NationStates Jolt Archive

Eons ago, when I existed as Sinuhue, I did a 'learn Spanish' thread. I have wanted to do a Cree thread for years, but didn't have the time. I still don't. But because I'm up, and I'm out of things to write for my legal papers, I'm going to get going on a project I've been interested in for so long.

Welcome to Nehiyawewin!

I will update the second post (to avoid the ads) periodically to provide an index of sorts of the lessons that shall be developed herein. To begin with, however, this is a bit of protocol to go over.

My people's language is bursting with verbing. We don't name things, we do things. Things are done. Things happen. Things change, transition, exist, cease. As with any language, a particular worldview is imbued in the way we communicate our thoughts. I welcome questions, and I will answer them as honestly as possible, but I will not open doors for you that you haven't earned. What I mean is, our language is also tied up with our spirituality, but I am not going to spoonfeed you what you would have to go through the proper forms to access. If I refuse to answer certain questions, please don't take it personally. Some answers are not for me to give. I open this thread up to those with genuine interest, but I am not a portal to my people's culture. It simply doesn't work that way.

So with that being said, Tawâw, pihtokwek, ekwa wînehiyaw’kiskinohamâkosiwak.

Welcome, come in, and learn to speak Cree.

Index

Sound system (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=14721197&postcount=3)*
More sounds (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=14721240&postcount=12)
Animacy (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=14721281&postcount=16)
Numbers 1 - 10 (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=14722121&postcount=30)*
Lesson One: Animate and Inanimate Nouns, Demonstrative Pronouns (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=14722071&postcount=29)
Lesson Two: Personal Pronouns (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=14722268&postcount=31)
Verbing introduction (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=14722370&postcount=32)
Lesson Three: Animate Intransitive (AI) Conjugation, Independent Mode (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=14722463&postcount=33)
Lesson Four: Animate Instransitive (AI) Conjugation, Conjunct Mode (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=14722528&postcount=34)
Lesson Five: Making Questions - cî marker (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=14722588&postcount=36)
Translations 1 (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=14722659&postcount=40)
Lesson Six: Plural Nouns (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?p=14724179#post14724179)
Basic Conversation (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=14742946&postcount=102)
Lesson Seven: Building Suffix, Locative Suffix (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=14743295&postcount=105)


Glossary: Cree to English (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=14723013&postcount=46)
Glossary: English to Cree (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=14723144&postcount=47)

Online Cree Dictionary (http://www.creedictionary.com/)

*audio available

Sound System

There are two ways of writing Cree. Of course, being an oral language, these methods are relatively new. When we write in what is called Roman Standard Orthography (RSO), there can be great variation. Look for example how in English you can make the sound ‘f’ in a variety of ways...’f’, ‘ph’..’gh’... it can be difficult to spell things phonetically. Cree syllabics, on the other hand, are symbols with specific, fixed sounds that do not vary so much. Nonetheless, syllabics are often difficult for new learners to grasp right off the bat. For ease, I will show you the standard Plains Cree SRO, and we will work first with this.

Before you can begin, you must learn the sounds that exist in Plains Cree. Before you do that, a bit of background is necessary.

DIALECTS

There are a number of dialects in Cree. Being as I am Plains Cree, my dialect is called the ‘Y’ dialect. But there are many others, spread out across Canada and into the US as far as British Columbia to Quebec, west to east.

The dialects are mutually intelligible, but vary with distance. Plains Cree, for example, is as far from James Bay Cree as is possible. Non-fluent speakers will have great difficulty understanding James Bay Cree coming from my background.

The differences are not that hard to note, however. With the exception of James Bay Cree, which has many more variations, there are usually only differences in certain sounds or terms.

To demonstrate those sound differences, the oft-cited example is the first person personal pronoun, or the word for ‘I’ in Cree.

Plains Cree: (Y) nîya
Swampy Cree: (N) nîna
Moose Cree: (L) nîla
Atihkamek Cree: (R) nîra

There is some regional variation in the Plains (Y) dialect, but it is very slight. I will be using the ‘southern’ sounds.

SOUNDS

Short Vowels

There are only three short vowels in Cree.
i: bit, sit
o: foot, put
a: but, cut

Long vowels

Long vowels are marked with macrons, or this symbol: ‘^’. Notice that there is no short ‘e’ sound. The ‘e’ in Cree is ALWAYS long, so we don’t bother putting a macron on it.

e: bet, let
î: bean, keel
ô: moon, moose
â: far, barn

Consonants

There are only 8 consonants in Cree. Simple, yes? Sometimes you’ll see the consonants ‘l’ and ‘r’, but it’s very rare. Usually they are only for names and places, used because we simply have no equivalent, and have adopted English sounds. You’ll not that there are a fair amount of sounds in English that we just do not have in Cree. If you ever talk to Elders who grew up with Cree first, you’ll notice these absences. Just as with any language, the lack of exposure made them incapable of reproducing those sounds, or perhaps even hearing the difference.

p: pay
t: take
k: cake
c: cats
s: say
h: hay
m: mom
n: never

Semi Vowels

The semi vowels can be confusing at first, but you’ll soon see how they join words together to increase fluidity.
w: wet
y : yes

AUDIO RESOURCE
I hope this works for you, and if not you may have to download a unicode syllabic font for your browser, available here (http://www.creedictionary.com/absans.zip). Instructions for installation are here (http://www.creedictionary.com/converter/installfont.php).

The dialect represented in the syllabic chart (you can click on each square to hear the pronunciation) is somewhat different than Plains Cree, but not in any major way. Plains Cree doesn't have the 'th' sound represented at the bottom of the chart, and they're missing the long 'e' sound.

SYLLABIC/SOUND CHART FOR YOUR ORAL PRACTICE! (http://www.giftoflanguageandculture.ca/syllabicchart2.htm)

last time i learned a native Language the police kept locking me up for no reason every time i used it.

Fascinating language, but how are we going to keep our code secret from the Germans in the next scuffle if they learn to speak our native-(north)American languages? This thread ought to be locked in the name of Homeland Security. :p

I am so ridiculously excited. This had better not be a joke. I have all, like, three internet resources for Kanienkehaka bookmarked and copied into Word format. I realize the languages are different, but I'm very interested in Cree as well, and as far as I know there wasn't a lot of war between any Cree and Kahnawake clans, so---teach me!

I would especially love links (or your uploads, should you feel so generous) to any sound samples, since I generally learn pronunciation by closing my eyes and listening intently about 1000 times. It really entertains my students when I'm trying to say their names. I hate having my name mispronounced, so I try never to do it to anyone else.

THIS SPOT RESERVED

When putfile is back up, I'll include a recording of each of the sounds so you can practice them.

I'm confused by your note that there is no short 'e'. We teach short 'e' as exactly what you have written--the sound in 'bet' or 'pet'.

Plus one one the interested tally.

It would be great to have a Cree thread for those who speak it, so I can call Katganistan a complete wampum-head in Cree and all she could read was...

Weptikhaw Kat wampum-tîn (or whatever it is)

This is seriously cool. I am willing to give it a try that is if it's acceptable for the white man to learn. :p

Might I add some suggestions?

1) is there a gender difference is the way words are pronounced? I remember back in school where a guy was very proud that he spoke Japanese(or was it Chinese?). We had two gals that came over for school and they said at first they thought he was a homosexual by the way he spoke. They tactfully asked who taught him and he said it was a woman.

Being a language based on action, I am guessing there isn't.

2) Written attempts to show how a word is prounced is good but there still can be mistakes as it leaves the learning to imagine how it is said. If you have time to record yourself, that could help.

3) I remember my old German professor saying that it really helps to watch a persons mouth as they talk. So if you care to put your pretty face to film. ;)

But indeed thank you for attempting this. We monolingual Americans could improve but learning a few languages even if they are not frequently used.....

More Sounds

We do indeed have dipthongs in Cree. The combination of vowels with semi vowels produce regular differences. At first, you’ll fuck this up. Eventually it will become as easy as breathing.

Before ‘y’

When a vowel is placed before the semi-vowel ‘y’, the vowel becomes long. We don’t bother putting a macron ‘^’ because it’s an automatic transition. Nonetheless, some people put the macron anyway, and no one is going to slap your wrist for it. To maintain some sort of coherency, I’ll refrain.

iy: bee
ey: pa
ay: ice
oy: foil

Before w

This first one is a bit trickier, because it can sound like two distinct sounds, but when you say it fast enough it blends.

ew: like e in wet + w
ow: moon

Exceptions, lovely exceptions

When a short ‘i’ is followed by a ‘w’, (iw), it is pronounced like a long ‘o’ (ô)....but only if it’s at the end of an Animate Intransitive Verb (we’ll get to verb types later).

iw: moon

When the vowel ‘a’ is paired with ‘w’, you have two choices. A short ‘a’ (aw) and a long ‘a’ (âw). Because the sounds are different, we keep the macron if the ‘a’ is long.

aw: out, ouch
âw : cow, how

The sounds might not seem that different to you, but you’ll note that the long ‘a’ dipthong (âw) has a longer lasting sound.

Location matters!

To fuck you up even more, some consonants change their sounds depending on where they are in a word.

p: ‘p’ sounds like a ‘b’ when it’s in the middle of a word between two vowels.

t: ‘t’ sounds like a ‘d’ when in the middle of a word between two vowels.

k: ‘k’ sounds like a ‘g’ when in the middle of a word between two vowels.

Don’t worry, you’ll be given aural samples to practice.

I'm confused by your note that there is no short 'e'. We teach short 'e' as exactly what you have written--the sound in 'bet' or 'pet'.

