Last updated August 30, 2019

One of the goals of the Chisasibi Child Language Acquisition Study is to collaborate with Speech-Language clinicians working in Eeyou Istchee (Cree territory) to create resources for younger children whose first language is Cree, or predominantly Cree. Another goal is to provide language learning materials to clinicians working in Eeyou Istchee who do not speak Cree and wish to learn. We will update this space with news of projects underway and completed.  

• In 2014, collaborative work resulted in the creation of a Resonance Screening Tool for Speakers of Northern East Cree, which now resides on website of the Cree Board of Health. 

This screening tool is designed to aid in the diagnosis of resonance disorders in the preschool and school-aged Northern East Cree speaking population. 

• IN PROGRESS, by Marguerite MacKenzie, Alice Duff, and Julie Brittain. An East Cree Lesson Book.

Each lesson is centred around a short conversation which highlights an aspect of Cree grammar, starting with nouns, and moving on to verbs and how to construct more complex sentences. Accompanying audio files will help learners with pronunciation. This book is based on Sandra Clarke and Marguerite MacKenzie's 2010 Labrador Innu-aimun: An introduction to the Sheshatshiu dialect, Department of Linguistics, Memorial University.

Links to resources at www.eastcree.org 

• Comparative Structures of East Cree and English. By Marie-Odile Junker, Marguerite MacKenzie & Julie Brittain. 2012.

This booklet compares grammatical structures in East Cree and English. 

• Structures comparées du cri de l’est et du français. Par Marie-Odile Junker & Marguerite MacKenzie. 2012.

This booklet compares grammatical structures in East Cree and French.

• Adapting the Bilingual Aphasia Test for East Cree speakers: Recommendations for the Cree Health Board. By Roxana-Maria Barbu, Marie-Odile Junker & Mimie Neacappo Carleton University. 2016.

These recommendations were made at the request of Speech Therapists working in James Bay, who were struggling with misdiagnosis of Cree children’s language acquisition. It might be useful for teachers as it outlines some differences between English/French and Cree that are often overlooked, when assessment material coming from English is used without discrimination.

The website www.eastcree.org is a valuable resource to anyone learning East Cree, with clear descriptions of the grammar of Northern and Southern dialects and a lexicon for both. Please visit Teachers' Corner to see more links to Cree language and grammar resources, including the parallel pages in French, Le coin des enseignant-e-s.