Swampy Cree | |
---|---|
ᓀᐦᐃᓇᐍᐏᐣ / Nêhinawêwin | |
Spoken in | Canada |
Region | Ontario |
Native speakers | unknown (4,500 cited 1982) |
Language family | |
Language codes | |
ISO 639-3 | csw |
Linguasphere | 62-ADA-ac, 62-ADA-ad |
Swampy Cree (sometimes known as Maskekon or Omaškêkowak) is a dialect of the Cree language complex. Swampy Cree is spoken in a series of communities in northern Manitoba, central northeast of Saskatchewan along the Saskatchewan River and along the Hudson Bay coast and adjacent inland areas to the south and west, and Ontario along the coast of Hudson Bay and James Bay.
A division is sometimes made between West Swampy Cree and East Swampy Cree. Communities recognized as West Swampy Cree include: Shoal Lake; The Pas; Easterville [Chemawawin Cree Nation]; Grand Rapids Barren Lands; Churchill; Split Lake; York Factory; Fox Lake; Shamattawa (all in Manitoba); and Fort Severn, Ontario. Communities recognized as East Swampy Cree are: Weenusk, Ontario; Attawapiskat, Ontario; Albany Post, Ontario; and Kashechewan, Ontario; and Fort Albany, Ontario.[1] The Cree spoken at Kashechewan also shows Moose Cree influence.[2] It is one of the western n-dialects of Cree. It has 10,000 speakers.