I'm working within what we in Cree think of as 'short' or 'long'. You'll note that the long 'e' sound like in 'bee' is actually made by the long vowel 'i' (î). Stick with the way I've defined it, because it makes sense later on, I promise :)

This is seriously cool. I am willing to give it a try that is if it's acceptable for the white man to learn. :p

Might I add some suggestions?

1) is there a gender difference is the way words are pronounced? I remember back in school where a guy was very proud that he spoke Japanese(or was it Chinese?). We had two gals that came over for school and they said at first they thought he was a homosexual by the way he spoke. They tactfully asked who taught him and he said it was a woman.

Being a language based on action, I am guessing there isn't.

2) Written attempts to show how a word is prounced is good but there still can be mistakes as it leaves the learning to imagine how it is said. If you have time to record yourself, that could help.

3) I remember my old German professor saying that it really helps to watch a persons mouth as they talk. So if you care to put your pretty face to film. ;)

But indeed thank you for attempting this. We monolingual Americans could improve but learning a few languages even if they are not frequently used.....

I promise, I will get to all of this!

Putfile is down for maintenance unfortunately. As soon as it's back up, I'll make sure I can provide aural links to help with the sounds and pronounciation!

This is the kind of maddening project you'd come along with when I'm half-stoned at 11 p.m. I want it all, though--foundation up. that probably doesn't make sense cause i'm a bit stoned, but we will discuss later. I want to make my kids count to 10 in 10 different languages--daily practice!

(right now we have english, spanish, french, russian, dogri, tamil, swedish, punjabi, japanese...one spot open! yesss.)

Animacy

Cree does not work with genders, but rather with ‘animate’ and ‘inanimate’. You can imagine how this reflects and also moulds our worldview. Nonetheless, it isn’t particularly intuitive, even if you’ve grown up with it. Sort of like gender :D

The thing with animacy is, it doesn’t only apply to our nouns, it also applies to our verbs. We will do a LOT of work on verbs, because they are the most complex part of the language.

Animate nouns

People, animals or things that are imbued with life-like qualities are given animacy. People and animals are the most obviously animate.


nâpew - man
atim - dog


Other things are not so obvious, yet are viewed as animate in a sense. Understanding why that is becomes somewhat complex. Don't be tricked into simplistic views that somehow we are 'animist' and we believe these things have a life of their own.


mitâs - pants (they move!)
asinîy - rock


Inanimate nouns

Obviously, these refer to things that are non-living. Again, it isn't intuitive. If pants are animate because they move, then why are shoes inanimate? Hush now, just memorise it.


maskisina - shoes
nipîy - water


To reiterate the lack of gender distinction, it may interest you to know that when speaking of someone in the third person, the 3rd person pronoun is completely sexless. She/he simply doesn't exist.

This is the kind of maddening project you'd come along with when I'm half-stoned at 11 p.m. I want it all, though--foundation up. that probably doesn't make sense cause i'm a bit stoned, but we will discuss later. I want to make my kids count to 10 in 10 different languages--daily practice!

(right now we have english, spanish, french, russian, dogri, tamil, swedish, punjabi, japanese...one spot open! yesss.)

My babies (2 and 3) can count to 10 in Spanish, French, English and German... and 5 in Chinese).

Animacy

Cree does not work with genders, but rather with ‘animate’ and ‘inanimate’. You can imagine how this reflects and also moulds our worldview. Nonetheless, it isn’t particularly intuitive, even if you’ve grown up with it. Sort of like gender :D

The thing with animacy is, it doesn’t only apply to our nouns, it also applies to our verbs. We will do a LOT of work on verbs, because they are the most complex part of the language.

Animate nouns

People, animals or things that are imbued with life-like qualities are given animacy. People and animals are the most obviously animate.


nâpew - man
atim - dog


Other things are not so obvious, yet are viewed as animate in a sense. Understanding why that is becomes somewhat complex. Don't be tricked into simplistic views that somehow we are 'animist' and we believe these things have a life of their own.


mitâs - pants (they move!)
asinîy - rock


Inanimate nouns

Obviously, these refer to things that are non-living. Again, it isn't intuitive. If pants are animate because they move, then why are shoes inanimate? Hush now, just memorise it.


maskisina - shoes
nipîy - water


To reiterate the lack of gender distinction, it may interest you to know that when speaking of someone in the third person, the 3rd person pronoun is completely sexless. She/he simply doesn't exist.

Can you give an explanation for why rocks are animate? (I'm very much back-end... if I can work out the why, I can function the front-end much more easily).

Or is this one of those things you'd have to kill us for?

Can you give an explanation for why rocks are animate? (I'm very much back-end... if I can work out the why, I can function the front-end much more easily).

Or is this one of those things you'd have to kill us for?

It's bordering on, yes.

Certain sites, certain landforms, are given animacy. It can be because of something that happened there, some connection people had to those things or places. Some of these reasons are taught, and some aren't. Not widely anyway.

You won't be able to figure it out, any more than you can figure out why window is feminine in Spanish and not masculine. You're just going to have to memorise it. I know, it's a pain in the ass, but no one will laugh at you too hard if you mess it up.

Well.

Anway :D

I'm going to sleep now, I'll continue to work on this when I can tomorrow.

You won't be able to figure it out, any more than you can figure out why window is feminine in Spanish and not masculine. You're just going to have to memorise it. I know, it's a pain in the ass, but no one will laugh at you too hard if you mess it up.

Well.

Anway :D

Or why "la chemisse" is a shirt for a man, while "le chemisier" is a blouse for a woman.

I'm working within what we in Cree think of as 'short' or 'long'. You'll note that the long 'e' sound like in 'bee' is actually made by the long vowel 'i' (î). Stick with the way I've defined it, because it makes sense later on, I promise :)

No, the long 'è' sounds like 'ea' in 'wear'.
Otherwise, the long 'é' sounds like 'ay' in 'bay'.
The 'e' in 'bet' is definitely a short 'e'.

But then, English use of vowels is so thwarted that trying to express any sounds using English spelling is nigh impossible...

last time i learned a native Language the police kept locking me up for no reason every time i used it.

Hmmm, was it "Drunk talk"? That one will get you in trouble.

I'm in! I read about Cree a while ago (didn't I discussed this with you one time, Sin?) and I found it fascinating. It should be a good experience in applied new phonetics for me and since I'm on vacation...

Wow, this is really awesome. I absolutely love languages, and I'm already fascinated by this thread. :)

Thank you for sharing yourself with us. I understand that some tribal languages have different temporal perceptions than what is considered the standard European concept of time. Will you be covering the Cree concept? Thank you, again!

Thank you for sharing yourself with us. I understand that some tribal languages have different temporal perceptions than what is considered the standard European concept of time. Will you be covering the Cree concept? Thank you, again!

I'll attempt to...it's a hard thing to grasp until you've actually gained some fluency, but yes, I'll try to touch on all these things.

This is really pissing me off...putfile is still down, and I can't find another good sound host. Rapidfile didn't work so great last time. Anyone know of any other good audio hosting?

LESSON ONE: Animate and Inanimate Nouns, Demonstrative Pronouns

Before I thrust you into Cree verbing, I’m going to get you to understand how animate an inanimate nouns work. Again, this is not intuitive, so you’ll have to memorise animacy.

So let’s start with some abbreviations that I’ll be using throughout this thread.

NA: Animate nouns
NI: Inanimate nouns
PL: Plural

Vocabulary

Below is a list of food-related Cree words, their animacy and the English equivalent. As I go, I’ll try to group words together that have similar roots, so you can start to unravel the patterns.

wîyas (NI) – meat
kôhkôsowîyin (NA) – bacon (literally pig meat)
mostosowîyâs (NI) – beef (cow meat)
wâwi (NI) - egg
wâwa (NI)(PL) – eggs (it’s more common to use the plural)
askipwâwa (NI)(PL) – potatoes (earth eggs)
mîcimâpoy (NI) – soup (literally eating water)
maskihkiwâpoy (NI) – tea (literally medicine water)
tohtôsâpoy (NI) – milk
tohtôsâpôpimiy (NI) – butter
pahkwesikan (NA) – bread
mahtâminak (NA)(PL) – corn
kinosew (NA) – fish
oskâtâskwak (NA)(PL) – carrots
sîwinikan (NA) – sugar
sîwihtâkan (NI) – salt
papeskomina (NI) – pepper
wâkâs (NA) – banana

Demonstrative Pronouns

So you want to start naming things, because that’s what English speakers do :D Alright, nothing too horrible about that.

Demonstrative pronouns are linked to animacy, and must match. Placement is important because it changes meaning. Just in case you’re not sure what a demonstrative pronoun is, let me illustrate:

This fish, that fish, those fish.

Before a noun

When you put a demonstrative pronoun before a noun, you are saying exactly what I’ve demonstrated above. This, that, those. Ôma wâwi (this egg). Here are the singular forms.

ôma (NI): this
awa (NA): this
anima (NI): that
ana (NA): that

Here are the plural forms:

ôki (NA) – these
ôhi (NI) – these
aniki (NA) – those
anihi (NI) - those

Practice

Using the vocabulary words above, imagine you are pointing to the items and naming them. This fish, that fish, etc. Remember, you have to match animacy. Fish, or kinosew is (NA), so you can only use the (NA) demonstrative pronouns awa and ana.

awa kinosew, ana kinosew

You also have to make sure you’re matching singular with singular and plural with plural.

ôki mahtâminak (these corn)
ôma wîyas (this meat)

After a noun

When you place a demonstrative pronoun after a noun, you are saying “this is, that is, those are”. Kinosew ana (that is a fish).

