The semantic basis of the animate/inanimate distinction in Cree¹

Investigation of the semantic basis of the animate/inanimate distinction in Cree was first explored in Darnell and Vanek 1971, a manuscript prepared for use in Cree language courses at the University of Alberta. Detailed data for the hypothesis of a power feature was collated from existing dictionaries of Cree by Doris Windrim in her 1973 B.A. Honours thesis at the University of Alberta. The orthography has not been extensively normalized, since it is impossible to ascertain at the present time what sounds were in fact being recorded in those dictionaries. Since the aim is semantic analysis rather than phonological the original sources have been preserved intact. The data clearly substantiate the postulation of a power feature, but many of the most interesting questions will await first‐hand fieldwork in functioning Cree speech communities.

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Notes

Investigation of the semantic basis of the animate/inanimate distinction in Cree was first explored in Darnell and Vanek 1971, a manuscript prepared for use in Cree language courses at the University of Alberta. Detailed data for the hypothesis of a power feature was collated from existing dictionaries of Cree by Doris Windrim in her 1973 B.A. Honours thesis at the University of Alberta. The orthography has not been extensively normalized, since it is impossible to ascertain at the present time what sounds were in fact being recorded in those dictionaries. Since the aim is semantic analysis rather than phonological the original sources have been preserved intact. The data clearly substantiate the postulation of a power feature, but many of the most interesting questions will await first‐hand fieldwork in functioning Cree speech communities.