Английская Википедия:Cree language

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Cree (Шаблон:IPAc-en Шаблон:Respelling; also known as Cree–Montagnais–Naskapi) is a dialect continuum of Algonquian languages spoken by approximately 237,420 people in 2021 across Canada, from the Northwest Territories to Alberta to Labrador. If considered one language, it is the aboriginal language with the highest number of speakers in Canada. The only region where Cree has any official status is in the Northwest Territories, alongside eight other aboriginal languages. There, Cree is spoken mainly in Fort Smith and Hay River.

Names

Endonyms are:

• Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang (Plains Cree)
• Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang (Woods Cree)
• Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang (Western Swampy Cree)
• Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang (Eastern Swampy Cree)
• Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang (Moose Cree)
• Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang (Southern East Cree)
• Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Lang (Northern East Cree)
• Шаблон:Lang (Atikamekw)
• Шаблон:Lang (Western Montagnais, Piyekwâkamî dialect)
• Шаблон:Lang (Western Montagnais, Betsiamites dialect)
• Шаблон:Lang (Eastern Montagnais)

Origin and diffusion

Cree is believed to have begun as a dialect of the Proto-Algonquian language spoken between 2,500 and 3,000 years ago in the original Algonquian homeland, an undetermined area thought to be near the Great Lakes. The speakers of the proto-Cree language are thought to have moved north, and diverged rather quickly into two different groups on each side of James Bay. The eastern group then began to diverge into separate dialects, whereas the western grouping probably broke into distinct dialects much later. After this point it is very difficult to make definite statements about how different groups emerged and moved around, because there are no written works in the languages to compare, and descriptions by Europeans are not systematic; as well, Algonquian people have a tradition of bilingualism and even of outright adopting a new language from neighbours.

A traditional view among 20th-century anthropologists and historians of the fur trade posts that the Western Woods Cree and the Plains Cree (and therefore their dialects) did not diverge from other Cree peoples before 1670, when the Cree expanded out of their homeland near James Bay because of access to European firearms. By contrast, James Smith of the Museum of the American Indian stated, in 1987, that the weight of archeological and linguistic evidence puts the Cree as far west as the Peace River Region of Alberta before European contact.

Loss of language

Doug Cuthand argues three reasons for the loss of the Cree language among many speakers over the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. First, residential schools cultivated the prejudice that their language was inferior. While students were still speaking their native language at home, their learning stopped at school. When they left residential schools as adults, they went home and their vocabulary and knowledge of language did not include concepts or forms that an adult speaker who had not been taken to a residential school would have.

Cuthand also argues that the loss of the Cree language can be attributed to the migration of native families away from the reserve, voluntarily or not. Oftentimes, the elders are left on the reserve. This breaks up the traditional intergenerational flow of lingual knowledge from elder to youth.

The third point Cuthand argues is that Cree language loss was adopted by the speakers. Parents stopped teaching their children their native language in the belief that doing so would help their children find economic success or avoid discrimination.

Файл:Cree map.svg

Map of Cree dialects

Dialect criteria

The Cree dialect continuum can be divided by many criteria. Dialects spoken in northern Ontario and the southern James Bay, Lanaudière, and Mauricie regions of Quebec differentiate Шаблон:IPA (sh as in she) and Шаблон:IPA, while those to the west have merged the two phonemes as Шаблон:IPA and in the east the phonemes are merged as either Шаблон:IPA or Шаблон:IPA. In several dialects, including northern Plains Cree and Woods Cree, the long vowels Шаблон:IPA and Шаблон:IPA have merged into a single vowel, Шаблон:IPA. In the Quebec communities of Chisasibi, Whapmagoostui, and Kawawachikamach, the long vowel Шаблон:IPA has merged with Шаблон:IPA.

