Native American English accent

[Anna Fellegy]

I am compelled to put forth a few thoughts, despite the fact that I
might be the least informed member of the bunch regarding Native
languages. My apologies if my ignorance is reflected in my comments. I
trust I will be duly enlightened.

1. Any attention to Native languages in the US is welcome, indeed. There
seems to be a dirth of serious, language-specific descriptive studies,
so generalizeds terms like "American Indian English" are what we have to
work with; however, I would caution that a monolithic perspective might
not be especially accurate. It would be nice if researchers would begin
to think in terms of Native American "Englishes." My guess, uneducated
though it may be, is that there are important distinctions between the
many varieties.

2. It is possible, though I don't think we "know," that Native languages
share similar syllable structures and stress patterns that would make
them sound somewhat "alike" to non-Native-language speakers.

3. In Ojibwe, for instance, "short vowels" are not reduced as often as
they are in English, which seems to create a distinct stress pattern
(and makes pronunciation difficult, at least for me). The Ojibwe word
"migizi" (eagle) is thus pronounced mIgIzI, as opposed to an English
tendency to reduce the second syllable and either reduce or lengthen the
final syllable. It is possible that such an Ojibwe stress pattern is
part of the accent of, specifically, an Ojibwe speaker of English.

4. Finally, the Native Americans whom I know do not all speak English
with such an accent. I find the same diversity across the group with
whom I work as I find in European immigrant communities. The fact that
NPR (and MPR) represent Native voices in a rather monodimensional
fashion is a reflection, in my opinion, of a rather narrow, albeit
liberal, view of Native life in the US. It is better than nothing, but a
broadening of mind/voice would also be welcome.

Anna Fellegy