, and peoples, Custer and Daniels remind readers that the traditional ways of knowing and transferring knowledge to younger generations have not been lost and can be revived in the home, around the table, every day.
 
Speaking Cree in the Home is an approachable, hands-on manual that helps to re-forge connections between identity, language, family, and community—by centering Indigenous knowledge and providing Cree learners and speakers with a practical guide to begin their own journey of reclaiming and revitalizing Cree in the home.
 
Readers are guided through methods for language learning, the basics of reading Cree and Standard Roman Orthography, pronunciation of vowels, engaging language-learning games, and examples of high-frequency words and phrases that can easily be incorporated into daily routines and taught to children young and old.
 

Anihšināpēmowin / Beginning Saulteaux is an introductory look at one of the most widely spoken of all North American Indigenous languages, regionally known as Saulteaux, Ojibway, Ottawa (Odawa), Chippewa, and Algonquian. In an easy-to-use and easy-to-read series of lessons, both designed for self-study or for use in the classroom, Beginning Saulteaux will guide beginners through the language’s grammatical structures and spelling systems, as well as everyday terms and phrases. The book grounds the language in both traditional and contemporary contexts, and sheds light on the Saulteaux world view. For example, there is no word for good-bye in the language, so upon parting people will usually say Kika-wāpamin mīnawā, meaning “I’ll see you again.”

The third in our Indigenous Languages for Beginners series, Beginning Saulteaux is an invaluable resource produced in consultation with Elders, Language Keepers, and community members, and continues our commitment to revitalizing Indigenous languages.

A new edition of a seminal textbook to support Cree language study

Cree: Language of the Plains is a comprehensive educational resource, offering a broad range of learning materials that is easily accessible to Cree language learners. This new edition provides an updated and redesigned language textbook, and is linked to Cree language audio labs and a Cree language workbook available online.

Language labs are also available as podcasts, available at uregina.ca/open-access or by searching “Cree Language of the Plains” on your favorite podcast app.

Nakón-i’a wo! Beginning Nakoda is a language resource designed to help revitalize and document Nakoda, now spoken in Montana and Saskatchewan. 

Written for beginning learners of Nakoda (also known as Assiniboine), this workbook, arranged thematically, provides a Nakoda/English lexicon, a vocabulary, a table of kinship terms, a glossary of linguistic terminology, and exercises to do after each lesson. This book was made possible with the assistance of Elders and Language Keepers of the Nakoda Nation: Armand McArthur and Wilma Kennedy, Main Consultants; with additional contributions by Pete Bigstone, Leona Kroscamp, Freda O'Watch, and Ken Armstrong.