Looking for someone to share your Anishinaabemowin learning journey with?
Join Dené and Rochelle as they share stories from their experience as adult Anishinaabemowin learners, and follow along as they work to better understand Anishinaabemowin word parts (initials, medials, finals and more). Whether you call it Nishnaabemwin, Anishinaabemowin, Saulteaux, Nakawemowin, or Ojibwe - We can all get closer to our learning goals if we work together.
Using -wi and -wan finals that turn nouns into verbs, to be or become a certain kind of being or thing. This week we focus on the animate final -wi. It is added to nouns to create VAI verbs meaning “to be” a certain kind of person/being. Examples include identity (e.g., being Anishinaabe) and professions (doctor, chief, banker, storekeeper). It can also be used to describe something in the way that English does with “-y” adjectives (woody, muddy, greasy, icy). We discuss regional variation, sound changes when conjugated, and introduce the inanimate counterpart -wan for VII forms, showing how these patterns help learners expand speaking and narration practice.
29 Sept 2026
Ep 15: Colour Medials and Finals
Anishinaabemowin Word Parts: Color with Medials and Finals
Rochelle and Dené continue their colour series by expanding on finals (and medials) that you can be add to colour initials to form more expressive verbs. Examples of finals include including -aate for light (e.g., waabishkwaate), akone for flame (eg. miskwkone), naagwan/naagwad and naagozi for something appearing (eg. ozhaawashkonaagozi). They then introduce using medials (especially body parts, clothing, and land features) to build longer descriptive words, with examples for noses, hair, socks/shoes, clouds, land, sand, and small round objects. As always they emphasize regional variation, learner humility, and checking in with local speakers.
15 Sept 2026
Ep 14: Colour Initials
Rochelle and Dené introduce how Anishinaabemowin expresses colors through word parts and initials in particular. Recording in person for the first time and learning more about podcasting with support from the Indigenous Screen Office.
Colour initials include
miskw- red in miskwaa (inanimate) / miskozi (animate),
waabishk- white in waabishkaa/waabishkizi,
makadew- black in makadewaa/makadewizi.
They discuss ways to practice remembering object animacy through games. They also explore regional variation for blue/green and purple and how -aande/-aanzo as color finals can be used to create more specific colour words.
Highlighted in this episode is the Beam Paints’ color-naming project https://youtu.be/GQ6gubeUR4o?si=Bp3WUKEtJskO-62j
https://www.beampaints.com/
1 Sept 2026
Ep 13: Making and harvesting (-ike)
Turning Nouns into Verbs with the Anishinaabemowin Final -ike
Rochelle and Dené reconnect after the summer. With classes and community programs starting up for the fall, they encourage teachers and learners to keep going, support others, engage on Facebook, and spend time with speakers.
The episode’s focus is the verb final “-ike,” which turns nouns into VAI verbs. -ike means to make/produce/gather/harvest and can expand new learner vocabulary because you can add it to nouns that learners may already know (e.g. making bread, making coffee/ tea, harvesting rice/berries and even fish).
Rochelle and Dené demonstrate how to find “-ike” forms using the Ojibwe People’s Dictionary advanced search, and share their own understanding of the final and some commonly used -ike verbs.
To review the Ojibwe People’s Dictionary's -ike listing check out https://ojibwe.lib.umn.edu/word-part/ke-final
18 Aug 2026
Ep 12: Alan Corbiere (part 4)
Anishinaabemowin Word Parts: Alan Corbiere on Plant and Bird Names
In the fourth summer-session episode of Anishinaabemowin Word Parts, hosts Rochelle and Dené conclude their interview series with Alan Corbiere. Alan explains his interest in how beings are named, emphasizing the value of documenting and understanding Anishinaabe bird and plant names and their connection to morphemes. He notes that endings in tree terms may reflect an Anishinaabe classificatory system distinct from Western taxonomy, and why learners should do research and consult elders when learning and teaching tree and bird names. He shares some of his observations about regional variation and language change including examples involving apple trees, Blue jay/Canada jay, and sparrowhawk/nuthatch terms. The three also discuss how Latin-based English terms can help new learners understand Ojibwe's word-part structure.
The episode highlights two resources to be listed in show notes:
The Poplar River Plant Guide https://www.manitobamuseumshop.ca/shop.html?location_id=75207&product_id=462
The Plants Used by the Great Lakes Ojibwe https://www.miinojibwe.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Plants-1.pdf
4 Aug 2026
Ep 11: Alan Corbiere (part 3)
Morphology, Adult Immersion, and Intergenerational Transmission
In this, the third episode of the interview series with Alan Corbiere, Alan discusses how Anishinaabemowin’s descriptiveness comes from morphology, but the language is still often taught word-for-word. He also describes some hands-on morpheme-ordering activities inspired by Mohawk educator Brian Maracle, which ARP developed to help learners construct words.
Alan also summarizes Brian Maracle’s language revitalization reflections: prioritize local control by learners rather than institutions, use a “root word method” to teach thinking like speakers, and focus on young adults who become fluent, form families, and can reestablish intergenerational transmission.
The hosts reflect on learning from the efforts of other Indigenous language communities, taking risks and trying new things as learners and teachers, the limits of school-based programs, the need for community platforms to highlight/encourage learners and the importance of collective effort to create change and revitalize our language.
