Naskapi language facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Naskapi
ᓇᔅᑲᐱ naskapi, ᐃᔪᐤ ᐃᔨᒧᐅᓐ iyuw iyimuun
Native to	Canada
Region	St'aschinuw (Quebec, Labrador)
Ethnicity	Naskapi
Native speakers	1,230  (2016 census)
Language family	Algic Algonquian Cree-Montagnais-Naskapi Naskapi
Writing system	Eastern Cree syllabics
Linguasphere	62-ADA-ba
Naskapi is classified as Vulnerable by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger
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Naskapi (also known as ᐃᔪᐤ ᐃᔨᒧᐅᓐ/Iyuw Iyimuun in the Naskapi language) is an Algonquian language spoken by the Naskapi in Quebec and Labrador, Canada. It is written in Eastern Cree syllabics.

The term Naskapi is chiefly used to refer to the language of the people living in the interior of Quebec and Labrador 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.

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 [b, d, ɡ, dʒ].

• Long vowels: /i/, /a~æ/, /u/
• Short vowels: /ɪ~ə/, /ʌ~ə/, /o~ʊ/

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

The Naskapi Latin alphabet consists of three vowels, ⟨a⟩, ⟨i⟩, and ⟨u⟩, in short form and in long form. The long form is either written with a circumflex 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.