Cree syllabics
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Cree syllabics are the variations on Canadian Aboriginal Syllabics that are used to write Cree language dialects.
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[edit] History
This writing system was devised for the Cree language in the mid-1840s by James Evans, an English Wesleyan missionary working in northern Manitoba. His native students had difficulty understanding how the same letters could have different sounds in English and in Roman alphabet writing systems designed for Cree, so he created a new writing scheme for them based on Pitman's shorthand.
[edit] Syllabary
The new syllabary was quite simple; it consists of just 9 basic shapes representing syllables, which can be rotated to distinguish between different vowels and adorned with a diacritic dot to distinguish vowel lengths. (Since syllables beginning with a given consonant have a similar shape, the writing system is, strictly speaking, not a syllabary but an abugida.)
Evans's syllabary was so easy to learn that it caught on quickly, leading to an incredibly high literacy rate among the Cree and adaptations of the script to be used to write native languages all over Canada, including Athabaskan languages, Inuktitut, and others. Some of these languages have changed to a Roman orthography, but many still use the syllabary today.
[edit] Families
There are, in the main, two major families of Cree syllabic writing. Eastern Cree syllabics are used by Cree dialects east of the Manitoba-Ontario border, and Western Cree syllabics are used by Cree speakers west of that line. Not all eastern Cree dialects are written with syllabics - the dialects of eastern Quebec use the Roman alphabet. The two syllabic writing systems diverge primarily in the way they indicate consonants appearing at the ends of syllables, the way they mark the semi-consonant /w/, and in order to reflect the phonological differences between Cree dialects.
[edit] See also
- Canadian Aboriginal Syllabics
- Western Cree syllabics
- Eastern Cree syllabics
- Unified Canadian Aboriginal Syllabics character table
[edit] Books with Cree Syllabic
- Hymn Book. (By James Evans) Norway House, 1841.
- Catechism. (Transl. James Evans) Rossville, É.N.
- The Holy Bible. (Transl. John Sinclair, Henry Steinhauer) London, 1861.
- Bunyan: Pilgrim´S Progress. (Transl. John Sinclair) Toronto, 1900.
- Cree Hymn Book. (By John Mcdougall) Toronto, 1888.
- Cree Hymn Book. (By Robert Steinauer, Egerton Steinauer) Toronto, 1920.
- The Epistle of Paul The Apostle To The Galatians. (Transl. Joseph Reader) Oonikup (Northwest Territory), S.A.
- The Acts of The Apostles And The Epistles. London, 1891.
- The Books of The New Testament. London, 1859.
- The Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Ephesians; the Epistle of Jacob; the First Epistle General of John. (Transl. Thomas Hullburt) Rossville, 1857.
- The Travellers´ Spiritual Provision (Calender) S.L., S. A.
- The Handbook to Scripture Truth: Words of Admonition, Counsel and Comfort. Toronto, 1893.
- Prieres, Cantiques, Catéchisme Etc. En Lanque Crise. Montreal, 1886.
- The Book of Common Prayer, (Transl. John Horden) London, 1889 (Addl. Printings Through 1970).
[edit] External links
- The Cree syllabary at Omniglot
- Cree at Languagegeek.com
- Barber, F. Luis: James Evans and the Cree Syllabic. In: Victoria Library Bulletin Toronto. July 1940. vol. 2. No. 2. 16 p.
- Burwash, Nathaniel: The Gift to a Nation of Written Language. S.l., 1911. 21 p.
- Evans, James: Cree Syllabic Hymn Book. Norway House, 1841. In: Bibliographical Society of Canada; Facsim. Series 4. Toronto, 1954. 23 p.)
- Steller, Lea-Katharina (geb. Virághalmy): Alkalmazkodni és újat adni avagy accomodatio a paleográfiában. In: Paleográfiai kalandozások. Szentendre, 1995. ISBN 9634509223
- Ray, Margaret: The James Evans Collection. In: Victoria Library Bulletin Toronto. July 1940. vol. 2. No. 2. 16 p.
