Cree ( ; also known as Cree–Montagnais–Naskapi) is a dialect continuum of Algonquian languages spoken by approximately 86,475 people across Canada in 2021, 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: (Plains Cree) (Woods Cree) (Western Swampy Cree) (Eastern Swampy Cree) (Moose Cree) (Southern East Cree) (Northern East Cree) (Atikamekw) (Western Montagnais, Piyekwâkamî dialect) (Western Montagnais, Betsiamites dialect) (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 its linguistic homeland, an undetermined area thought to be near the Great Lakes. Speakers of the proto-Cree language are thought to have moved north and quickly diverged into two groups on either 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.Rhodes and Todd, "Subarctic Algonquian Languages" in Handbook of North American Indians: Subarctic, p. 60 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.Rhodes and Todd, 60–61
A traditional view among 20th-century anthropologists and historians of the fur trade posits that the Woodland 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 George Gustav Heye Center stated in 1987 that the weight of archeological and linguistic evidence puts the Cree as far west as the Peace River Country of Alberta before European contact.
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 (sh as in she) and , while those to the west have merged the two phonemes as and in the east the phonemes are merged as either or . In several dialects, including northern Plains Cree and Woods Cree, the long vowels and have merged into a single vowel, . In the Quebec communities of Chisasibi, Whapmagoostui, and Kawawachikamach, the long vowel has merged with .
However, the most transparent phonological variations between different Cree dialects are reflexes of Proto-Algonquian *l in the modern varieties, as shown below: Dialect Location Reflexof *l Word for 'native person'← * Word for 'you'← * Plains Cree SK, AB, BC, NT y Woods Cree MB, SK ð/th Swampy Cree ON, MB, SK n Moose Cree ON l Atikamekw Nitaskinan, QC r Northern East Cree Eeyou Istchee, QC y Southern East Cree Eeyou Istchee, QC y Kawawachikamach Naskapi Nitassinan, QC y Western Innu Nitassinan, QC l Eastern Innu Nitassinan, QC, NL n
The Plains Cree, speakers of the y dialect, refer to their language as , whereas Woods Cree speakers say , and Swampy Cree speakers say .
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 or before front vowels. See the table above for examples in the * column.
Very often, the Cree dialect continuum is divided into two languages: Cree and Innu/Montagnais. Cree includes all dialects which have not undergone the *k > sound change (BC–QC) while Innu 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 that use the Cree syllabics as their orthography (including Atikamekw, but excluding Kawawachikamach Naskapi); the term Innu or Montagnais then applies to those dialects that use 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:
+ ISO-639-3code and name ISO-639-6code and name Linguaspherecode and nameLinguasphere code 62-ADA is called "Cree+Ojibwa net", listing four divisions of which three are shown here—the fourth division 62-ADA-d representing the Ojibwe dialects, listed as "Ojibwa+ Anissinapek". MoseleyMoseley, Christopher. 2007. Encyclopedia of World's Endangered Languages. Glottologname (and code)Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin; Bank, Sebastian, eds. (2016). "Cree–Montagnais–Naskapi". Glottolog 2.7. Jena: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History. dialect type additional comments*l *k(i)*š*ēcre Cree (generic) cwd Woods Cree() cwdWoods Cree 62-ADA-a Cree 62-ADA-abWoods Cree Cree-Montagnais-NaskapiWestern CreeWood Cree Cree-Montagnais-Naskapicree1271 Woods Creewood1236 ðksī In this dialect ē has merged into ī. Plains Creeplai1258 Western York Cree r → ðksī Missinipi Cree (). 