There is literally no word in Cree for ‘is/are’. These things are implied in the noun, the animacy, and the number. Putting the demonstrative pronoun after the noun ‘builds in’ the concept of ‘is/are’.

Go through the same kind of practice. Imagine pointing to the items and saying, 'this is such and such'.

What works for a lot of people is using little post its. Two different colours, to indicate animate and inanimate. Start labelling shit around your house, and practice the pronunciation and the demonstrative pronouns. Again, as soon as I can get some audio clips up, I will since I can almost guarantee you'll be saying it somewhat wrong:)


Audio for this lesson: http://www.filedropper.com/lessonone

For Ryadn

Numbers 1 – 10

And oooooh squeal, I’ve got some audio resources you can access for this! You can mess around the whole site actually, it’s great stuff. It goes from 1 – 49, but for now, I’d stick to just learning 1 – 10. The link below allows you to click on the Cree word and hear it spoken. This is a great opportunity to practice the sounds, so repeat it often. You’ll note that they put a – over the long vowels (including ‘e’) instead of a macron ‘^’. This is just a regional variation in spelling, as this site comes out of Saskatchewan.

Listen! ( http://www.sicc.sk.ca/heritage/sils/ourlanguages/plains/commonterms/plains_numbers1_49.html)

1 – peyak
2 – nîso
3 – nisto
4 – newo
5 – niyânan
6 – nikotwâsik
7 – tepakohp
8 – ayinânew
9 – keka-mitâtaht
10 - mitâtaht

Lesson Two: Personal Pronouns

There are 8 personal pronouns in Cree. Again, if you’re not sure what personal pronouns are, I’m talking about ‘you, he, she, they’ etc. I’ll give you the list, then explain a bit more.

[1S] nîya – me, I
[2S] kîya – you (singular)
[3S] wîya – s/he
[1P] nîyanân – we, us
[2I] kîyânaw – we, us
[2P] kîyawâw – you (plural)
[3P] wîyawâw - they, them
[3’] (third obviate)

First person

Nîya is easy, it’s singular, it just means you. Nîyanân is a little difficult, both in pronunciation and meaning. First, the pronunciation. Notice that it’s remarkably similar to the number 5, niyânan. If it weren’t for the difference in long vowels, it might seem like the same word...so pronunciation is key. We’ll work on that later.

Nîyanân is exclusive. That means you’re excluding the listener from the group. You’re standing there with your buddies, facing others, and when you say ‘we’ (nîyanân), you’re saying ‘us, not you’. You’ll note I mark it with a [1P], first person plural. Remember it as first person, because that automatically excludes those in the second person and so on.

Second person

Kîya is another easy one...it means you, singular. Kîyânaw is the inclusive ‘we’. It means ‘all of us’, [2I] second person inclusive. Kîyawâw is [2P], second person plural...you, all of you (not me).

Third person, proximate

Wîya [3S], third person singular...it means she or he. Note again that there is no difference in Cree in terms of gender. Wîyawâw [3P], third person plural is ‘them’. Pretty straight forward.

Third person, obviative

There isn’t a specific personal pronoun for [3’], third person obviative. Before I explain how we describe this person or person, I’ll explain what the obviative zone is.

Obviative means someone belonging to or associated with the third person. Third person singular, or plural. For example, third person singular would be Jenny.

Jenny [3S]

Now if we’re talking about Jenny’s daughter, you can see the problem. Jenny is the third person singular, and in Cree, we can only have ONE person in the third person spot in a sentence. Jenny’s daughter is one spot removed. She is in the...dum dum dum...obviative zone!!!

Jenny [3S] – Jenny’s daughter [3’]

The way we make it clear that we’re talking about the third person obviative is to add the suffix marker -a. This is true of singular or plural 3’.
In Cree, you would say “Jenny’s daughter” like this: Jenny otânis. When we want to talk about what Jenny’s daughter is doing, we need to put her in the obviative zone, so we add an ‘a’ to the end of otânis. Jenny otânisa. Now, Jenny’s daughter is the third person obviative.

For reasons that will become clearer to you later, adding an ‘a’ to many words can make them plural. The ‘a’ in [3’] is not a plural marker, it’s the obviative marker. Nonetheless, we don’t really know (or care) if we’re talking about Jenny’s daughter, or Jenny’s daughters. The verb form for [3’] stays the same and is totally indifferent to the issue of singular versus plural.
Third person plural, wîyawâw [3P] can also have obviatives. ‘Sam and Jenny’s daughter (or daughters)’. Sam ekwa Jenny otânisa.

Clear? As mud? Good, cuz I want you to practice.

Practice

I’m going to give you 13 scenarios. I want you to figure out which personal pronoun you should be using. Feel free to post your answers and I’ll correct them when I have time, or just do it on your own. Eventually I may just post answers, we’ll see.


Your brother.
Me and my lonesome.
Those guys over there.
We're going to eat but you guys can bugger off.
Ah just kidding, let's all go eat!
I'm pointing at you, what do I say?
My friend's sister.
You guys all stink.
That's Jasminder's girlfriend. Hawt.
We're west side, bitches, what? What? Be more constructive with your criticism.
Let's go dancing!
Oh noes! Look at those n00bs!
Who, me?



More practice (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=14724262&postcount=79)

Audio for this lesson: http://www.filedropper.com/lessontwo

Verbing, Nehiyaw Style!

Cree verbs are the foundation of the language. Everything exists in a state of action. Nouns are not separate from their actions, they are defined by them. We don’t say things like, “I am tired”...instead what we’re really saying is, “I’m being tired, I am in a state of being tired”. It goes as deep as describing colours...that chair is not brown, it’s BEING brown. It is existing in a state of being brown. The huge variety of verbs and verb types is staggering, but don’t worry...for a lot of English speakers, it’s easier to learn how to construct verbs from nouns (which we’ll do later). If you can get into the right mental frame of mind to verb automatically...then that’s just super keen!

Alright, enough chit chat, time to introduce you to the basics.

Transivity

Verbs are either transitive, or intransitive. Transitive verbs need an object to complete the action. “This ball is being thrown at my sister by me” is a good example of that. An intransitive verb needs no object to complete the action. “This ball is being thrown by me.”

The transitive verbs are more complex, so we’ll start with the intransitive, namely the Animate Intransitive (AI). We'll do that in Lesson Three.

Mode

There are two main modes we’ll be working a lot with, the independent, and the conjunct. Yes, there are many, many more, but I don’t want to scare you off that soon. The independent mode is actually used fairly rarely in speech, but English speakers seem to like to use it more. I want you to avoid that. The independent mode is usually used in sentences making declarative statements like, “I work today”. It’s usually used for asking questions as well, “Do you work today?”.

The conjunct mode demonstrates progressive action. I’m talking gerunds, -ing words. If you keep in mind that Cree has a verbal focus, this will make sense to you. “I am working, I am singing, that hat is being red”. Yes, you read that last part correctly.

You absolutely need to know both modes, but don’t fall into the trap of using the independent mode just because it seems to translate directly better.

Now, after getting you to practice personal pronouns, I’m going to let you in on a secret. We don’t use them much. Unlike in English, we can drop personal pronouns altogether when we’re verbing, because the verbs themselves tell us who is doing what.

Verb, my little minions, verb!

Lesson Three: Animate Intransitive, Independent Mode

Conjugation in Cree can get wonderfully complex. This is as simple as it gets, so enjoy it.

You’ll be learning how to conjugate Animate Intransitive verbs into the independent mode first. Once again, personal pronouns are unnecessary...who is doing what is built right into the conjugation. Cree uses personal prefixes and personal suffixes, sort of ‘wrapping around’ the word to indicate who is doing the action.

Here is a list of AI verbs we’ll be using:

Pîkiskwe – to talk
Api – to sit
Nipâ – to sleep
Nîmihito – to dance
Pîcicî – to round dance
Mîciso – to eat
Pâhpisi – to smile
Pîhtwâ – to smoke
Pimohte – to walk
Atoske – to work (you see how that comes after all the good stuff? Yeah baby)

Spelling rules

Any Animate Intransitive (AI) verbs ending in ‘e’, such as pîkiskwe, pimohte and atoske, change that ‘e’ to a long ‘â’ for all first and second persons (1S, 2S, 1P, 2I, 2P) in the Independent mode only.

Use ‘t’ as a joiner when an AI verb begins with a vowel in the independent mode. Atoske, for example, begins with a verb, so when saying “I work”, a ‘t’ is used to separate the personal prefix ‘ni-‘ from the atoske. Nitatoskân.


Quick Review

No, you’re not going to be using personal pronouns, but you need to keep very clear as to who is doing what. So once again, there are 8 personal indicators in Cree:

1S (first person singular, me)
2S (second person singular, you)
3S (third person singular, him or her)
1P (first person plural, exclusive...we or us but not you)
2I (second person inclusive, all of us)
2P (second person plural, you guys)
3P (third person plural, those guys)
3’ (third person obviative, Jenny’s daughter)

Independent Mode

Let’s get to it!

