Example Words

uapikun	flower	atiku	caribou
utshekataku	star	pishimu	month
mikuau	it is red	emikuan	spoon
takushinu	s/he arrives	takuatshin	it is autumn
		tshishiku	day
		takuan	it exists, there is some
apakuai	web	pakuniu	s/he has a blister on his/her hand
mishtiku	tree	eńiku	spider
natamiku	anything	uapamiku	the other sees him/her
nuapamiku	s/he sees me	ashukan	bridge

Short vowels a and i are sometimes pronounced [u] (“oo”).

DIFFICULTY
Spelling short vowels correctly is difficult because they vary according to dialect and between words. It is therefore important to pay attention to [u] vowels that are pronounced and followed by a syllable containing a u or a u.

Description of the Spelling Issue

Short a and i vowels tend to be pronounced [u] when followed by a syllable containing the sequence ku or k^u, mu or m^u, and in the case of pu (pipun, pronounced [pupun])This case, which affects pipun and its derivations, is an exception as other such forms like -apu- and -ipu- are not pronounced [upu], but rather [-ǝpu-].. In fact, when preceded by k or m, the sound u influences the preceding short vowel, as if it was leaving an imprint on it. This natural phonetic phenomenon is called vowel harmonizationLINGUISTICS: Vowel harmonization (or vowel assimilation) is a “modification caused by a phoneme in contact with a neighbouring phoneme”.

Dubois et al. Dubois et al. 2012. Le dictionnaire de linguistique et des sciences du langage. Larousse, p. 55. (passage translated into English) In Innu, the pronunciation of short vowels is more unstable than that of long vowels, and short vowels are therefore more susceptible to changes.

The change in the pronunciation of a short vowel that occurs before a syllable containing a u is not the same in every dialect:

• In the eastern dialects, we sometimes find long vowels in places we would find short vowels in the western dialects. Since vowel harmonization only affects short vowels, words containing a long vowel are easy for speakers of the eastern dialects to spell. The following examples include a long vowel for the eastern dialects, and a short vowel (which can be pronounced [u]) in the western dialects, followed by ku or k^u.

WORDS INCLUDING A LONG a OR i IN THE EAST AND SHORT VERSIONS IN THE WEST, FOLLOWED BY ku OR k^u

atiku	caribou	mikuau	it’s red
takusseu	s/he takes a step	umiku	his/her blood
assiku	casserole	emikuan	spoon
apakuai	web	pakueshamu	s/he cuts a piece of it
piku	powder	utshkataku	star
utashtamiku	his/her face	pakueshikan	pain

The eastern dialects’ pronunciation is a useful indication of the historical vowel of certain words.

• However, in words where the vowel is short in all dialects, it is necessary to identify cases of vowel harmonization and to write the historical vowel (of ancient Innu).

Caution: It cannot be taken for granted that there are never cases of u followed by a syllable Cu or C^u; in certain cases, a real u exists, as in the following:

WORDS CONTAINING A REAL u BEFORE ku OU k^u

shuku	so much	kukuetapuat	they have no place to sit
mukuman	knife	kukuetshimeu	s/he asks him/her something
mukutakan	bent knife	tshitapuku	s/he is taken by the current
pakumu	s/he vomits	atapuku	s/he moves by the current
ańuku	thrush	mukutui	bear paw snowshoe
muku	but
natukuieu	s/he heals someone	natukun	remedy

Spelling Solution

The spelling solution for this issue comes from the history of the Innu language. Short Innu vowels were once pronounced as true [a], [i] or [u] sounds, and still are in certain dialects, especially those of Mamit, where they are sometimes even pronounced as long vowels. There is a long tradition of writing these short vowels as they were in ancient Innu.

RULE FOR SHORT VOWELS – To write short vowels, use the letters a, i and u, based on their historical presence. In the specific context of a short vowel followed by ku or ku, and mu or mu, verify whether the vowel is a a, a i or if it’s really a u.

Tools

The Innu Dictionary is the best tool for checking how to spell words with short vowels pronounced as [u] before Cu or C^u; the conjugation guide is also useful for learning how to spell conjugated forms.

Learning Strategy for Short Vowels

The correct spelling of short vowels is part of the use-based spelling, or lexical spellingLEXICAL SPELLING: Spelling not based on the application of grammatical rules (GRAMMATICAL SPELLING). Lexical spelling can be based on the pronunciation of a word, but that’s not always the case: it can be partly abstract for historical reasons, among others. This is what has happened with the spelling of short vowels in Innu, which isn’t always based on the actual pronunciation of a word but on an older, historical form. which must be learned when learning to write. In cases of doubt, consult the dictionary.

The Innu language is based in large part on morphology – that is, on the construction of words by the use of morphemesA morpheme is a part of a word that holds meaning. For example, mińu- in mińuau it’s good, mińumu it’s well installed, mińuateu s/he appreciates him/her; -pańu in upipańu s/he lifts him/herself up, unipańu s/he sits up, paupańu it spills; -am^u in uapatam_^u s/he sees something, kunam^u s/he spills something, naikam^u s/he cleans something., it’s useful to base any teachings on these morphemes. In fact, since a single morpheme can appear in many different words, knowing the morpheme’s spelling allows a writer to write a larger number of words more easily. Each time we learn the spelling of a morpheme, a root, a radical, an inflection, we’re learning to write many words. In addition to learning how to spell short vowels, this is also true for other spelling rules.

