Documenting Michif Variation
The Endangered Language Documentation Programme (ELDP) provides grants worldwide to for the linguistic documentation of endangered language and knowledge. Grantees create multimedia collection of endangered languages. These collections are preserved and made freely available through the Endangered Languages Archive (ELAR) housed at the library of SOAS University of London.
Michif, the language of the Métis, is a contact language integrating French and Algonquian (Cree, Ojibwe) elements. Varieties are found in Canada (Manitoba, Alberta, Saskatchewan) and the United States (North Dakota, Montana). With no comprehensive grammar of any variety and fewer than 1,000 elderly speakers, Michif is both under-described and highly endangered. Previous studies have primarily focused on varieties spoken in Manitoba, while neglecting those found elsewhere. In collaboration with Métis community members across western Canada, this project aims to provide a more comprehensive and permanent record in the form of a culturally and scientifically relevant corpus of spoken Michif.
Primary investigator: Olivia Sammons
Project Details
Location: Canada, Northern America, Americas
Organiser(s):
Endangered Languages Documentation Programme
Project partner(s): University of Alberta
Funder(s):
Arcadia
Funding received: £69,556.00
Commencement Date: 01/2007
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