First you take the root verb. Let’s work with one that doesn’t change spelling and that doesn’t need a joiner first. Nipâ (to sleep. Note: Nîpa means to kill, so say it right folks, say it right :D) I’ll give you the paradigm first, and then conjugate nipâ into it right after

1S: Ni -------n
2S: Ki-------n
3S: -------w
1P: Ni-------nân
2I: Ki-------naw
2P: Ki-------nâwâw
3P: -------wak
3’: -------yiwa

Nipâ: to sleep

1S: Ninipân...........I sleep
2S: Kinipân...........you sleep
3S: Nipâw..........s/he sleeps
1P: Ninipânân..........we (not you) sleep
2I: Kinipânaw..........we all sleep
2P: Kinipânâwâw...........you guys sleep
3P: Nipâwak...........they sleep
3’: Nipâyiwa..........Jenny's daughter sleeps

Atoske: to work

Now to make it a bit more complex, let’s take atoske, which needs a joiner AND a change from the final ‘e’ to a long ‘â’. Remember, there is only a joiner to separate vowels, so in the 3S/3P, you’ll note that isn’t necessary at all. As well, the change from e to ‘â’ only happens in the first and second person.

1S: Nitatoskân
2S: Kitatoskân
3S: Atoskew
1P: Nitatoskânân
2I: Kitatoskânaw
2P: Kitatoskânâwâw
3P: Atoskewak
3’: Atoskeyiwa

Practice

That’s right, biznatches, the best way to learn conjugation, is to do it. Conjugate ALL those big bad verbs into the independent mode. Be careful about joiners and e to â changes. If you’re going to submit it in this thread, I want you to conjugate the verb AND provide an English translation/equivalent.

Audio for this lesson: http://www.filedropper.com/lessonthree

Lesson Four: Animate Intransitive (AI) Conjugation, Conjunct Mode

Once again, this is the mode you should be using the most. You can tell who is doing what by the personal suffix indicator...all verbs in the conjunct mode start with an ‘e’, so you don’t get any clues there. At first this might seem more difficult than the independent mode, but you’ll get used to it. The conjunct mode is the progressive ‘always happening’ mode, and that’s the way we generally think of things.

Spelling rules

Things are much simpler in the conjunct mode. No changes from e – â. The only thing you need is an ‘h’ joiner.

Use a ‘h’ as a joiner when an AI verb beings with a vowel in the conjunct mode. Again, atoske. In the conjunct, “I am working” starts with an ‘e’. Ehatoskeyân.

Verb List

Pîkiskwe – to talk
Api – to sit
Nipâ – to sleep
Nîmihito – to dance
Pîcicî – to round dance
Mîciso – to eat
Pâhpisi – to smile
Pîhtwâ – to smoke
Pimohte – to walk
Atoske – to work

Conjunct Mode

First, the paradigm, then the example. Again, I’ll start with a verb that doesn’t need any changes, nipâ (to sleep).

1S: e-------yân
2S: e-------yan
3S: e-------t
1P: e-------yâhk
2I: e-------yahk
2P: e-------yek
3P: e-------cik
3’: e-------yit


Nipâ, to sleep

1S: enipâyân...........I am sleeping
2S: enipâyan..........You are sleeping
3S: enipât..........S/he is sleeping
1P: enipâyâhk……….We (not you) are sleeping
2I: enipâyahk………..We are all sleeping
2P: enipâyek………..You guys are sleeping
3P: enipâcik………..They are sleeping
3’: enipâyit………..Jane’s daughter is sleeping

Api, to sit

Now for a verb that needs the ‘h’ joiner. The ‘h’ is inserted to maintain fluency.

1S: ehapiyân
2S: ehapiyan
3S: ehapit
1P: ehapiyâhk
2I: ehapiyahk
2P: ehapiyek
3P: ehapicik
3’: ehapiyit

Practice

Back to it! Time to conjugate all the verbs in the verb list into the conjunct form, and provide English translations.

Audio for this lesson: http://www.filedropper.com/lessonfour

I'm going to need private tutoring.

Lesson Five: Making questions – cî marker

Intonation is important in Cree, just as it is in English, but it can be much less obvious in spoken Cree than the rise we often hear at the end of a question in English. Instead, the question marker ‘cî’ is used. Pronounced tsee. It must be the second word in the sentence...it doesn’t just hang out at the end.

For example, from the previous conjugations, enipâyan, “you are sleeping”. You can change it easily into “are you sleeping?” by adding ‘cî’. Enipâyan cî?
Remember back when we were doing demonstrative pronouns? If the demonstrative pronoun was before the noun, it meant ‘this, that, those’. Remember, cî goes after the first word, don’t give into the temptation to tack it on the end like a question mark.

Ôhi wâwa. These eggs.
Ôhi cî wâwa? These eggs (here?)

Or if you put the demonstrative pronoun behind the noun, you are stating what it is.

Wâwa ôhi. (These are eggs.)
Wâwa cî ôhi? (These things here are eggs?)

Though this following sentence is still a bit complex for you, I want to pound in the fact that the cî goes SECOND.

Kimôwâw cî kinosew ekwa askipwâwa? (Do you eat fish and potatoes?)

It is okay in written RSO Cree to use the question mark, just as it’s fine to leave it out. When we’re using syllabics, we don’t bother with the question mark at all.

Yes and no

Since cî is basically a ‘yes or no’ question marker, you need to be able to say yes and no.

Yes: ehâ
No: namoya

Namoya is often shortened in rapid speech to 'moya'.

A bit more for you, if you want

If you’re really excited about forming questions, blend your personal pronouns and your demonstrative pronouns with the question marker cî.

Kîya cî awa. (Is this yours [NA])
Wîya cî ôma (Is that his/hers [NA])


Tâpwe cî. (Is that right? Sort of like a ‘ah, so, hmmm’)

Audio for this lesson: http://www.filedropper.com/lessonfive

I'm going to need private tutoring.

Tâpwe cî?

I think that's enough for today. I'm held back by the fact that I really need to get aural samples up, and putfile is not being cooperative. Having this become a completely written exercise is too ironic for me.

Oh wait, I'll do one more thing before I go today.

Tâpwe cî?

Ehâ.

Translations 1

See what you can piece together from what you’ve learned so far. I’m going to put 11 phrases, or words up, and you need to give me the English equivalent. Give me your best shot:)


Keka-mitâtaht mahtâminak.
Nîyanân cî ôki.
Epîhtwâyân.
Kipîcicîn cî.
Apiyiwa.
Epâhpisiyek.
Nipimohtân.
Wâwa cî ôhi? Namoya. Askipwâwa ôhi.
Tâpwe cî.
Ôma mostosowîyâs.
Kîya cî awa kinosew.


Audio: http://www.filedropper.com/translations1

Ehâ.

Macinapesis.

More Sounds


Huh. Since the language has only been written in Roman letters for a short time, how come there are so many non-standard-Roman exceptions, like this one:

iw: moon

(These I get, that seems pretty standard to me:
aw: out, ouch
âw : cow, how)

...actually, I'm also surprised by this:

o: foot, put

as well, so I guess it's probably your English pronunciation that differs from mine %-)

It's bordering on, yes.

Certain sites, certain landforms, are given animacy. It can be because of something that happened there, some connection people had to those things or places. Some of these reasons are taught, and some aren't. Not widely anyway.


It's... it's things that you can click on if you hover your mouse cursor over them, right (e.g. "pants of craftmanship")? Water is just a graphics effect, therefore inanimate.

:eek2:

I just realised I'm still level 1 and will therefore probably be killed for these questions. Or be wiped out from the matrix for spreading my theories. Then again, how do I skill my language if I don't understand the system?

Cree's never appealed to me. The entire language looks like wtf combined with tl;dr. Feel free to bash me for my close mindedness.

Welcome, come in, and learn to speak Cree.
We should be learning Chinese. :p

Besides, my wife would kill me for trying to learn Cree before I have learned Tagalog.

Huh. Since the language has only been written in Roman letters for a short time, how come there are so many non-standard-Roman exceptions, like this one:

iw: moon

(These I get, that seems pretty standard to me:
aw: out, ouch
âw : cow, how)

...actually, I'm also surprised by this:

o: foot, put

as well, so I guess it's probably your English pronunciation that differs from mine %-) This is why I'm really, really annoyed with putfile for not working right now. You need audio links so you can hear the pronunciations. As for 'non standard' Roman exceptions...I'm not sure what you mean here. The 'r' in French certaintly doesn't sound like the 'r' in English, and both use RSO. All languages using RSO have their own standards, and 'iw' (as oo) is indeed a Cree RSO standard. The English 'equivalents' I've included are a rough guide only, until I can put up something more substantial.



It's... it's things that you can click on if you hover your mouse cursor over them, right (e.g. "pants of craftmanship")? Water is just a graphics effect, therefore inanimate. Hahahahahahaha, that's an interesting way to look at it....but how do explain that some berries are animate, and others are inanimate? (lol, that's a mean one, I'll actually explain that at some point)



I just realised I'm still level 1 and will therefore probably be killed for these questions. Or be wiped out from the matrix for spreading my theories. Then again, how do I skill my language if I don't understand the system?
You remain unwiped out.
Cree's never appealed to me. The entire language looks like wtf combined with tl;dr. Feel free to bash me for my close mindedness.
tl;don't care.

Glossary: Cree to English

This will be updated as new vocabulary is introduced.

