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| A Bit About Michif |
| Michif is the indigenous language of the Métis people
of Canada. Michif emerged over two hundred years ago as a mixed language,
combining Cree and French, with some additional borrowing from English and
First Nation languages such as Ojibwa and Assiniboine. In general, Michif
nouns (and their associated grammar) are French, while verbs (and their
associated grammar) are Cree. |
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| The Michif language is unusual among contact languages, in that, rather
than choosing to simplify its grammar, it chose the most complex and demanding
elements of the chief languages that went into it. This suggests that, instead
of haltingly using words from another's tongue, the people who devised Michif
were fully fluent in both French and Cree. |
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| Many professional linguists contest its existence since it
does not fit into their model of how a language, or a mixed language, should
look. It is therefore of the utmost importance that we study, describe,
and preserve this unique language. |
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| Once widely spoken, the language is on the verge of extinction,
with only about 1,000 Michif speakers left. |
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Today, Michif is currently being researched
and preserved by Métis Nations across the Homeland in a bid to
rescue an important part of our heritage. In 1998, the Métis National
Council received funding through Heritage Canada to begin work on the
preservation of the Michif language. |
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| To date, some regions such as Ile a la Crosse, Saskatchewan,
and the Manitoba Métis Federation, through the Métis Resource
Center in Winnipeg, have produced Michif Dictionaries. |
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Click here to jump to our Interactive
Games and Puzzles to help you learn Michif words and phrases. |
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