Swampy Cree is an indigenous language of Canada

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Last Updated: 18 years

Region:

Ontario, along the coast of Hudson Bay and northern west coast of James Bay, and inland into Saskatchewan.

Alternate names:

York Cree, West Shore Cree, West Main Cree

Dialects:

Eastern Swampy Cree, Western Swampy Cree. Both nonpalatalized n-dialect and l-dialect within Cree-Montagnais-Naskapi language complex or dialect cluster.

Classification:

Algic -> Algonquian -> Central -> Cree-Montagnais-Naskapi ->Swampy Cree

Population:

4,500 (1982 SIL). All Cree first-language speakers in Canada 60,000 (1991 M. Dale Kinkade). Ethnic population: 5,000.

Language use:

Vigorous. Speakers also use English.

Language development:

Literacy rate in first language: 5% to 10%. Literacy rate in second language: 50% to 75%. Cree syllabary, western finals. Dictionary. Grammar. NT: 1976.