Abbreviations

[NA] – Animate Nouns
[NI] – Inanimate Nouns
[AI] – Animate Intransitive Verbs
[pers. proN] – Personal Pronoun
[part.] – Particle
[dem. proN] – Demonstrative Pronoun

CREE-ENGLISH

Ana – [dem. proN] – that one (NA)
Anihi – [dem. proN] – those ones (NI)
Aniki – [dem. proN] – those ones (NA)
Anima – [dem. proN] – that one (NI)
Api – [AI] – to sit
Askipwâwa – [NI] – potatoes pl.
Atim – [NA] - dog
Atoske – [AI] – to work
Asinîy – [NA] – rock
Ayinânew – [part.] - eight
Awa – [dem. proN] – this one (NA)
Cî – [part.] – question marker
Ehâ – [part.] – yes
Keka-mitâtaht – [part.] - nine
Kinosew – [NA] - fish
Kîya – [pers. proN] – you
Kîyânaw – [pers. proN] – we (us, inclusive)
Kîyawâw – [pers. proN] – you pl.
Kôhkôsowîyin – [NA] - bacon
Mahtâminak – [NA] – corn pl.
Maskisina – [NI] – shoes pl.
Mitâtaht – [part.] - ten
Mitâs – [NA] – pants pl.
Mîcimâpoy – [NI] - soup
Mîciso – [AI] – to eat
Mostosowîyâs – [NI] - beef
Namoya – [part.] – no
Nâpew – [NA] – man
Newo – [part.] – four
Nikotwâsik – [part.] - six
Nîmihito – [AI] – to dance
Nipîy – [NI] - water
Nipâ – [AI] – to sleep
Nisto – [part.] - three
Nîso – [part.] - two
Nîya – [pers. proN] – I
Niyânan – [part.] - five
Nîyanân – [pers. proN] – we (us, exclusive)
Ôhi – [dem. proN] – these ones(NI)
Ôki – [dem. proN] – these ones (NA)
Ôma – [dem. proN] – this one (NI)
Oskâtâskwak – [NA] – carrots pl.
Pahkwesikan – [NA] – bread
Papeskomina – [NI] - pepper
Pâhpsis – [AI] – to smile
Peyak – [part.] - one
Pimohte – [AI] – to walk
Pîcicî – [AI] – to round dance
Pîhtwâ – [AI] – to smoke
Pîkiskwe – [AI] – to talk
Sîwihtâkan – [NI] - salt
Sîwinikan – [NA] - sugar
Tâpwe – [part.] (expr.) – truly, indeed
Tawâw – [part.] (expr) – welcome
Tepakohp – [part.] - seven
Tohtôsâpoy – [NI] – milk
Tohtôsâpôpimiy – [NI] - butter
Wâkâs – [NA] - banana
Wâwa – [NI] – eggs pl.
Wâwi – [NI] – egg
Wîya – [pers. proN] – s/he
Wîyas – [NI] - meat
Wîyawâw – [pers. proN] – they, them

Glossary: English to Cree

This will be updated as new vocabulary is introduced.

Abbreviations

[NA] – Animate Nouns
[NI] – Inanimate Nouns
[AI] – Animate Intransitive Verbs
[pers. proN] – Personal Pronoun
[part.] – Particle
[dem. proN] – Demonstrative Pronoun

ENGLISH-CREE

Bacon – [NA] - kôhkôsowîyin
Banana – [NA] - wâkâs
Beef – [NI] – mostoswîyâs
Bread – [NA] – pahkwesikan
Butter – [NI] – tohtôsâpôpimiy
Carrots – [NA] - oskâtâskwak
Corn – [NA] - mahtâminak
Dance (to) –[AI] – nîmihito
Eat (to) – [AI] – mîciso
Egg – [NI] – wâwi
Eggs – [NI] – wâwa
Eight – [part.] – ayinânew
Fish – [NA] - kinosew
Five – [part.] – niyânan
Four – [part.] - newo
I, me – [pers. proN] - nîya
Man – [NA] – napew
Milk – [NI] – tohtôsâpoy
Meat – [NI] – wîyas
Nine – [part.] – keka-mitâtaht
No – [part.] – namoya
One – [part.] – peyak
Pants – [NA] – mitâs
Pepper – [NI] - papeskomina
Potatoes – [NI] – askipwâwa
Question marker – [part.] - cî
Rock – [NA] - asinîy
Round dance (to) – [AI] – pîcicî
Salt – [NI] – sîwihtâkan
Seven – [part.] - tepakohp
S/he – [pers. proN] - wîya
Shoes – [NI] – maskisina
Sit (to) – [AI] – api
Six – [part.] – nikotwâsik
Sleep (to) – [AI] - nipâ
Smile (to) – [AI] – pâhpsis
Smoke (to) – [AI] – pîhtwâ
Soup – [NI] - mîcimâpoy
Sugar – [NA] – sîwinikan
Ten – [part.] – mitâtaht
That one (NA) – [dem. proN] – ana
That one (NI) – [dem. proN] - anima
These ones (NA) – [dem. proN] - ôki
These ones (NI) – [dem. proN] - ôhi
They, them – [pers. proN] - wîyawâw
This one (NA) – [dem. proN] - awa
This one (NI) – [dem. proN] – ôma
Those ones (NA) – [dem. proN] – aniki
Those ones (NI) – [dem. proN] – anihi
Three – [part.] – nisto
Truly, indeed – [part.] (expr.) - tâpwe
Two – [part.] – nîso
Yes – [part.] – ehâ
You (sing.) – [pers. proN] – kîya
You (pl.) – [pers. proN] - kîyawâw
Walk (to) – [AI] - pimohte
Water – [NI] – nipîy
We (us, inclusive) – [pers. proN] – kîyânaw
We (us, exclusive) – [pers. proN] - nîyanân
Welome – [part.] (expr.) – tawâw
Work (to) – [AI] – atoske

Do the Cree not have their own writing system then, or was it just changed to Latin, like the Turks did?

How can you say shit or pee? And I am referring to both the verbs and nouns, if they are different.

Whether I want to learn a language depends a lot on the answer to this question.

What is 'boobs' in Cree?

I ask because Im a child, and thats the first word I learn to say in any language.

Do the Cree not have their own writing system then, or was it just changed to Latin, like the Turks did?

East of Saskatchewan, syllabics are used more. RSO is used mostly in the prairie provinces. English speakers new to Cree generally have an easier time with the RSO.

You can look at syllabics (and here the vowel sounds) here (http://www.creedictionary.com/syllabics/saskatchewan.php).

You can look at syllabics (and here the vowel sounds) here (http://www.creedictionary.com/syllabics/saskatchewan.php).

No I can't. I must not have the right update for my computer or something, because it's just coming out as little boxes with numbers in.

How can you say shit or pee? And I am referring to both the verbs and nouns, if they are different.

Whether I want to learn a language depends a lot on the answer to this question.
Dork.

Well you've got the verb (AI): mîsî (to defecate)
You've also go the verb (AI): mîtihkwâmi (to defecate while sleeping)
Or (AI): mîsîhkaso (to be made to defecate from the heat)
or (AI): mîsîhkâso (to pretend to defecate)

If you just wanted to say 'shit' (NI), it would be mîsîwin. (meeseewin)
Pee is sikowin (NI). (sigoowin)

To pee is (AI) siko. Pissing yourself is sikitiso (AI), and pissing on someone else is sikite (TA). There are lot of different ways you can shit and piss. Happy?

What is 'boobs' in Cree?

I ask because Im a child, and thats the first word I learn to say in any language.Tohtôsak...this is teats, it's crude to use it in relation to human women, therefore fits your question. Ha, the word for milk is tohtôsâpoy...literally breast water. Butter...is breast grease.

No I can't. I must not have the right update for my computer or something, because it's just coming out as little boxes with numbers in.You can dowload unicode syllabic font here (http://www.creedictionary.com/absans.zip).

To add to the immature words discussion, how d'you say fuck off?

You can dowload unicode syllabic font here (http://www.creedictionary.com/absans.zip).

Cheers. For being so helpful, I'm gonna give basic Cree a shot.

This thread scares me greatly.

To add to the immature words discussion, how d'you say fuck off?
Fuck off.

Well the only term even close is awas! Go away! But it doesn't have that bad meaning that fuck off does. There aren't really many swears in Cree, sorry. We're a pretty polite people. Or rather, somewhat more subtle. Lots of double entendres, less outright rudeness.

Practice


Your brother.
Me and my lonesome.
Those guys over there.
We're going to eat but you guys can bugger off.
Ah just kidding, let's all go eat!
I'm pointing at you, what do I say?
My friend's sister.
You guys all stink.
That's Jasminder's girlfriend. Hawt.
We're west side, bitches, what? What? Be more constructive with your criticism.
Let's go dancing!
Oh noes! Look at those n00bs!
Who, me?


Love your examples. I was only going to read through this thread, since practice seems a bit... pointless when I'm never going to use it, but how could anyone not want to do examples like these?

You've also go the verb (AI): mîtihkwâmi (to defecate while sleeping)
Or (AI): mîsîhkaso (to be made to defecate from the heat)
or (AI): mîsîhkâso (to pretend to defecate)


Lol, I can't believe they have specific words for this.

This thread scares me greatly.

Awas!

Love your examples. I was only going to read through this thread, since practice seems a bit... pointless when I'm never going to use it, but how could anyone not want to do examples like these? Gotta keep it relevant :D

Lol, I can't believe they have specific words for this.

I'm telling you...Cree is an incredibly detailed language. The number of verbs we have are insane. Almost anything you can imagine saying, can be verbed. You play? Metawe (AI). You play bingo? Tahkahcike (AI). You play a little on a musical instrument? Kitohcikesi (AI). There is a different verb for all the different kinds of games you might play, and that's not even getting into the verbs that describe games you play WITH others, or at the expense of others, or with certain objects, etc.

Dork.

Well you've got the verb (AI): mîsî (to defecate)
You've also go the verb (AI): mîtihkwâmi (to defecate while sleeping)
Or (AI): mîsîhkaso (to be made to defecate from the heat)
or (AI): mîsîhkâso (to pretend to defecate)

If you just wanted to say 'shit' (NI), it would be mîsîwin. (meeseewin)
Pee is sikowin (NI). (sigoowin)

To pee is (AI) siko. Pissing yourself is sikitiso (AI), and pissing on someone else is sikite (TA). There are lot of different ways you can shit and piss. Happy?

