English is Weird

 I am thankful that English is my first language because I can't imagine trying to learn it with all of the weird sounds, spelling and grammar. Although this is true for me, I believe that Cree is also a tricky language to learn. The only other languages I have experience with are French and Spanish. French I took in school and a little bit in University but I found it fairly straight forward, and Spanish was not too bad either especially with my previous English and French knowledge. 
Cree has some similarities to English when it comes to similar words or same words meaning different things. Another similarity is the minimal pairs that exist between the two languages. Minimal pairs are two words with only one sound difference.
Some examples from the English language include: pat: bat, fit: sit, fat: fit, pot: pit.
A few Cree examples are:
nahapi - sit down
nahâpi - see clearly

atim - a dog
akim - count him/her

ôma - this
ôta - here

asam - feed him/her
asâm - a snowshoe

pisiw - a lynx
pêsiw - bring him/her

niya - me/I
niyâ - lead/go ahead

pasow - s/he smells it
pâsow - s/he dries up

There are many more minimal pairs within the Cree language, but I just wanted to show you how things can get mixed up quite easily and make it challenging to learn.
In addition to minimal pairs, there are also minimal sets and near minimal pairs. This can create problems in spelling and understanding as shown in the following:

acâhk - star
ahcahk - spirit

akik - mucous
âhkik - seal

​niyânan - five
niyanân - us

ohcîw - s/he is from
ôcêw - a housefly

Because of these minimal pairs and sets, it is important for anyone trying to learn Cree to be vigilant with their spelling and practicing all of the time. 
If you have any tips or more resources for me, please let me know!! All of the things I learned this week came from the amazing textbook: Mâci-Nêhiyawêwin: Beginning Cree by H. Monty Montgomery , and Dorothy Badry.

I look forward to sharing more of my learning with you!

​Reagan


​