However, the most transparent phonological variation between different Cree dialects are the reflexes of Proto-Algonquian *l in the modern dialects, as shown below:

Dialect	Location	Reflex of *l	Word for 'native person' ← *Шаблон:Transl	Word for 'you' ← *Шаблон:Transl
Plains Cree	SK, AB, BC, NT	y	Шаблон:Lang	Шаблон:Lang
Woods Cree	MB, SK	ð/th	Шаблон:Lang	Шаблон:Lang
Swampy Cree	ON, MB, SK	n	Шаблон:Lang	Шаблон:Lang
Moose Cree	ON	l	Шаблон:Lang	Шаблон:Lang
Atikamekw	QC	r	Шаблон:Lang	Шаблон:Lang
Northern East Cree	QC	y	Шаблон:Lang	Шаблон:Lang
Southern East Cree	QC	y	Шаблон:Lang	Шаблон:Lang
Kawawachikamach Naskapi	QC	y	Шаблон:Lang	Шаблон:Lang
Western Innu	QC	l	Шаблон:Lang	Шаблон:Lang
Eastern Innu	QC, NL	n	Шаблон:Lang	Шаблон:Lang

The Plains Cree, speakers of the y dialect, refer to their language as Шаблон:Lang, whereas Woods Cree speakers say Шаблон:Lang, and Swampy Cree speakers say Шаблон:Lang.

Another important phonological variation among the Cree dialects involves the palatalisation of Proto-Algonquian *k: East of the Ontario–Quebec border (except for Atikamekw), Proto-Algonquian *k has changed into Шаблон:IPA or Шаблон:IPA before front vowels. See the table above for examples in the *Шаблон:Transliteration column.

Very often the Cree dialect continuum is divided into two languages: Cree and Montagnais. Cree includes all dialects which have not undergone the *k > Шаблон:IPA sound change (BC–QC) while Montagnais encompasses the territory where this sound change has occurred (QC–NL). These labels are very useful from a linguistic perspective but are confusing as East Cree then qualifies as Montagnais. For practical purposes, Cree usually covers the dialects which use syllabics as their orthography (including Atikamekw but excluding Kawawachikamach Naskapi), the term Montagnais then applies to those dialects using the Latin script (excluding Atikamekw and including Kawawachikamach Naskapi). The term Naskapi typically refers to Kawawachikamach (y-dialect) and Natuashish (n-dialect).

Dialect groups

The Cree dialects can be broadly classified into nine groups. Roughly from west to east:

