FOREWORD

Knowledge of the Cree language is far greater today than it was a century ago. There is a growing demand for cultural history, language, and tradition of the forgotten Indian people. Written material must be made available to those who are interested. Cree has five dialects: the “n”, “th”, “1”, “r” and “y”. In Alberta the “y” dialect is mainly used. Saskatchewan and Manitoba are also Cree-speaking provinces, using the “n”, “th”, and “y” dialects. The “1” and “r” dialects are used more eastward in Quebec and Ontario. The “y” dialect is primarily used in this dictionary.

A lot about the Cree language was never understood. In the 1970s, there was a move to standardize the writing of Cree using the Roman Orthography. The written Cree used in this dictionary has been influenced by my Metis culture and reflects my upbringing. When writing Cree, a consonant and vowel (a syllable) must agree with a symbol sound. There are six major sounds (for example, aspirative) in the Cree language. There are fifteen letters in the alphabet. The language structure is separated into seven different areas. Each depicts a certain person by assigning particular prefixes and special allotted endings. The third person is a rather difficult area, however; no prefixes are used. The structure relies on the sound of the final letter of the word and an added letter(s). These final letters are generally long, short, or abrupt.

Cree is primarily a verb-based language. It consists of verb roots and specific prefixes and suffixes. Basic Cree uses simple prefixes of one to three letters. Advanced Cree uses more complex suffixes of four to eight letters. In the third person, generally a w is added to long-sounding endings, while short-sounding endings have an m added. These letters show third-person involvement with inanimate objects. Throughout this dictionary, most words are already conjugated and appear in sentence form in the third person.

Mastering proper vowel sounds is necessary for correct pronunciation (also followed with tone and rhythm). As I have mentioned, a syllable must agree with a syllabic symbol. Many feel that there is a certain “Indianness” in the symbols and must be preserved as they are part of our identity. If a syllable agrees with a symbol sound, pure dialect is preserved in written form. In order to understand and learn to speak Cree properly, one must use the cultural method as Cree was spoken long before the Anglo-Saxon race came here. Today many ask to be taught in the cultural way. Being taught using this method has proven to be simple, interesting, meaningful, and not too difficult.

Not allowing the aboriginal Cree-speaking people to use their own language in their own environment has produced a very confused generation. One must live in his own cultural environment to remain happy. Today Cree is not spoken by many of the younger generation, but more and more are becoming interested in learning and preserving the language. Therefore, a simple, well-defined conversational language must be written. Native or part-natives must be involved in all aspects of development because they are gifted with the Indian throat sounds that allow for proper pronunciation.

The Cree language is very structured and is based on an animate-inanimate distinction. All parts of speech are defined as either animate or inanimate. When speaking, nouns, pronouns (common, indefinite, or personal), verbs, adverbs and adjectives are used with the help of tenses and proclitics. Tenses denote present, past, or future, and proclitics are the prefixes ni and ki combined with tenses. These are partial words but sounded in their own phonetic unit. There are also partial two-letter words which are arranged into proclitics giving a definite meaning. These syllables are to, pe, we and me.

The first dictionary I published was designed to help the general public. I wrote that dictionary by translating a Winston dictionary from English to Cree. At the time, it seemed to serve its purpose. Each year, new Cree vocabulary is created which reflects words that were not in the traditional Cree language; therefore, it is necessary to revise the dictionary, adding these new words.

Anne Anderson
Edmonton, 1975

Dr. Anne Anderson's Metis Cree Dictionary (pdf)