Reading the World discussion
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Cool addition Gail: down home in Nova Scotia most folks (including the indigenous people I know) generally say "Mig-maw" as the guy in the third video says ( the 'colloquial version' that is still a bit anglicized). The full correct pronunciation in Miꞌkmawiꞌsimk (Mi'kmaq language) I have heard from folks who speak it or are closer to family that do, especially at functions where a Miꞌkmawiꞌsimk speech is made before ceremonies (I had a survivor/academic/activist named Dr. Isabelle Knockwood speak at my university convocation for example).
Many older folks, like my Grandparent's generation, still say "MicMac" unfortunately, and there is still a "MicMac Mall" in the province. But, there's been a decent amount of work done to correct this misconception.
Fun fact: In NS hospitals, legal buildings, etc many signs are posted In English, French, and Miꞌkmawiꞌsimk. I am trying to learn it slowly, but am not very good yet. Mi'kmaq communities have also been pushing here to keep the language from dying, and creating/preserving Mi'kmaq language schools and classes. It's an uphill battle especially against anti-Indigenous racism in the province, but they are doing some incredible work.
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Thanks for this Amanda! And did you hear it? I swear the three people in the videos each pronounced it just a little bit differently. But at least I got a better understanding (my ability to pick up other languages anymore is terrible.)
GailW wrote: "Thanks for this Amanda! And did you hear it? I swear the three people in the videos each pronounced it just a little bit differently. But at least I got a better understanding (my ability to pick up other languages anymore is terrible.)"I did notice that lol. I'm not an expert, but the guy in the third video sounds to me like how I've heard it in real life. I suspect that might be because the first video is not by a Mi'kmaq person, and the second video is from a nation in Maine (the only recognized Mi'kmaq nation in the US!) and maybe there are slight regional pronunciation differences? The guy in the third video is from NS (looked at some of his other videos).
How fascinating. I enjoyed listening to the pronunciations. Thank you for adding that Gail.
I finished the book. I enjoyed the settings of both northern Maine and Nova Scotia and really enjoyed the comparison of family dynamics and the role of guilt in negatively motivating people in all the wrong ways. "All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way"
I have to say that the husband and sister loving Norma and yet keeping Norma's origins a secret for their basket case of a spouse/sister didn't seem very realistic to me but it worked for the plot development of the story.
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I had a health scare in April while I was staying at my son's place "herding the teenagers" (can't call it babysitting any more!) and unfortunately it affected my right eye. I can still read but at a much lower pace than I have been. But I'm still here, just a little quieter than usual!
Oh, I hope you are recovering and I also hope that your eye gets much better.
yes sorry to hear that, Gail. I also hope you start feeling better soon <3
"A four-year-old Mi’kmaq [pronounced 'Meeg-em-ach'] girl goes missing from the blueberry fields of Maine, sparking a tragic mystery that haunts the survivors, unravels a community, and remains unsolved for nearly fifty years... This showstopping debut by a vibrant new voice in fiction is a riveting novel about the search for truth, the shadow of trauma, and the persistence of love across time."
About the author:
Amanda Peters is a writer of Mi’kmaw and settler ancestry. Her work has appeared in the Antigonish Review, Grain Magazine, The Alaska Quarterly Review, the Dalhousie Review, and filling station magazine. She is the winner of the 2021 Indigenous Voices Award (IVA) for unpublished prose and a participant in the 2021 Writers Trust Rising Stars program. Amanda has a certificate in creative writing from the University of Toronto and she is a graduate of the Master of Fine Arts program at the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe New Mexico. Amanda is an Associate Professor in the Department of English and Theatre at Acadia University. She lives and writes in the Annapolis valley Nova Scotia."
Links to correct pronunciation of "Mi’kmaq":
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