Шаблон:Nowrap

ISO-639-3 code and name		ISO-639-6 code and name		Linguasphere code and name			Moseley			Glottolog name (and code)			dialect type				additional comments
													*l	*k(i)	*š	*ē
cre Cree (generic)	cwd Woods Cree (Шаблон:Lang)	cwd Woods Cree		62-ADA-a Cree	62-ADA-ab Woods Cree		Cree-Montagnais-Naskapi	Western Cree	Wood Cree	Cree-Montagnais-Naskapi cree1271	Woods Cree wood1236		ð	k	s	ī		In this dialect ē has merged into ī.
											Plains Cree plai1258	Western York Cree	r → ð	k	s	ī		Missinipi Cree (Шаблон:Lang). Also known as "Rocky Cree". Historical r have transitioned to ð and have merged into Woods Cree. While Woods Cree proper have hk, Missinipi Cree have sk, e.g., Woods Cree Шаблон:Lang v. Missinipi Cree Шаблон:Transl: 'he/she is red'.
	crk Plains Cree	crk Plains Cree			62-ADA-aa Plains Cree				Plains Cree			Northern Alberta Cree	y	k	s	ī	(northern)	Divided to Southern Plains Cree (Шаблон:Lang) and Northern Plains Cree (Шаблон:Lang or Шаблон:Lang). In the Northern dialect, ē has merged into ī.
												Nuclear Plains Cree	y	k	s	ē	(southern)
	csw Swampy Cree (Шаблон:Lang)	csw Swampy Cree			62-ADA-ac Swampy Cree, West (Ininīmowin)				Swampy Cree		Swampy Cree swam1239	Western Swampy Cree	n	k	s	ē		Eastern Swampy Cree, together with Moose Cree, also known as "West Main Cree," "Central Cree," or "West Shore Cree." In the western dialect, š has merged with s. Western Swampy Cree also known as "York Cree;" together with Northern Plains Cree and Woods Cree, also known as "Western Woodland Cree."
					62-ADA-ad Swampy Cree, East (Шаблон:Lang)							Eastern Swampy Cree	n	k	š	ē
	crm Moose Cree (Шаблон:Lang)	crm Moose Cree			62-ADA-ae Moose Cree				Moose Cree		Moose Cree moos1236		n\l	k	š	ē	(lowland)	Together with the Eastern Swampy Cree, also known as "West Main Cree," "Central Cree," or "West Shore Cree." In Swampy Cree-influenced areas, some speakers use n instead of l, e.g., upland Moose Cree Шаблон:Lang v. lowland Moose Cree Шаблон:Lang: 'human'. Kesagami Lake Cree was an r dialect but has transitioned and merged with l dialect of Moose Cree.
													l	k	š	ē	(upland)
													r → l	k	š	ē	(Kesagami Lake)
	crl Northern East Cree (Шаблон:Lang)	crl Northern East Cree		62-ADA-af Cree, East		Eastern Cree		East Cree	Northern East Cree nort1552		y	k\č	š	ā		Also known as "James Bay Cree" or "East Main Cree". The long vowels ē and ā have merged in the northern dialect but are distinct in the southern. Southern East Cree is divided between coastal (southwestern) and inland (southeastern) varieties. Also, the inland southern dialect has lost the distinction between s and š. Here, the inland southern dialect falls in line with the rest of the Naskapi groups where both phonemes have become š. Nonetheless, the people from the two areas easily communicate. In the northern dialect, ki is found in situations were short unaccented vowel a transitioned to i without changing the k to č.
	crj Southern East Cree (Шаблон:Lang)	crj Southern East Cree		62-ADA-ag Cree, Southeast					Southern East Cree sout2978		y	č	š	ē	(coastal)
											y\n	č	š~s	ē	(inland)
nsk Naskapi		nsk Naskapi	kkaa Koksoak	62-ADA-b Innu	62-ADA-ba Mushau Innuts			62-ADA-baa Koksoak River	Naskapi	Naskapi nask1242	Western Naskapi	y	č	š~s	ā		Western Naskapi (or simply referred to as Naskapi). Spoken in Kawawachikamach, Quebec.
			dvsi Davis Inlet					62-ADA-bab Davis Inlet			Eastern Naskapi	n	č	š~s	ē		Eastern Naskapi; also known as Mushuau Innu. Spoken in Natuashish, Labrador.
moe Montagnais		moe Montagnais	poit Pointe-Bleue		62-ADA-bb Uashau Innuts + Bersimis			62-ADA-bbe Pointe Bleue	Montagnais	Montagnais mont1268	Western Montagnais	l	č	š	ē		Western Montagnais (Lehlueun); also known as the "Betsiamites dialect"
			escu Escoumains					62-ADA-bbd Escoumains
			berm Bersimis					62-ADA-bbc Bersimis
			uasi Uashaui-Innuts					62-ADA-bbb Uashaui Innuts				n	č	š~h	ē		Part of Western Montagnais, but more precisely referred to as Central Montagnais. š is realized as h in intervocalic position, especially amongst middle-aged and young speakers.
			miga Mingan					62-ADA-bba Mingan			Eastern Montagnais	n	č	š~h	ē		Eastern Montagnais (Innu-aimûn). š is mostly realized as h.
atj Atikamekw (Шаблон:Transliteration)		atj Atikamekw	mana Manawan	62-ADA-c Atikamekw	62-ADA-ca Manawan			Western Cree (cont'd)	Attikamek	Atikamekw atik1240		r	k	š	ē
			wemo Wemotaci		62-ADA-cb Wemotaci
			optc Opitciwan		62-ADA-cc Opitciwan

Phonology

This table shows the possible consonant phonemes in the Cree language or one of its varieties.

Consonant phonemes

	Bilabial	Dental	Alveolar	Post- alveolar	Palatal	Velar	Glottal
Nasal	Шаблон:IPAlink Шаблон:Angbr		Шаблон:IPAlink Шаблон:Angbr
Plosive	Шаблон:IPAlink Шаблон:Angbr	Шаблон:IPAlink Шаблон:Angbr	Шаблон:IPAlink~Шаблон:IPAlink Шаблон:Angbr	Шаблон:IPAlink Шаблон:Angbr		Шаблон:IPAlink Шаблон:Angbr
Fricative		Шаблон:IPAlink Шаблон:Angbr	Шаблон:IPAlink~Шаблон:IPAlink Шаблон:Angbr	Шаблон:IPAlink Шаблон:Angbr			Шаблон:IPAlink Шаблон:Angbr
Approximant			Шаблон:IPAlink Шаблон:Angbr		Шаблон:IPAlink Шаблон:Angbr	Шаблон:IPAlink Шаблон:Angbr
Lateral			Шаблон:IPAlink Шаблон:Angbr