21 Jul 2026
Ep 10: Alan Corbiere (part 2)
Episode 10: Alan Corbiere on Morphology, Word Parts, and Learning Anishinaabemowin
Rochelle and Dené celebrate the 10th episode of Anishinaabemowin Word Parts and continue part two of their interview with Alan Corbiere from M’Chigeeng. They discuss how learning morphology and word parts helps learners understand and construct words, interpret unfamiliar words in context, and speak more descriptively. Alan shares stories of being corrected by his dad, figuring out words through morphemes, experimenting with creating phrases, and how Mary Ann Corbiere's courses and Basil Johnston's recordings helped him move beyond rote memorization. The hosts reflect on learner journeys, choosing reliable teachers, and preview an upcoming discussion of Mohawk adult immersion programs.
Note this episode is missing video due to technical issues.
7 Jul 2026
Ep 9: Alan Corbiere (Part 1)
Anishinaabemowin Word Parts: Interview with Alan Corbiere on Preverbs, Directionality, and Learning Resources
Hosts Rochelle and Dené introduce their interview with Alan Corbiere (Anishinaabe from M’Chigeeng), who explains how preverbs placed before verb initials help convey direction, process, and nuance, sharing examples about movement toward/away from places and how speakers differ from learners, especially when it comes to abstract verbs like knowing. Alan discusses how breaking words into parts sparked his interest in morphology and describes using audio resources and picture-based drills for teaching. Rochelle and Dené reflect that since English lacks these motion markers it can be challenging for learners to incorporate them effectively.
Note Basil Johnston recordings and resources are available at winterspiritcreations.com
23 Jun 2026
Ep.8 Word Parts with Friends
Learning Moments, Corrections, and Summer Language Inspiration Rochelle and Dené emphasize they are not authorities, they share a few corrections from previous episodes and announce their podcast was selected as one of 16 projects in the Indigenous Screen Office podcasting program. They highlight that summer is a great time for language learning and share clips from several inspiring friends on their favorite word parts and words, including... Alicia Corbiere from Maajiibizadaa https://www.facebook.com/people/Maajiibizadaa/61574405190568/
Jojo Kewayosh-Deleary Miss Potawatomi https://www.instagram.com/miss.potawatomi.2526/
Esbikenh from https://www.youtube.com/@barbara_nolan
Miigwanaabiikwe (Jess) from The Language (podcast) https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-language/id1626000171
Gaagige Ganawendamaang Anishinaabemowin https://gaagige.ca
9 Jun 2026
Ep 7: Conditions of the Body
Conditions of the body is a pattern built from three parts: a descriptive initial, a body-part medial (nose, foot, etc.) and a final -e. They describe how this pattern helps learners understand Anishinaabemowin’s verb-based descriptiveness, leverage familiar body-parts, and describe animals, family members, and medical situations.
Quizlet - https://tinyurl.com/2h29e56z
26 May 2026
Ep 6: What are Medials? ( -aabiig)
In this episode Dené and Rochelle explore medials—middle word parts that can be hard for English speakers to recognize—and discuss how medials create more specific, “elegant” expressions. They outline some categories including: classifiers, incorporated nouns, environmental medials. They focus on -abiig- (string-like), sharing a clip from an interview with Alan Corbiere and give practical examples involving yarn, cords and cables, and even body parts.
12 May 2026
Ep 5: More on finals and laughing (-aapi)
Continuing the discussion of Anishinaabemowin finals this episode focuses on the final -aapi, used for many kinds of laughing. Guest Co-hosts Kay and Norman introduce us to a variety of words, such as laughing happily, bursting out laughing, giggling, falling over laughing, and farting from laughing. Dené and Rochelle discuss when they use these words and encourage everyone to do some laughing this week and try out a new -aapi word.
Rochelle recorded at https://www.ziibiinglab.org/
28 Apr 2026
Ep 4: What are verb finals?
This week Rochelle and Dené discuss verb “finals.” They discuss how recognizing them helps learners identify verb types and related words, and why finals are crucial for distinguishing categories such as intransitive, transitive, animate and inanimate verbs. Using examples, they show other information found in finals, including actions (running, dancing, singing), causation (by heat, by hand, by tools), perceptions (sound/taste/feel), and landscape or weather-related verbs.
14 Apr 2026
Ep 3: More on Initials (Minw-)
Dené and Rochelle focus on the initial mino/minw/min which means good, but also can extend beyond simple judgment to meanings like pleasant, positive, happily, doing something well, fitting well and being comfortable. They explore why Os and Ws are good to pay attention to while developing your own pronunciation and why minw- looks and sounds different sometimes. They emphasize listening to speakers in your community to guide your pronunciation.
31 Mar 2026
Ep 2: What are initials? (baashk-)
This episode explores “initials,” word parts that begin verbs and can add meanings like extent, direction, or manner. Using the initial “baashk-” as an example, they discuss literal “burst/explosion”, and figurative meanings, sudden, intense emotions or events (e.g., bursting into tears or laughter, sudden rain). They also share humorous learner cautions, including double meanings and dictionary translations.
17 Mar 2026
Introduction episode
Dené and Rochelle share their background as adult Anishinaabemowin learners. They discuss Ojibwe word-building—initials, medials, and finals—and how word parts can clarify meaning. They emphasize that they are not experts, and they expect to make mistakes, but they hope to reduce isolation for learners by discussing real learning journeys.
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