Ojibwe People’s Dictionary Debuts Today

From http://www.minnpost.com/community-sketchbook/2012/03/amazing-%E2%80%98talking%E2%80%99-dictionary-project-helps-preserve-ojibwe-language

Amazing ‘talking’ dictionary project helps preserve Ojibwe language
By Cynthia Boyd
March 28, 2012

Now, thanks to an amazing project in progress at the University of Minnesota and spearheaded by their Department of American Indian Studies, there’s a new online resource called “The Ojibwe Peoples Dictionary” that opens doors to the sounds and context of the indigenous Ojibwe language and will help preserve it. The dictionary officially launches with a celebration event from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. April 2 at the McNamara Alumni Center’s Maroon and Gold room at the University in Minneapolis.

More than just a translation tool, the “talking” Ojibwe-English dictionary, which so far boasts more than 30,000 Ojibwe words spoken by native speakers, “sets the standard for how indigenous languages will be learned and preserved into the future," says James A. Parente, Jr., dean of the university’s College of Liberal Arts.

The dictionary is an expansion of a printed volume with 7,000 words called “A Concise Dictionary of Minnesota Ojibwe,’’ co-written by John D. Nichols, a professor in the University’s American Indian Studies department.

Read the full article about the dictionary at http://www.minnpost.com/community-sketchbook/2012/03/amazing-%E2%80%98talking%E2%80%99-dictionary-project-helps-preserve-ojibwe-language

The online dictionary is available at http://ojibwe.lib.umn.edu