Cree language

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Cree Nêhiyawêwin, Nîhithawîwin, Nêhinawêwin.
Spoken in:	Canada
Total speakers:	50,000 approx.
Language family:	Algic Algonquian Central Algonquian Cree
Official status
Official language of:	None.
Regulated by:	no official regulation
Language codes
ISO 639-1:	`cr`
ISO 639-2:	`cre`
ISO/FDIS 639-3:	`cwd`
Note: This page may contain IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode. See IPA chart for English for an English-based pronunciation key.

Cree is the name for a group of closely-related Algonquian languages spoken by approximately 50,000 speakers across Canada, from Alberta to Labrador.

1 Dialect criteria
2 Dialect groups
3 Syntax
4 Written Cree
5 Creole languages
6 Legal status
7 Literature
8 External links

[edit] Dialect criteria

The Cree dialect continuum can be divided by several criteria. Dialects spoken from north-eastern Ontario to Labrador make a distinction between š (sh as in she) and s, while those to the west do not. In several dialects, including northern Plains Cree and Woods Cree, the long vowels ê and î have merged into a single vowel. However, the most transparent phonological variation between different Cree dialects is in the evolution of the proto-Algonquian rhotic *r in the modern dialects. The Plains Cree, speakers of the y dialect, refer to their language as Nêhiyawêwin, whereas Woods Cree speakers say nîhithawîwin, and Swampy Cree speakers say nêhinawêwin. This is similar to the alternation in the Siouan languages Dakota, Nakota, and Lakota, or the evolution of the Old Church Slavonic vowel yat into different present-day Slavic languages.

[edit] Dialect groups

We can broadly classify the Cree dialects into nine groups. From west to east:

Plains Cree (y-dialect)
Woods Cree (th-dialect)
Swampy Cree (n-dialect)

Swampy Cree in turn has an eastern and a western dialect which differ in the use of the phoneme š. In the western dialect, š has merged with s.

Moose Cree (l-dialect)
James Bay Cree (y-dialect, sometimes called East Cree)

James Bay Cree has a northern and a southern dialect which differ in the number of vowel distinctions they make. The long vowels ê and î have merged in the northern dialect but are distinct in the southern. Nonetheless, the people from the two areas easily communicate.

Atikamekw (r-dialect)
Western Montagnais (l-dialect)
Eastern Montagnais (n-dialect, also sometimes called Innu-aimun)
Naskapi (y-dialect)

[edit] Syntax

Like many Native American languages, Cree features a complex polysynthetic morphology and syntax. A Cree word can be very long, and express something that takes a series of words in English, while at other times Cree is more explicit than English. For example, the Plains Cree word for "school" is kiskinohamatowkamikw, "Know-by.hand-caus-applicative-reciprocal-place," "The knowing-it-together-by-example place". To say "he always danced like that" in Plains Cree, however, is simply ki-isi-nanimihtow.

[edit] Written 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 Roman alphabet as well. The easternmost dialects are written using the Roman alphabet exclusively.

[edit] Creole languages

Cree was also a component language in two creoles unique to Western Canada. Michif, combining Cree and French; and Bungee, combing Cree and Scottish Gaelic. Both languages were spoken by Métis voyageurs and settlers in Western Canada. Many Cree words also became the basis for words in the Chinook Jargon trade language used until some point after contact with Europeans.

[edit] Legal status

The social and legal status of Cree varies across Canada. Cree is one of the seven 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. In many areas, it is a vibrant community language still spoken by large majorities and taught in schools. In other areas, its use has declined dramatically. Cree is one of the least endangered aboriginal languages in North America, but is nonetheless at risk since it possesses little institutional support in most areas.