Editing Cree syllabics

{{short description|Writing system for Cree dialects of Canada}}
{{Infobox writing system
|name        = Cree syllabics
|type        = [[Abugida]]
|time        = 1840s–present
|languages   = [[Cree language|Cree]], [[Naskapi language|Naskapi]], [[Ojibwe language|Ojibwe]]/[[Chippewa language|Chippewa]]<ref>[http://scriptsource.org/cms/scripts/page.php?item_id=script_detail&key=Cans ScriptSource.org]</ref>
|fam1        = [[Devanagari]], [[Pitman shorthand]]
|unicode     = [https://www.unicode.org/charts/PDF/U1400.pdf U+1400&ndash;U+167F] {{nobr|Unified Canadian Aboriginal Syllabics,}}<br />[https://www.unicode.org/charts/PDF/U18B0.pdf U+18B0&ndash;U+18FF] {{nobr|Unified Canadian Aboriginal Syllabics Extended}}
|iso15924=
|sample = Winnipeg Forks - Plains Cree Inscription.jpg
 |imagesize = 
 |caption=An [[Canadian_Aboriginal_syllabics#Points_and_pointing|unpointed]] inscription in [[Plains Cree language|Plains Cree]], using the conventions of [[Western Cree syllabics]]. The text transliterates to <br />''Êwako oma asiniwi mênikan kiminawak <br />ininiwak manitopa kaayacik. Êwakwanik oki <br />kanocihtacik asiniwiatoskiininiw kakiminihcik <br />omêniw. Akwani mitahtomitanaw askiy asay <br />êatoskêcik ota manitopa.''
}}
{{Contains special characters|Canadian}}
{{Indigenous Peoples of Canada}}[[Image:Cree type proof.jpg|thumb|A proof from freshly made Cree [[typeface]]]]

'''Cree syllabics''' are the versions of [[Canadian Aboriginal syllabics]] used to write [[Cree language|Cree dialects]], including the original syllabics system created for Cree and [[Ojibwe language|Ojibwe]]. There are two main varieties of syllabics for Cree: [[Western Cree syllabics]] and [[Eastern Cree syllabics]]. Syllabics were later adapted to several other languages.<ref name="Daniels">{{cite book
  | first=John
  | last=Nichols
  | chapter=The Cree Syllabary
  | editor=Peter Daniels
  | title=The World's Writing Systems
  | year=1996
  | publisher=Oxford University Press
  | location=New York
  | pages=599–611}}</ref>  It is estimated that over 70,000 [[Algonquian languages|Algonquian]]-speaking people use the script, from [[Saskatchewan]] in the west to [[Hudson Bay]] in the east, the US border to [[District of Mackenzie|Mackenzie]] and [[District of Keewatin|Kewatin]] (the [[Northwest Territories]] and [[Nunavut]]) in the north.<ref name="Campbell">{{cite book
  | first=George
  | last=Campbell
  | title=Compendium of the World's Languages, 2nd ed.
  | year=1991
  | publisher=
  | location=
  | pages=422–428}}</ref>

==History==
{{Main|Canadian Aboriginal syllabics#History}}
Cree syllabics were developed for Ojibwe by [[James Evans (linguist)|James Evans]], a missionary in what is now [[Manitoba]] in the 1830s. Evans had originally adapted the [[Latin script]] to Ojibwe (see [[Ojibwe writing systems#Evans system|Evans system]]), but after learning of the success of the [[Cherokee syllabary]],{{Additional citation needed|date=November 2024|reason=This claim is not found in the citation provided}} he experimented with invented scripts based on his familiarity with [[shorthand]] and [[Devanagari]].<ref>[{{Cite web|title = Plains Cree History|url = http://www.sicc.sk.ca/plains-cree_overview_history.html|access-date = 2016-01-17|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180817211036/http://www.sicc.sk.ca/plains-cree_overview_history.html|archive-date = 2018-08-17|url-status = dead}}</ref>