Vowels

	Front		Central		Back
Close	Шаблон:IPAlink Шаблон:Angbr	Шаблон:IPAlink Шаблон:Angbr			Шаблон:IPAlink~Шаблон:IPAlink Шаблон:Angbr	Шаблон:IPAlink~Шаблон:IPAlink Шаблон:Angbr
Mid		Шаблон:IPAlink Шаблон:Angbr	Шаблон:IPAlink Шаблон:Angbr
Open				Шаблон:IPAlink Шаблон:Angbr

In dictionaries focused on Eastern Swampy Cree, Western Swampy Cree may readily substitute Шаблон:Angbr with Шаблон:Angbr, while Lowland Moose Cree may readily substitute Шаблон:Angbr with their Шаблон:Angbr. In dictionaries focused on Southern Plains Cree, Northern Plains Cree may readily substitute Шаблон:Angbr with Шаблон:Angbr, while materials accommodating Rocky Cree will indicate the Plains Cree Шаблон:IPA that is Шаблон:IPA in Rocky Cree as Шаблон:Angbr. Similarly, in dictionaries focused on Western Swampy Cree, Woods Cree may readily substitute Шаблон:Angbr with Шаблон:Angbr, while materials accommodating Woods Cree will indicate the Western Swampy Cree Шаблон:IPA that is Шаблон:IPA in Woods Cree as Шаблон:Angbr. Atikamekw uses Шаблон:Angbr [[[:Шаблон:IPA]]], Шаблон:Angbr [[[:Шаблон:IPA]]], and Шаблон:Angbr [[[:Шаблон:IPA]]] (which also serves as Шаблон:Angbr [[[:Шаблон:IPA]]]). Eastern James Bay Cree prefers to indicate long vowels (other than Шаблон:IPA) by doubling the vowel, while the western Cree use either a macron or circumflex diacritic; as Шаблон:IPA is always long, often it is written as just Шаблон:Angbr without doubling or using a diacritic. While Western Cree dialects make use of Шаблон:Angbr and either Шаблон:Angbr or Шаблон:Angbr, Eastern Cree dialects instead make use of Шаблон:Angbr and either Шаблон:Angbr, Шаблон:Angbr, or Шаблон:Angbr.

Syntax

Cree features a complex polysynthetic morphosyntax. A common grammatical feature in Cree dialects, in terms of sentence structure, is non-regulated word order. Word order is not governed by a specific set of rules or structure; instead, "subjects and objects are expressed by means of inflection on the verb". Subject, Verb, and Object (SVO) in a sentence can vary in order, for example, SVO, VOS, OVS, and SOV.

Obviation is also a key aspect of the Cree language(s). In a sense, the obviative can be defined as any third-person ranked lower on a hierarchy of discourse salience than some other (proximate) discourse-participant. "Obviative animate nouns, [in the Plains Cree dialect for instance], are marked by [a suffix] ending Шаблон:Lang, and are used to refer to third persons who are more peripheral in the discourse than the proximate third person". For example:

The suffix Шаблон:Lang marks Susan as the obviative, or 'fourth' person, the person furthest away from the discourse.

The Cree language has grammatical gender in a system that classifies nouns as animate or inanimate. The distribution of nouns between animate or inanimate is not phonologically transparent, which means gender must be learned along with the noun.

As is common in polysynthetic languages, a Cree word can be very long, and express something that takes a series of words in English. For example:

This means that changing the word order in Cree can place emphasis on different pieces of the sentence. Wolfart and Carroll give the following example by transposing the two Cree words:

Шаблон:Lang → 'He asked the old man.'

Шаблон:Lang → 'It was the old man he asked.'

