Researchers

Julie Brittain, Marguerite MacKenzie, Bill Jancewicz

Personnel

Naskapi Development Corporation staff: Silas Nabinacaboo, Alma Chemaganish, Phil Einish

Description

In the Naskapi community of Kawawachikamach, located near Schefferville in northern Quebec, everyone speaks their Aboriginal language, and children are still learning it as a first language. Nevertheless, since there are only 600 Naskapi speakers, and they are surrounded by English, French and Innu-aimun, the language is somewhat endangered. Our research project is documenting the grammar of the language (which is very different from English or French). Chapters on the extensive verb paradigms, the noun and questions have been completed. In addition, a set of audio-recordings made of Naskapi elder John Peastitute in 1968 are being transcribed into the (Naskapi) syllabic writing system and translated into English. These texts are rich sources of vocabulary items, contributing new words to the Naskapi dictionary and example sentences for the grammar. The community elders are eager to have all Canadians appreciate the richness of the Naskapi oral tradition.

Links

Naskapi Lexicon
Naskapi community website
Cree-Innu linguistic atlas

Selected Publications

2005 “Two Wolverine Stories”, Julie Brittain and Marguerite MacKenzie, in Brian Swann (ed.), Algonquian Spirit 121-158. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press.

2004 “Umayichîs.” Julie Brittain and Marguerite MacKenzie, in Brian Swann (ed.), Voices from Four Directions: Contemporary Translations of the Native Literatures of North America, 572-90. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press.

2001 Brittain, Julie. The Morphosyntax of the Algonquian Conjunct Verb: A Minimalist Approach. Outstanding Dissertations in Linguistics Series. New York: Garland (Routledge).

2001 “Obviation and coreference relations in Cree and Naskapi.” In Linguistica Atlantica 23, pages 69-91.

1994 Naskapi Lexicon: Volume 1 Naskapi- English/French 431 pp., Volume 2 English-Naskapi 650 pp., Volume 3 français-naskapi 648 pp., Marguerite MacKenzie and Bill Jancewicz, eds., Schefferville: Naskapi Development Corporation.

2002 "Applied computer technology in Cree and Naskapi language programs." Bill Jancewicz and Marguerite MacKenzie, Language Learning and Technology 6.2:83-91 (web journal http://llt.msu.edu/vol6num2/jancewicz/default.html).

2002 "Building a community language development team with Quebec Naskapi." Bill Jancewicz, Marguerite MacKenzie, George Guanish and Silas Nabinacaboo, in Barbara Burnaby and John Reyhner (eds.), Language Across the Community, 77-84. Flagstaff: Northern Arizona University. (also available at http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~jar/ILAC/ILAC_8.pdf)

BLACKSMITH, Louise, author; NABINICABOO, Silas, translator; JANCEWICZ, Bill, editor. 2006. Naskapi conversation manual = Manuel de conversation Naskapie. Kawawachikamach, Quebec, Canada: NDC Translation Department. 29 pages + 1cd.

GUANISH, George; JANCEWICZ, Bill; MACKENZIE, Marguerite; NABINICABOO, Silas, authors. 2002. "Building a community language development team with Québec Naskapi." In Indigenous Languages Across the Community, Barbara Burnaby and Jon Reyhner. pages 77-84. Flagstaff: Northern Arizona University.

JANCEWICZ, Bill; MACKENZIE, Marguerite, authors. 2002. "Applied computer technology in Cree and Naskapi language programs." Language Learning and Technology 6(2): 83-91. http://llt.msu.edu/vol6num2/jancewicz/default.html

JANCEWICZ, Bill, author. 2000. "Naskapi discourse: analysis of a contemporary text." In Papers of the 31st Algonquian conference, John D. Nichols (ed.). pages 161-199. S.l.: s.n.

 JANCEWICZ, Bill, author. 1998. "Developing language programs with the Naskapi of Québec." In Proceedings of the second FEL conference: endangered languages—what role for the specialist?, N. Ostler (ed.). pages 25-32. Bath, UK: The Foundation for Endangered Languages. 

JANCEWICZ, Bill, author. 1998. "Nominalizations in Naskapi: production and inflection." In Papers of the 28th Algonquian Conference, David H. Pentland(ed.). pages 181-199. S.l.: University of Manitoba.

JANCEWICZ, Bill; MACKENZIE, Marguerite, authors. 1998. "Preverbs in Naskapi: function and distribution." In Papers of the 28th Algonquian Conference, David H. Pentland (ed.). . pages. S.l.: University of Manitoba.

JANCEWICZ, Bill. author. 2011. "Related language Translation: Naskapi and East Cree" In Born in the Blood: On Native American Translation. pages 109-137. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press.