Language/Plains-cree/Pronunciation/Alphabet-and-Pronunciation
The Plains Cree language is a dialect of the Cree language belonging to the Algonquian language family, which is the most populous group of Canadian indigenous languages.
Phonology[edit | edit source]
Consonants[edit | edit source]
The consonant inventory of Plains Cree contains 10 or 11 sounds.
This includes the semi-vowels /w/ and /j/, which are glides that act like and often follow consonants.
The consonants of Plains Cree in the two standard writing systems, Cree syllabics and the Cree Latin alphabet, are listed in the following table (with IPA phonemic notation within slashes).
| Bilabial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | ᒼ m /m/ | ᐣ n /n/ | |||
| Stop | ᑊ p /p/ | ᐟ t /t/ | ᐠ k /k/ | (/ʔ/) | |
| Affricate | ᐨ c /t͡s/ | ||||
| Fricative | ᐢ s /s/ | ᐦ h /h/ | |||
| Approximant | ᐤ w /w/ | ᐩ (ᐝ)y/i/ý [j] | |||
Vowels[edit | edit source]
Plains Cree is often described as having seven contrastive vowels, three short and four long. However, northern Plains Cree has only three long vowels.
These vowels in the standard writing systems are listed in the following table (with IPA phonemic notation within slashes).
| Short | Long | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Front | Back | Front | Back | |
| High (close) | ᐃ i /i/ | ᐅ o /u/ | ᐄ ī /iː/ | ᐆ ō /oː/ |
| Close-mid | ᐁ ē /eː/ | |||
| Open-mid | ᐊ a /a/ | |||
| Low (open) | ᐋ ā /aː/ | |||
Videos[edit | edit source]
The Cree Language[edit | edit source]
Plains Cree (Canadian Indigenous Language)[edit | edit source]