Writing

Файл:Winnipeg Forks - Trilingual Plaque.jpg

Trilingual plaque in English, French and Cree

Cree dialects, except for those spoken in eastern Quebec and Labrador, are traditionally written using Cree syllabics, a variant of Canadian Aboriginal syllabics, but can be written with the Latin script as well. Both writing systems represent the language phonetically. Cree is always written from left to right horizontally. The easternmost dialects are written using the Latin script exclusively. The dialects of Plains Cree, Woods Cree, and western Swampy Cree use Western Cree syllabics and the dialects of eastern Swampy Cree, East Cree, Moose Cree, and Naskapi use Eastern Cree syllabics.

Syllabics

In Cree syllabics, each symbol, which represents a consonant, can be written four ways, each direction representing its corresponding vowel. Some dialects of Cree have up to seven vowels, so additional diacritics are placed after the syllabic to represent the corresponding vowels. Finals represent stand-alone consonants. The Cree language also has two semivowels. The semivowels may follow other consonants or be on their own in a word.

The following tables show the syllabaries of Eastern and Western Cree dialects, respectively:

Eastern Cree syllabary
Initial	Vowels							Final
	ê	i	o	a	î	ô	â
	ᐁ	ᐃ	ᐅ	ᐊ	ᐄ	ᐆ	ᐋ
p	ᐯ	ᐱ	ᐳ	ᐸ	ᐲ	ᐴ	ᐹ	ᑉ
t	ᑌ	ᑎ	ᑐ	ᑕ	ᑏ	ᑑ	ᑖ	ᑦ
k	ᑫ	ᑭ	ᑯ	ᑲ	ᑮ	ᑰ	ᑳ	ᒃ
c	ᒉ	ᒋ	ᒍ	ᒐ	ᒌ	ᒎ	ᒑ	ᒡ
m	ᒣ	ᒥ	ᒧ	ᒪ	ᒦ	ᒨ	ᒫ	ᒻ
n	ᓀ	ᓂ	ᓄ	ᓇ	ᓃ	ᓅ	ᓈ	ᓐ
s	ᓭ	ᓯ	ᓱ	ᓴ	ᓰ	ᓲ	ᓵ	ᔅ
sh	ᔐ	ᔑ	ᔓ	ᔕ	ᔒ	ᔔ	ᔖ	ᔥ
y	ᔦ	ᔨ	ᔪ	ᔭ	ᔩ	ᔫ	ᔮ	ᔾ (ᐤ)
l	ᓓ	ᓕ	ᓗ	ᓚ	ᓖ	ᓘ	ᓛ	ᓪ
r*	ᕃ	ᕆ	ᕈ	ᕋ	ᕇ	ᕉ	ᕌ	ᕐ
v*, f*	ᕓ	ᕕ	ᕗ	ᕙ	ᕖ	ᕘ	ᕚ	ᕝ
th*	ᕞ	ᕠ	ᕤ	ᕦ	ᕢ	ᕥ	ᕧ	ᕪ
w	ᐌ	ᐎ	ᐒ	ᐗ	ᐐ	ᐔ	ᐙ	ᐤ
h	ᐦᐁ	ᐦᐃ	ᐦᐅ	ᐦᐊ	ᐦᐄ	ᐦᐆ	ᐦᐋ	ᐦ
* Used only in foreign sounds

Western Cree syllabary
Initial	Vowels							Final
	ê	i	o	a	î	ô	â
	ᐁ	ᐃ	ᐅ	ᐊ	ᐄ	ᐆ	ᐋ
p	ᐯ	ᐱ	ᐳ	ᐸ	ᐲ	ᐴ	ᐹ	ᑊ
t	ᑌ	ᑎ	ᑐ	ᑕ	ᑏ	ᑑ	ᑖ	ᐟ
k	ᑫ	ᑭ	ᑯ	ᑲ	ᑮ	ᑰ	ᑳ	ᐠ
c	ᒉ	ᒋ	ᒍ	ᒐ	ᒌ	ᒎ	ᒑ	ᐨ
m	ᒣ	ᒥ	ᒧ	ᒪ	ᒦ	ᒨ	ᒫ	ᒼ
n	ᓀ	ᓂ	ᓄ	ᓇ	ᓃ	ᓅ	ᓈ	ᐣ
s	ᓭ	ᓯ	ᓱ	ᓴ	ᓰ	ᓲ	ᓵ	ᐢ
y	ᔦ	ᔨ	ᔪ	ᔭ	ᔩ	ᔫ	ᔮ	ᐩ (ᐝ)
th	ᖧ	ᖨ	ᖪ	ᖬ	ᖩ	ᖫ	ᖭ	‡
w	ᐍ	ᐏ	ᐓ	ᐘ	ᐑ	ᐕ	ᐚ	ᐤ
h	ᐦᐁ	ᐦᐃ	ᐦᐅ	ᐦᐊ	ᐦᐄ	ᐦᐆ	ᐦᐋ	ᐦ
hk								ᕽ
l	ᓬ
r	ᕒ

