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Nisinoon

A multilingual dictionary database of Algonquian derivational morphemes
A rectangular textile hand made by Angela Waupochick for the Nisinoon project, displaying a top-down view of two trillium flowers at opposite corners of a pink square in the center, bordered by side views of two trillium flowers along the top and bottom. Photo by Rodney Schreiner.
Trillium applique by Angela Waupochick Photo by Rodney Schreiner

Introduction

This project is an NSF-funded cross-linguistic database of the components which make up words in Algonquian languages. There are two main goals:

  1. To provide tribes with a source for lexical expansion for their language revitalization/reclamation projects.
  2. To provide a basis for comprehensive reconstruction of Proto-Algonquian.

This database is a web-based, open-access, centralized resource for Algonquian word components, providing community members and linguists with a set of data that has previously been difficult to access. Explore the database here.

Contents

Project Team (back to contents)

Advisory Board (back to contents)

What does Nisinoon mean? (back to contents)

Nisinoon is an Ojibwe word meaning ‘there are three’. We chose it to represent the tripartite structure of Algonquian words (initial-medial-final). Click on the word to learn more about the word and hear it pronounced.

Basics of Algonquian Word Structure (back to contents)

Read an overview of word structure in Algonquian languages here.

Algonquian Components Bibliography (back to contents)

The Algonquian Components Bibliography is a set of resources used in the Nisinoon project to collect data on derivational morphemes in Algonquian languages. (It is not intended to be an exhaustive bibliography on Algonquian languages!) It was compiled by Monica Macaulay (University of Wisconsin-Madison) and Hunter Lockwood (Myaamia Center, Miami University) with the help of Rachel Fedorchak, Anushri Kartik-Narayan, Eleanor Sand, Leksi Scarr, Savana Stauss, and Jen Stoughton.

If you see an error in this bibliography, or would like to suggest any additions, please email Monica Macaulay at mmacaula@wisc.edu.

See the Algonquian Components Bibliography here.

How to Cite this Project (back to contents)

Macaulay, Monica, Hunter Thompson Lockwood, & Daniel W. Hieber. 2025. Nisinoon: The Algonquian Components Database v0.6.56. https://nisinoon.net. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.11459862.

Former Team Members (back to contents)