An unpointed inscription in Plains Cree, using the conventions of Western Cree syllabics. The text transliterates to Êwako oma asiniwi mênikan kiminawak ininiwak manitopa kaayacik. Êwakwanik oki kanocihtacik asiniwiatoskiininiw kakiminihcik omêniw. Akwani mitahtomitanaw askiy asay êatoskêcik ota manitopa.
When Evans later worked with the closely related Cree and ran into trouble with the Latin alphabet, he turned to his Ojibwe project and in 1840 adapted it to Cree.[3] The result contained just nine glyph shapes, each of which stood for a syllable with the vowels determined by the shapes' orientation. After the 1841 publication of a syllabics hymn book, the new script spread quickly. The Cree valued it because it could be learned in just a few hours and because it was visually distinctive from the Latin script of the colonial languages.[2] Virtually all Cree became literate in the new syllabary within a few years. Evans taught by writing on birchbark with soot, and he became known as "the man who made birchbark talk."[5]
This section is missing information about What is the table of? It's missing characters from the 1840 inventory, the Western Cree syllabary, and the Eastern Cree syllabary, and it has no final consonants. Please expand the section to include this information. Further details may exist on the talk page.(August 2020)
Canadian Aboriginal syllabics are unique among abugida scripts in that the orientation of a symbol, rather than modifications of its shape or diacritic marks, determines the vowel of a syllable. Each basic shape corresponds to a specific consonant sound; this is flipped or rotated to denote the accompanying vowel.[6]
Like the Latin alphabet, syllabics are written from left to right, with each new line of writing directly under the previous one.
Meaning: All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.[7]
Vowel
Cons.
a
e
i
o
-
ᐊ
ᐁ
ᐃ
ᐅ
p
ᐸ
ᐯ
ᐱ
ᐳ
t
ᑕ
ᑌ
ᑎ
ᑐ
k
ᑲ
ᑫ
ᑭ
ᑯ
ch
ᒐ
ᒉ
ᒋ
ᒍ
m
ᒪ
ᒣ
ᒥ
ᒧ
n
ᓇ
ᓀ
ᓂ
ᓄ
s
ᓴ
ᓭ
ᓯ
ᓱ
y
ᔭ
ᔦ
ᔨ
ᔪ
Variants
The syllabary continues in use for dialects of Cree west of the Manitoba–Ontario border as Western Cree syllabics. John Horden[citation needed] introduced modifications in the 1850s in the James Bay area.[3] These were standardized in 1865 to form Eastern Cree syllabics, used today for many eastern dialects of Cree, Naskapi, and Ojibwe, though Cree dialects of eastern Quebec use the Latin alphabet. The two versions differ primarily in the way they indicate syllable-final consonants, in how they mark the semi-vowel /w/, and in how they reflect the phonological differences between Cree dialects.[2] There are more minor local differences in orthography, shapes of the characters, writing styles, and punctuation, with some writers using dots or spaces between words, and others not indicating word separation.[2]
Cree numerals
The syllabics have been recorded to have been used as numerals with individual fixed integer values in certain combinations akin to that of the Roman system:[8]
Though used for manuscripts, letters, and personal records since the 19th century, the need for special type long restricted printed syllabics to missionary publications. However, with the development of syllabic typewriters and, later, word processors, control of the script passed to native speakers, and it is now used for schoolbooks, periodicals, and official documents.[2]
Hundreds of Eastern James Bay Cree books were published by the Cree School Board of Quebec, Canada. See the catalogueArchived 2022-01-21 at the Wayback Machine.
^ abcdeNichols, John (1996). "The Cree Syllabary". In Peter Daniels (ed.). The World's Writing Systems. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 599–611.
^ abcCampbell, George (1991). Compendium of the World's Languages, 2nd ed. pp. 422–428.
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