Languages of Québec

Place names map

This map shows the major language groupings indigenous to what is today the province of Québec. Each community’s language is indicated by a coloured dot. The Montagnais and Ojibway languages are divided into dialect groups (thickly dashed line), which are further separated into individual dialects (thinly dashed line).

The dialects have relatively distinct boundaries, although there is of course some variation from family to family, and community to community.

Kawawachikamach Naskapi in Quebec (as opposed to Mushuau Innu or Labrador Naskapi) is technically a sub-dialect of Northern East Cree. Kawawachikamach Naskapi and Northern East Cree both speak Y-dialects which have merged /ē/ and /ā/ into /ā/. Naskapi here is listed as a separate dialect because its orthographic tradition is different from East Cree.