Speakers of various Cree dialects have begun creating dictionaries to serve their communities. Some projects, such as the Cree Language Resource Project, are developing an online bilingual Cree dictionary for the Cree language.

Cree syllabics has not commonly or traditionally used the period (Шаблон:Grapheme). Instead, either a full-stop glyph (Шаблон:Grapheme) or a double em-width space has been used between words to signal the transition from one sentence to the next.

Romanization

For Plains Cree and Swampy Cree, Standard Roman Orthography (SRO) uses fourteen letters of the ISO basic Latin alphabet to denote the dialect's ten consonants (Шаблон:Grapheme, Шаблон:Grapheme, Шаблон:Grapheme, Шаблон:Grapheme, Шаблон:Grapheme, Шаблон:Grapheme, Шаблон:Grapheme, Шаблон:Grapheme, Шаблон:Grapheme and Шаблон:Grapheme) and seven vowels (Шаблон:Grapheme, Шаблон:Grapheme, Шаблон:Grapheme, Шаблон:Grapheme, Шаблон:Grapheme, Шаблон:Grapheme and Шаблон:Grapheme). Upper case letters are not used.Шаблон:RP For more details on the phonetic values of these letters or variant orthographies, see the § Phonology section above.

The Шаблон:IPA sound of Woods Cree is written Шаблон:Grapheme, or Шаблон:Grapheme in more recent materialШаблон:Citation needed. Plains and Swampy material written to be cross-dialectical often modify Шаблон:Grapheme to Шаблон:Grapheme and Шаблон:Grapheme to Шаблон:Grapheme when those are pronounced Шаблон:IPA in Swampy.Шаблон:RP Шаблон:Grapheme is used in Eastern dialects where s and š are distinct phonemes. In other dialects, s is used even when pronounced like Шаблон:IPA.Шаблон:Rp

Шаблон:Grapheme and Шаблон:Grapheme are used natively in Moose and Attikamek Cree, but in other dialects only for loanwords.Шаблон:Rp

The stops, p, t, k, and the affricate, c, can be pronounced either voiced or unvoiced, but the symbols used for writing these sounds all correspond to the unvoiced pronunciation, e.g. Шаблон:Grapheme not Шаблон:Grapheme, Шаблон:Grapheme not Шаблон:Grapheme, etc. The phoneme Шаблон:IPA is represented by Шаблон:Grapheme, as it is in various other languages.

Long vowels are denoted with either a macron, as in Шаблон:Grapheme, or a circumflex, as in Шаблон:Grapheme.Шаблон:Rp Use of either the macron or circumflex is acceptable, but usage should be consistent within a work. The vowel ē Шаблон:IPA, used in southern Plains Cree, is always long and the grapheme Шаблон:Grapheme is never used. In northern Plains Cree the sound has merged with ī, and thus Шаблон:Grapheme is not used at all.Шаблон:RP

The use of unmarked Шаблон:Grapheme and marked Шаблон:Grapheme for the phonemes Шаблон:IPA and Шаблон:IPA emphasizes the relationship that can exist between these two vowels. There are situations where o can be lengthened to ō, as for example in Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Transl 'sing (now)!' and Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Transl 'sing (later)!'.

In alphabetic writing, the use of punctuation has been inconsistent. For instance, in the Plains Cree dialect, the interrogative enclitic cî can be included in the sentence to mark a yes–no question such that this is sometimes considered to be sufficient without including a question mark (?). However, in many modern publications and text collections (cf. The Counselling Speeches of Jim Kâ-Nîpitêhtêw (1998)) full punctuation is used.

Additionally, other interrogatives (where, when, what, why, who) can be used, as in other languages, and questions marks can thus be used for such questions in Cree as well.

Hyphenation can be used to separate a particle from the root word that it prefixes, especially particles that precede verbs ("preverbs" or "indeclinable preverbs") or nouns ("prenouns" or "indeclinable prenouns"). One example is Шаблон:Transl ('start speaking!'), derived from Шаблон:Transl. Note that Шаблон:Transl can neither stand alone as a separate word, nor is it an essential part of a stem. There are some more complex situations where it is difficult to determine whether an element is a particle. Some frequently used compound words can be written as unhyphenated.Шаблон:RP Stress can be predicted in some cases based on hyphenation.

Vowel reduction or vowel dropping, as is common of unstressed short i Шаблон:IPA, is not denoted in order to be more cross-dialectal—instead of using apostrophes, the full unreduced vowels are written.Шаблон:Rp

Representation of sandhi (such as Шаблон:Transl → Шаблон:Transl) can be written or not written, as sandhi representation introduces greater complexity.Шаблон:Rp There are additional rules regarding h and iy that may not match a given speaker's speech, to enable a standardized transcription.

Contact languages

Cree is also a component language in at least five contact languages: Michif, Northern Michif, Bungi, Oji-Cree, and Nehipwat. Michif and Bungi are spoken by members of the Métis, and historically by some Voyageurs and European settlers of Western Canada and in parts of the Northern United States. Nehipwat and Oji-Cree are blends of Cree with Assiniboine (Nehipwat) and Ojibwe (Oji-Cree).

Michif is a mixed language which combines Cree with French. For the most part, Michif uses Cree verbs, question words, and demonstratives while using French nouns. Michif is unique to the Canadian prairie provinces as well as to North Dakota and Montana in the United States. Michif is still spoken in central Canada and in North Dakota.

Bungi is a creole based on Scottish English, Scots, Scottish Gaelic, Cree, and Ojibwe. Some French words have also been incorporated into its lexicon. This language flourished at and around the Red River Settlement (the modern-day location of Winnipeg, Manitoba) by the mid- to late-1800s. Bungi is now virtually extinct, as its features are being abandoned in favor of standard English.

Cree has also been incorporated into another mixed language within Canada, Nehipwat, which is a blending of Cree with Assiniboine. Nehipwat is found only in a few southern Saskatchewan reserves and is now nearing extinction. Nothing is known of its structure.

Legal status

Файл:Mistassini roadsign.jpg

A Quebec stop sign in Cree, English and French.

The social and legal status of Cree varies across Canada. Cree is one of the eleven official languages of the Northwest Territories, but is only spoken by a small number of people there in the area around the town of Fort Smith. It is also one of two principal languages of the regional government of Eeyou Istchee James Bay in Northern Quebec, the other being French.

Support and revitalization

As of 2017, Cree had about 117,000 documented speakers. They are still a minority language given the dominance of English and French in Canada. There are programs in place to maintain and revitalize the language, though. In the Quebec James Bay Cree community, a resolution was put into action in 1988 that made Cree the language of education in primary schools and eventually elementary schools.

The Mistissini council decided to require their employees to learn Cree syllabics in 1991.

The Cree School Board now has its annual report available in both English and Cree.

There is a push to increase the availability of Cree stations on the radio.

In 2013, free Cree language electronic books for beginners became available for Alberta language teachers.

The Government of the Northwest Territories releases an annual report on First Nations languages. The 2016–2017 report features successes they have had in revitalizing and supporting and projects they are working on. For example, they released a Medicinal Plant Guide that had information in both Cree and English. An important part of making the guide was input from the elders. Another accomplishment was the dubbing of a movie in Cree. They are working on broadcasting a radio station that "will give listeners music and a voice for our languages".

Joshua Whitehead is one writer who has used the Cree language as part of his poetry.

