Mi'kmaq language
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{{language |name=Míkmaq |nativename=Míkmawísimk |states=Canada, United States |region=Nova Scotia, Gaspe Peninsula (Quebec), Newfoundland, northern Maine Boston (Massachusetts) |speakers=8,500 |familycolor=American |fam1=Algic |fam2=Algonquian |fam3=Eastern Algonquian |iso2=mic|iso3=mic}}
The Mi'kmaq language (also spelled Míkmaq, Mi'gmaq, and Micmac) is an Eastern Algonquian language spoken by around 7,300 Mi'kmaq in Canada, and another 1,200 in United States, out of a total ethnic Mi'kmaq population of roughly 20,000.
Contents |
Sounds
The orthography presented here is the Francis-Smith Orthography, developed in 1974, and adopted as the official orthography of the Míkmaq Nation in 1980. Template:IPA represents a schwa, Template:IPA. <j> is a voiceless affricate, Template:IPA, and <q> a voiceless velar fricative, /x/.
Míkmaq voiceless plosives become allophonically voiced between vowels or when next to l, m, or n. Thus <Míkmaq> is actually pronounced Template:IPA.
Vowels
| Front | Central | Back | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Short | Long | Short | Long | Short | Long | |
| Close | i | í | u | ú | ||
| Mid | e | é | Template:IPA | o | ó | |
| Open | a | á | ||||
Consonants
| Labial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plosive | p | t | k | |
| Affricate | j | |||
| Fricative | s | q | ||
| Nasal | m | n | ||
| Approximant | w | l | y |
Grammar
Writing System
Mi'kmaq is written using a Roman alphabet scheme devised by missionaries in the 19th century. However, it had long used Mi'kmaq hieroglyphic writing, a script of partially native origin.