Metis Language

Interesting Facts

• Mainly a combination of Cree and French
• Michif was created on the plains in the early 1800s
• Was mainly spoken by Metis bison hunters
• Michif usually consists of French nouns and Cree verb structures

Elements that make it unique

• The first language is made of Prairie French.
• Michif is the most disctinctive language in the world
• All the nouns and grammer come from Plains Cree (which is a western dialect of Cree)
• Which distinctively unique to the Metis people

Present Michif

• Today only 1,000 people can fully speak and understand the language
• 650 of those people reported Michif as their mother tongue in Saskatchewan: 40.6%, Manitoba: 26.6% and Alberta: 11.7%

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Other Metis Language

• French Cree: in northern Saskatchewan; within small communities, some of the Metis residents speak a language that is mostly Woods Cree with some French words

Other Metis Languages

• French Michif: also known as Metis French is a variant of the French language that helps from Michif; French Michif is said to have originated among people of mixed Indigenous and French ethnicities living around trading posts in the Great Lakes region during the 1600 and 1700s

Other Metis Languages

• Bunji: is a mixture of English, Gaelic, Ojibwa, and Cree words. The Bunji accent was reportedly hevily influenced by Scottish speech patterns

Phrases in Michif

• How are you: Tawnshi Kiya
• Good Evening: Bon Swear
• I'm In Love: Ji taan amoor.
• Hello: Taa

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