Tohtôsak...this is teats, it's crude to use it in relation to human women, therefore fits your question. Ha, the word for milk is tohtôsâpoy...literally breast water. Butter...is breast grease.

A specific verb for shitting the bed. Awesome.

Is the animacy/inanimacy somehow contingent on the fact that things aren't things, they are DO-ing things? Like - a rock is referred to as animate... because it's doing something definitively rock-ish?

If you just wanted to say 'shit' (NI), it would be mîsîwin. (meeseewin)
Pee is sikowin (NI). (sigoowin)

To pee is (AI) siko. Pissing yourself is sikitiso (AI), and pissing on someone else is sikite (TA). There are lot of different ways you can shit and piss. Happy?

Quite!

Tohtôsak...this is teats, it's crude to use it in relation to human women, therefore fits your question. Ha, the word for milk is tohtôsâpoy...literally breast water. Butter...is breast grease.

I like that method of forming new words by combining others, rather than simply deriving from other languages as English tends to do.

A specific verb for shitting the bed. Awesome.

Is the animacy/inanimacy somehow contingent on the fact that things aren't things, they are DO-ing things? Like - a rock is referred to as animate... because it's doing something definitively rock-ish?

That's true in some cases, but how do you explain the flowing water of a river being inanimate? Some of the animacy issues seem sensical, some are explained by culture, and some...well who the hell knows?

I like that method of forming new words by combining others, rather than simply deriving from other languages as English tends to do.
Ooooh then you're going to love the different suffixes...there's a building, fake, liquid, wood, metal, and planning suffix. So you take a verb like atawe (to buy) and you add a building suffix w'kamik and you get atawew'kamik (building where buying takes place). It's so fucking cool I can hardly stand it. Mîciso (to eat) + w'kamik, mîcisow'kamik...restaurant.

Or rather, somewhat more subtle. Lots of double entendres, less outright rudeness.

Now I'm wondering if using inanimate demonstrative pronouns would be an acceptable insult :) Although that wouldn't be really subtle, I guess

Now I'm wondering if using inanimate demonstrative pronouns would be an acceptable insult :) Although that wouldn't be really subtle, I guess

It wouldn't make sense. There's nothing inherently insulting in inanimacy. People would just assume you were using the wrong word.

It wouldn't make sense. There's nothing inherently insulting in inanimacy. People would just assume you were using the wrong word.

Oh, I see. I was thinking something along

English:

"Then he tried to copulate with me. But really, I might just as well have used an inanimate object."

Cree (ignoring proper word order, inanimate verb forms, or a matching verb):

"wîya copulate nîya."

Or maybe:

English:

"I'm about as scared as if an egg tried to threaten me. Fuck off."

Cree:

"Awas!"

No. Sorry :P

Ooooh then you're going to love the different suffixes...there's a building, fake, liquid, wood, metal, and planning suffix. So you take a verb like atawe (to buy) and you add a building suffix w'kamik and you get atawew'kamik (building where buying takes place). It's so fucking cool I can hardly stand it. Mîciso (to eat) + w'kamik, mîcisow'kamik...restaurant.

So...mîsîw'kamik means....shit building, or building where shitting takes place?

Nice! I would love to learn a new language! especially one that none of my friends understand :P

So...mîsîw'kamik means....shit building, or building where shitting takes place?

Outhouse. Ayup. Good job :D That's what you call the washroom now as well.

Lesson Six: Plural Nouns
Making nouns plural is fairly easy, but you know, I think you need some new ones, so I’ll give you a vocab list first.

Vocab

Napew – [NA] – man
Iskwew – [NA] – woman
Minôs – [NA] – cat
Kôhkôs – [NA] – pig (recognise this from kôhkôsowîyan; bacon?)
Atim – [NA] – dog
Mistatim – [NA] – horse (literally ‘big dog’)
Sîsîp – [NA] - duck
Tehtapiwin – [NI] – chair
Ôtenaw – [NI] – city
Ôcenâs – [NI] - town
Mîtos – [NA] – tree
Atâwew’kamik – [NI] – store

Pluralising Animate Nouns

Yes, animacy matters.


Regular nouns use -ak

Nâpew – man
Nâpewak - men

Nouns ending in k use -wak

Oskâtâsk – carrot
Oskâtâskwak - carrots


Pluralising Inanimate Nouns


Regular nouns use -a

Tehtapiwin – chair
Tehtapiwina - chairs

Nouns ending in k use -wa

Atâwew’kamik – store
Atâwew’kamikwa - stores


Exceptions!

There are three main exceptions to the pluralisation rules. Just become familiar with these.

Atim - dog
Atimwak - dogs
Mostos - cow
Mostoswak - cattle
Mistatim - horse
Mistatimwak - horses

Audio for this lesson: http://www.filedropper.com/lessonsix

For Ryadn

Numbers 1 – 10

And oooooh squeal, I’ve got some audio resources you can access for this! You can mess around the whole site actually, it’s great stuff. It goes from 1 – 49, but for now, I’d stick to just learning 1 – 10. The link below allows you to click on the Cree word and hear it spoken. This is a great opportunity to practice the sounds, so repeat it often. You’ll note that they put a – over the long vowels (including ‘e’) instead of a macron ‘^’. This is just a regional variation in spelling, as this site comes out of Saskatchewan.

Listen! ( http://www.sicc.sk.ca/heritage/sils/ourlanguages/plains/commonterms/plains_numbers1_49.html)

1 – peyak
2 – nîso
3 – nisto
4 – newo
5 – niyânan
6 – nikotwâsik
7 – tepakohp
8 – ayinânew
9 – keka-mitâtaht
10 - mitâtaht

Yaaaay!

*adds them to list*

Why do Native words seem to be soooo long? In most languages, numerals 1-10 are one or two syllables, but they're so long here (actually, they're not that long in Kanienkahaka...2-4 syllables). Is it because there aren't as many consonants in the alphabet? Omg, is that why Finnish words are so ridiculously long??

I'll stop. I'm not even stoned now. :(

Lesson Two: Personal Pronouns
[1S] nîya – me, I
[2S] kîya – you (singular)
[3S] wîya – s/he
[1P] nîyanân – we, us
[2I] kîyânaw – we, us
[2P] kîyawâw – you (plural)
[3P] wîyawâw - they, them
[3’] (third obviate)



Your brother. 3'
Me and my lonesome. 1S
Those guys over there. 3P
We're going to eat but you guys can bugger off. 2I, 2P
Ah just kidding, let's all go eat! 1P
I'm pointing at you, what do I say? 2S
My friend's sister. 3'
You guys all stink. 2P
That's Jasminder's girlfriend. Hawt.
We're west side, bitches, what? What? Be more constructive with your criticism. 2I
Let's go dancing! 1P
Oh noes! Look at those n00bs! 3P
Who, me? 1S


That was hard.

Yaaaay!

*adds them to list*

Why do Native words seem to be soooo long? In most languages, numerals 1-10 are one or two syllables, but they're so long here (actually, they're not that long in Kanienkahaka...2-4 syllables). Is it because there aren't as many consonants in the alphabet? Omg, is that why Finnish words are so ridiculously long??

I'll stop. I'm not even stoned now. :(
I have no idea why they are long :D Non-numeric words are often long becaues they have a lot packed into them. Did you check out the site that I linked to? Listen to the numbers in the 40s if you want to hear REALLY long words :)

When Cree speakers say these words rapidly, the 'markers' (mitanaw and sâp) help ensure the numbers are interpreted properly. It was important. Mixing up 15 and 50 (as we so often do in English) would be sort of bad when talking about enemies or prey.

That was hard.

Your brother. 3' Nope.'You' are second person...3' has to be attached to either a 3S or 3P. In this case, your brother is 3S. Just remember, if you can't identify a 3rd person, then you probably don't need 3'.

Me and my lonesome. 1S
Those guys over there. 3P

We're going to eat but you guys can bugger off. 2I, 2P This one would actually be 1P, exclusive. We're going to eat, not you. The 2P would be right on the second part.

Ah just kidding, let's all go eat! 1P Remember, 1P is exclusive. Just us, not you. If you want to include everyone within hearing, it's 2I.

I'm pointing at you, what do I say? 2S
My friend's sister. 3'
You guys all stink. 2P

That's Jasminder's girlfriend. Hawt. Missed this one :D

We're west side, bitches, what? What? Be more constructive with your criticism. 2I I set this up to be exclusive again, like two gangs facing one another. Two wigger gangs. In baggy pants and bad skin. It was a 'us, not you' scenario, therefore exlusive, 1P.

Let's go dancing! 1P Meant to be more inclusive, including all the people within hearing, 2I.

Oh noes! Look at those n00bs! 3P

Who, me? 1S

Good run!

Here's another one, to practice personal pronouns.


Alex's mother.
My grandmother.
We're hot, you bitches are not.
We could all totally make out though.
Who are THOSE skanks?
Let's make out with them too!
Is that your friend? Nice ass.
Is that her friend? Nicer ass.
God I love you bitches.

Your brother. 3' Nope.'You' are second person...3' has to be attached to either a 3S or 3P. In this case, your brother is 3S. Just remember, if you can't identify a 3rd person, then you probably don't need 3'.

Me and my lonesome. 1S
Those guys over there. 3P

We're going to eat but you guys can bugger off. 2I, 2P This one would actually be 1P, exclusive. We're going to eat, not you. The 2P would be right on the second part. That's what I meant, so yay.

