Cree syllabics are the versions of

Canadian Aboriginal syllabics Canadian syllabic writing, or simply syllabics, is a family of writing systems used in a number of indigenous Canadian languages of the Algonquian languages, Algonquian, Eskimo–Aleut languages, Inuit, and (formerly) Athabaskan languages, A ...

used to write Cree dialects, including the original syllabics system created for Cree and

Ojibwe The Ojibwe (; Ojibwe writing systems#Ojibwe syllabics, syll.: ᐅᒋᐺ; plural: ''Ojibweg'' ᐅᒋᐺᒃ) are an Anishinaabe people whose homeland (''Ojibwewaki'' ᐅᒋᐺᐘᑭ) covers much of the Great Lakes region and the Great Plains, n ...

. There are two main varieties of syllabics for Cree: Western Cree syllabics and

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

. Syllabics were later adapted to several other languages. It is estimated that over 70,000 Algonquian-speaking people use the script, from

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...

in the west to

Hudson Bay Hudson Bay, sometimes called Hudson's Bay (usually historically), is a large body of Saline water, saltwater in northeastern Canada with a surface area of . It is located north of Ontario, west of Quebec, northeast of Manitoba, and southeast o ...

in the east, the US border to Mackenzie and Kewatin (the

Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories is a federal Provinces and territories of Canada, territory of Canada. At a land area of approximately and a 2021 census population of 41,070, it is the second-largest and the most populous of Provinces and territorie ...

and

Nunavut Nunavut is the largest and northernmost Provinces and territories of Canada#Territories, territory of Canada. It was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the ''Nunavut Act'' and the Nunavut Land Claims Agr ...

) in the north.

History

Cree syllabics were developed for Ojibwe by James Evans, a missionary in what is now

Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

in the 1830s. Evans had originally adapted the

Latin script The Latin script, also known as the Roman script, is a writing system based on the letters of the classical Latin alphabet, derived from a form of the Greek alphabet which was in use in the ancient Greek city of Cumae in Magna Graecia. The Gree ...

to Ojibwe (see Evans system), but after learning of the success of the

Cherokee syllabary The Cherokee syllabary is a syllabary invented by Sequoyah in the late 1810s and early 1820s to write the Cherokee language. His creation of the syllabary is particularly noteworthy as he was illiterate until its creation. He first experimen ...

, he experimented with invented scripts based on his familiarity with

shorthand Shorthand is an abbreviated symbolic writing method that increases speed and brevity of writing as compared to Cursive, longhand, a more common method of writing a language. The process of writing in shorthand is called stenography, from the Gr ...

and

Devanagari Devanagari ( ; in script: , , ) is an Indic script used in the Indian subcontinent. It is a left-to-right abugida (a type of segmental Writing systems#Segmental systems: alphabets, writing system), based on the ancient ''Brāhmī script, Brā ...

. When Evans later worked with the closely related Cree and ran into trouble with the Latin alphabet, he turned to his Ojibwe project and in 1840 adapted it to Cree. The result contained just nine glyph shapes, each of which stood for a syllable with the

vowels A vowel is a speech sound pronounced without any stricture in the vocal tract, forming the nucleus of a syllable. Vowels are one of the two principal classes of speech sounds, the other being the consonant. Vowels vary in quality, in loudness a ...

determined by the shapes' orientation. After the 1841 publication of a syllabics hymn book, the new script spread quickly. The Cree valued it because it could be learned in just a few hours and because it was visually distinctive from the Latin script of the colonial languages. Virtually all Cree became literate in the new syllabary within a few years. Evans taught by writing on birchbark with soot, and he became known as "the man who made birchbark talk."

