A Language of Our Own: The Genesis of Michif, the Mixed Cree-French Language of the Canadian Mi'Atis

by Peter Bakker

Overview

The Michif language — spoken by descendants of French Canadian fur traders and Cree Indians in western Canada — is considered an "impossible language" since it uses French for nouns and Cree for verbs, and comprises two different sets of grammatical rules. Bakker uses historical research and fieldwork data to present the first detailed analysis of this language and how it came into being.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780195097122
Publisher:	Oxford University Press, USA
Publication date:	06/28/1997
Series:	Oxford Studies in Anthropological Linguistics Series , #10
Edition description:	REVISED
Pages:	336
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.00(d)

Table of Contents

Preface		ix	(1)
Acknowledgments		x	(3)
Remarks on Spelling		xiii	(2)
Abbreviations		xv	(2)
Maps		xvii
1 Introduction		3	(25)
The Problem of Michif		3	(1)
Short Structural Sketch of Michif		4	(5)
The Place of Michif in the Study of Language Contact		9	(3)
Some Hypotheses on the Genesis of Michif		12	(13)
Conclusions		25	(1)
Outline of the Book		26	(2)
2 European-Amerindian Contact in the Fur Trade		28	(24)
Native Peoples in North America		29	(2)
The French		31	(7)
Native Peoples in the West		38	(7)
The Fur Trade Companies		45	(4)
Contacts with Native Women		49	(1)
Summary and Conclusions		50	(2)
3 The Metis Nation: Origin and Culture		52	(26)
The Emergence of a Metis Identity		53	(8)
The Metis as an Ethnic Group		61	(11)
Metis Languages		72	(4)
Numbers of Speakers of Michif		76	(1)
Summary and Conclusions		76	(2)
4 Grammatical Sketch of Michif		78	(40)
The Two Phonological Systems		80	(3)
Phonological Convergence		83	(3)
Morphology and Syntax		86	(30)
Summary		116	(2)
5 Variation in Michif		118	(43)
Introduction		118	(3)
Method		121	(1)
The Michif-speaking Communities		122	(8)
The Michif Speakers: Their Knowledge of Cree and French		130	(3)
Language Variation across Linguistic Categories		133	(11)
Ile-a-la-Crosse French-Cree versus Michif		144	(5)
Influence from Cree and French on Michif		149	(7)
French and Cree in Contact: The Three Types		156	(2)
Conclusions		158	(3)
6 Cree-French Language Mixture: Types and Origin		161	(31)
Red River Metis Language Use in the Past		161	(15)
The Origin of the Northwest Saskatchewan Dialect of French-Cree (Ile-a-la-Crosse)		176	(3)
Code Mixing with Algonquian Languages		179	(11)
Conclusions		190	(2)
7 Ethnogenesis and Language Genesis: A Model		192	(22)
Introduction		192	(1)
"New" Languages: Pidgins, Creoles, and Mixed Languages		192	(3)
Mixed Languages: An Overview		195	(7)
Mixed Languages: Generalities and Types		202	(1)
Sociolinguistic and Linguistic Typology of Mixing: Language Intertwining		203	(10)
Summary and Conclusions		213	(1)
8 The Intertwining of French and Cree		214	(34)
History of Algonquian Morphological Studies		214	(4)
Morphology of Cree: Nouns and Verbs		218	(6)
Morphology of French		224	(3)
The Intertwining of French and Cree		227	(19)
Conclusions: Cree Morphology and Michif		246	(2)
9 The Source Languages of Michif: French, Cree, and Ojibwe		248	(29)
Introduction		248	(1)
The French Component of Michif		248	(6)
The Cree Component of Michif		254	(10)
The Ojibwe Component of Michif		264	(6)
Michif: Ojibwe, French, and Cree Come Together		270	(5)
Conclusions		275	(2)
10 The Genesis of Michif		277	(4)
Notes		281	(6)
References		287	(18)
Index of Languages, Personal Names, and Geographical Names		305	(7)
Subject Index		312

Editorial Reviews

"Bakker's work is of great originality and erudition—and even greater ambition: there has been no comparable attempt to deal with an issue that is so intractable and at the same time of such surpassing interest for the theory of language contact and linguistic theory itself."—H.C. Wolfart, University of Manitoba

"A major contribution, this book presents a sensible, intensively researched solution to a problem that has long challenged scholars....Linguists, historians, and all students of Métis culture and history will be much in debt to Peter Bakker for his analytical breakthroughs in this field."—Jennifer S.H. Brown, University of Winnipeg

From the Publisher