Ah just kidding, let's all go eat! 1P Remember, 1P is exclusive. Just us, not you. If you want to include everyone within hearing, it's 2I.

I'm pointing at you, what do I say? 2S
My friend's sister. 3'
You guys all stink. 2P

That's Jasminder's girlfriend. Hawt. Missed this one :D

We're west side, bitches, what? What? Be more constructive with your criticism. 2I I set this up to be exclusive again, like two gangs facing one another. Two wigger gangs. In baggy pants and bad skin. It was a 'us, not you' scenario, therefore exlusive, 1P.

Let's go dancing! 1P Meant to be more inclusive, including all the people within hearing, 2I.

Oh noes! Look at those n00bs! 3P

Who, me? 1S

Good run!

Seriously, that's freaking hard. I'm not used to epic failing at languages.

Seriously, that's freaking hard. I'm not used to epic failing at languages.
It is very hard. It's a weird way of thinking. It's a lot easier to 'get it' when you practice with a group of people, and actually see the way that people are included, excluded, or made obviative by distance.

English is less precise. 'We' can be inclusive or exclusive but you can only tell from context or body language. I find that the 'we' inclusive versus exclusive, and the third obviative are the only concepts that trip people up. NO ONE gets it on their first try. Don't beat yourself up.

Alex's mother. 3'
My grandmother. 3S
We're hot, you bitches are not. 1P 'we're', 2P 'you bitches'
We could all totally make out though. 2I
Who are THOSE skanks? 3P
Let's make out with them too! err... 2I 'let's', 3P 'them'?
Is that your friend? Nice ass. 3S
Is that her friend? Nicer ass. 3'
God I love you bitches. 2P?


I don't know why I waffled so much on the last one. Is it implied that 'you bitches' are part of our inclusive group?

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v711/sinuhue/cree_person.jpg

Translations 1[/SIZE]

See what you can piece together from what you’ve learned so far. I’m going to put 11 phrases, or words up, and you need to give me the English equivalent. Give me your best shot:)


Keka-mitâtaht mahtâminak. Nine corn.
Nîyanân cî ôki. Are these ours?
Epîhtwâyân. I'm smoking, I smoke?
Kipîcicîn cî. Err... do they dance?
Apiyiwa. Sin's brother is sitting.
Epâhpisiyek. You guys smile (all the time?).
Nipimohtân. I have no fracking idea.
Wâwa cî ôhi? Namoya. Askipwâwa ôhi. Are these eggs? No. These are potatoes.
Tâpwe cî. Is that right?
Ôma mostosowîyâs. This beef.
Kîya cî awa kinosew. Is this your fish?

Alex's mother. 3'
My grandmother. 3S
We're hot, you bitches are not. 1P 'we're', 2P 'you bitches'
We could all totally make out though. 2I
Who are THOSE skanks? 3P
Let's make out with them too! err... 2I 'let's', 3P 'them'?
Is that your friend? Nice ass. 3S
Is that her friend? Nicer ass. 3'
God I love you bitches. 2P?


I don't know why I waffled so much on the last one. Is it implied that 'you bitches' are part of our inclusive group?

It could be, but I think 2P works much better.

All perfect!

Outhouse. Ayup. Good job :D That's what you call the washroom now as well.

mîsîatawew'kamik. Would that be "building where you buy shit", to refer to something like a...I dont know...souvenirs shop?:p

It could be, but I think 2P works much better.

All perfect!

YES! You're a good teacher. And not just 'cause you're hot, 'cause my high school bio teacher, Ms. Green, was hot, and she was a crappy teacher.

Translations 1[/SIZE]

See what you can piece together from what you’ve learned so far. I’m going to put 11 phrases, or words up, and you need to give me the English equivalent. Give me your best shot:)


Keka-mitâtaht mahtâminak. Nine corn.
Nîyanân cî ôki. Are these ours?
Epîhtwâyân. I'm smoking, I smoke? More, "I'm smoking".

Kipîcicîn cî. Err... do they dance? Do you (2S) round dance?

Apiyiwa. Sin's brother is sitting.
Epâhpisiyek. You guys smile (all the time?). Not all the time, there is a preverb you'll learn later that means that. Just, you guys are smiling.

Nipimohtân. I have no fracking idea. Pimohte. AI verb, the e changes to a long â for all first and second person conjugations. I walk.

Wâwa cî ôhi? Namoya. Askipwâwa ôhi. Are these eggs? No. These are potatoes.

Tâpwe cî. Is that right?
Ôma mostosowîyâs. This beef.
Kîya cî awa kinosew. Is this your fish?


Awesome!

mîsîatawew'kamik. Would that be "building where you buy shit", to refer to something like a...I dont know...souvenirs shop?:p

Haahahahaha, hmmm...it might be possible to make a store a specific place to buy specific things by adding to it like that...I'm a bit doubtful, I'll look to see if there are any examples...but you'd be working with the literal 'shit', and people would be wondering why you were buying it. Fertiliser?

YES! You're a good teacher. And not just 'cause you're hot, 'cause my high school bio teacher, Ms. Green, was hot, and she was a crappy teacher.

ty ty

Awesome!

:D It actually started to get slightly easier after the first few... at least now I can remember that oki, oma and awa are "these/this/those" kinds of words, and I remember "niya", "kiya" and "niyanan" are "me", "you" and "us (exclusive)".

Haahahahaha, hmmm...it might be possible to make a store a specific place to buy specific things by adding to it like that...I'm a bit doubtful, I'll look to see if there are any examples...but you'd be working with the literal 'shit', and people would be wondering why you were buying it. Fertiliser?


So you dont use 'shit' as a slang term for useless crap like other languages might?

I wonder what are the universal callings that we should all seek?


Do we all use hand signs whe we are in need of help? When there is an emergency?

How do you say help, I mean no harm, don't trust them, I'm telling the truth, they are lying, I need some time to think.

So you dont use 'shit' as a slang term for useless crap like other languages might?

No, why would we? Shit is important. Shit tells you what kind of game there is, where it is, what sorts of dangers you may encounter. Shit is useful, it fertilises, it returns, it nourishes, it provides transit for seeds, for life. Shit is natural, necessary, ubiquitous, part-of-it-all. It would make absolutely no sense to use this term to refer to things that are none of the above.

Tut tut, back to work, minions!

No, why would we? Shit is important. Shit tells you what kind of game there is, where it is, what sorts of dangers you may encounter. Shit is useful, it fertilises, it returns, it nourishes, it provides transit for seeds, for life. Shit is natural, necessary, ubiquitous, part-of-it-all. It would make absolutely no sense to use this term to refer to things that are none of the above.

This makes a lot of sense.

I like this language.
EDIT: Im only focusing on the slang aspect right now because Ive found that one of the most common issues with learning another language is the slang. A lot of people will learn a language and go to the country where its spoken and be completely thrown off and not understand a lot because they dont know the 'conversational slang' that people use. The reverse is true, where often times people use a slang term in theri language that doesnt translate into others.

Slang and colloquialisms fascinate me.

Another question, do Neesika and Sinuhue mean anything in Cree or did you make them up?

Another question, do Neesika and Sinuhue mean anything in Cree or did you make them up?

Sinuhue was from a Spanish-language song, and Neesika means "we, us, our" in Chinook jargon. I sort of regret not using a Cree name, but the one I didn't want the one I usually use to be associated with this forum :D

mîtihkwâmiw'kamik = old folks' home?

Sinuhue was from a Spanish-language song, and Neesika means "we, us, our" in Chinook jargon. I sort of regret not using a Cree name, but the one I didn't want the one I usually use to be associated with this forum :D

Are Cree and Chinook related at all? I know bugger all about American languages.

Putfile has apparently been overtaken by ebaum, so you'll have to download these files first to hear them. I'll link to these clips in the lesson posts as well, but for now I'll also put a bunch of them here so you can download them all together if you so choose.

Lesson One audio: http://www.filedropper.com/lessonone
Lesson Two audio: http://www.filedropper.com/lessontwo
Lesson Three audio: http://www.filedropper.com/lessonthree
Lesson Four audio: http://www.filedropper.com/lessonfour
Lesson Five audio: http://www.filedropper.com/lessonfive
Translation 1 audio: http://www.filedropper.com/translations1
Lesson Six audio: http://www.filedropper.com/lessonsix

Okay, now you've got some audio! Tell me if those links are screwy. I'll make some breakfast and start another lesson.

Basic Conversation

Vocab

Pihtokwe – Come in
Tawâw – You are welcome, there is room
Ayapi – Please have a seat
Ay ay – Thank you
Kayâs – It’s been a long time
Tân’si – Hi, how are you?
Namoya nân’taw – Not bad
Ekwa kîya? – And you, how about you?
Kîya maka? - but you?
Peyakwan – about the same.

Conversation

Pihtokwe, tawâw! Ayapi, ayapi.

Ay ay. Kayâs.

Ehâ, tân’si?

Namoya nân’taw, ekwa kîya?

Peyakwan. Ehatoskeyân, emîc’soyân, enipâyân...kîya?

Peyakwan.

