Writing systems
Canadian syllabics (ᓀᐦᐃᔭᐍᐏᐣ)
Canadian syllabics is the collective name for the syllabic writing systems used to write the indigenous languages of Canada. It is based on Devanagari and Pitman shorthand.
They are derived from the work of James Evans, a linguist and missionary who was inspired by Sequoyah’s Cherokee syllabary. The process culminated in 1840, when he formalized the syllabics for Ojibwe and Swampy Cree.
Notable features
Script type: abugida
Writing direction: left-to-right in rows
Number of characters: 79 common letters (75 consonants + 4 vowels)
Languages: Blackfoot, Carrier, Chipewyan, Cree, Dane-zaa, Inuktitut, Naskapi, Ojibwe, Sekani, and Slavey (10)
Because the script is presented in syllabic charts and learned as a syllabary, it is often thought of as such, but it is actually an abugida because consonants and vowels are written independently.
Characters represent vowels or consonants plus vowels. Final consonants are represented by superscript versions of the character with the vowel, and long vowels are marked with an overdot.
Vowels are represented by triangles and fall into two sets: back (-a- and -o-) and front (-e- and -i-). Each set consists of a low (-a- and -e-) and a high (-o- or -i-) vowel. The vowels within each set are mirror images of each other.
Letters used in most languages
Variants for specific languages
Sayisi refers to the Sayisi Dene, who speak Chipewyan. Aivilik, Nunavik, and Nunavut are dialects of Inuktitut.
