Naskapi (also known as ᐃᔪᐤ ᐃᔨᒧᐅᓐ/Iyuw Iyimuun in the Naskapi language) is an Algonquian language spoken by the

Naskapi The Naskapi (Nascapi, Naskapee, Nascapee) are an Indigenous people of the Subarctic native to the historical country St'aschinuw (ᒋᑦ ᐊᔅᒋᓄᐤ, meaning 'our nclusiveland'), which is located in northern Quebec and Labrador, neighb ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

and

Labrador , nickname = "The Big Land" , etymology = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Canada , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. It is written in

Eastern Cree syllabics Eastern Cree syllabics are a variant of Canadian Aboriginal syllabics used to write all the Cree dialects from Moosonee, Ontario to Kawawachikamach on the Quebec–Labrador border in Canada that use syllabics. Cree syllabics uses different glyph ...

. The term Naskapi is chiefly used to describe the language of the people living in the interior of

and

Labrador , nickname = "The Big Land" , etymology = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Canada , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 ...

in or around

Kawawachikamach, Quebec Kawawachikamach ( nsk, script=Cans, ᑲᐛᐛᒋᑲᒪᒡ, translit=Kawâwâchikamach) is a Naskapi/Iyiyiw First Nations reserve and community at the south end of Lake Matemace (where it joins Lake Peter), approximately northeast of Scheffervill ...

. Naskapi is a " y-dialect" that has many linguistic features in common with the Northern dialect of

East Cree East Cree, also known as (Eastern) James Bay Cree, and East Main Cree, is a group of Cree dialects spoken in Quebec, Canada on the east coast of lower Hudson Bay and James Bay, and inland southeastward from James Bay. Cree is one of the most spok ...

, and also shares many lexical items with the

Innu language Innu-aimun or Montagnais is an Algonquian language spoken by over 10,000 Innu in Labrador and Quebec in Eastern Canada. It is a member of the Cree–Montagnais–Naskapi dialect continuum and is spoken in various dialects depending on the commu ...

. Although there is a much closer linguistic and cultural relationship between Naskapi and Innu than between Naskapi and other Cree language communities, Naskapi remains unique and distinct from all other language varieties in the Quebec-Labrador peninsula.

Phonology

Each stop has voiced allophones as .MacKenzie, Marguerite. 1994. * Long vowels: , , * Short vowels: , ,

Orthography

There are two writing systems used for Naskapi language. One is Latin, similar to Innu Language (Montagnais), and the other is

Cree syllabics Cree syllabics are the versions of Canadian Aboriginal syllabics used to write Cree dialects, including the original syllabics system created for Cree and Ojibwe. There are two main varieties of syllabics for Cree: Western Cree syllabics and ...

, similar to James Bay Cree, as well as other dialects of Cree across Canada.

Latin

Naskapi Latin Alphabet consists of 3 vowels, a, i, and u, in short form and in long form. The long form is either written with a

Circumflex The circumflex () is a diacritic in the Latin and Greek scripts that is also used in the written forms of many languages and in various romanization and transcription schemes. It received its English name from la, circumflexus "bent around"a ...

accent, e.g. â, or by simply writing the vowel twice, e.g. aa. The vowel also consists of 12 consonants (including the Ch digraph) * Ch, K, P, and T are voiced between vowels. * L and R are only used in loanwords from other languages.

Syllabary

Naskapi Syllabics (ᓇᔅᑲᐱ ᐃᔪᐤ ᐃᔨᒧᐅᓐ, ''naskapi iyuw iyimuun'') is derived from Canadian Aboriginal syllabics, and while having its unique characteristics, shares many features with other Canadian Cree Syllabic systems. Unlike other Cree Syllabics, long and short vowels are not distinguished. The final forms in Naskapi Syllabics are similar to other varieties of

Notes

External links

Naskapi Lexicon

Naskapi LanguageOLAC resources in and about the Naskapi language
Central Algonquian languages Indigenous languages of the North American eastern woodlands First Nations languages in Canada Naskapi {{indigenousAmerican-lang-stub