ᓀᐦᐃᔭᐤ ᐃᐢᑫᐧᐤ
nêhiyaw-iskwêw
The English phrase "cree woman" is translated into Cree as ᓀᐦᐃᔭᐤ ᐃᐢᑫᐧᐤ (nêhiyaw-iskwêw).
This phrase is used to identify a woman who is a member of the Cree people.
What does it mean word for word?
The term is composed of nêhiyaw, meaning Cree person and iskwêw, meaning woman.
How do you pronounce it?
nêhiyaw-iskwêw
Did you know?
- The phrase ᓀᐦᐃᔭᐤ ᐃᐢᑫᐧᐤ uses a writing system called Syllabics, which represents sounds using geometric shapes rather than an alphabet of individual letters.
- Because Cree is polysynthetic, a speaker could add prefixes and suffixes to iskwêw to create a single word meaning 'she is a woman who is helping'.
- The term nêhiyaw is an endonym, meaning it is the name the people use for themselves. This distinguishes it from the word 'Cree', which was historically a name applied to them by outsiders.
Example conversation
Two people are talking about a new community member.
- Aᒫᐤ ᐴᐤ ᓀᐦᐃᔭᐤ ᐃᐢᑫᐧᐤ ᓂᐤᐤ?Mâw t̂â Nêhiyaw iskwêw nîyâ?Is that person a Cree woman?
- Bᐁᐤ, ᓀᐦᐃᔭᐤ ᐃᐢᑫᐧᐤ ᓂᐤᐤ.Êw, Nêhiyaw iskwêw nîyâ.Yes, she is a Cree woman.
- Aᓂᐤᐤ ᐴᐤ ᐤᐤᐤᐤ.Nîyâ t̂â êyâ.She is very kind.
- Bᐁᐤ, ᓂᐤᐤ ᐴᐤ.Êw, nîyâ t̂â.Yes, she is.
