Reimagining the Role of ‘Sterilization Room’
Reimagined role-name in Biigtigong’s dialect of Nishnaabemwin:
- Wewendam Endzhi-gchi-biintaagenaanwang Bkesaagan
Wewendam Endzhi-gchi-biintaagenaanwang Bkesaagan ~ Sterilization Room
Morphemes (building blocks of each word):
- Wewendam Endzhi-gchi-biintaagenaanwang ~ “sterilization area”
- Wewendam ~ “properly, correctly, carefully”
- Wewendam ~ “properly, correctly, carefully”
- Endzhi-gchi-biintaagenaanwang ~ “great-cleaning area”
- Endzhi-…naanwang ~ “where (abstract-)they…”, “where ‘there is’…”
- gchi- ~ “great, big”
- biin ~ “clean”
- taa ~ “act in relation to someone”
- ge ~ “someone acts (on an unspecified object)”
- Wewendam ~ “properly, correctly, carefully”
- Bkesaagan ~ “room”
- Bke ~ “off to the side, diverge”
- saa ~ “structure unit”
- gan ~ “instrument, made thing”
A translation of the morphemes:
- where-there-is-a-state-of-great-cleaning-of-things-for-people properly/correctly/carefully room
A plainer, more free-form English translation:
- sterilization-area room
A formal-English translation:
- Sterilization Room
Montano, J. P., & Michano, A. R. “Reimagining Health Centre Roles in Biigtigong Nishnaabemwin” biigtigong.com. Biigtigong Nishnaabeg, 14 Jul 2017. Web.