Cree (/kriː/ KREE;^[4] also known as Cree–Montagnais–Naskapi) is a dialect continuum of Algonquian languages spoken by approximately 86,475 indigenous people across Canada in 2021,^[5] from the Northwest Territories to Alberta to Labrador.^[6] If considered one language, it is the aboriginal language with the highest number of speakers in Canada.^[5] The only region where Cree has any official status is in the Northwest Territories, alongside eight other aboriginal languages.^[7] There, Cree is spoken mainly in Fort Smith and Hay River.^[8]

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Cree
ᓀᐦᐃᔭᐍᐏᐣ, nēhiyawēwin (Plains) ᓃᐦᐃᖬᐑᐏᐣ, nīhithawīwin (Woods) ᓀᐦᐃᓇᐌᐎᐣ, nêhinawêwin (W Swampy) ᐃᓂᓃᒧᐎᓐ, ininîmowin (E Swampy) ᐃᔨᓂᐤ ᐊᔭᒥᐎᓐ, Iyiniu-Ayamiwin (N Eastern) ᐄᔨᔫ ᐊᔨᒨᓐ, Iyiyiu-Ayamiwin (S Eastern)
Historical distribution of Cree peoples
Native to	Canada; United States (Montana)
Ethnicity	Cree
Native speakers	96,000, 27% of ethnic population (2016 census)[1] (including Montagnais–Naskapi and Atikamekw)
Language family	Algic Algonquian Cree-Montagnais-Naskapi[2] Cree
Writing system	Latin, Canadian Aboriginal syllabics (Cree)
Official status
Official language in	Northwest Territories[3]
Recognised minority language in	Alberta[citation needed]  Manitoba[citation needed]  Ontario[citation needed]  Quebec[citation needed]  Saskatchewan [citation needed]
Language codes
ISO 639-1	cr
ISO 639-2	cre
ISO 639-3	cre – inclusive code Individual codes: crk – Plains Cree cwd – Woods Cree csw – Swampy Cree crm – Moose Cree crl – Northern East Cree crj – Southern East Cree nsk – Naskapi moe – Montagnais atj – Atikamekw
Glottolog	cree1271  Cree–Montagnais–Naskapi cree1272
Six dialects of Cree are classified as Vulnerable by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger
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This article contains Canadian Aboriginal syllabic characters. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of syllabics.

Endonyms are:

• nêhiyawêwin ᓀᐦᐃᔭᐍᐏᐣ (Plains Cree)
• nīhithawīwin ᓃᐦᐃᖬᐑᐏᐣ (Woods Cree)
• nêhinawêwin ᓀᐦᐃᓇᐌᐎᐣ (Western Swampy Cree)
• ininîmowin ᐃᓂᓃᒧᐎᓐ (Eastern Swampy Cree)
• ililîmowin ᐃᓕᓖᒧᐎᓐ (Moose Cree)
• iyiniu-Ayamiwin ᐄᓅ ᐊᔨᒨᓐ (Southern East Cree)
• iyiyiu-Ayamiwin ᐄᔨᔫ ᐊᔨᒨᓐ (Northern East Cree)
• nehirâmowin (Atikamekw)
• nehlueun (Western Montagnais, Piyekwâkamî dialect)
• ilnu-Aimûn (Western Montagnais, Betsiamites dialect)
• innu-Aimûn (Eastern Montagnais)

Cree is believed to have begun as a dialect of the Proto-Algonquian language spoken between 2,500 and 3,000 years ago in the original Algonquian homeland, an undetermined area thought to be near the Great Lakes. The speakers of the proto-Cree language are thought to have moved north, and diverged rather quickly into two different groups on each side of James Bay. The eastern group then began to diverge into separate dialects, whereas the western grouping probably broke into distinct dialects much later.^[9] After this point it is very difficult to make definite statements about how different groups emerged and moved around, because there are no written works in the languages to compare, and descriptions by Europeans are not systematic; as well, Algonquian people have a tradition of bilingualism and even of outright adopting a new language from neighbours.^[10]

A traditional view among 20th-century anthropologists and historians of the fur trade posts that the Western Woods Cree and the Plains Cree (and therefore their dialects) did not diverge from other Cree peoples before 1670, when the Cree expanded out of their homeland near James Bay because of access to European firearms. By contrast, James Smith of the Museum of the American Indian stated, in 1987, that the weight of archeological and linguistic evidence puts the Cree as far west as the Peace River Region of Alberta before European contact.^[11]

Doug Cuthand argues three reasons for the loss of the Cree language among many speakers over the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.^[12] First, residential schools cultivated the prejudice that their language was inferior. While students were still speaking their native language at home, their learning stopped at school. When they left residential schools as adults, they went home and their vocabulary and knowledge of language did not include concepts or forms that an adult speaker who had not been taken to a residential school would have.