Forming groupings can also help to learn how to spell short vowels.

To help learn words with a short vowel pronounced [u] before Cu or C^u, here are groups of word listsThese word lists were inspired by Drapeau, L. et J. Mailhot. Guide pratique d’orthographe montagnaise. Québec : Institut éducatif et culturel attikamek-montagnais, 1989, items 6 et 7. organized by short vowel, by the following syllable, or by morphemes with a short vowel followed by Cu or C^u.

WORDS CONTAINING AN a OR AN i BEFORE mu OR m^u OR pu

nikamu	s/he sings	tshikamu	it sticks
atimu	dog	atimuss	small dog, puppy
pishimu	month, moon, sun	pishimuss	December
uitimua	his brother-in-law, his sister-in-law	nitimu	my brother-in-law
uitimushu	s/he has a romantic relationship
pipun	winter	pipunakup	winter coat

WORDS CONTAINING AN i BEFORE ku OR k^u

mikuau	it’s red	mikushiu	s/he has red blotches
kamikuakamit	wine	mikuapu	s/he has red eyes
umiku	his/her blood	umikuiapi	his/her vein
atiku	caribou	atikuss	young caribou
atiku-pimi	caribou fat	atiku-uiash	caribou meat
mishtiku	tree	mishtiku-emikuan	wooden spoon
mishtikushu	a white person	uapikun	flower
ushtikuan	his/her head	tshishiku	the day
apikushish	mouse	paushtiku	rapids
ussishiku	eye	uatiku	den
utashtamiku	his/her face	umiku	his/her blood
assiku	casserole	assikuashku	pole for hanging things
emikuan	spoon	utemikuanu	s/he has a spoon
emikuaniss	small spoon	tatuemikuaniss	so many teaspoonfuls
utemikuanishu	tadpole	tshishikushu	s/he is sleepy
nanikutini	sometimes	anikutshash	squirrel
tshipaiatiku	cross	nikun	small, dry snowflakes fall
eńiku	spider	ńikushkupańu	the sky is overcast
nitshiku	otter	atshiku	seal
kussikuashu	he sews	ńikuashkan	cemetery
shishtiku	s/he spits	pishikupańu	something pops out
tshińiku	mixed	ushiku	s/he is blessed
nikuteu	s/he cuts firewood	neshikuau	it’s a point of ice
pitikushiu	s/he is stocky	kushikuteu	s/he carries a heavy load
natamiku	anything	mishishtikuau	it is a big river
kauapikuesht	priest	utshishikumu	s/he celebrates his anniversary
kutikuniu	s/he camps	utatshikumu	s/he has a cold
atshinepiku	snake	minishtiku	island

CONJUGATED FORMS WITH AN i BEFORE ku OR k^u

nuapamiku	s/he sees me
uapamiku	the other one sees him/her
itiku	the other one tells him/her
nitiku	s/he tells me
utitiku	someone comes to him/her
nutitikun	someone comes to me
tetapiku!	Sit down!

WORDS CONTAINING AN a BEFORE ku OR k^u

takushinu	s/he arrives	takuan	there is…
Pakut-shipu	Saint-Augustin	utshekataku	star
kanakunass	cookie	tshakunau	chocolate
pakuateun	belt	apakuai	web
akakuai	leech	amaku	netting needle
takukuman	pair of scissors
takuaitsheu	governing	takuaikan	government
takushkateu	s/he places a foot on something	takutitsheueu	s/he crushes his/her hand
pakueshikan	bread	pakueshueu	s/he cuts off a piece
apu tutamaku	we are not doing anything	eku uapatamaku	so we saw something

WORDS CONTAINING AN a BEFORE ku OR k^u GROUPED BY ROOT OR MORPHEME

takut-	on top
takut	on top	takutashtau	s/he places something on top
takutaut	at the summit	takutapu	s/he is sitting on top
taku-	to hold
takunamu	s/he holds something in his/her hands	takuneu	s/he holds it in his hands
takumeu	s/he holds something in his/her mouth	takunaushu	s/he is the godfather
paku-	to remove
pakuenamu	s/he removes a piece	pakuepitamu	s/he tears off a piece
pakuemeu	s/he removes something with his/her teeth	pakuekaimu	s/he removes something with an axe
nakua-	snare
nakuashu	s/he gets caught in a snare	nakuakaniapi	snare wire
nakuateu	s/he catches it in a snare	nakuanitsheu	s/he sets snares
takuatsh-	autumn
takuatshin	it’s autumn	takuatshineiau	the weather feels like autumn
takuakut	last autumn	takuatshi-pishimu	November
paku-	hole
pakuneiau	something has a hole in it	pakunetau	s/he makes a hole in something
pakuneneu	s/he makes a hole in something with his hands	pakunetamu	s/he makes a hole in something with his teeth
-taku	useful, carved wood
ińnashtitaku	cut pine wood	ishpimitaku	upper floor of a house
papatshitaku	board	ushkuetaku	cut birch

LONG AND SHORT VOWELS	SHORT VOWELS AND SPELLING
LABIALIZED CONSONANTS: ku	LABIALIZED CONSONANTS: mu