Writing fuck yeah

A blacksmith is a generalist, a person who uses tools and fire to work iron.  Some blacksmiths work more specifically, so you get, say, an architectural blacksmith, who focuses more or less exclusively on things like gates, rails, fences, or an artist blacksmith, who makes wacky sculptures or what have you.  These days, though, that’s a pretty blurry line.  ‘Blacksmith’ is a pretty damn broad term, but it’s nowhere near broad enough to cover everything encompassed in ‘metalworker’, which is how I often see it used.  There are a LOT of different skills for working metal, and no one knows them all.  Some other terms:

A farrier shoes horses.  They may make the shoes, or they may buy them and then size them, but they actually do the shoeing.  Unless the blacksmith is also a farrier, they don’t know shit about horses’ hooves and are not qualified to deal with them and probably don’t want to.

A blacksmith works IRON, usually almost exclusively.  They might work with bronze or do a bit of brazing, but those are really separate skillsets.  If you work, say, tin and/or pewter, you are in fact a whitesmith.  You could also be a silversmith or a coppersmith, and so on.

Knifemakers and swordsmiths have their own highly specialized and fairly complex specialties, and usually a blacksmith wouldn’t mess with that unless they want to pick up a new skillset or if they’re really the only game going for a long way around.  By the same token, a swordsmith might never have learned the more general blacksmithing skills.  They’re not the same thing is what I’m trying to say here.  Likewise armorers.  There’s overlap but it’s not the same thing.

If you make metal items via molds and casting, you work at a foundry and are a foundryman.

In fantasy, though, it’s all different.  Tolkien’s dwarves have an average lifespan of 250, so they have much longer to pick up skills (and live in an environment where probably it’s much easier and encouraged for them to do so: they live in cities that are concentrated on providing made items and skills to other species: they aren’t a generalist society, very unlike any human institution I can think of.)  They also ‘make mighty spells’ so very unlike real medieval blacksmiths, they are probably working metal with enchantment as well as tongs. 

We don’t know about their gender role situation, but I don’t think there’s anything in canon to say that the women aren’t making things (and even if there was, there are loads of dwarf cities that last for thousands of years, so no doubt there’s variation between them). 

Let’s talk first about the name!  Historically Smith would mean metal worker and the color would tell you what type of metal. Black is the designation for iron (because of the color it takes after being heated and cooled several times.)  Today Smith more generally means maker, but is still most commonly applied to metal workers.

And, as the OP said, if you need a tinker (tinsmith, also works pewter), silversmith (whitesmith), goldsmith (white- or yellow- smith), or coppersmith (red-, brown-, or green- smith), that’s a different discipline.  Not that a blacksmith has no idea how to work those metals, but his knowledge will likely be limited to how it applies to his general discipline.  For example, weapons and armor made for nobility might have precious metals used to decorate them.  (Aside: The techniques for iron vs copper are complete opposites and one of my favorite modern blacksmithing proverbs is about brass, an alloy made with copper and zinc.  It runs, “Brass, brass, what a pain in the… brain.” )

One of my choice historical bits is talking about medieval blacksmithing in England. This is something we actually have records of because of the guild structure. There were so many blacksmiths in urbanized areas that your permit to open a shop would permit you to make only a specific set of items. Pin drawers, chain makers, armorers, swordsmiths, farm tools, nails, wainwright (hoops for wagon wheels or barrels), farriers (horse shoeing)… all of those might be different shops.  And that isn’t even a complete list!  (Naturally there was a lot of overlap on high-demand items.) 

But even better, Yorkshire records that show us that women were regularly involved in the trade!  It was still male-dominated BUT several of the disciplines (nails, pins, chains) were almost exclusively women!  Women owned blacksmith shops, took apprentices, worked the forge - all of the things that mark them as “real” blacksmiths.  One of my favorite anecdotes is from William Hutton’s History of Birmingham; he encountered a nailer’s shop in which he noted “one or more females, stripped of their upper garments, and not overcharged with the lower, wielding the hammer with all the grace of the sex.”