Audio: http://www.filedropper.com/basicconversation

Lesson One audio: http://www.filedropper.com/lessonone
Lesson Two audio: http://www.filedropper.com/lessontwo
Lesson Three audio: http://www.filedropper.com/lessonthree
Lesson Four audio: http://www.filedropper.com/lessonfour
Lesson Five audio: http://www.filedropper.com/lessonfive
Translation 1 audio: http://www.filedropper.com/translations1
Lesson Six audio: http://www.filedropper.com/lessonsix

"Problem loading page. The page cannot be found"

SNIP

Here's one Irishmans rubbish (http://www.filedropper.com/attempt) attempt at your vocabulary list :p

Lesson Seven: Building suffix, Locative Suffix

Ellision

Just a quick note about elision, which is the process of dropping the short ‘i’ sound in rapid or fluent speech. You’ll notice that sometimes I use an apostrophe in words, like tân’si. Tân’si is actually tânisi in its full form, but we never actually say it like that. So you take it out, and leave the ‘ to show where the short ‘i’ used to be.

Building suffix

There has been a fair amount of interest in the building suffix w’kamik. I have to admit, it’s pretty damn neat. You can use it in two ways.

Verb + building suffix

You take an AI (animate intransitive) verb root, add w’kamik, and all of a sudden you’ve created the building in which that verb takes place! Right now, you haven’t learned other forms of verbs beside AI, so you’ll be fine...but I do need you to remember that for the most part, the building suffix only works with AI verbs. That will become abundantly clear later on.

Noun + building suffix

More rarely you can take a root noun and add ‘kamik to create a building. Remember though, Cree is a verbal language, and if you’re searching for a term, your best bet is to use a verb rather than a noun to create a specific kind of building.

An example is:

Sônîyâw (NA, money) + ‘kamik = sônîyâw’kamik (bank)

Whenever you use the building suffix, you have created an inanimate noun (NI), even if the verb or noun you started with was animate.

Anyway, let’s try it out!

There are a few examples I’ve already given (or that people were actually able to come up with themselves) that I’ll repeat.

AI Verb + building suffix, w’kamik

Atâwe (to buy) + w’kamik = atâwew’kamik (store)
Mîc’so (to eat) + w’kamik – mîc’sow’kamik (restaurant)
Mîsî (to defecate/go to the bathroom) + w’kamik = mîsîw’kamik (bathroom)



See how it works? I want you to figure out what the following places would be then, based on nothing more than the verb root, and knowing that this is the activity that goes on within the building.

Minihkwe (to drink) + w’kamik = minihkwew’kamik = ?
Ayamihe (to pray) + w’kamik = ayamihew’kamik = ?
Kiskinohamâkosi (to learn) + w’kamik = kiskinohamâkosiw’kamik = ?
Sôniskwâtahike (to play hockey) + w’kamik = sôniskwâtahikew’kamik = ?
Maskihkîy (NI, medicine) + w’kamik = maskihkiw’kamik = ?
Âhkosi (to be sick) + w’kamik = âhkosiw’kamik = ?
Nîmihito (to dance) + w’kamik = nîmihitow’kamik = ?


Exceptions:
Sometimes using an AI verb just doesn’t work, because an AI verb has no subject. Remember, these are the verbs that you use to say simple things like, “I sleep, I eat, I dance”. It’s easy enough to use these verbs to describe buildings...but some concepts need a subject. Take ‘jail’ for example. There simply is no AI verb for ‘to jail’, because it’s not something you just do. It’s something you do TO someone. The verb ‘to jail someone’ is kipahwe, which is a Transitive Animate verb, one of the more complicated verbs we’ve yet to learn. We don’t like using TA verbs and building suffixes though. Get’s confusing, sounds weird. So sometimes we take nouns like kipahotowin (mutual imprisonment) and strip off the ‘win’ part of the noun.

Kipahotowin = kipahoto (this is not a word by itself) + w’kamik = kipahotow’kamik (jail)

So before you go off running beyond what you’re able to do at this point, think about what you’re trying to say. Is the building you have in mind something that houses an activity that is inherently going to involve actions being done TO someone else? If so, try to think of how to express it in a more simple way.

Locative Suffix

Now, it’s all nice and great to be able to construct buildings with your Cree words...but if you can’t tell someone that you’re going to or from that building, then all you’ve got is a lonely inanimate noun just sitting there cut off from the rest of the world. No good! Therefore I am going to introduce the locative suffix to you, something equally as cool as the building suffix.

A locative suffix acts like a preposition in English grammar. It can describe location, direction, position, meaning variously ‘to, from, on the, at the, in the’ etc. It’s contextual, and may seem confusing at first, but generally (for example) when you say things like I’m sitting ______ the chair, you mean to say you’re sitting ON it. Not under it. If you want to be weird and sit under the chair, you’ll have to use more words to make yourself clear.

Now, in relation to the building suffixes we’ve been working with, the locative suffix gets tacked onto the word AFTER. That’s because once you use the building suffix, you’ve created an inanimate noun...the suffix is integrated into the new word. Locative suffixes are used with nouns.

Rules

1. Nouns that end in ‘k’ use -ohk

Atâwew’kamik (store) = atâwew’kamikohk
- To the store, from the store, in the store (again, depends on the verb you’re using)

2. Nouns ending in a semi vowel ‘y’ or ‘w’. You drop the semi vowel and make the preceding vowel long. Then you add hk

Ôtenaw (city) = ôtena = ôtenâ = ôtenâhk
Nicihciy (my hand) = nicihci = nicihcî = nicihcîhk]/b]

3. All other regular nouns use the suffix [b]ihk

Tehtapiwin (chair) = tehtapiwinihk

Plural nouns

You don’t use a locative suffix on a plural noun. Instead, you make the noun singular and THEN add the suffix. Sure, now you don’t really know if you’re talking about something that is plural or singular, but again, context matters.

Maskisina (shoes) = maskisin (shoe) = maskisinihk (on the shoe, on the shoes, in the shoe, in the shoes)


To go, to leave

To tie this into the building suffixes again, you need the following two verbs.

Itohte – to go
Sipwehte – to leave

Go on bitches, conjugate these so you can actually use them!

Conjugation, Independent Mode

Refresh yourself as to the rules ( http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=14722463&postcount=33)

Itohte – to go

Remember that in the independent mode, AI verbs ending in ‘e’ change to ‘â’ in all the first and second person conjugations. As well, AI verbs beginning with a vowel need the joiner ‘t’ to keep the sound flowing smoothly.

1S: Nititohtân
2S: Kititohtân
3S: Itohtew
1P: Nititohtânân
2I: Kititohtânaw
2P: Kititohtânâwâw
3P: Itohtewak
3’: Itohteyiwa

Sipwehte - to leave

Gotta change that ‘e’ to a ‘â’, luckily no joiner needed here.

1S: Nisipwehtân
2S: Kisipwehtân
3S: Sipwehtew
1P: Nisipwehtânân
2I: Kisipwehtânaw
2P: Kisipwehtânâwâw
3P: Sipwehtewak
3’: Sipwehteyiwa

Conjugation, conjunct mode

Refresh yourself as to the rules (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=14722528&postcount=34)

Itohte – to go

All we need to worry about in the conjunct mode is using the joiner ‘h’ when the AI verb starts with a vowel. No other changes necessary.

1S: ehitohteyân
2S: ehitohteyan
3S: ehitohtet
1P: ehitohteyâhk
2I: ehitohteyahk
2P: ehitohteyek
3P: ehitohtecik
3’: ehitohteyit

Sipwehte – to go

1S: esipwehteyân
2S: esipwehteyan
3S: esipwehtet
1P: esipwehteyâhk
2I: esipwehteyahk
2P: esipwehteyek
3P: esipwehtecik
3’: esipwehteyit


Put it all together!

Using the building suffixes you’ve learned and figured out, and using the locative suffix and the verbs ‘to go’ or ‘to leave’, construct the following sentences in Cree. (use the independent or conjunct mode as you wish)

Example:
I am going to the bathroom (as in, I'm headed there, not actually taking a dump). Nitotehtân mîsîw’kamikohk.


I am going to the bank.
I am leaving the bar.
She is going to the pharmacy.
He is leaving the school.
We (all of us) are going to the restaurant.



Now do some translation! What are the English equivalents to these phrases?


Esipwehteyek sôniskwâtahikew’kamikohk.
Ehitohteyan cî ôtenahk?
Ehâ, nititohtân atâwew’kamikohk.
Ehitohtecik cî nîmihitow’kamikohk?

Audio for this lesson: http://www.filedropper.com/lessonseven

Note, the audio this time is over six minutes, so it might take a bit to download.

"Problem loading page. The page cannot be found"

Shit. I deleted my cache but I was still able to follow the links...is everyone having this problem?

Shit. I deleted my cache but I was still able to follow the links...is everyone having this problem?

Nope working fine for me

Nope working fine for me

Whew. If it's a real problem I can try hosting all the audio elsewhere, not sure why it's not working for you NNLDI, mebbe just try again?

Here's one Irishmans rubbish (http://www.filedropper.com/attempt) attempt at your vocabulary list :p

Mîywâsin! Excellent job, sounds perfect!

Someone once told me, if you ever feel uncertain as to the accent you're supposed to have in Cree...just grit your teeth together when you say the words and they'll come out right :D

Whew. If it's a real problem I can try hosting all the audio elsewhere, not sure why it's not working for you NNLDI, mebbe just try again?

I have a couple of times, it's just not working. I was all psyched about hearing Cree for the first time as well. :(

I have a couple of times, it's just not working. I was all psyched about hearing Cree for the first time as well. :(

Facking shit.

Okay, try this link, it's through rapidshare. If it works, I'll upload the rest to rapidshare as well. The problem with rapidshare is a file can only be downloaded ten times.

DAMN YOU PUTFILE FOR BEING DOWN!

http://rapidshare.com/files/226438882/lesson_one.wma.html

NNLDI, you never let me know if the link worked.

Apollo Cree?

Apollo Cree?

No.