Structure

Canadian Aboriginal syllabics are unique among

abugida An abugida (; from Geʽez: , )sometimes also called alphasyllabary, neosyllabary, or pseudo-alphabetis a segmental Writing systems#Segmental writing system, writing system in which consonant–vowel sequences are written as units; each unit ...

scripts in that the orientation of a symbol, rather than modifications of its shape or diacritic marks, determines the

vowel A vowel is a speech sound pronounced without any stricture in the vocal tract, forming the nucleus of a syllable. Vowels are one of the two principal classes of speech sounds, the other being the consonant. Vowels vary in quality, in loudness a ...

of a syllable. Each basic shape corresponds to a specific consonant sound; this is flipped or rotated to denote the accompanying vowel. Like the

Latin alphabet The Latin alphabet, also known as the Roman alphabet, is the collection of letters originally used by the Ancient Rome, ancient Romans to write the Latin language. Largely unaltered except several letters splitting—i.e. from , and from � ...

, syllabics are written from left to right, with each new line of writing directly under the previous one. Sample text: ᒥᓯᐌ ᐃᓂᓂᐤ ᑎᐯᓂᒥᑎᓱᐎᓂᐠ ᐁᔑ ᓂᑕᐎᑭᐟ ᓀᐢᑕ ᐯᔭᑾᐣ ᑭᒋ ᐃᔑ ᑲᓇᐗᐸᒥᑯᐎᓯᐟ ᑭᐢᑌᓂᒥᑎᓱᐎᓂᐠ ᓀᐢᑕ ᒥᓂᑯᐎᓯᐎᓇ᙮ ᐁ ᐸᑭᑎᓇᒪᒋᐠ ᑲᑫᑕᐌᓂᑕᒧᐎᓂᓂᐤ ᓀᐢᑕ ᒥᑐᓀᓂᒋᑲᓂᓂᐤ ᓀᐢᑕ ᐎᒋᑴᓯᑐᐎᓂᐠ ᑭᒋ ᐃᔑ ᑲᓇᐗᐸᒥᑐᒋᐠ᙮ Transliteration: Misiwe ininiw tipēnimitisowinik ēshi nitawikit nēsta pēyaykan kici ishi kanawapamikowisit kistēnimitisowinik nēsta minikowisiwina. Ē pakitinamacik kakētawenitamowininiw nēsta mitonēnicikaniniw nēsta. Meaning: All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

Variants

The syllabary continues in use for dialects of Cree west of the

–

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

border as Western Cree syllabics. John Horden introduced modifications in the 1850s in the

James Bay James Bay (, ; ) is a large body of water located on the southern end of Hudson Bay in Canada. It borders the provinces of Quebec and Ontario, and is politically part of Nunavut. Its largest island is Akimiski Island. Numerous waterways of the ...

area. These were standardized in 1865 to form

, used today for many eastern dialects of Cree,

Naskapi The Naskapi (Nascapi, Naskapee, Nascapee) are an Indigenous people of the Subarctic native to the historical region St'aschinuw (ᒋᑦ ᐊᔅᒋᓄᐤ, meaning 'our Clusivity, nclusiveland'), which was located in present day northern Qu ...

, and Ojibwe, though Cree dialects of eastern

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

use the Latin alphabet. The two versions differ primarily in the way they indicate syllable-final consonants, in how they mark the semi-vowel , and in how they reflect the phonological differences between Cree dialects. There are more minor local differences in orthography, shapes of the characters, writing styles, and punctuation, with some writers using dots or spaces between words, and others not indicating word separation.

Cree numerals

The syllabics have been recorded to have been used as numerals with individual fixed integer values in certain combinations akin to that of the Roman system: * a

vertical bar The vertical bar, , is a glyph with various uses in mathematics, computing, and typography. It has many names, often related to particular meanings: Sheffer stroke (in logic), pipe, bar, or (literally, the word "or"), vbar, and others. Usage ...

represents 1, * ᐅ ''o'' represents 3 (Iᐅ equals 4), * ᐊ ''a'' represents numerals more than 6 (ᐅᐊ equals 6, ᐊ equals 7, ᐊII equals 9), * ᒥ ''mi'' represents 10, * looped syllables (ᓀᓂᓄᓇᑯᑲᑫᑭ) represent 20-90. The

zero 0 (zero) is a number representing an empty quantity. Adding (or subtracting) 0 to any number leaves that number unchanged; in mathematical terminology, 0 is the additive identity of the integers, rational numbers, real numbers, and compl ...

is represented as an eight pointed star.