Come yell at me about blacksmithing!  I want to learn what you know and I’d love to answer any of your questions!  I have a lot of prepared lecture snippets on a variety of smithing details:

Technological setbacks due to loss of historic metallurgical discoveries.

Why “damascus” swords are supposed to be the best.

Cultural and historical reasons for large, slow, strokes with a heavy hammer (like you see in video games) vs. small, quick strokes with a smaller hammer (like you see on YouTube).

Blacksmithing terms in modern English.  (”Keep your temper” being the most common.)

How settling America changed the Western picture to males-only generalized blacksmithing

Economic comparisons of the cost to hire a blacksmith

Apprentice vs. Journeyman vs. Master

More about female blacksmiths

What to wear in the forge (modern or historical reenactment)

How-to on a variety of subjects

Blacksmithing in movies

Why Forged in Fire doesn’t give you an accurate picture of blacksmithing or the skills of the contestants

Metallurgy (the science of metals)

Eastern vs. Western blacksmithing (Surprise!  Japan and Europe are wildly different!)

What kitchen knives do you need?  And how do you keep them sharp?

My relatives (in Ojibwe)

My mom - Nimaamaa (newer term), ndoodoom or nikaa (traditional/older term)

My dad - Imbaabaa (newer term), ndedem or noozh (traditional/older term)

My parent(s) - Niniigiig(ook)

My grandma - Nookomis, Noo’koo (newer pronunciation,) Nookoomish (older pronunciation)

My grandpa - Nimishoomis (newer),  Nimishoomish (older) 

My uncle (paternal) - Nimishoome

My uncle (maternal) or father in law - Nizhise

My aunt (maternal) - Nimaamaayens (lit; little mother) (newer term), Ninoose (older term)

My aunt (paternal) - Nzhigosh 

My older brother(s) - Nisaye(yak)

My older sister(s) - Nimise(yak)

My younger sibling(s) - Nisiimens(ak)

My cousin - Ninimoshenh

My nephew(s) (paternal) - Ndoozim(ak)

My niece(s) (paternal) - Ndoozhimikwem(ak)

My nephew(s) (maternal) - Niningwan(ak)

My niece(s) or daughter in-law (maternal) -  Nsiimish(ak)

My wife (old lady) - Nmindimooyaa

My husband (old man) - Ndaakiwezii, Nkeweziinyim

My partner - Niwiijiwaagan, nwiidgemaagan

My child(s) - Niniijaanis(ak)

My son(s) - Nigozis(ak)

My daughter(s) - Ndaanis(ak)

My baby(s) - Nbebiim(ak) 

Newborn(s) - Oshki-yaans(ak)

My grandchild(s) - Ninoozis(ak)

My little grandchild(s) - Ninooseyens(ak) 

My friends - Nwiijkewenyik

Great grandparent or great grandchild(s) - Aanikoobijigan(ak)

My great granparent - Ndaankoobijigan(ak) (lit tied too), *a lot speakers just shorten it to daangoo

My great-great grandparent(s) - Ngichi-daankoobijigan(ak)

My boy/girlfriend (sweetheart) - Nbazgim or Niinimoos

Who is your grandfather? - Awenen Gimishoomish?

__is my grandfathers name - Izhinkaazo nimishoomish

__is my late grandfathers name - Nimishoomishipan

Who is grandmother? - Awenen koo’koo?

My late grandmothers name is - Nookooyipan

Who is your father? - Awenen koozh? or kibaa’paa

Cities - go near water!  freshwater lakes and rivers (rivers especially) are the best places for cities because A) source of water and B) travel and trade is much easier cus you can put your boats like right there.  Basically ever relevant city ever was built on a lake or a river.

for rivers in general - because gravity, rivers run from mountains (forming from melting snow and ice (this is why they get fat in spring–more stuff melting)) to lakes/ocean where they can empty out (and even lakes will have rivers leading out that eventually get to the ocean), which can help when mapping out where those start and end.  rivers are also much thinner and faster in steeper elevations and very slow and wide when the land is flat

mountains - i like to think of what the tectonic plates look like because that’s what makes mountains!  mountains are also never standalone they’re always in mountain ranges (archipelagos are really just underwater mountain ranges babey).  a cool trick I like to do is occasionally separate mountain ranges across continents, because over time the tectonic plates shifted and literally split the range in half.  These mountains are really old tho so they’ve eroded and therefore it makes them smaller and rounder (like the appalachians) as opposed to relatively young mountain ranges like the rocky mountains which have taller and sharper peaks

Another mountain trick: if your mountains run along the ocean, the ocean side of the mountains will get a LOT of rain while the other side will be very dry–almost desert-like, in fact.  think of temperate rainforests in British Columbia vs the drier conditions in the canadian prairies

forests - depends on how warm the area might be.  coniferous forests are found further north (before you hit the tree line, and then it’s only tundra onwards) but as you head south you get leafier trees, and the leaves tend to get larger too

If you think about general elevation too, you’ll have places that might be swampy (wet + lower).  if your world has an ice age like we did, then glaciers may have carved the land, leaving piles of soil in the south that was left when the ice receded and places where the bedrock has been bared north of that (like the Canadian Shield in Canada–the reason we see that is because of the glaciers)

You might also have a land that’s dotted in a shitton of freshwater lakes as well because the meltwater filled the holes that the glaciers scraped out (this is why canada has so many goddamn lakes)

and if the ice age was more recent than it was in our world, then you might not even have the forest re-growth and it could be a lot of open plains

Though, for fantasy, you can make the world operate on entirely different principles:

With that done, the actual topic of city placement can be covered by videos like this:

Or

Once you have your places, if you want help naming them in realistic ways, this video can help:

This one is on architecture, which is definitely a subset of cities:

But for a more relevant practical guide on making settlements realistic:

Here’s a quick guide for making demographics:

Air/Wind

Aerokinesis -manipulate the air, wind, and gas.

Aeroportation - teleport using air/wind currents.

Air Mimicry - transform into a cloud of gas, fog, or mist.

Atmokinesis - manipulate the weather by mixing water, fire, earth, air, and lightning/electricity.

Deoxygenation - suck up all the oxygen from a place.

Lung Adaptation - breath anywhere

Wind Generation - create blasts of air.

Divine Winds Manipulation - create and control heavenly winds.

Dark Wind Manipulation - create and control eerie winds.

Earth

Geokinesis - control, manipulate, and reshape the earth at will.

Atmokinesis - control and manipulate the weather by mixing water, fire, earth, air, and lightning/electricity.

Crystallokinesis - manipulate minerals and crystals.

Ferrokinesis… manipulate metal at will.

Fraxikinesis - manipulate burnt matter.

Geo-Thermokinesis - manipulate, control, and create lava, magma and volcanoes.

Golem Creation - make golems out of inanimate materials like rocks, wood, plants, magma, etc.

Granulation… can turn things into sand.

Halokinesis - control and manipulate salt.

Hyalokinesis - control and manipulate glass.

Koniokinesis - manipulate and control dust particles.

Plassikinesis - manipulate and control all forms of plastic.

Psammokinesis - can control and manipulate sand.

Terrakinesis - control, manipulate and alter/reshape the surrounding terrain and landscape at will.

Terraportation - teleport via the earth and earth-based materials.

Sacred Earth Manipulation - Create, manipulate, control, reshape divine earth minerals.

Black Earth Manipulation - Create, manipulate and control tainted and evil earth minerals.

Fire

Pyrokinesis - create, control and manipulate fire, flame and heat.

Atmokinesis - control and manipulate the weather by mixing water, fire, earth, air, and lightning/electricity.

Fire Breath - breathe out flames.

Geo-Thermokinesis - manipulate lava, magma and volcanoes.

Heliokinesis - manipulate and control the sun and sunlight.

Hell-Fire Manipulation - Generate and control flames of hell.

Holy Fire Manipulation - Generate and control flames of Heaven.

Inflammation - burn things.

Melting - heat molecules to melt things.

Plasmakinesis - can control plasma.

Pyrotechnics - create fireworks.

Self-Detonation - explode self and reform.

Thermokinesis - create, control and manipulate heat.

Water

Hydrokinesis - manipulate and control liquid water and mold it into any desired shape or form.

Aquatic Adaptation - adapted to underwater living.

Aquatic Respiration - breathe underwater.

Atmokinesis- control and manipulate the various aspects of the weather by mixing water, fire, earth, air, and lightning/electricity.

Dehydration - absorb water.

Hydroportation - teleport across short or long distances through liquid water.

Water Mimicry - turn into liquid water.

Holy Water Manipulation - create, manipulate and control graceful waters.

Dark Water Manipulation - create, manipulate and control evil and dangerous waters.

Darkness

Umbrakinesis - can manipulate and control darkness or shadows.

Animated Shadow - Animate one’s shadow.

Light Absorption - block out light in an area.

Night Vision - see in the dark.

Sacred Darkness - create holy darkness.

Shadow Camouflage - be unseen in shadows.

Shadow Mimicry - become a shadow.

Umbrageous Teleportation - teleport via the shadows and darkness.

Electricity/Lightning

Quintessence Force -Can generate whitish-blue lightning that also contains pure life energy.

Electrokinesis - control, generate or absorb electric fields and shoot lightning bolts.

Activation & Deactivation - turn stuff on and off.

Positron Manipulation - control positrons, the antimatter counterpart to electrons.

Electrical Absorption - absorb electricity.

Electric Mimicry -transform entire body into a lightning-like being of pure electrical energy

Electrical Transportation - teleport with lightning.

Divine Lightning Manipulation - create and control the brightest lightning.

Black Lightning Manipulation - create and control the darkest lightning.

Energy

Dynamokinesis - manipulate existing energy.

Energy Blast - create blasts of energy.

Energy Emission - release energy.

Quintessence Force - create and manipulate unique form of electrical and life energy.

Mana Manipulation

Chi Manipulation

Electricity Manipulation

Energy Manipulation

Ice

Cryokinesis - control ice, snow and other forms of frozen water.

Freeze Breath - freeze things in solid ice.

Freezing - lower the temperature in kinetic atoms to freezing temperatures.

Frigokinesis - control snow either as precipitation or already on the ground.

Ice Beam - shoot beams of freezing energy.

Ice Generation

Light

Dark Light Manipulation - create the darkest light in existence.

White Light Manipulation- create sacred light from the divine.

Photokinesis - create and manipulate pure light.

Force-Field Generation - create protective shields of solid photons.

Invisibility - be unseen.

Laser Emission - bend light wavelengths to create lasers.

Light Absorption -absorb the light around you.

Light Generation - emit blinding light or glow in the dark.

Light Mimicry - take on the traits of light.

Photoportation - Teleport by using photons.

Projective Invisibility - turn other things invisible.

Evil Banish - Rid and banish all spirits of evil and black magic.

Light Manipulation

Weather

Atmokinesis - manipulate the various aspects of the weather by using water, fire, earth, air, and lightning/electricity.

Atmokinetic Resistance - immunity to all weather-based abilities and effects.

Atmokinetic Sensing - sense the future weather patterns.

Other

Aether Manipulation

Cosmic Manipulation

Gravity Manipulation

Nether Manipulation

Space-Time Manipulation

Basics:

1. What is their gender? 

2. What is their sexuality?

3. What is the meaning behind their name? Do they have any nicknames?

4. Do they have any siblings? How many? Are they older or younger?  Which sibling are they the closest with? 

5. What’s their relationship with their parents like? What about other relatives?

6. What would they give their life for?

7. Are they in a romantic relationship? With who? How did they meet?

8. What do they believe will happen to them after they die? Does this belief scare them?

9. What is their favorite color? Favorite animal?

10. What are some of their talents/skills? 

11. If they could make a mark on history, what would they like it to be? 

12. How old are they? When is their birthday?

13. What do they do for fun?

14. What is their favorite food? How often do they get to eat it?

15. What was something their parents taught them?

16. Are they religious?

17. Where were they born? 

18. What languages can they speak? Where did they learn these languages? 

19. What is their occupation?

20. Do they have any titles? How did they earn them? 

Personality:

21. What is their favorite thing about their personality?

22. What is their least favorite thing about their personality?

23. Do they get lonely easily?

24. Do you know their MBTI type?

25. What is their biggest flaw?

26. Are they aware of their flaws?

27. What is their biggest strength? 

28. Are they aware of their strengths?

29. How would they describe their own personality?

30. When frightened, will they resort to “fight” or “flight”?

31. Does this character ever put somebody else’s needs before their own? Who do they do this for? How often do they do this?

32. What is their self esteem like?

33. What is their biggest fear? How would they react to having to face it?

34. How easily do they trust others with their secrets? With their lives? 

35. What is the easiest way to annoy them?

36. What is their sense of humor like? Give an example of a joke they would find humorous.

37. How easy is it for them to say “I love you”? Do they say it without meaning it?

38. What do others admire most about their personality?

39. What does their happily ever after look like?

40. Who do they trust most? Is that trust mutual?

Physical Profile:

41. What does their laugh sound like? Do they snort when they laugh? How often do they laugh? 

42. What is their favorite thing about their physical appearance?

43. What is their least favorite thing about their physical appearance?

44. Do they have any scars? If so, what are the stories behind those scars?

45. How would they describe their own appearance?

46. How easily can they express emotions? How easily can they hide emotions?

47.  What’s their pain tolerance like?

48. Do they have any tattoos? What are the stories behind those tattoos?

49. Do they have any piercings?

50. How would you describe their style of clothing? How would they describe their style of clothing?

51. What is their height? Weight?

52. What is their body type? Are they muscular, chubby, skinny, etc?

53. What is their hair color? Eye color? Skin tone?

54. What is their current hairstyle? What have been some of their past hairstyles? Which was their favorite hairstyle?

55. What is their alcohol tolerance like? What kind of drunk are they? How bad are their hangovers?

56. What do they smell like? Why do they smell like this? (Is it the things they’re around or a perfume they wear?)

57. How do they feel about sex? Are they a virgin?

58. What is their most noticeable physical attribute?

59. What does their resting face look like? Do they have RBF?

60. Describe the way they sleep. 

Environment: 

61. Which season is their favorite season?

62. Have they ever been betrayed? How did it affect their ability to trust others?

63. What is always guaranteed to make them smile?

64. Do they get cold easily? Do they get overheated easily?

65. What’s their immune system like? Do they get sick often? How do they react to getting sick?

66. Where do they live? Do they like it there?

67. Is their bedroom messy? What about their bathroom? Kitchen? Living room?

68. How did their environment growing up affect their personality?

69. How did the people in their environment growing up affect their personality?

70. How do they feel about animals? Do they have any pets?

71. How are they with children? Do they have any? Do they want any?

72.  Would they rather have stability or comfort?

73. Do they prefer the indoors or outdoors?

74. What weather is their favorite? Do they like storms? 

75. If given a blank piece of paper, a pencil, and nothing to do, what would happen?

76. How organized are they?

77. What is their most prized possession?

78. Who do they consider to be their best friend? 

79. What is their economic situation?

80. Are they a morning person or a night owl?

Miscellaneous:

81. Are they bothered by the sight of blood?

82. What is their handwriting like?

83. Can they swim? How well? Do they like to swim?

84. Which deadly sin do they represent best?

85. Do they believe in ghosts?

86. How do they celebrate holidays? How do they celebrate birthdays?

87. What is something they regret?

88. Do they have an accent?

89. What is their D&D alignment?

90. Are they right or left handed?

91. If they were a tweet, what tweet would they be?

92. Describe them as a John Mulaney gif.

A Multi-Step Guide Written by a Visually Impaired Writer and Blogger

I’m hoping this blog will over time develop its own following, and when it does people will inevitably see my bio and notice what I included: I’m visually impaired.

Yes, a visually impaired writer, and I’ve written with two blind characters before so I have some practice in the field.

So, inevitably, someone is going to ask how to write a blind character.

Or, at least, I hope you’ll ask someone who’s actually blind or visually impaired about writing a blind character before you get too involved with your new WIP.

All parts will be tagged #blindcharacter in my blog, and I will add links to every post as I finish each part. Follow my blog for more writing advice.

Note, this post updates fairly often and old versions are still floating around out there. The most current version of this post is pinned to my blog with any new guides or links you might of missed.

As of 24 January 2021, this is the most extensive and screen reader friendly version of this post.

Part One: Crafting the Blind Character

In which I tell you how to begin making a blind character who is more than a cardboard cutout

Part Two: Narrative Choice, Visual Description, Verbal Description, Social Interaction

In which I give you a basic rundown on how to write from the perspective of a character who can’t see and still make the narration descriptive

Part Three: Tropes and Clichés to Avoid

Your blind readers will thank you for not being the 5000th person to do this and manage to actually finish your story. (Do you have any idea how many stories I’ve noped out of within two chapters because of these clichés? A Lot.)

-New- Part Four: Canes, Guide Dogs, and O&M

Everything I can tell you about 1) how to learn how to use a cane 2) how a cane works 3) how to describe what your character experiences with their cane 4) everything I know on guide dogs

Part Five: Small Aspects of being Blind You Never Thought Of

5 January 2021 Edit: This link has been fixed to correspond with the correct post

Or, really, very normal everyday things for blind people, the inclusion of which will make your characters more real and authentic. It’s the tiny details.

Part Six: Should You Cure Your Character’s Blindness? (Short Answer: No)

There’s no way to write a cure for your blind character that doesn’t make blind readers hate you. Sorry. We came here to finally experience a relatable character who experiences the world like us, but none of us are getting cured so seeing this character we learned to love become something alien from us in the end feels like a slap in the face

Why I’m Blind and What I See -NEW-

I thought I’d finally make a post explaining the complicated situation about my vision. Includes an explanation of visual snow and exotropia, two of the three causes for my vision issues.

Writing Blind Characters Falling in Love, an Advice Post:

Someone asked what being blind and falling in love have to do with each other. Honestly, blindness changes your perspective on everything and it makes an impact on every relationship you have. This includes some things that you definitely do not want your character’s love interest to be/do.

Writing Blind Jokes (Should You Do It?)

You know those flow charts of “should you do x?” going around? It’s like that, but screen reader friendly. Should you write blind jokes. It’s pretty complicated and there are a lot of possible scenarios and details to consider.

Advice for Writing Toph Beifong -NEW-

In this I discuss what I would like to see done in fanfiction with Toph’s character after ten years of reading Avatar the Last Airbender fanfiction

A small essay addressing the frequently asked question on giving your blind character a superpower to help them “see.”

It’s became a popular question, so to make the answer easier/faster for everyone to access, I wrote what will usually be my initial answer. Below there are a few links to some notable past questions on this subject.

Mourning My Vision, it’s More than Depression. 

A small personal essay addressing the nuances of the mourning period you experience with a new disability. The mourning period is mentioned in other guides, but this is more detailed.

Dealing with Heightened Senses, a video by Molly Burke with additional commentary by me

While Molly talks about the myths and truths about heightened senses, I talk about the correlation with blindness and neuro-divergency and how co-morbid disorders/disabilities might affect sensory processing.

Satirical Commentary on the phrase “that blank look in their eyes” used too often in fiction to identify a blind character

a:tla, I’m looking at you (and my eyes aren’t blank)

I Found a Lost Piece of Blindness History

My grandmother told me about her blind aunt and how she sent letters. It led me to speculate about all the O&M things people develop on their own but never get a chance to pass onto other blind people. Technology and techniques are lost in history and reinvented, including the white cane ad guide dogs.

