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Blackfoot, also known as Siksika (ᓱᖽᐧᖿ) – the language's denomination in ISO 639-3 – Pikanii, Pied Noir, and Blackfeet, is the Algonquian language spoken by the Blackfoot tribes of Native Americans, who currently live in the northwestern plains of North America. Nearly all speakers live in Canada. There are four dialects of Blackfoot, three of which are spoken in Alberta, Canada and one of which is spoken in the United States: ''Siksiká'' (Blackfoot), to the southeast of Calgary, Alberta; ''Kainai'' (Blood), spoken in Alberta between Cardston and Lethbridge; ''Aapátohsipikani'' (Northern Piegan), to the west of Fort MacLeod; and ''Aamsskáápipikani'' (Southern Piegan), in northwestern Montana.〔(Don Frantz' Blackfoot page )〕 There is a distinct difference between Old Blackfoot (also called High Blackfoot), the dialect spoken by many older speakers; and New Blackfoot (also called Modern Blackfoot), the dialect spoken by younger speakers.〔(Bortolin & McLellan (1995) )〕 Among the Algonquian languages, Blackfoot is relatively divergent in phonology and lexicon.〔Mithun (1999:335)〕 Like the other Algonquian languages, Blackfoot is typologically polysynthetic. The Cuts Wood Academy in Browning, Montana, founded by Darrell Kipp and the Piegan Institute, offers language immersion instruction in Blackfoot. ==History== Technically the official name of the tribe is Blackfeet and this is the term used by the Piegan Blackfeet in the United States. Canadian bands use the term "Blackfoot", as in the Blackfoot Confederacy.〔http://www.native-languages.org/blackfoot.htm〕 The name Blackfoot probably comes from the blackened soles of the leather shoes that the people wear.〔Gibson, K. (2003). The Blackfeet (1st ed.). Mankato, Minn.: Bridgestone Books.〕 The Blackfoot language is a member of the Algonquian-languages family.〔Nijhuis, M. (2003). ''Our Blackfoot Language.'' Native-americans-online.com. Retrieved 15 April 2014, from http://www.native-americans-online.com/native-american-language.html〕 Blackfoot language has been on a drastic decline in the number of native speakers and now faces extinction in the early 21st century. Once, the Blackfoot people were one of a few Native American nations that inhabited the Great Plains west of the Mississippi river. The people were buffalo hunters with settlements in the northern United States. Forced to move due to wars with neighboring tribes, the Blackfoot people settled all around the plains area and up into Canada, eventually concentrating in Montana. Blackfoot hunters would track and hunt game while the remaining people would gather food and other necessities for the winter. The northern plains, where the Blackfoot settled, had incredibly harsh winters, and the flat land provided little escape from the winds. The Blackfoot Nation thrived, along with many other native groups, until the European settlers arrived in the late eighteenth century. The settlers brought with them horses and technology but also disease and weapons. Diseases like smallpox, foreign to the natives, decimated the Blackfoot population in the mid-nineteenth century. Groups of Blackfoot people rebelled against the Europeans like Mountain Chief’s tribe. But, in 1870, a tribe of peaceful Blackfoot were mistaken for the rebellious tribe and hundreds were slaughtered. Over the next thirty years, the settlers had eradicated the buffalo from the Great Plains. This took away the main element of Blackfoot life and took away the people’s ability to be self-sustaining. With their main food source gone, the Blackfoot were forced to rely on government support.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Blackfoot language」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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