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I want to talk about language learning for a bit. It’s always been important to me and something I feel a calling to. But, it’s also very personal and vulnerable. 1/13
I was raised hearing and speaking Anishinaabemowin. My mama had 2 kids under 2 and I spent at least 50% of the first 5 years of my life in my Kookoo’s house. She spoke a mix of Anishinaabemowin and English to me. 2/13
When I started school when I was 4 or 5, she stopped speaking to me in the language. I learned much later that it was probably a trauma response from residential school. 3/13
But, at that time, all I knew was just that we didn’t talk that way anymore. And, it was painful. But, I was resilient and just went with it. 4/13
Fast forward to university when I started taking language classes and realized all of sudden how lucky I was to have the language in my ear and how many words I knew. 5/13
It took 20 years to realize what a gift language was. So, I worked to try and strengthen it. But, also there was always so much other work to do. It became a secondary or tertiary priority. 6/13
I always felt like I didn’t do enough to try and be fluent. Nobody made me feel that way, it was just internalized. 7/13
This Friday, my Amplify episode will air and a lot of my personal life will be on display. But, the thing I’ve been most self-conscious about was how I sounded speaking my language. 8/13
I don’t want to sound dumb and I don’t want to be made fun of. I have found that even though teasing is a super important part of who we are, it holds a precarious place in language learning. 9/13
But, I listened to the episode tonight and cried at the fact I could say anything at all. I was proud at my jilted, mixed dialect attempt at saying something my Kookoo would maybe understand. 10/13
So, I’ve decided instead of being self-conscious about how I sound, I’m going to just be proud and hope that it encourages others to practice. Let’s say whatever we can to each other in our languages. 11/13
We’re all learning. We’re all going to make mistakes. But, say what you know. Any little word. Start there. And if someone says something and you don’t know, ask what it means. 12/13
Our languages are beautiful.
Ekosi.
Miigwech
13/13
Ekosi.
Miigwech
13/13
Ok also one more thing lol.
It’s my Kookoo’s 96th birthday today.
It’s my Kookoo’s 96th birthday today.
