Stay home: Learn Cree 15. Colours

While we’re all in isolation, we’re going to try to post one video a day from Sol’s existing teaching library, and the teaching libraries of some of his friends. Like Sasquatch himself, Solomon Ratt has experience with self isolation. Who better to help out with online Cree lessons for remote learning?  

Today we have a lesson in colour terms from Pearleen Kanewopasikot who shows us her enviable ribbon collection. Unlike English, where the colour words are adjectives that stay the same no matter what, colour words in Cree are verbs, so they have to match corresponding nouns in animacy. Listen closely to hear her adapt the terms she uses to distinguish various shades of yellow and orange! (Here’s a lesson link that explains colour terms in more detail). 

  • cahkasinastêw (inanimate verb) it is spotted, it is covered in polka-dots
  • sênipân – ribbon (animate noun) 

(About Sol’s shirt: https://creeliteracy.org/2020/03/17/awas-go-away-most-dialects/)

One Response

  1. Thanks Arden! Small correction, Pearleen seems to be using the NI terms for these ribbons? osâwâw, mihkwâw, etc…

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