Cree Language Structures

Meant as a guide to the use of literary texts in Cree language teaching. An introduction to Cree grammar which builds up slowly.

Sarah Whitecalf (1919-1991) spoke Cree exclusively, having been raised in the traditional manner by her grandparents. She was well known for her discourses, mainly on Cree culture, which are exceptionally rich and beautiful. This book records in print Mrs Whitecalf’s spoken responses to questions put to her in January 1990 by a group of teachers; mostly Cree speakers themselves, they were students in a course in Cree language structures which Freda Ahenakew taught for the Northern Teacher Education Program (NORTEP) at La Ronge, Saskatchewan. The La Ronge Lectures of Sarah Whitecalf differ radically from most other text collections in the indigenous languages of North America: while she freely illustrates her discussion with personal experiences, Sarah Whitecalf’s purpose in these lectures is not to tell stories but to explicate Cree practices and beliefs. In this book, she deals with diverse aspects of traditional Cree life, ranging from the vegetable dyes used for porcupine-quills to love medicines and their antidotes; she speaks about the sacred pipe and other spiritual matters, such as reliance on owls as spirit messengers; and she also addresses the question whether or not Cree religious practices and the Cree language itself should be taught to Whites. Throughout the book, Sarah Whitecalf stresses the importance of language as the vehicle of culture and identity. Through the discussions of her traditional life, she stressed the importance of language as a vehicle of culture and identity. In Plains Cree with an English translation and syllabics. Includes glossary.

Cree Language of the Plains: Nehiyawewin Paskwawi-pikiskwewin explores some of the intricate grammatical features of a language spoken by a nation which extends from Quebec to Alberta. This book presents the grammatical structure of Cree that everyone can understand, along with selected technical linguistic explanations. The accompanying workbook, sold separately, has exercises which provide practice with the concepts described in the textbook as well as dialogue about everyday situations which provide practice in the conversational Cree.

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This book explores several topics in Cree morphology, syntax and discourse structure. Cree, an Algonquian language, is non-configurational: the grammatical relations of subject and object are not expressed by word order or other constituent structure relations, as they are in a configurational language like English. Instead, subjects and objects are expressed by means of the inflection on the verb. Cree is typical of non-configurational languages in allowing a great deal of word order variation. This study examines in detail aspects of the Plains Cree dialect, giving a valuable insight into the structure of this endangered language.