The language is often referred to in English as Oji-Cree, with the term Severn Ojibwa (or Ojibwe) primarily used by linguists and anthropologists.

The first is Anishinini 'ordinary person' (plural Anishininiwag)[6] This term has been compared to Plains Cree ayisiyiniw 'person, human being.'

[7] The term Anishinaabe 'ordinary man,' which is widely used as a self-designation across the Ojibwa dialect continuum, is also used and accepted by Severn speakers.

"[12] It has been noted that, along with Algonquin and Odawa, Severn Ojibwa "…show[s] many distinct features, which suggest periods of relative isolation from other varieties of Ojibwe.

"[13] However, while each of these dialects has undergone innovations that make each of them distinctive in some respects, their status as part of the Ojibwa language complex is not in dispute.

Cree Anglican catechists evangelized Severn Ojibwa speakers in the late nineteenth century.

[23] These include Round Lake, Lansdowne House, Ogoki Post, Fort Hope, and Summer Beaver.

As with Severn Ojibwa communities in northwestern Ontario, "According to Canadian Government sources (Canada, 1970), the Island Lake people speak "Cree" and they are in no way distinguished from the Cree of Oxford House, Gods Lake, or Norway House.

A dialect study conducted in the early 1970s concluded that "the speech of Island Lake is Ojibwa with an admixture of Cree.