Winnipeg recently proposed redesignating streets named after Bishop Vital-Justin Grandin with Indigenous names. Grandin was a Catholic priest and proponent of residential schools. But the proposal has faced some pushback, including from some who say these new names are too difficult to pronounce: Abinojii Mikanah, Awasisak Mēskanow and Taapweewin Way.

Replacing colonial-era names with Indigenous ones isn’t new to Canada — British Columbia’s Queen Charlotte Islands were renamed Haida Gwaii back in 2010. And many places across Canada, including major cities, have Indigenous names.

So, what’s behind claims Indigenous names are hard to pronounce?

Today in The Conversation Canada, Nicole Rosen from the University of Manitoba discusses why English-speakers find certain words difficult to pronounce and offers some tips to help us learn them. She writes: “Language matters, and changing a few of our street signs from colonial languages like English and French to Indigenous languages like Cree, Ojibwe and Michif is a small act of reconciliation that can have a meaningful impact.”

Also today:

All the best,

Ibrahim Daair

Culture + Society Editor
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