The Atikamekw language (also spelled 'Attikamek') is an Algonquian language, and is a dialect of the Cree language complex. It is spoken in southwestern Quebec by nearly all the Atikamekw. It is notable for being the only modern Cree dialect to still retain the /r/ sound which has become /n/, /y/, /l/ or /ð/ in all other Cree-Montagnais dialects. The dialect is also notable for having numerous borrowings from Ojibwe. Motto: Je me souviens (French: I remember) Official languages French Flower White garden lily Capital Quebec City Largest city Montreal Lieutenant-Governor Lise Thibault Premier Jean Charest (PLQ) Parliamentary representation - House seat - Senate seats 75 24 Area Total - Land - Water (% of total) Ranked 2nd 1,542,056 km² 1,183... Current distribution of Human Language Families Most languages are known to belong to language families. ... The Algic (also Algonquian-Wiyot-Yurok or Algonquian-Ritwan) languages are an indigenous language family of North America. ... Pre-contact distribution of Algonquian languages The Algonquian (also Algonkian) languages are a subfamily of Native American languages that includes most of the languages in the Algic language family (the two Algic languages that are not Algonquian are Wiyot and Yurok of northwestern California). ... ISO 639-1 is the first part of the ISO 639 international-standard language-code family. ... ISO 639-2:1998 Codes for the representation of names of languages â Part 2: Alpha-3 code Twenty-two of the languages have two three-letter codes: a code for bibliographic use (ISO 639-2/B) a code for terminological use (ISO 639-2/T). ... ISO 639-3 is in process of development as an international standard for language codes. ... The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) is a system of phonetic notation devised by linguists to accurately and uniquely represent each of the wide variety of sounds (phones or phonemes) used in spoken human language. ... Phonetics (from the Greek word ÏÏνή, phone = sound/voice) is the study of sounds (voice). ... Because of technical limitations, some web browsers may not display some special characters in this article. ... This is a concise version of the International Phonetic Alphabet for English sounds. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... The Algonquian languages are a subfamily of Native American languages that includes most of the languages in the Algic language family (others are Wiyot and Yurok of northwestern California). ... Cree is the name for a group of closely-related Algonquian languages spoken by approximately 50,000 speakers across Canada, from Alberta to Labrador. ... The Atikamekw are the indigenous inhabitants of the area they refer to as Nitaskinan, in the upper St. ... Ojibwe, Ojibwa, Chippewa or Anishinaabemowin in Eastern Ojibwe syllabics) is the third most commonly spoken Native language in Canada (after Cree and Inuktitut), and the fourth most spoken in North America (behind Navajo, Cree, and Inuktitut). ...
Atikamekw is an Algonquian language, of the Algic family of languages, and is descended from Proto-Algonquian. It is part of the Cree dialect continuum, along with Montaignais and Naskapi. The Algonquian languages are a subfamily of Native American languages that includes most of the languages in the Algic language family (others are Wiyot and Yurok of northwestern California). ... The Algic (also Algonquian-Wiyot-Yurok or Algonquian-Ritwan) languages are an indigenous language family of North America. ... Proto-Algonquian (commonly abbreviated PA) is the name given to the posited proto-language of the languages of the Algonquian family. ...
Phonology
Consonants
The consonants of Atikamekw in the standard orthography are listed below (with IPA notation in brackets):
Bilabial
Alveolar
Postalveolar
Velar
Glottal
Stop
p[p]
t[t]
k[k]
Affricate
tc[tʃ]
Fricative
s[s]
c[ʃ]
h[h]
Nasal
m[m]
n[n]
Approximant
w[w]
Tap
r[r]
Vowels
short
a[a]
e[e]
i[i]
o[o]
long
â[aː]
ê[eː]
î[iː]
ô[oː]
References
Béland, Jean-Pierre. 1978. Atikamekw Morphology & Lexicon. Ph.D. Dissertation, University of California, Berkeley.
The Atikamekw are the indigenous inhabitants of the area they refer to as Nitaskinan ("Our Land"), in the upper St. Maurice valley of Québec.
They have close traditional ties with the Innu people, who were their historical allies against the Inuit.
Atikamekw, a language of the Cree subgroup of Algonquian, is still in everyday use, but their land has largely been appropriated by logging companies and their ancient way of life is almost extinct.
Cree is the name for a group of closely-related Algonquianlanguages spoken by approximately 50,000 speakers across Canada, from Alberta to Labrador.
This is similar to the alternation in the Siouan languages Dakota, Nakota, and Lakota, or the evolution of the Old Church Slavonic vowel yat into different present-day Slavic languages.
Cree is one of the seven official languages of the Northwest Territories, but is only spoken by a small number of people there in the area around the town of Fort Smith.