opîtatowêw

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Plains Cree[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From o- (his/hers [possessive]) +‎ pîtos (different) +‎ -towêw (he/she speaks). Compare piskihtowêw (he/she speaks a different language), patowêw (he/she says the wrong thing), onatowêw (Iroquois), pwâtowêw (Sioux), compare also Swampy Cree omiyakwes, with the same meaning.

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): /ˌopiːˈtatoˌweːw/

Noun[edit]

opîtatowêw anim (plural opîtatowewak, Syllabics ᐅᐲᑕᑐᐍᐤ)

  1. an allophone, a non-indigenous person in Canada who speaks neither English or French as their mother tongue
  2. (particularly) a Ukrainian person

Related terms[edit]

  • okistapowak (squaters), also used to refer to Ukrainians and continental Europeans in Canada.
  • apotasâkwak (inside out coats), referring to the кожушанка (kožušanka) or sheepskin coats worn by newly-arrived Ukrainian immigrants at the end of the nineteenth century.

References[edit]