Endangered Languages Project

ᓀᐦᐃᔭᐍᐏᐣ (Nēhiyawēwin) is the self-designation for the Plains Cree language.

ALSO KNOWN AS		ᓀᐦᐃᔭᐍᐏᐣ, Plains Cree, Cree
CLASSIFICATION		Algic, Algonquian, Cree-Montagnais
CODE AUTHORITY		LINGUIST List
LANGUAGE CODE		crk-pla
DOWNLOAD		As csv

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Information from: “First Peoples' Language Map of British Columbia” .

Severely endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
68
Native speakers worldwide
Ethnic population
5,405
SEMI SPEAKERS
94
MORE ON SPEAKER NUMBERS
Note: This data reflects only the speakers of Nēhiyawēwin in British Columbia; there are many other speakers and varieties of Nēhiyawēwin in Saskatchewan and Alberta.

PLACES: British Columbia, Canada

LANGUAGE CONTEXT COMMENTS: Plains Cree has become the
prestige dialect of Western Cree, largely because a considerable amount of nineteenthand
early twentieth-century religious literature was published in it, using the syllabic
script. In recent decades Plains Cree has been the dialect most often used in teaching
and for the publication of indigenous literature.

PLACES: Canada

LOCATION DESCRIPTION: "Spoken throughout central Alberta and even into northeastern British Columbia and the Northwest Territories. Over this large territory, Plains Cree can be found in many regional forms which have not been exhaustively surveyed."

Threatened

80 percent certain, based on the evidence available
34,000
Native speakers worldwide

SPEAKER NUMBER TRENDS

TRANSMISSION

MORE ON VITALITY

Speaker number is diminishing as social pressures increase to use English, leaving many Cree children without a fluent command of Cree. Monolingual Plains Cree speakers are still found, however, in the more rural Cree-speaking areas, such as the Cree territory's northern reaches. These populations, nevertheless, are primarily composed of elders and are continuously shrinking in size.

OTHER LANGUAGES USED BY THE COMMUNITY

English

Scripts (Writing system)

Canadian Aboriginal syllabics, Latin Script

PLACES: Canada, United States

LOCATION DESCRIPTION: Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, Montana

Vulnerable

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
20,933
Native speakers worldwide

DATE OF INFO: 2000

PLACES: Canada

LOCATION DESCRIPTION: Spread over 124 communities in Canada

Vulnerable

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
84,000
Native speakers worldwide
MORE ON SPEAKER NUMBERS
84,000 total speakers across Canada, as reported in the most recent census.

53,070 in Canada (2021 census), of which 567 in British Columbia. 884 reported language learners in British Columbia.
Native speakers worldwide

	2012	First Peoples' Language Map of British Columbia						First Peoples' Cultural Council		http://www.maps.fphlcc.ca/		2012. "First Peoples' Language Map of British Columbia." edited by First Peoples' Cultural Council. Online: http://www.maps.fphlcc.ca/.		5,405	68		10-99	Note: This data reflects only the speakers of Nēhiyawēwin in British Columbia; there are many other speakers and varieties of Nēhiyawēwin in Saskatchewan and Alberta.	94				Severely Endangered (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)				British Columbia, Canada		54.7200000, -116.7300000
	2007	North America	Encyclopedia of the World's Endangered Languages	1-96	C. Moseley	London & New York: Routledge					Victor Golla	Golla, Victor. 2007. "North America." In Encyclopedia of the World's Endangered Languages, edited by C. Moseley. 1-96. London & New York: Routledge.	HHOLD									Plains Cree has become the prestige dialect of Western Cree, largely because a considerable amount of nineteenthand early twentieth-century religious literature was published in it, using the syllabic script. In recent decades Plains Cree has been the dialect most often used in teaching and for the publication of indigenous literature.
	2011	Semantic and Pragmatic Functions in Plains Cree Syntax							LOT Utrecht	http://dare.uva.nl/en/record/365251	Arok Wolvengrey	Arok Wolvengrey. Semantic and Pragmatic Functions in Plains Cree Syntax. PhD thesis, LOT Utrecht, 2011. Online: http://dare.uva.nl/en/record/365251.															Canada	"Spoken throughout central Alberta and even into northeastern British Columbia and the Northwest Territories. Over this large territory, Plains Cree can be found in many regional forms which have not been exhaustively surveyed."
		Wikipedia: The free encyclopedia								http://www.wikipedia.org/		Wikipedia: The free encyclopedia. http://www.wikipedia.org/.	ll_pub		34,000		10000-99999				English		Threatened (80 percent certain, based on the evidence available)	12	Speaker number is diminishing as social pressures increase to use English, leaving many Cree children without a fluent command of Cree. Monolingual Plains Cree speakers are still found, however, in the more rural Cree-speaking areas, such as the Cree territory's northern reaches. These populations, nevertheless, are primarily composed of elders and are continuously shrinking in size.	13	Canada, United States	Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, Montana
3rd	2010	Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger				UNESCO Publishing	Paris			http://www.unesco.org/culture/en/endangeredlanguages/atlas	Christopher Moseley (ed.)	Moseley, Christopher (ed.). 2010. Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger, 3rd edn. http://www.unesco.org/culture/en/endangeredlanguages/atlas. (03 June, 2011.)	ll_pub		20,933	2000	10000-99999						Vulnerable (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)				Canada	Spread over 124 communities in Canada	56.3544, -113.8345
3	2018	Report on the status of B.C. First Nations Languages				First People's Cultural Council		First Peoples' Cultural Council			Britt Dunlop, Suzanne Gessner, Tracey Herbert & Aliana Parker				84,000		10000-99999	84,000 total speakers across Canada, as reported in the most recent census.					Vulnerable (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)
	2022	Report on the Status of B.C. First Nations Languages (Fourth Edition)								https://fpcc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/FPCC-LanguageReport-23.02.14-FINAL.pdf	Gessner, Suzanne, Tracey Herbertn and Aliana Parker				53,070 in Canada (2021 census), of which 567 in British Columbia. 884 reported language learners in British Columbia.		10000-99999			884

Nēhiyawēwin

Language metadata

Language information by source

Severely endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

68

Threatened

80 percent certain, based on the evidence available

34,000

Vulnerable

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

20,933

Vulnerable

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

84,000

53,070 in Canada (2021 census), of which 567 in British Columbia. 884 reported language learners in British Columbia.

Discussion

Nēhiyawēwin

Language metadata

Language information by source

Severely endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

68

Threatened

80 percent certain, based on the evidence available

34,000

Vulnerable

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

20,933

Vulnerable

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

84,000

53,070 in Canada (2021 census), of which 567 in British Columbia. 884 reported language learners in British Columbia.

Discussion

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Sources of information

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