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.<ref name="Campbell"/> 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.<ref name="Daniels"/> 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."<ref>Mona Baker, Kirsten Malmkjær (2001:364) ''Routledge Encyclopedia of Translation Studies''</ref>

==Structure==
{{Main|Canadian Aboriginal syllabics#Basic principles|Cree language#Writing|Western Cree syllabics|Eastern Cree syllabics}}
{{incomplete|section|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|date=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.<ref>{{Cite web|title = Online Cree Dictionary, Cree Language Resource Project, Maskwacis Plains Cree, Saskatchewan Cree, Woods Cree|url = http://www.creedictionary.com/syllabics/maskwacis.php|website = www.creedictionary.com|accessdate = 2015-12-06}}</ref>

Like the [[Latin alphabet]], syllabics are written from left to right, with each new line of writing directly under the previous one.

Sample text: ᒥᓯᐌ ᐃᓂᓂᐤ ᑎᐯᓂᒥᑎᓱᐎᓂᐠ ᐁᔑ ᓂᑕᐎᑭᐟ ᓀᐢᑕ ᐯᔭᑾᐣ ᑭᒋ ᐃᔑ ᑲᓇᐗᐸᒥᑯᐎᓯᐟ ᑭᐢᑌᓂᒥᑎᓱᐎᓂᐠ ᓀᐢᑕ ᒥᓂᑯᐎᓯᐎᓇ᙮ ᐁ ᐸᑭᑎᓇᒪᒋᐠ ᑲᑫᑕᐌᓂᑕᒧᐎᓂᓂᐤ ᓀᐢᑕ ᒥᑐᓀᓂᒋᑲᓂᓂᐤ ᓀᐢᑕ ᐎᒋᑴᓯᑐᐎᓂᐠ ᑭᒋ ᐃᔑ ᑲᓇᐗᐸᒥᑐᒋᐠ᙮

Transliteration: Misiwe ininiw tipēnimitisowinik ēshi nitawikit nēsta pēyaykan kici ishi kanawapamikowisit kistēnimitisowinik nēsta minikowisiwina. Ē pakitinamacik kakētawenitamowininiw nēsta mitonēnicikaniniw nēsta.

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.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Cree syllabics |url=https://www.omniglot.com/writing/cree.htm |access-date=2024-08-16 |website=www.omniglot.com}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
!{{diagonal split header|{{abbr|Cons.|Consonant}}|Vowel}}
!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|date=December 2008}} introduced modifications in the 1850s in the [[James Bay]] area.<ref name="Campbell"/> These were standardized in 1865 to form [[Eastern Cree syllabics]], used today for many eastern dialects of Cree, [[Naskapi language|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 {{IPA|/w/}}, and in how they reflect the phonological differences between Cree dialects.<ref name="Daniels"/> 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.<ref name="Daniels"/>

==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 numerals|Roman system]]:<ref name="EC">{{cite web |title=Interview with Jon Corbett |url=https://esoteric.codes/blog/jon-corbett |website=Esoteric.Codes |access-date=27 September 2022 |language=en |date=30 March 2021}}</ref>
* a [[vertical bar]] represents 1,
* ᐅ ''o'' represents 3 (Iᐅ equals 4),
* ᐊ ''a'' represents numerals more than 6 (ᐅᐊ equals 6, ᐊ equals 7, ᐊII equals 9),
* ᒥ ''mi'' represents 10,
* looped syllables (ᓀᓂᓄᓇᑯᑲᑫᑭ) represent 20-90.

