A Concise Dictionary of Nakoda (Assiniboine) (Studies in the Native Languages of the Americas)

Collette, Vincent

ISBN 10: 149622972X / ISBN 13: 9781496229724

Published by University of Nebraska Press, 2023

About this Item

Seller Inventory # 26390177893

Bibliographic Details

• Title: A Concise Dictionary of Nakoda (Assiniboine) (Studies in the Native Languages of the Americas)
• Publisher: University of Nebraska Press
• Publication Date: 2023
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 149622972X
• ISBN 13: 9781496229724
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: New

About this title

Synopsis

A Concise Dictionary of Nakoda (Assiniboine) brings to life the hopes and dreams of Nakoda (Assiniboine) elders. The Nakoda language—also known as Assiniboine, an Ojibwe ethnonym meaning “Stone Enemy”—is an endangered Siouan language of the Mississippi Valley branch spoken in southern Saskatchewan and northern Montana. Nakoda belongs to the Dakotan dialectal continuum, which includes Dakota, Lakota, and Stoney.

The fieldwork for this project was done between 2018 and 2020 with Elder Wilma Kennedy, one of the last fluent speakers living in Carry The Kettle, Saskatchewan. The volume brings together many valuable stories and colorful expressions as well as archaic words that do not appear in any known sources of the language. Particular care was taken to obtain the derivatives of many verbal stems, along with sentences for many of the verbs, adverbs, and other function words.

More than a list of words, this volume contains definitions and standard spellings along with a wealth of grammatical information. The dictionary contains more than 6,000 Nakoda-to-English translations, more than 3,000 English-to-Nakoda translations, and more than 1,500 sentences that will be extremely helpful for those interested in mastering the different usages of words and the various sentence patterns of the language. This dictionary of Nakoda can be used by anyone interested in learning or would like to refresh their knowledge of the language.

About the Author

Vincent Collette is a visiting professor of linguistics at the University of Québec at Chicoutimi. He is the editor of Nakón-i’a wo!: Beginning Nakoda and other works. Wilma Kennedy (Heȟága hóta’į wį́yą, Echo of the Elk Woman; 1923–2020) was an educator, language activist, and knowledge keeper of the Nakoda community. She is the coauthor of Nakón-i’a wo!: Beginning Nakoda.