Thanks, Janell, for letting me share this useful lesson.
With “speaking Cree” as the theme, it was fun to find the irony in pronunciation that might sound a bit “too fluent” for beginning speakers. 😉
Those who follow this lesson should listen carefully, especially to the words like “ninisitohtên,” where the second “short i” sound seems to disappear. In slower speech, Janell would make it heard clearly, but when real Cree speakers speed up, even a little, a “short i” in an unstressed syllable tends to disappear (or “be elided” as linguists might say).
Of course, if you’re going to say you understand Cree, it doesn’t hurt to sound a little extra-fluent! And if you’re saying you don’t understand, you can enjoy the irony of your excellent pronunciation, thanks to Janell!
Find more of Janell’s meticulous work:
- on FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/creeforthesoul
- on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZgCX0D4K6Dg8xknRHSwP5w
#nêhiyawêwin
