Words to Know: Kwé (gwey) – Hello Wela'lin (well-laa-lin) – Thank you (single person) Wela’lioq (well-laa-lee-oq) - Thank you (group) Meskei (mess-gay) – I am sorry Ne’wt (nay-oot), ta’pu (daa-boo), si’st (seast) - One, two, three Pjila’si (B-je-law-see) – Welcome Ké (gay) - Please
The use of the terms Mi'kmaq and Mi'kmaw The word Mi’kmaq (‘meeg mah’) comes from the word ni’kmaq, which means ‘my friends’, which the early French misunderstood as the name of the people. The Mi’kmaq originally, and still continue, to refer to themselves as l’nuk (‘ull noog’, or ‘the people). Early French missionaries created a written version of the word that was subsequently mispronounced as ‘Micmac’ which became the accepted spelling and pronunciation for many years. To contribution to the confusion, the term Mi’kmaq (singular Mi’kmaw) is used in Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland, Miigmaq (Miigmao) in New Brunswick, Mi’gmaq by the Listuguj Council in Quebec, and Mìgmaq (Mìgmaw) in some native literature. In short, there are multiple orthographies that were used to write an oral language. Given that Acadia University is situated in Nova Scotia, it is preferred to use the Nova Scotian spellings.
The word Mi'kmaq (ending in q) is a noun that means the people Mi'kmaq is the plural form of the singular word Mi'kmaw Because it is plural, the word Mi'kmaq always refers to more than one Mi'kmaw person or to the entire nation. Mi’kmaw is also the adjective form of the word
Examples: The Mi'kmaq have a rich history and culture. 7
