Maskisina

This revised edition of Spoken Cree by C. Douglas Ellis is the first of three levels in a complete Cree language course, based on the "N" and "L" dialects spoken west of James Bay. Level I introduces the student to Cree by focussing on typical day-to-day situations. Each of the 18 units include basic conversation, a discussion of Cree grammar, drills, conversation practice and vocabulary list and a review section. The complete collection of sound files to accompany this manual can be downloaded from http://spokencree.org/. Spoken Cree III is available from the School of Linguistics and Language Studies, Carleton University.

Emma Minde’s portraits of the family into which she was given in marriage are touching and instructive. They show us a young woman leaving her home in Saddle Lake, Alberta, to join a household of strangers in Hobbema. In addition to the husband she has yet to meet, Emma comes to know four strong-willed people who will shape her life: her husband’s parents, Mary-Jane and Dan Minde, Dan’s younger brother, Sam, and his wife, Mary. These reminiscences, told to Freda Ahenakew, offer rare insights into a life guided by two powerful forces: the traditional world of the Plains Cree and the Catholic missions and boarding-schools of the day, designed to re-make their charges entirely. Rarely has the interplay of these two worlds—often in conflict, yet oddly in harmony—been sketched so eloquently as in this moving autobiography. Emma Minde’s stories are presented here as she told them in Cree, with a translation into English on the facing pages. With its Cree-English Glossary and an English Index to the Glossary, this award-winning book is not only a milestone of Aboriginal testimonial literature, but also an important Cree language resource. Ideal for course adoptions, Native Studies libraries and general readers alike.

Cree, a member of the Algonquian family of languages, is nationally recognized as the most widely spoken Canadian native language. The newly revised Spoken Cree, Level II explores the spoken and written language in the cultural context of a Northern Cree village. Spoken Cree, Level II is the intermediate volume of a three-level Cree language course. This volume builds on the fundamental knowledge of the Cree language established in Spoken Cree, Level I. From the weather to a wedding, tea breaks to trapping, Level II enriches Cree language proficiency in everyday situations. In addition to sections devoted to developing speaking and listening skills in conversation, Level II provides exercises in syllabic writing. There are 18 new lessons. Based on the Swampy Cree (N-Dialect) and Moose Cree (L-Dialect) spoken on the West Coast of James Bay, C. Douglas Ellis’s Spoken Cree has become the authoritative work on the Cree language since its original release in 1963. Spoken Cree, Level II is an essential resource and teaching tool for everyone interested in the Cree language.

First published in 1962, this new edition has revised grammatical sections, is expanded with illustrative examples and is keyed to drills throughout the text.