Page 24 - Beausoleil First Nation
P. 24
Our language teachers,
those who have dedicated so much
to sharing the language with
their hearts and souls, are our
champions, too.
The people in our community who speak Anishinaabemowin
have a very special way of thinking. In Anishinaabemowin,
many words represent concepts, so it is impossible to translate
the language into English word for word. One word might
paint a whole picture in an Anishinaabemowin speaker’s mind.
This means that how we think in the English language is very
different from how we think in Anishinaabemowin.
Our language was once completely oral—we did not write in
the language—but that has changed over time. We now have
a system of writing that goes back to the 1830s, but the real
communication in our language remains oral.
22 Beausoleil First Nation
9780176874933_int.indd 22 2022-06-13 8:55 AM