Cuthand also argues that the loss of the Cree language can be attributed to the migration of native families away from the reserve, voluntarily or not. Oftentimes, the elders are left on the reserve.^[12] This breaks up the traditional intergenerational flow of lingual knowledge from elder to youth.

The third point Cuthand^[12] argues is that Cree language loss was adopted by the speakers. Parents stopped teaching their children their native language in the belief that doing so would help their children find economic success or avoid discrimination.

The Cree dialect continuum can be divided by many criteria. Dialects spoken in northern Ontario and the southern James Bay, Lanaudière, and Mauricie regions of Quebec differentiate /ʃ/ (sh as in she) and /s/, while those to the west have merged the two phonemes as /s/ and in the east the phonemes are merged as either /ʃ/ or /h/. In several dialects, including northern Plains Cree and Woods Cree, the long vowels /eː/ and /iː/ have merged into a single vowel, /iː/. In the Quebec communities of Chisasibi, Whapmagoostui, and Kawawachikamach, the long vowel /eː/ has merged with /aː/.

However, the most transparent phonological variation between different Cree dialects are the reflexes of Proto-Algonquian *l in the modern dialects, as shown below:

The Plains Cree, speakers of the y dialect, refer to their language as nēhiyawēwin, whereas Woods Cree speakers say nīhithawīwin, and Swampy Cree speakers say nēhinawēwin.

Another important phonological variation among the Cree dialects involves the palatalisation of Proto-Algonquian *k: East of the Ontario–Quebec border (except for Atikamekw), Proto-Algonquian *k has changed into /tʃ/ or /ts/ before front vowels. See the table above for examples in the *kīla column.

Very often the Cree dialect continuum is divided into two languages: Cree and Montagnais. Cree includes all dialects which have not undergone the *k > /tʃ/ sound change (BC–QC) while Montagnais encompasses the territory where this sound change has occurred (QC–NL). These labels are very useful from a linguistic perspective but are confusing as East Cree then qualifies as Montagnais. For practical purposes, Cree usually covers the dialects which use syllabics as their orthography (including Atikamekw but excluding Kawawachikamach Naskapi), the term Montagnais then applies to those dialects using the Latin script (excluding Atikamekw and including Kawawachikamach Naskapi). The term Naskapi typically refers to Kawawachikamach (y-dialect) and Natuashish (n-dialect).

The Cree dialects can be broadly classified into nine groups. Roughly from west to east:

This table shows the possible consonant phonemes in the Cree language or one of its varieties.

In dictionaries focused on Eastern Swampy Cree, Western Swampy Cree may readily substitute ⟨sh⟩ with ⟨s⟩, while Lowland Moose Cree may readily substitute ⟨ñ⟩ with their ⟨l⟩. In dictionaries focused on Southern Plains Cree, Northern Plains Cree may readily substitute ⟨ē⟩ with ⟨ī⟩, while materials accommodating Rocky Cree will indicate the Plains Cree [j] that is [ð] in Rocky Cree as ⟨ý⟩. Similarly, in dictionaries focused on Western Swampy Cree, Woods Cree may readily substitute ⟨ē⟩ with ⟨ī⟩, while materials accommodating Woods Cree will indicate the Western Swampy Cree [n] that is [ð] in Woods Cree as ⟨ń⟩. Atikamekw uses ⟨c⟩ [ʃ], ⟨tc⟩ [t͡ʃ], and ⟨i⟩ [j] (which also serves as ⟨i⟩ [i]). Eastern James Bay Cree prefers to indicate long vowels (other than [eː]) by doubling the vowel, while the western Cree use either a macron or circumflex diacritic; as [eː] is always long, often it is written as just ⟨e⟩ without doubling or using a diacritic. While Western Cree dialects make use of ⟨o⟩ and either ⟨ō⟩ or ⟨ô⟩, Eastern Cree dialects instead make use of ⟨u⟩ and either ⟨uu⟩, ⟨ū⟩, or ⟨û⟩.