Modern usage

Though used for manuscripts, letters, and personal records since the 19th century, the need for special type long restricted printed syllabics to missionary publications. However, with the development of syllabic typewriters and, later, word processors, control of the script passed to native speakers, and it is now used for schoolbooks, periodicals, and official documents.

Cree books written in syllabics

* Hundreds of Eastern James Bay Cree books were published by the Cree School Board of Quebec, Canada. See th
catalogue
. * ''

Swampy Cree The Swampy Cree people, also known by their Exonym and endonym, autonyms ''Néhinaw'', ''Maskiki Wi Iniwak'', ''Mushkekowuk,'' ''Maškékowak, Maskegon'' or ''Maskekon'' (and therefore also ''Muskegon'' and ''Muskegoes'') or by exonyms includin ...

Hymn Book'' = ''ᓇᑲᒧᐏᓇ ᐅᒪᐢᑮᑯᐘ ᐅᑎᑘᐏᓂᐘᐤ''. (By James Evans) Norway House, 1841.
Peel 209
* ''The Psalter, or Psalms of David''
ᑌᕕᑦ ᐅ ᓂᑲᒧᐎᓇᕽ
(By John Horden) London, 1875.
Peel 738
* ''The New Testament, translated into the Cree language''
ᐅᔅᑭ ᑎᔅᑌᒥᓐᑦ ᑭ ᑎᐯᓕᒋᑫᒥᓇᐤ ᓀᔥᑕ ᑭ ᐱᒪᒋᐃᐌᒥᓇᐤ ᒋᓴᔅ ᒃᣅᔅᑦ
(By John Horden) London, 1876.

* ''Catechism''. (Transl. James Evans) Rossville, É.N. * ''The Holy Bible''. (Transl. John Sinclair, Henry Steinhauer) London, 1861. * ''Bunyan: Pilgrim´S Progress''. (Transl. John Sinclair) Toronto, 1900. * ''Cree Hymn Book.'' (By John Mcdougall) Toronto, 1888. * ''Cree Hymn Book.'' (By Robert Steinauer, Egerton Steinauer) Toronto, 1920. * ''The Epistle of Paul The Apostle To The Galatians''. (Transl. Joseph Reader) Oonikup (Northwest Territory), S.A. * ''The Acts of The Apostles And The Epistles''. London, 1891. * ''The Books of The New Testament''. London, 1859. * ''The Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Ephesians; the Epistle of Jacob; the First Epistle General of John.'' (Transl. Thomas Hullburt) Rossville, 1857. * ''The Travellers´ Spiritual Provision'' (Calendar) S.L., S. A. * ''The Handbook to Scripture Truth: Words of Admonition, Counsel and Comfort.'' Toronto, 1893. * ''Prières, cantiques, catéchisme, etc. en langue crise''. Montréal, 1886. * ''The Book of Common Prayer'', (Transl. John Horden) London, 1889 (Addl. Printings Through 1970). :
In: Paleográfiai kalandozások. Szentendre, 1995.

References

External links

''GiftofLanguageandCulture.CA''.
Eastern James Bay Cree fonts
, ''EastCree.org''.

, ''Omniglot.com''.

, ''LanguageGeek.com''.

{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210514204931/http://weshki.atwebpages.com/naasaab_both.html , date=2021-05-14 " report, ''Weshki.AtWebPages.com''.

, ''SICC.SK.CA''.
Cree standard Roman orthography to syllabics converter
Cree language Canadian Aboriginal syllabics 1840 introductions Writing systems of the Americas