Eastern Cree syllabics facts for kids

Eastern Cree syllabics are a unique writing system used for different Cree dialects. This system is part of a larger group called Canadian Aboriginal syllabics. You can find it used in areas from Moosonee, Ontario to Kawawachikamach near the Quebec–Labrador border in Canada.

Cree syllabics use special symbols called glyphs for consonant sounds. What's really cool is that the way these symbols are turned or rotated shows which vowel sound comes after the consonant. For example, the same basic shape might mean 'pa' if it points one way, and 'pi' if it points another. The main ideas behind how Canadian syllabic writing works are explained in the article about Canadian Aboriginal syllabics.

In this article, Cree words and sounds are written using the Standard Roman Orthography. This is a common way to write Cree sounds using letters from the English alphabet.

How Eastern Cree Syllabics Work

Eastern Cree syllabics have some key differences from Western Cree syllabics. These differences help people tell them apart.

Writing Final Consonants

One main difference is how they write "final consonants." These are consonant sounds that come at the very end of a word, without a vowel following them. In Eastern Cree, these final consonants are written using a smaller, raised symbol.

For example, in the word ᒫᔅᑰᒡ (māskōc), which means "it is big," the 's' sound (ᔅ) and the 'c' sound (ᒡ) at the end are written as small, raised symbols.

Special Marks for Sounds

Eastern Cree syllabics also place a special mark for the 'w' sound (called labialization) before the main symbol. In Western Cree, this mark usually comes after the symbol. For example, the word ᑖᐺ (tāpwē) means "truly."

There are also some extra symbols in Eastern Cree for consonant sounds that are not found in Western Cree dialects.

Eastern Cree Syllabic Characters

Here is a table showing the main characters used in Eastern Cree syllabics. You can see how the shapes change for different vowels and how the final consonants look.

• The symbols for 'v' (like in "van"), 'f' (like in "fan"), and 'th' (like in "this" or "thin") are not used very often. They mostly appear in words borrowed from other languages. However, the Inuktitut writing system, which is related, often uses the Eastern Cree 'v' and 'f' symbols for their own 'v' sound.

Special Final Consonants in Dialects

Different Cree dialects have their own unique ways of writing certain final consonant sounds.

• In Moose Cree, there's a special symbol for the combined '/sk/' sound. For example, ᐊᒥᔉ (amisk) means "beaver."
• The Moose Cree final '/y/' sound is shown as a small ring placed above the previous syllable. For instance, ᐋᣁ (āšay) means "now."
• East Cree uses special raised symbols for '/kw/' and '/mw/' sounds. These look like smaller versions of the 'o' vowel symbols. An example is ᒥᔅᑎᒄ (mistikw), meaning "tree."
• The Naskapi dialect does not mark long or short vowels. Instead, it uses two dots, either above or before a syllable, to show a 'w' sound. For example, ᐛ is 'wa,' and ᐖ is 'wo.' Naskapi also has a special combined final symbol for '/skw/', which is a raised 'sa-ko' symbol.