A Sarcee Grammar

Barry J. Edwards was a librarian with the Metro Toronto Library.

Continuing interest among linguists and anthropologists in the languages of Canada’s indigenous population has led to a growing number of descriptive and theoretical grammars that document their often unique features. While interest still seems to centre mainly on the widely spoken Algonquian languages and the various dialects of Inuktitut (Eskimo), the study of a third major linguistic family is currently receiving increased attention: Athapaskan.

The Athapaskan languages are spoken in the Northern Prairies, the Northwest Territories, and the Yukon, as well as in Alaska and other United States states. Sarcee is a Canadian Athapaskan language spoken on a reserve southwest of Calgary. Linguist Eung-Do Cook has here written the most complete survey ever of this language’s grammatical, phonological, and morphological features, with special emphasis on the Sarcee verb. In addition, writes the author, “it probably covers more syntax than any other Athapaskan grammar that has been published” (p.6).

Cook acknowledges his debt to Amerindian linguist Edward Sapir, whose pioneering work on the Sarcee Indians and their language provided the foundation for Cook’s still more exhaustive study over 50 years later. A Sarcee Grammar is a lasting monument to a dying language, and as such it will undoubtedly facilitate the study of comparative Athapaskan linguistics for many years to come. Recommended primarily for university libraries.