Orthography

The standardisation of the orthography for many Algonquian languages is a process that has just been happening in the last 40 years. Here are some downloadable resources to guide you in those tricky issues.

  • Using Plains Cree as an example, this paper makes a compelling argument about standardization and the issues involved:

Okimásis, Jean L. & Wolvengrey, Arok. 2008. How to Spell it in Cree (The Standard Roman Orthography). 68p. ISBN 978-0-9784935-0-9. (Download PDF)

  • This paper summarizes the challenges involved in the standardisation of Innu-aimun from the late 70s to the beginning of the millenium:

Baraby, Anne-Marie. 2003. The Process of Spelling Standardization of Innu-aimun (Montagnais). In Burnaby, Barbara & Jon Reyhner (eds.) Indigenous Languages Across the Community. Northern Arizona University. (Access PDF on Northern Arizona University’s Website)

  • This paper examines parallelisms between standardization of orthography and standardization of technology and how it affects Cree syllabics:

Jancewicz, Bill & Junker, Marie-Odile. 2011. Cree syllabic fonts: development, compatibility and usage in the digital world. In Valentine, Randolph (ed.) Papers of the 40th Algonquian Conference. 21p. Prepublication draft. (Download PDF)

Here are some links to pages with downloadable documents about standardisation decisions for Algonquian Languages: