Canada is a lot more linguistically diverse than you might think—and no, it has nothing to do with widespread immigrant languages like Mandarin or Punjabi. Rather, Canada was teeming with linguistic diversity long before Europeans even set foot on the land, with countless indigenous tribes speaking their own languages. Many of Canada’s indigenous languages are still spoken today, albeit by ever-diminishing numbers of people. One of Canada’s biggest indigenous languages is Moose Cree, a variant of the larger Cree dialect continuum.
Moose Cree, known as Ililîmowin to speakers, recorded some 3,000 native speakers as of 2007, according to Ethnologue, but since the Canadian government doesn’t keep track of speaker figures for individual Cree dialects, it’s difficult to know how many people speak the language today. Moose Cree has no official status, and UNESCO classifies it as a “vulnerable” language, making its future uncertain. That’s why it’s important to take measures to protect this and other indigenous languages in Canada, which is why we at TranslationServices.com are so proud to unveil our new Moose Cree translation team, which caters specifically to this particular variety of Cree.
Why not reach out and ask us about a free quote for our Moose Cree translation services?
What kind of language is Moose Cree?
Moose Cree is the native Cree variety of Moose Factory, Ontario, and elsewhere along the shores of James Bay and Moose River. The name derives from either the native term for “Moose Island,” Môsoniy, or “Moose River,” Môso-sîpiy. Cree varieties exist in a dialect continuum and are often closely related to other vernaculars in the chain, and Moose Cree is roughly in the center, with Swampy Cree to its west and James Bay Cree (also called East Cree) to its east. All Cree varieties belong to the Algonquian language family, part of the even larger Algic family.
Moose Cree is traditionally written in Eastern Cree syllabics, a form of Canadian Aboriginal syllabics catered to the phonology of eastern Cree languages. It can also be written in the Latin alphabet, using an orthography based on standardization efforts for the entire Cree continuum. Grammatically, Moose Cree is like any other Cree language: incredibly complex. It’s a verb-heavy language rife with inflection, with both the subject and object—as well as lots of other information—marked on verbs. It also draws an important grammatical distinction between animate and inanimate objects. Features like this can make Moose Cree difficult to translate, but luckily, our team members are passionate native speakers.
How would you like your Moose Cree translation?
We’re dedicated to bringing you the best Moose Cree translation services we possibly can, despite the small size of the community. Our translators come from all around Moose Factory and other towns in the area, so if you’d like to request a particular subdialect, that’s no problem. As native speakers passionate about their endangered indigenous language, our translators are eager to help you translate from English to Moose Cree or from Moose Cree to English—we work in both directions.
What if you need more specialized translation services for your project? While we can’t make any promises, we always try our best to cater to our clients’ diverse needs, including translation niches such as academic translation, business translation, literary translation, and localization services. We work with educators translating lesson materials into Moose Cree to help local kids learn in their native language and organizations looking to engage a native Moose Cree-speaking community in the language of their heart. We’re always happy to translate literary materials, whether that’s Moose Cree tales into English or English books into Moose Cree, and we’re also available to translate websites, apps, games, and more into Moose Cree. Whatever kind of Moose Cree translation services you need, our team is here for you.
Why not contact us and get started with your Moose Cree translation project today?