Includes a little history on the introduction of guide dogs into the 20th century

The Following are Answered Anon Questions

Making Your Blog More Accessible

Making Links Accessible to Screen Readers

Reblogging to Add an Image Description to Someone Else’s Image

Why I Write Image Descriptions

Writing Blind Characters

Advice for a Character Who was Born Blind

Over-Protective Parents of a Blind Character, Why They’re Over-Protective and How to Avoid Crossing a Line

A Blind Character in Victorian Era Historical Fiction

Is It Bad Not to Have Guide Dogs in a Fantasy/Historical Setting Without Guide Dogs (short answer: it’s not bad)

Someone Asked About My Thoughts on a Medusa-like Character Blinding Herself to Avoid Hurting Anyone

-New- Characters Who Have Recently Gone Blind and Avoiding Inspiration Porn

Talking about Popular Blind Characters In Media

Does Daredevil’s Echolocation Negate His Blindness

Someone Else was Asked How to Write Daredevil Fanfiction

Blind Characters with Superpowers/Fighting Styles

World Setting where the General Population has a Superpower

Superpowers that don’t involve sight, Five questions to ask yourself if this superpower is a bad idea or a good one

-New- Your character would not use a cane as a weapon, it’s a bad idea

D&D/Roleplaying Blind Characters

-New- Animal Familiars Acting as Service Animals and Advice for Communicating with Your DM

Lakȟótiyapi

The Lakota language is a Siouan language spoken mainly in the northern plains states of North and South Dakota and is related to Dakota and Assiniboine and more distantly related to languages like Crow, Hidatsa and Osage. Though generally taught and considered by speakers as a separate language, Lakota is mutually intelligible with the two dialects of the Dakota language, especially Western Dakota, and is considered by most linguists as one of the three major varieties of the Sioux languages. Speakers of the Lakota language make up one of the largest Native American language communities in the United States with approximately 2,000 speakers.

Hello, How are you? - Hau, toneśked yauŋ?

Are you well? - Nitaya hwo?

I am fine - Tanyan waun

What is your name? - Taku eniciyapi?

Is my name - Emaciyapi

Where are you from? - Tokia yata hahé?

I’m from Wood Mountain - Ćaŋ eyake hecia wahi

Where do you live? - Tok de yati?

I live in the city - Otoŋwaye taŋka hećia wati

Do you speak Lakota? - Lakhota iaspé oŋespé? 

I don’t speak Lakota well - Lakhota oyawayasni

What do you want? - Taku yaćiŋ?

Eastern Ojibwe/Odawa is spoken in Southern Ontario, Manitoulin Island and in Michigan. It’s spoken by Odawa and some Ojibwe bands and is a part of the Algonquian language family. The dialect spoken along the eastern shore of Georgian Bay has been described as Eastern Ojibwe, studies do not clearly delimit the boundary between Odawa and Eastern Ojibwe.

Other communities extend from Sault Ste Marie, along the north shore of Lake Huron; Garden River, Thessalon, Mississagi River 8 Reserve, Serpent River, Whitefish River, Mattagami, and Whitefish Lake. Some other Eastern Ojibwe/Odawa speaking communities in southwestern Ontario are in Walpole Island, Sarnia, Stoney and Kettle Point, and Chippewas of the Thames near London, Ontario.

The language uses a pattern of vowel syncope that deletes short vowels in many words which results in significant changes in pronunciation. This and in addition to vocabulary, differentiates it from other dialects of Ojibwe.

The Language is known as Nishnaabwemwin “speaking the native language”, Daawaamwin “speaking the Odawa language” and Jibwemwin “speaking the Ojibwe language”.

Vocabulary:

Hello everyone! - Aanii kina wiya!

How are you? - Aaniish ezhiyaayen?

I’m doing good - Nmino-yaa

I feel slightly unwell - Nmaanaajgane

Nice to meet you - Nminendam nkweshkonaan

How many winters old are you? - Aaniish endso-bbooneyan?

I’m 21winters old - Niizhtana shi bezhik nda-dsobboon’gis

Sorry - Kaawiin jida

What do you want? - Wegnen andwendaman?