Naskapi (also known as ᐃᔪᐤ ᐃᔨᒧᐅᓐ/Iyuw Iyimuun in the Naskapi language) is an
Algonquian language spoken by the
Naskapi in
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 thirte ...
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 to ...
. It is written in
Eastern Cree syllabics.
The term Naskapi is chiefly used to describe the language of the people living in the interior of
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 thirte ...
and
Labrador
, nickname = "The Big Land"
, etymology =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Canada
, subdivision_type1 = Province
, subdivision_name1 ...
in or around
Kawawachikamach, Quebec. Naskapi is a "
y-dialect" that has many linguistic features in common with the Northern dialect of
East Cree, and also shares many lexical items with the
Innu language
Innu-aimun or Montagnais is an Algonquian languages, Algonquian language spoken by over 10,000 Innu in Labrador and Quebec in Eastern Canada. It is a member of the Cree language, Cree–Montagnais–Naskapi dialect continuum and is spoken in vari ...
.
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, 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" ...
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
Eastern Cree syllabics.
Notes
External links
Naskapi LexiconNaskapi 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