Lesson 2 of 18 · Unit 1: Foundations
Language Family & Yes/No Questions
Where Ojibwe sits among its relatives — and how to turn a statement into a yes-or-no question.
By the end of this lesson you'll be introduced to
- What a language family is, in plain terms
- Where this course's materials place Ojibwe
- How this course marks a Yes/No question
- The difference between the two documented question particles
- 8 new words from this class day
What a language family is
Start here
Languages have relatives
NewLanguages aren't isolated. Some are related to each other — they share history, and that shows up in their words and grammar. Linguists group related languages into a language family, much the way you'd group relatives into a family.
Being in the same family doesn't mean speakers understand each other. It means the languages are connected, and that patterns you learn in one often rhyme with patterns in another.
Try it
What does it mean for two languages to be in the same language family?
Where this course places Ojibwe
This course
Ojibwe and the Algonquian family
NewThis course's materials place Ojibwe in the Algonquian language family, and name a set of languages related to it. That question turns up on the course's very first quiz, so it's worth knowing.
Language family
Algonquian
The notes give the number 29, written without distinguishing tribes from languages.
Languages this course names inside that family
- Ojibwethis course
- Ottawa
- Potawatomi
- Menominee
- Blackfeet
- Cheyenne
- Cree
- Meskwaki(also written Miskwaki)
- Delaware
- Shawnee
These are the languages this course's own materials name — the class notes list seven of them and the first quiz's answer key lists all nine. Other languages belong to the family too; this course simply doesn't name them, so neither does this page.
Applies to: what this course's own materials nameOther languages belong to this family too — these are the ones the course lists.
You'll sometimes hear Ojibwe described by region or variety. This course's materials don't name one, so this app doesn't either — rather than pick a label the source never used. What you learn here is what these particular materials document.
Quick look back
ReviewLast lesson you met verb classification: this course groups verbs using two grammatical properties — whether the things involved are animate or inanimate, and whether the verb takes an object. You don't need it again right now, but the questions coming up are built on verbs you've already seen classified this way.
How Yes/No questions are marked
New grammar
Asking a Yes/No question
NewA Yes/No question is one that can be answered with yes or no — “Is it nice?”, not “What day is it?”. English usually signals these by reordering words. This course's materials do it differently: they add a small separate word.
The notes call it a particle, and state the rule directly: the particle is na or ina, and it goes in the second position in the sentence. It stays its own word — it isn't stuck onto the verb.
The questions this class day documents
Onizhishin ina? (question particle)
Is it nice?
Particle in position 2.
Minwaagamii na? (question particle)
Does it taste good?
Particle in position 2.
Anishinaabe na (question particle) gidaaw?
Are you Anishinaabe/one of the people?
Particle in position 2.
Gidoojibwem ina? (question particle)
Do you speak Ojibwe?
Particle in position 2.
Try it
What is this documented question asking?
Onizhishin ina?
Applies to: Yes/No questionsThis is specifically about questions answerable with yes or no. Questions like “What day is it?” are formed differently, and this course covers them separately.
Try it
Where do the notes say the Yes/No question particle goes?
Choosing between na and ina
The pattern
So which one — na or ina?
NewThe class notes give both forms but don't say when to use each. The examples, though, are remarkably consistent — and the thing that changes is the sound at the end of the word just before the particle.
A longer write-up on Ojibwe verbs describes exactly that split — and adds that plenty of speakers simply use one form for everything. So this is a safe pattern to follow, not a rule you can catch someone breaking.
Word before it ends in a vowel
na
Mii na? (question particle)
Isn't it?
“Mii” ends in i
Minwaagamii na? (question particle)
Does it taste good?
“Minwaagamii” ends in i
9 documented examples in this course.
Word before it ends in a consonant
ina
Gidoojibwem ina? (question particle)
Do you speak Ojibwe?
“Gidoojibwem” ends in m
Gigikendaan ina? (question particle)
Do you know?
“Gigikendaan” ends in n
11 documented examples in this course.
How solid is this? The notes state that the particle is na or ina and that it goes second — but they never say how to choose between the two. The split above is a pattern we can see in the examples themselves: all 20 documented Yes/No questions in this course follow it. That's strong evidence, but it's an observation about this course's examples, not a rule the material states.
highlighted= the Yes/No question particle, shown in the same colour this site uses for particles everywhere else.
Try it
“Gimiwan” means “rain”. In this course's documented question built on it, which particle appears?
Try it
Now “Wiisini” — “he is eating, she is eating”. Which particle appears in its documented question?
Statement, then question
Here the same idea is documented twice — once as a plain statement, once as a question. Both forms are recorded separately in this course's materials, so you're seeing real pairs, not a form built by adding a particle.
Both forms are documented separately in this course — the question isn't built by adding ina to the statement here, it's recorded that way. The particle sits in position 2.
Both forms are documented separately in this course — the question isn't built by adding na to the statement here, it's recorded that way. The particle sits in position 2.
Both forms are documented separately in this course — the question isn't built by adding ina to the statement here, it's recorded that way. The particle sits in position 2.
New vocabulary
New8 words from this class day- View entry →AnishinaabeNoun
Anishinaabe / Ojibwe person
Needs review — the sources give more than one meaning for this word.
- View entry →MinwaagamiiVerb
it tastes good (liquid)
Needs review — the sources give more than one meaning for this word.
- View entry →Ode'Noun
his/her heart
- View entry →Ode'iminNoun
strawberry
- View entry →OjibweNoun
an Ojibwe/Chippewa person
- View entry →OnizhishinVerb
it is nice
Needs review — the sources give more than one meaning for this word.
- View entry →OodenaNoun
town
Also documented that day
Recorded from the classroom moment rather than this lesson's teaching sequence — every one is a full dictionary entry you can study.
Something the notes highlight
In the class notes, a shared piece is marked in bold across these four words:
- Ode' — his/her heart
- Ode'imin — strawberry
- Oodena — town
- Dewe'igan — drum
The notes never say why — they highlight the shared piece without explaining what it means or what it does. So this is worth noticing and filing away, not learning as a rule. It isn't on the quiz for that reason. This app records it as an unresolved item until the material explains it.
Review vocabulary
Reviewfrom earlier class daysTry it
What does this word mean?
Dewe'igan
Use what you learned
Your turn
A question you can now read
You met this one last lesson. Now you can see how it works: the particle is the second word, and the word before it ends in a vowel.
Anishinaabe na gidaaw?
Are you Anishinaabe/one of the people?
The last word of that sentence is only ever documented inside this one phrase — the materials never gloss it on its own or break it down. So this app shows the sentence as recorded and doesn't explain that word's parts.
Check your understanding
Mostly this lesson, plus a couple of questions from last time. Retake it as often as you like — your best result is kept.
Preparing your questions…
Finish this lesson
Work through the lesson's activities, then mark it complete. Your quiz score doesn't have to be perfect.
- Try the language-family check — not yet done
- Try the question-particle check — not yet done
- Try choosing between na and ina — not yet done
- Try the vocabulary check — not yet done
- Finish Check Your Understanding — not yet done
Source
Every Ojibwe word and sentence on this page comes from the material cited above, plus the course's first quiz for the language-family question. The English explanations were written for this app.