Hear the Beatles’ ‘Blackbird’ Sung in the Indigenous Mi’kmaq Language

July 06, 2023, 11:45:34 PM

Hear the Beatles’ ‘Blackbird’ Sung in the Indigenous Mi’kmaq Language

[html]To raise awareness of her native language, 16-year-old Emma Stevens sang a version of The Beatles’ 1968 classic “Blackbird” in the Mi’kmaq language, an Eastern Algonquian language spoken by nearly 11,000 in Canada and the United States. A member of the Eskasoni First Nation, the Nova Scotia student sang lyrics that were painstakingly translated by […]

To raise awareness of her native language, 16-year-old Emma Stevens sang a version of The Beatles’ 1968 classic “Blackbird” in the Mi’kmaq language, an Eastern Algonquian language spoken by nearly 11,000 in Canada and the United States. A member of the Eskasoni First Nation, the Nova Scotia student sang lyrics that were painstakingly translated by Katani Julian, a teacher who works in language revitalization. Julian told WBUR. “My language is very different from other ones.” “There’s a lot of syllables in ours. And there’s a lot of long words that translate into something really easy in English.”

You can find the lyrics below and the song above.

Pu’tliskiej wapinintoq

Kina’masi telayja’timk

tel pitawsin

eskimatimu’sipnek nike’ mnja’sin

Pu’tliskiej wapinintoq

Ewlapin nike’ nmiteke

tel pkitawsin

eskimatimu’sipnek nike’ seya’sin

Pu’tliskiej…layja’si

ta’n wasatek poqnitpa’qiktuk

Pu’tliskiej wapinintoq

Kina’masi telayja’timk

tel pitawsin

eskimatimu’sipnek nike’ mnja’sin

eskimatimu’sipnek nike’ mnja’sin

eskimatimu’sipnek nike’ mnja’sin

——————————————————–

Boo-dull-ees-kee-edge wobbin-in-toq

Kee-na-ma-see dell-I-jaw-dimk

dell-bit-ow-sin

ess-gum-mud-dum-oo-sup-neg nike’ mn-jaw-sin

Boo-dull-ees-kee-edge wobbin-in-toq

ew-la-bin nike’ num-mid-deh-geh

dell-bit-ow-sin

ess-gum-mud-dum-oo-sup-neg say-ya-sin

Boo-dull-ees-kee-edge, lie-jaw-see

don wassa-deg poq-nit-ba’q-ik-tuk

Boo-dull-ees-kee-edge wobbin-in-toq

Kee-na-ma-see dell-I-jaw-dimk

dell-bit-ow-sin

ess-gum-mud-dum-oo-sup-neg nike’ mn-jaw-sin

ess-gum-mud-dum-oo-sup-neg nike’ mn-jaw-sin

ess-gum-mud-dum-oo-sup-neg nike’ mn-jaw-sin

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Source: Hear the Beatles’ ‘Blackbird’ Sung in the Indigenous Mi’kmaq Language (http://ht**://www.openculture.c**/2023/07/hear-the-beatles-blackbird-sung-in-the-indigenous-mikmaq-language.html)