See also

• Cree people

Bibliography

• Ahenakew, Freda, Cree Language Structures: A Cree Approach. Pemmican Publications Inc., 1987. Шаблон:ISBN
• Ahenakew, Freda, Text-Based Grammar in Cree Language Education, Msc Thesis, University of Manitoba. online
• Bakker, Peter and Robert A. Papen. "Michif: A Mixed Language based on French and Cree". Contact Languages: A Wider Perspective. Ed. Sarah G. Thomason. 17 vols. Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing Co. 1997. Шаблон:ISBN.
• Bloomfield, Leonard. Plains Cree Texts. New York: AMS Press, 1974. Шаблон:ISBN
• Carter, Sarah. Aboriginal People and Colonizers of Western Canada to 1900. University of Toronto Press Inc. Toronto: 1999. Шаблон:ISBN.
• Castel, Robert J., and David Westfall. Castel's English–Cree Dictionary and Memoirs of the Elders Based on the Woods Cree of Pukatawagan, Manitoba. Brandon, Man: Brandon University Northern Teacher Education Program, 2001. Шаблон:ISBN
• Dahlstrom, Amy. Plains Cree Morphosyntax. Outstanding dissertations in linguistics. New York: Garland Pub, 1991. Шаблон:ISBN
• Ellis, C. D. Spoken Cree, Level I, west coast of James Bay. Edmonton: University of Alberta Press, 2000. Шаблон:ISBN
• Hirose, Tomio. Origins of predicates evidence from Plains CreeШаблон:Dead link. Outstanding dissertations in linguistics. New York: Routledge, 2003. Шаблон:ISBN
• Junker, Marie-Odile, Marguerite MacKenzie, Luci Salt, Alice Duff, Daisy Moar & Ruth Salt (réds) (2007–2008) Le Dictionnaire du cri de l'Est de la Baie James sur la toile: français-cri et cri-français (dialectes du Sud et du Nord).
• LeClaire, Nancy, George Cardinal, Earle H. Waugh, and Emily Hunter. Alberta Elders' Cree Dictionary = Alperta Ohci Kehtehayak Nehiyaw Otwestamakewasinahikan. Edmonton: University of Alberta Press, 1998. Шаблон:ISBN
• MacKenzie, Marguerite, Marie-Odile Junker, Luci Salt, Elsie Duff, Daisy Moar, Ruth Salt, Ella Neeposh & Bill Jancewicz (eds) (2004–2008) The Eastern James Bay Cree Dictionary on the Web : English-Cree and Cree-English (Northern and Southern dialect).
• Okimāsis, Jean and Wolvengrey, Arok. How to spell it in Cree: the Standard Roman Orthography, Шаблон:ISBN online
• Steller, Lea-Katharina (née Virághalmy): Alkalmazkodni és újat adni – avagy „accomodatio“ a paleográfiában In: Paleográfiai kalandozások. Szentendre, 1995. Шаблон:ISBN
• Wolfart, H. Christoph. Plains Cree A Grammatical Study. Transactions of the American Philosophical Society, new ser., v. 63, pt. 5. Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society, 1973. Шаблон:ISBN
• Wolfart, H. C. & Freda Ahenakew, The Student's Dictionary of Literary Plains Cree. Memoir 15, Algonquian and Iroquoian Linguistics, 1998. Шаблон:ISBN
• Wolvengrey, Arok, ed. nēhiýawēwin: itwēwina / Cree: Words / ᓀᐦᐃᔭᐍᐏᐣ: ᐃᑗᐏᓇ [includes Latin orthography and Cree syllabics]. [Cree–English English–Cree Dictionary – Volume 1: Cree-English; Volume 2: English-Cree]. Canadian Plains Research Center, 15 October 2001. Шаблон:ISBN

External links

• The Cree-Innu linguistic atlas
• The Cree-Innu linguistic atlas, .pdf
• The Gift of Language and Culture website
• Our Languages: Cree (Saskatchewan Indian Cultural Centre)
• Languagegeek: Cree—OpenType font repository of aboriginal languages (including Cree).
• Path of the Elders – Explore Treaty 9, Aboriginal Cree & First Nations history.

Lessons

• Nehinawe: Speak Cree Шаблон:Webarchive
• Cree Language Lessons Шаблон:Webarchive
• The East Cree language web
• Cree on-line Spelling Lessons

Dictionaries

• Proto-Cree dictionary
• Moose Cree dictionary
• Online Eastern James Bay Cree dictionary (covers both Northern and Southern dialects)
• Online Cree dictionary
• Wasaho Ininiwimowin (Wasaho Cree) Dictionary at Kwayaciiwin Education Resource Centre

E-books

• Little Cree Books