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 v. Missinipi Cree : 'he/she is red'.crk Plains Cree crkPlains Cree 62-ADA-aaPlains Cree Plains Cree Northern Alberta Cree yksī(northern) Divided to Southern Plains Cree () and Northern Plains Cree ( or ). In the Northern dialect, ē has merged into ī. Nuclear Plains Cree yksē (southern) csw Swampy Cree() csw Swampy Cree 62-ADA-acSwampy Cree, West(Ininīmowin) Swampy Cree Swampy Creeswam1239 Western Swampy Cree nksē 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-adSwampy Cree, East() Eastern Swampy Cree nkšēcrm Moose Cree() crmMoose Cree 62-ADA-aeMoose Cree Moose Cree Moose Creemoos1236 n\lkšē(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 v. lowland Moose Cree : 'human'. Kesagami Lake Cree was an r dialect but has transitioned and merged with l dialect of Moose Cree. lkšē (upland) r → lkšē (Kesagami Lake) crl Northern East Cree() crlNorthern East Cree 62-ADA-afCree, East Eastern Cree East Cree Northern East Creenort1552 yk\čšā 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() crjSouthern East Cree 62-ADA-agCree, Southeast Southern East Creesout2978 yčšē(coastal)y\nčš~sē(inland)nsk NaskapinskNaskapi kkaaKoksoak 62-ADA-bInnu 62-ADA-baMushau Innuts 62-ADA-baaKoksoak River Naskapi Naskapinask1242 Western Naskapi yčš~sā Western Naskapi (or simply referred to as Naskapi). Spoken in Kawawachikamach, Quebec. dvsiDavis Inlet 62-ADA-babDavis Inlet Eastern Naskapi nčš~sē Eastern Naskapi; also known as Mushuau Innu. Spoken in Natuashish, Labrador.moe MontagnaismoeMontagnais poitPointe-Bleue 62-ADA-bbUashau Innuts + Bersimis 62-ADA-bbePointe Bleue Montagnais Montagnaismont1268 Western Montagnais lčšē Western Montagnais (Lehlueun); also known as the "Betsiamites dialect" escuEscoumains 62-ADA-bbdEscoumains bermBersimis 62-ADA-bbcBersimis uasiUashaui-Innuts 62-ADA-bbbUashaui Innuts nčš~hē 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. migaMingan 62-ADA-bbaMingan Eastern Montagnais nčš~hē Eastern Montagnais (Innu-aimûn). š is mostly realized as h.atj Atikamekw() atjAtikamekw manaManawan 62-ADA-cAtikamekw 62-ADA-caManawan Western Cree (cont'd) Attikamek Atikamekwatik1240 rkšē wemoWemotaci 62-ADA-cbWemotaci optcOpitciwan 62-ADA-ccOpitciwan
Phonology This table shows the possible consonant phonemes in the Cree language or one of its varieties. +Consonant phonemesBilabialDentalAlveolarPost-alveolarPalatalVelarGlottalNasal Plosive ~ Fricative ~ Approximant Lateral
+ Vowels Front Central Back Close ~ ~ Mid Open
In dictionaries focused on Eastern Swampy Cree, Western Swampy Cree may readily substitute with , while Lowland Moose Cree may readily substitute with their . In dictionaries focused on Southern Plains Cree, Northern Plains Cree may readily substitute with , while materials accommodating Rocky Cree will indicate the Plains Cree that is in Rocky Cree as . Similarly, in dictionaries focused on Western Swampy Cree, Woods Cree may readily substitute with , while materials accommodating Woods Cree will indicate the Western Swampy Cree that is in Woods Cree as . Atikamekw uses [], [], and [] (which also serves as []). Eastern James Bay Cree prefers to indicate long vowels (other than ) by doubling the vowel, while the western Cree use either a macron or circumflex diacritic; as is always long, often it is written as just without doubling or using a diacritic. While Western Cree dialects make use of and either or , Eastern Cree dialects instead make use of and either , , or .
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".Thunder, Dorothy Subject, Verb, and Object (SVO) in a sentence can vary in order, for example, SVO, VOS, OVS, and SOV.Dahlstrom, introduction
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 , and are used to refer to third persons who are more peripheral in the discourse than the proximate third person".Dahlstrom pp. 11 For example:
The suffix 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 semantically 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: