Editing Cree language (section)

==Syntax==

Cree features a complex [[Polysynthetic language|polysynthetic]] morphosyntax. A common grammatical feature in Cree dialects, in terms of sentence structure, is non-regulated word order. Word order is not governed by a specific set of rules or structure; instead, "subjects and objects are expressed by means of inflection on the verb".<ref name="Thunder">[http://www.ctl.ualberta.ca/Pedagogical_Provocations/Profiles/DorothyThunder.html/ Thunder, Dorothy]{{dead link|date=August 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> Subject, Verb, and Object (SVO) in a sentence can vary in order, for example, SVO, VOS, OVS, and SOV.<ref name ="Thunder" /><ref name="Dahlstrom1">Dahlstrom, introduction</ref>

Obviation is also a key aspect of the Cree language(s). In a sense, the [[obviative]] can be defined as any third-person ranked lower on a hierarchy of discourse salience than some other (proximate) discourse-participant. "Obviative animate nouns, [in the Plains Cree dialect for instance], are marked by [a suffix] ending {{lang|cr-Latn|–a}}, and are used to refer to third persons who are more peripheral in the discourse than the [[proximate]] third person".<ref name ="Dahlstrom2">Dahlstrom pp. 11</ref> For example:

{{interlinear|indent=2|lang=cr-Latn
|Sam wâpam-''ew'' Susan-''a''
|Sam see-3SG Susan-3OBV
|"Sam sees Susan."}}

The suffix {{lang|cr-Latn|-a}} marks Susan as the obviative, or 'fourth' person, the person furthest away from the discourse.<ref name = "Thunder" />

The Cree language has [[grammatical gender]] in a system that classifies nouns as animate or inanimate. The distribution of nouns between animate or inanimate is not phonologically transparent, which means gender must be learned along with the noun.<ref name = "Thunder" />

As is common in polysynthetic languages, a Cree word can be very long, and express something that takes a series of words in English. For example:

{{interlinear|indent=2|lang=cr-Latn
|kiskinohamātowikamikw
|know.CAUS.APPL.RECP.place
|'school' ({{lit}} 'knowing-it-together-by-example place')}}

This means that changing the word order in Cree can place emphasis on different pieces of the sentence.<ref name=":4">Wolfart, H. C., & Carroll, J. F. (1981). ''Meet Cree: A guide to the Cree language'' (New and completely rev. ed.). Edmonton: University of Alberta Press.</ref> Wolfart and Carroll<ref name=":4" /> give the following example by transposing the two Cree words:
{{plainlist | indent = 1 |
* {{lang|cr-Latn|kakwēcimēw kisēýiniwa}} → 'He asked the old man.'
* {{lang|cr-Latn|kisēýiniwa kakwēcimēw}} → 'It was the old man he asked.'
}}