Cree features a complex polysynthetic morphosyntax. A common grammatical feature in Cree dialects, in terms of sentence structure, is non-regulated word order. Word order is not governed by a specific set of rules or structure; instead, "subjects and objects are expressed by means of inflection on the verb".^[16] Subject, Verb, and Object (SVO) in a sentence can vary in order, for example, SVO, VOS, OVS, and SOV.^[16][17]

Obviation is also a key aspect of the Cree language(s). In a sense, the obviative can be defined as any third-person ranked lower on a hierarchy of discourse salience than some other (proximate) discourse-participant. "Obviative animate nouns, [in the Plains Cree dialect for instance], are marked by [a suffix] ending –a, and are used to refer to third persons who are more peripheral in the discourse than the proximate third person".^[18] For example:

The suffix -a marks Susan as the obviative, or 'fourth' person, the person furthest away from the discourse.^[16]

The Cree language has grammatical gender in a system that classifies nouns as animate or inanimate. The distribution of nouns between animate or inanimate is not phonologically transparent, which means gender must be learned along with the noun.^[16]

As is common in polysynthetic languages, a Cree word can be very long, and express something that takes a series of words in English. For example:

)

This means that changing the word order in Cree can place emphasis on different pieces of the sentence.^[19] Wolfart and Carroll^[19] give the following example by transposing the two Cree words:

kakwēcimēw kisēýiniwa → 'He asked the old man.'

kisēýiniwa kakwēcimēw → 'It was the old man he asked.'

Cree dialects, except for those spoken in eastern Quebec and Labrador, are traditionally written using Cree syllabics, a variant of Canadian Aboriginal syllabics, but can be written with the Latin script as well. Both writing systems represent the language phonetically. Cree is always written from left to right horizontally.^[20] The easternmost dialects are written using the Latin script exclusively. The dialects of Plains Cree, Woods Cree, and western Swampy Cree use Western Cree syllabics and the dialects of eastern Swampy Cree, East Cree, Moose Cree, and Naskapi use Eastern Cree syllabics.

Cree is also a component language in at least five contact languages: Michif, Northern Michif, Bungi, Oji-Cree, and Nehipwat. Michif and Bungi are spoken by members of the Métis, and historically by some Voyageurs and European settlers of Western Canada and in parts of the Northern United States. Nehipwat and Oji-Cree are blends of Cree with Assiniboine (Nehipwat) and Ojibwe (Oji-Cree).

Michif is a mixed language which combines Cree with French. For the most part, Michif uses Cree verbs, question words, and demonstratives while using French nouns. Michif is unique to the Canadian prairie provinces as well as to North Dakota and Montana in the United States.^[26] Michif is still spoken in central Canada and in North Dakota.

Bungi is a creole based on Scottish English, Scots, Scottish Gaelic, Cree, and Ojibwe.^[27] Some French words have also been incorporated into its lexicon. This language flourished at and around the Red River Settlement (the modern-day location of Winnipeg, Manitoba) by the mid- to late-1800s.^[28] Bungi is now virtually extinct, as its features are being abandoned in favor of standard English.^[27][29]

Cree has also been incorporated into another mixed language within Canada, Nehipwat, which is a blending of Cree with Assiniboine. Nehipwat is found only in a few southern Saskatchewan reserves and is now nearing extinction. Nothing is known of its structure.^[30]

The social and legal status of Cree varies across Canada. Cree is one of the eleven 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.^[7] It is also one of two principal languages of the regional government of Eeyou Istchee James Bay in Northern Quebec, the other being French.^[31]

As of 2017, Cree had about 117,000 documented speakers.^[6] They are still a minority language given the dominance of English and French in Canada. There are programs in place to maintain and revitalize the language, though. In the Quebec James Bay Cree community, a resolution was put into action in 1988 that made Cree the language of education in primary schools and eventually elementary schools.^[32]

The Mistissini council decided to require their employees to learn Cree syllabics in 1991.^[32]

The Cree School Board now has its annual report available in both English and Cree.^[32]

There is a push to increase the availability of Cree stations on the radio.^[32]

In 2013, free Cree language electronic books for beginners became available for Alberta language teachers.^[33]

The Government of the Northwest Territories^[8] releases an annual report on First Nations languages. The 2016–2017 report features successes they have had in revitalizing and supporting and projects they are working on. For example, they released a Medicinal Plant Guide that had information in both Cree and English. An important part of making the guide was input from the elders. Another accomplishment was the dubbing of a movie in Cree. They are working on broadcasting a radio station that "will give listeners music and a voice for our languages".^[8]

Joshua Whitehead is one writer who has used the Cree language as part of his poetry.^[34]

• Cree people