The Mi'kmaq language (also spelled Míkmaq, Mi'gmaq, and Micmac) is an Eastern Algonquian language spoken by around 7,300 Mi'kmaq in Canada, and another 1,200 in United States, out of a total ethnic Mi'kmaq population of roughly 20,000.

Sounds

The orthography presented here is the Francis-Smith Orthography, developed in 1974, and adopted as the official orthography of the Míkmaq Nation in 1980. represents a schwa, . is a voiceless affricate, , and a voiceless velar fricative, /x/.

Míkmaq voiceless plosives become allophonically voiced between vowels or when next to l, m, or n. Thus is actually pronounced .

Vowels

Consonants

Grammar

Writing System

Mi'kmaq is written using a Roman alphabet scheme devised by missionaries in the 19th century. However, it had long used Mi'kmaq hieroglyphic writing, a script of partially native origin.

External links

• Mi'kmaq Online Talking Dictionary
• Internet Archive of "Míkmaq Language"
• Native Languages page on Míkmaq
• Ethnologue report

Eastern Algonquian languages | Languages of the United States | Languages of Canada | Indigenous languages of the North American eastern woodlands

Mikmakeg | Mikmaka lingvo | Micmac (langue)