Category Archives: Fluency

Building relationships requires education.

Posted on December 21, 2011 by âpihtawikosisân

When it comes to the many challenges that aboriginal peoples face here in Canada, I find I have to strike a balance between identifying those problems and trying to come up with solutions for them.  Spending too much time on … Continue reading →

Posted in Alienation, Culture, First Nations, Fluency, Language learning, Representation of natives | Tagged , | 42 Comments

Cree kinship terms

Posted on October 24, 2011 by âpihtawikosisân

In the Language and Culture Links section of this blog I linked to a Cree Family Unit site that I stumbled across years ago.  As you can see from the URL, it appears to have been developed in Saskatchewan as … Continue reading →

Posted in Cree vocabulary, Culture, Kinship, Language learning, Plains Cree, Word lists | Tagged | 2 Comments

In case you were thinking Cree was simple…

Posted on June 28, 2011 by âpihtawikosisân

In a previous post I went wild explaining ways in which words can be constructed in Cree using various suffixes that are imbued with particular meanings.  I know that in some ways, this can make Cree seem rather simplistic, albeit … Continue reading →

Posted in Cree vocabulary, Fluency, Imperative/command form, Plains Cree, Pronunciation, Word lists | 5 Comments

You know a tree by its fruit…I mean, root.

Posted on June 23, 2011 by âpihtawikosisân

There are a stunning number (for me) of responses to recent blog posts that I have not yet had time to digest and respond to so I wanted to preface this post with two things: my thanks for the comments … Continue reading →

Posted in Building suffix, Fluency, Language learning, Liquid suffix, Plains Cree, Suffixes, Tool suffix, Wood suffix, Word lists | 2 Comments

Creating a language nest

Posted on June 5, 2011 by âpihtawikosisân

I am often seized with this desire to quit my job, and devote myself entirely to developing a language and culture program for my children and others.  Language development is my most passionate hobby.  What often stops me however is … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Fluency, Language learning, Plains Cree, Urban Aboriginal | 11 Comments

Getting the kids ready for bed…in Cree!

Posted on May 19, 2011 by âpihtawikosisân

In the spirit of the last post, nêhiyawêtân!, I have been trying to be more consistent with my use of Cree at home.  In order to do this, I’m focusing on certain periods of the day to really get the … Continue reading →

Posted in Fluency, Imperative/command form, Language learning, Plains Cree, Pronunciation, Roman Syllabic Orthography, Word lists | 1 Comment

nêhiyawêtân!

Posted on May 18, 2011 by âpihtawikosisân

Before I had children, the plan was that I would be a fluent speaker of Cree so that I could teach it to my children.  How hard could it be?  I already knew some Cree, and I’d learned to speak … Continue reading →

Posted in Fluency, Imperative/command form, Language learning, Plains Cree | 3 Comments

Language and power

Posted on April 26, 2011 by âpihtawikosisân

I talk about language a lot, so it is not strange that on various occasions people have brought up the issue of language as power. This has happened enough times that I’ve given it a fair amount of thought, without … Continue reading →

Posted in Fluency, James Bay Cree, Plains Cree, Roman Syllabic Orthography, Standardisation | Leave a comment