The term Naskapi is chiefly used to refer to the language of the people living in the interior of Quebec and Labrador in or around Kawawachikamach, Quebec. Naskapi is a "y-dialect" that has many linguistic features in common with the Northern dialect of East Cree, and also shares many lexical items with the Innu language.
Although there is a much closer linguistic and cultural relationship between Naskapi and Innu than between Naskapi and other Cree language communities, Naskapi remains unique and distinct from all other language varieties in the Quebec-Labrador peninsula.
Each stop has voiced allophones as [b,d,dʒ,ɡ] and pre-aspirated allophones as [ʰp,ʰt,ʰtʃ,ʰk].[4]
Long vowels: /i/, /a~æ/, /u/
Short vowels: /ɪ~ə/, /ʌ~ə/, /o~ʊ/
Orthography
There are two writing systems used for Naskapi language. One is Latin, similar to Innu Language (Montagnais), and the other is Cree syllabics, similar to James Bay Cree, as well as other dialects of Cree across Canada.
Latin
The Naskapi Latin alphabet consists of three vowels, ⟨a⟩, ⟨i⟩, and ⟨u⟩, in short form and in long form. The long form is either written with a circumflex accent, e.g. ⟨â⟩, or by simply writing the vowel twice, e.g. ⟨aa⟩. In addition there are twelve graphemes to represent the consonants, including the digraph⟨Ch⟩.
Uppercase
A
Â/AA
Ch
H
I
Î/II
K
L
M
N
P
R
S
T
U
Û/UU
W
Y
lowercase
a
â/aa
ch
h
i
î/ii
k
l
m
n
p
r
s
t
u
û/uu
w
y
IPA
/ʌ~ə/
/a~æ/
/tʃ,dʒ/
/h/
/ɪ~ə/
/i/
/k,g/
/l/
/m/
/n/
/p,b/
/ɹ/
/s,ʃ/
/t,d/
/o~ʊ/
/u/
/w/
/j/
Ch, K, P, and T are also used to write the voiced allophones.
L and R are only used in loanwords from other languages.
Syllabary
Naskapi Syllabics (ᓇᔅᑲᐱ ᐃᔪᐤ ᐃᔨᒧᐅᓐ, naskapi iyuw iyimuun) is derived from Canadian Aboriginal syllabics, and while having its unique characteristics, shares many features with other Canadian Cree Syllabic systems.
Unlike other Cree Syllabics, long and short vowels are not distinguished.
The final forms in Naskapi Syllabics are similar to other varieties of Eastern Cree syllabics.