The [[zero]] is represented as an [[Star (glyph)#Eight points|eight pointed star]].<ref name="EC"/>

==Modern usage==
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.<ref name="Daniels"/>

==See also==
*[[Canadian Aboriginal syllabics]]
*[[Eastern Cree syllabics]]
*[[Inuktitut writing]]
*''[[Journal of Indigenous Studies]]''
*[[Unified Canadian Aboriginal Syllabics (Unicode block)]]
*[[Western Cree syllabics]]

== Cree books written in syllabics ==
* Hundreds of Eastern James Bay Cree books were published by the Cree School Board of Quebec, Canada. See the [http://publications.eastcree.org/Catalogues/ catalogue] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220121114754/http://publications.eastcree.org/catalogues |date=2022-01-21 }}.
* ''[[Swampy Cree]] Hymn Book'' = ''ᓇᑲᒧᐏᓇ ᐅᒪᐢᑮᑯᐘ ᐅᑎᑘᐏᓂᐘᐤ''. (By [[James Evans (linguist)|James Evans]]) [[Norway House]], 1841. ([http://peel.library.ualberta.ca/bibliography/209/14.html Peel 209])
* ''The Psalter, or Psalms of David'' = [https://archive.org/details/cihm_05447 ᑌᕕᑦ ᐅ ᓂᑲᒧᐎᓇᕽ]. (By [[John Horden]]) London, 1875. ([http://peel.library.ualberta.ca/bibliography/738.html Peel 738])
* ''The New Testament, translated into the Cree language'' = [https://archive.org/details/cihm_08628 ᐅᔅᑭ ᑎᔅᑌᒥᓐᑦ ᑭ ᑎᐯᓕᒋᑫᒥᓇᐤ ᓀᔥᑕ ᑭ ᐱᒪᒋᐃᐌᒥᓇᐤ ᒋᓴᔅ ᒃᣅᔅᑦ]. (By John Horden) London, 1876. ([http://peel.library.ualberta.ca/bibliography/782.html Peel 782])
* ''Catechism''. (Transl. James Evans) Rossville, É.N.
* ''The Holy Bible''. (Transl. [[John Sinclair (interpreter)|John Sinclair]], [[Henry Bird Steinhauer|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'' (Calendar) S.L., S. A.
* ''The Handbook to Scripture Truth: Words of Admonition, Counsel and Comfort.'' Toronto, 1893.
* ''Prières, cantiques, catéchisme, etc. en langue crise''. Montréal, 1886.
* ''The Book of Common Prayer'', (Transl. John Horden) London, 1889 (Addl. Printings Through 1970).
:::[https://web.archive.org/web/20120207000630/http://www.fullextra.hu/modules.php?name=News&file=print&sid=786 In: Paleográfiai kalandozások. Szentendre, 1995.] {{ISBN|963-450-922-3}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* 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.
* Ray, Margaret: ''The James Evans Collection''. In: ''Victoria Library Bulletin Toronto''. July 1940. vol. 2. No. 2. 16 p.

==External links==
{{commons category|Cree syllabics}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20110727153613/http://www.giftoflanguageandculture.ca/syllabic_matching_intro.htm Standard Roman Orthography - Cree Syllabic Matching Quizzes], ''GiftofLanguageandCulture.CA''.
*"[http://www.eastcree.org/cree/en/resources/how-to/cree-fonts/ Eastern James Bay Cree fonts]", ''EastCree.org''.
*"[https://web.archive.org/web/20120117194347/http://www.omniglot.com/writing/cree.htm Cree (ᓀᐦᐃᔭᐍᐏᐣ / Nēhiyawēwin)]", ''Omniglot.com''.
*"[https://web.archive.org/web/20120204041554/http://www.languagegeek.com/algon/cree/nehiyawewin.html Cree]", ''LanguageGeek.com''.
*"[http://weshki.atwebpages.com/naasaab_both.html Naasaab Izhi-anishinaabebii'igeng A Conference to find a Common Anishinaabemowin Writing System] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210514204931/http://weshki.atwebpages.com/naasaab_both.html |date=2021-05-14 }}" report, ''Weshki.AtWebPages.com''.
*"[https://web.archive.org/web/20090225183904/http://www.creeculture.ca/e/language/syllabics.html Cree Syllabics]", ''SICC.SK.CA''.
* [https://syllabics.app/ Cree standard Roman orthography to syllabics converter]
[[Category:Cree language]]
[[Category:Canadian Aboriginal syllabics]]
[[Category:1840 introductions]]
[[Category:Writing systems of the Americas]]