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.[3] It is written in Eastern Cree syllabics.
| Naskapi | |
|---|---|
| ᓇᔅᑲᐱ naskapi, ᐃᔪᐤ ᐃᔨᒧᐅᓐ iyuw iyimuun | |
| Native to | Canada |
| Region | St'aschinuw (Quebec, Labrador) |
| Ethnicity | Naskapi |
Native speakers | 1,230 (2016 census)[1] |
Algic
| |
| Eastern Cree syllabics | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | nsk |
| Glottolog | nask1242 |
| Linguasphere | 62-ADA-ba |
 Naskapi is classified as Vulnerable by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger | |
| People | Naskapi Iyuw ᓇᔅᑲᐱ ᐃᔪᐤ |
|---|---|
| Language | Naskapi Iyuw Iyimuun ᓇᔅᑲᐱ ᐃᔪᐤ ᐃᔨᒧᐅᓐ |
| Country | St'aschinuw ᒋᑦ ᐊᔅᒋᓄᐤ |
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
edit| Bilabial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m | n | |||
| Stop/ Affricate | p | t | tʃ | k | |
| Fricative | s | h | |||
| Approximant | w | (ɹ) | j | ||
| Lateral | (l) |
Each stop has voiced allophones as [b, d, dʒ, ɡ] and pre-aspirated allophones as [ʰp, ʰt, ʰtʃ, ʰk].[4]
- Long vowels: /i/, /a~æ/, /u/
- Short vowels: /ɪ~ə/, /ʌ~ə/, /o~ʊ/
Orthography
editThere 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
editThe 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⟩. In addition there are twelve graphemes to represent the consonants, including the digraph ⟨Ch⟩.
| Uppercase | A | Â/AA | Ch | H | I | Î/II | K | L | M | N | P | R | S | T | U | Û/UU | W | Y |
| lowercase | a | â/aa | ch | h | i | î/ii | k | l | m | n | p | r | s | t | u | û/uu | w | y |
| IPA | /ʌ~ə/ | /a~æ/ | /tʃ, dʒ/ | /h/ | /ɪ~ə/ | /i/ | /k, g/ | /l/ | /m/ | /n/ | /p, b/ | /ɹ/ | /s, ʃ/ | /t, d/ | /o~ʊ/ | /u/ | /w/ | /j/ |
- Ch, K, P, and T are also used to write the voiced allophones.
- L and R are only used in loanwords from other languages.
Syllabary
editNaskapi 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.
| _a | _i | _u | _wa | _wi | _w | s_wa | - | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| - | ᐊ | ᐃ | ᐅ | ᐛ | ᐎ | ᐤ | ||
| p | ᐸ | ᐱ | ᐳ | ᑈ | ᔌ | ᑉ | ||
| t | ᑕ | ᑎ | ᑐ | ᑥ | ᔌ | ᑦ | ||
| k | ᑲ | ᑭ | ᑯ | ᒂ | ᒄ | ᔎ | ᒃ | |
| ch | ᒐ | ᒋ | ᒍ | ᒠ | ᔏ | ᒡ | ||
| m | ᒪ | ᒥ | ᒧ | ᒺ | ᒻ | |||
| n | ᓇ | ᓂ | ᓄ | ᓏ | ᓐ | |||
| s | ᓴ | ᓯ | ᓱ | ᔄ | ᔅ | |||
| y | ᔭ | ᔨ | ᔪ | ᔽ | ᔾ | |||
| ᐟ | ||||||||
| Other Symbols | ||||||||
| h | ᐦ | |||||||
| hk | ᑾ | ᑶ | ᑴ | |||||
| l | ᓚ | ᓕ | ᓗ | ᓪ | ||||
| r | ᕋ | ᕆ | ᕈ | ᕐ | ||||
Notes
edit- ^ "Language Highlight Tables, 2016 Census - Aboriginal mother tongue, Aboriginal language spoken most often at home and Other Aboriginal language(s) spoken regularly at home for the population excluding institutional residents of Canada, provinces and territories, 2016 Census – 100% Data". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Government of Canada, Statistics. Retrieved 2017-11-23.
- ^ Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin; Bank, Sebastian (2022-05-24). "Cree-Montagnais-Naskapi". Glottolog. Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology. Archived from the original on 2022-10-15. Retrieved 2022-10-29.
- ^ Lewis, M. Paul (ed.), 2009. Ethnologue: Languages of the World, Sixteenth edition. Dallas, Tex.: SIL International. Online version:
- ^ MacKenzie, Marguerite. 1994.
External links
edit- Naskapi Lexicon
- Languagegeek: Naskapi
- Naskapi Language
- OLAC resources in and about the Naskapi language
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