East Cree
East Cree, also known as James Bay Cree, and East Main Cree, is a group of Cree dialects spoken in Quebec, Canada on the east coast of lower Hudson Bay and James Bay, and inland southeastward from James Bay. Cree is one of the most spoken non-official aboriginal languages of Canada. Four dialects have been tentatively identified including the Southern Inland dialect spoken in Mistissini, Oujé-Bougoumou, Waswanipi, and Nemaska; the Southern Coastal dialect spoken in Nemaska, Waskaganish, and Eastmain; the Northern Coastal Dialects, one spoken in Wemindji and Chisasibi and the other spoken in Whapmagoostui. The dialects are mutually intelligible, though difficulty arises as the distance between communities increases.
East Cree is not considered an endangered language thanks to the large population of younger people who speak it. There are estimated to be more than 18,000 first-language speakers.
Phonology
The long vowels *ē and *ā have merged in the northern coastal dialects but remain distinct in the southern coastal and southern inland dialects; southern inland has merged *s with *š, which remain distinct in the coastal dialects. Neighbouring Naskapi has both.In East Cree there are thirteen consonants:
There are eight vowels:
| Front | Central | Back | |
| High | i | u | |
| Mid-high | ɪ | ʊ | |
| Mid | e | ə | |
| Low | a |
Morphology
In East Cree you have Primary Derivation, Secondary Derivation, and Composition.Primary Derivation
Words constructed by primary derivation, are made up of two or more stems, that are not words that stand on their own.
For example, the verb:
Secondary Derivation
Words constructed by secondary derivation, are made up of core word stems and at least one other stem-building elements.
For example, the verb ᐱᓱᐱᔨᐦᑖᐤ pisupiyihtaau s/he makes it go slow is made up of the stem of the existing verb ᐱᓱᐱᔨᐤ pisupiyiu and the causative final -htaa.
| pisu | piyi | htaau |
| Initial | Final | Causative final/Personal suffix |
| Initial | Final | |
| Stem | Stem | Inflection |
English Translation: she/he/it makes it go slow.
Composition
Words constructed by composition contains independent elements, like two existing word stems, or a preform and another word stem.
For example, the noun mishtikunaapaau is made by conjoining two other noun stems:
Independent elements forming with Verbs
English Translation: It is a good day
Gender, number, person
Gender
Gender is a grammatical distinction. East Cree has Animate and Inanimate gender differentiation. However, it is not possible to know for sure if words are animate or inanimate at first glance.Animate nouns refer to humans, animals, and general living creatures, as well as some plants and some personal belongings, such as pants and sleds. To indicate the plural, you generally add the suffix -ich; in some cases, when the word ends in -w, you drop the -w and add -uch.
| Number | Word | Translation |
| Singular | paayikw awaashish | one child |
| Plural | niishu awaashishiich | two children |
Some more examples of Animate nouns are:
| Number | Word | Translation |
| Single | piyichiis | pair of pants |
| Plural | piyichiisich | pairs of pants |
| Single | mishtikw | tree |
| Plural | mishtikuch | trees |
| Single | utaapaanaaskw | sled |
| Plural | utaapaanaaskuch | sleds |
Inanimate plural is formed with the suffix -h.
| Number | Word | Translation |
| Single | paayikw mischin | one shoe |
| Plural | niishu mischinh | two shoes |
Number
As shown above we can see that the Number is dependent on the Gender therefore if we have an Animate word then the ending for the plural will be ich in most cases and in some cases when the word ends in a w the ending will be uch after you drop the w. On the other hand, for Inanimate words the ending to indicate the plural will be adding an h to the end of the word.Person
To indicate possession, noun stems take a personal prefix. In East Cree there are Independent and Dependent nouns.Independent nouns are ones that can appear without personal prefixes. Therefore, they can stand alone as a word, and if you want to indicate to whom it belongs to, you would add the prefix. Example shown below.
| Gender | Number | Noun | Translation |
| Inanimate | Singular | mischisin | shoe |
| Inanimate | Singular | nimischisin | my shoe |
| Inanimate | Plural | mischisinh | shoes |
| Inanimate | Plural | nimischisinh | my shoes |
We can see that for this example the noun is Independent because it can stand alone, also, we see that it is an inanimate noun because the plural form adds an h at the end when the plural is indicted. Please refer to Gender to understand the relationship of Animate and Inanimate nouns in respect to gender.
Dependent nouns are those that can not stand alone without a prefix. These types of nouns express kinship, body parts, and personal belongings, like certain pieces of clothing.
| Gender | Noun | Translation |
| Animate | nimushum | my grandfather |
| Inanimate | nishtikwaan | my head |
Below is the table of Prefixes and Suffixes for some Dependent Nouns that are Animate
| Possessors | Animate noun | Translation |
| 2 | chimis | your older sister |
| 1 | nimis | my older sister |
| 2p | chimisiwaau | your older sister |
| 21p | chimisinuu | our older sister |
| 1p | nimisinaan | our older sister |
| 3 | umis-h | his/her older sister |
| 3pe | umisiwaauh | their older sister |
| 3' | umisiyuuh | his/her/their older sister |
Classification on verbs
East Cree adds suffixes on verbs in order to distinguish classes based on two factors, transitivity and gender. When referring to transitivity it means if the verbs is intransitive or transitive, and when referring to gender, it means if the subject or object of the verb is animate or inanimate. When we are looking at intransitive verbs, we see that the animacy of the subject matters. However, when we are looking at a transitive verb, we see that the animacy of the object is what matters. Below is a table that describes the differences between the transitive, intransitive and animate, inanimate in regards to the verbs and their role.| Animate | Inanimate | |
| One Role | masinaasuu | masinaateu |
| Two Roles | masinahweu | masinaham |
| Verbs | Gloss | Classification |
| masinahweu | She writes him down | Transitive Animate |
| masinaham | She is writing it | Transitive Inanimate |
| masinaasuu | She is written down | Animate Intransitive |
| masinaateu | It is written | Inanimate Intransitive |
Different classes have different endings. Below is a table that describes the different ending for each classification. The classifications are, Verb Transitive Animate, Verb Intransitive Inanimate, Verb Transitive Inanimate, Verb Animate Intransitive.
Verb Intransitive Inanimate only have one role filled by an inanimate subject. These verbs have endings such as, -n or vowels.
| Verb | Gloss |
| chiinaau | It is pointed |
| wiihkan | It is tasty |
| waaskamaau | It is a clear day |
| yuutin | It is windy |
Verb Transitive Inanimate have two roles filled by an animate subject and an inanimate object. These verbs have an -am ending. They can be found in all orders with all persons.
| Verbs | Gloss |
| masinaham masinahiikaniyuu Ruth | Ruth is writing a book |
| iiskupatam utaas | He is pulling up his socks |
| manaham chiistaaskwaanh | She is pulling out nails |
Verb Transitive Animate have two roles filled by an animate subject and an animate object. Both the agent and the patient are animate. They can end in many endings, but one of them is -eu.
| Verb | Gloss |
| misinahuweu utawaashiimh Luci | Luci is enrolling her child |
| chispahweu waahkupaanikiikh Daisy | Daisy is mixing fish-egg pancakes |
| wepaashtimeu umuusuuyaanimh Marguerite | Marguerite let her moosehide blow away |
Verb Animate Intransitive usually only have one role filled by an animate subject. They end in -n and -vowels'.
| Verbs | Gloss |
| masinaasuu nuushimish | My grandchild's name is on the list |
| weyikaapuu Daisy che niimit | Daisy stands ready to dance |
| utaamikachisheshin John | John falls on his behind |