WikiLang/Mi'kmaq Grammar
Note: all the words in the below tables are in Francis-Smith orthography, for more details, see Mi'kmaq Orthographies.
Word types
[edit | edit source]Like other Algonquian languages, Mi'kmaq language has three types of words: nouns, verbs and particles. The particles' type includes the pronouns.
Nouns
[edit | edit source]Mi'kmaq language has two genders for nouns which is called "animacy" for Algonquian languages. Those are "animate" and "inanimate". Animate nouns include persons, animals, spirits and large trees as well as some objects. While it is straightforward for persons and animals, it is not the case for all words. For example, in Mi'kmaq, the calf of the leg is an animate noun while the thigh is inanimate and a raspberry is animate while a strawberry is inanimate.
| Mi'kmaq word | English translation |
|---|---|
| aqam | snowshoe |
| awa'qi'kn | crooked knife |
| klitaw | raspberry |
| mg'sn | shoe |
| snawei | maple tree |
| tmaqan | smoking pipe |
| Mi'kmaq word | English translation |
|---|---|
| a's'tuo'kuom | church |
| ki'k | your house |
| klpisun | anchor |
| lasup | soup |
| pe'skewey | gun |
| sismo'qon | sugar |
Verbs
[edit | edit source]In Mi'kmaq verbs are either transitive or intransitive and both can be animate or inanimate. The animacy of intransitive verbs depends on the animacy of the subject they refer to. For example, the Mi'kmaq verb "she moves fast" is intransitive animate while the verb "it moves fast" is intransitive inanimate. For transitive verbs, it is the animacy of the object that determines the animacy of the verb. For example, the verb "I pull him" is transitive animate while the verb "I pull it" is transitive inanimate. Note that we assume here that "it" is an inanimate Mi'kmaq word, but remember that some objects are also animate words.
| Mi'kmaq word | English translation | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Alasumteket | He/she walks through snow | Intransitive animate |
| Ekuma'toq | He/she anchors it (inanimate object) | Transitive inanimate |
| Etlatalk | He/she is eating | Intransitive animate |
| Malqutk | He/she eats it (inanimate food) | Transitive inanimate |
| Malqomatl | He/she eats it (animate food) | Transitive animate |
| Meni'kwet | He/she strips off birch bark | Intransitive animate |
Particles
[edit | edit source]Particles is the third word type in Algonquian languages, including Mi'kmaq. Since pronouns in Mi'kmaq are not inflected, they are considered as the same word type as particles.
| Mi'kmaq word | English translation |
|---|---|
| aqq | and |
| ala' | that |
| ki'l | you |
| nankmiw | immediately |
| ni'n | I |
| ula' | this |