Tsêhésenêstsestôtse
Cheyenne
Algic (Algonquian)
Cheyenne (Tsêhésenêstsestôtse) is an Algonquian language of the Algic family, spoken by ~2K members of the Northern Cheyenne (Montana) and Southern Cheyenne (Oklahoma) tribes. Severely endangered. The Cheyenne split into two branches following 19th-century US government relocations. Cheyenne has a 4-tone pitch system (high, mid, low, voiceless) — unusual for Algonquian, which is typically non-tonal. Words are typically very long due to polysynthesis with abundant prefixes and suffixes (a single word may translate as a full English sentence). Latin orthography uses ė and ô for high pitches, ʼ for glottal stop. Active language-revitalization efforts with school programs.
Where it is spoken
31 core words in Cheyenne
Water
mahpe
/mahpe/
Fire
ho'ėstá
/hoʔɛsta/
Sun
éšeʼhe
/éʃeʔhe/
Moon
taa'é-eše'he
/taaʔeeʃeʔhe/
Star
hotohke
/hotohke/
Mother
néhe'e
/néheʔe/
Father
néhyo
/néhjo/
I
náa'e
/náːʔe/
You
néá'e
/néːʔe/
Name
véhestôtse
/véhestohtsə/
Eye
vóome
/voːme/
Hand
ma'kahko
/maʔkahko/
Heart
ohtsé
/ohtse/
Love
méhotó'o
/meʔhotoʔo/
Tree
hohtsestse
/hohtsestse/
House
vee'e
/veːʔe/
Dog
oeškeso
/oːʃkeso/
Cat
pó'po
/poʔpo/
Eat
mésehe
/mésehe/
Drink
mane
/mane/
One
no'ka
/noʔka/
Two
neše
/nɛʃɛ/
Hello
Haaahe
/haːhe/
Thank you
néá'eše
/néáʔeʃe/
Good
pevohto
/pevohto/
Sources
Words compared
Compared with related Algic (Algonquian) languages
| Meaning | Cheyenne | Munsee | Wichita | Menominee | Arapaho | Mohawk | Onondaga |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | mahpe /mahpe/ | mpíi /mbiː/ | kicʔa /kitsʔa/ | nepāew /nəpaːew/ | nec /netʃ/ | ohnekanos /ohnekanos/ | ohnekano:s /ohnekanoːs/ |
| Fire | ho'ėstá /hoʔɛsta/ | lúhsuw /luhsuw/ | hatʔihks /hatʔihks/ | eskotēw /eskoteːw/ | héétee' /héːteːʔ/ | otsénhaʼ /odzʌ̃haʔ/ | oji:staʼ /odʒiːstaʔ/ |
| Sun | éšeʼhe /éʃeʔhe/ | kíishux /kiːʃux/ | saːkihirikiʔis /saːkihiɾikiʔis/ | kēsoq /keːsoʔ/ | hiʼíísh /hiʔíːʃ/ | karahkwa /karahkwa/ | gaeh'kwa /ɡaehʔkwa/ |
| Moon | taa'é-eše'he /taaʔeeʃeʔhe/ | nipáhum /nipahum/ | — /—/ | tepāhkēsoq /tepaːhkeːsoʔ/ | biikóusis /biːkóusis/ | ehníta /ehˈniːta/ | gaeh'kwa enitha /ɡaehʔkwa enitha/ |
| Star | hotohke /hotohke/ | alaánkw /alaːŋkʷ/ | hokʼwahriʔ /hokʼʷahriʔ/ | anaeq /anɛːʔ/ | ho3o' /hoθoːʔ/ | otsistohkwaʔ /otsistohkwaʔ/ | otsistoʼgwaʼ /odʒistoʔɡwaʔ/ |
| Mother | néhe'e /néheʔe/ | nkáhees /ŋkaheːs/ | ʔatsi /ʔatsi/ | nekīah /nekiːah/ | neinó /neinó/ | isté:ha /isteːha/ | ekno:ha' /eknoːhaʔ/ |
| Father | néhyo /néhjo/ | nóoxw /noːxw/ | ʔaːsi /ʔaːsi/ | nōhnāeh /noːhnaːeh/ | neisónoo /neisónoː/ | ranihá /raniha/ | hak'no:ha' /hakʔnoːhaʔ/ |
| I | náa'e /náːʔe/ | nii /niː/ | náⁱʔ /náːʔ/ | nenah /nɛnah/ | nenee' /nɛnɛːʔ/ | í:'i /íːʔi/ | iʼ /iʔ/ |
| You | néá'e /néːʔe/ | kii /kiː/ | áⁱʔ /áːʔ/ | kenah /kɛnah/ | nénen /nénɛn/ | í:se' /íːseʔ/ | íseʼ /iseʔ/ |
| Name | véhestôtse /véhestohtsə/ | wiinzuwaakan /wiːnzuwaːkan/ | -riʔ /riʔ/ | -esian /ɛsian/ | -íisi' /íːsiʔ/ | ohsennaʔ /ohsennaʔ/ | yaʼts /jaʔts/ |
| Eye | vóome /voːme/ | wíikšiit /wiːkʃiːt/ | kiriːkihinaʔ /kiɾiːkihinaʔ/ | oskēsek /oskeːsek/ | hisí /hisí/ | kakahre /kakahre/ | oga:tha' /oɡaːtʰaʔ/ |
| Hand | ma'kahko /maʔkahko/ | mléelii /mleːliː/ | ʔiskʔa /ʔiskʔa/ | onehkeh /onehkeh/ | hooxóʼ /hoːxóʔ/ | o'nentsha /oʔnentsha/ | onénǫhsa' /onenõhsaʔ/ |
| Heart | ohtsé /ohtse/ | ulehyii /ulehjiː/ | kaːc /kaːts/ | otēh /oteːh/ | betéé /betéː/ | awèrià /awɛriã/ | awé:ri /aweːri/ |
| Love | méhotó'o /meʔhotoʔo/ | ahóoluw /ahoːluw/ | — /—/ | kesāenemāew /kesaːenemaːew/ | héétébí /héːtébí/ | aknoronhkwa /aknoronhkʷa/ | gaonihsdá:wę /ɡaonihsdaːwɛ̃/ |
| Tree | hohtsestse /hohtsestse/ | hìttuk /hitːuk/ | tahaːriʔ /tahaːɾiʔ/ | metekoh /metekoh/ | hooxéí /hoːxéí/ | okwire /okʷire/ | ga:enda' /ɡaːendaʔ/ |
| House | vee'e /veːʔe/ | wíikwam /wiːkwam/ | kaːhikʔa /kaːhikʔa/ | wīkewam /wiːkewam/ | biito /biːto/ | kanonhsa /kanonhsa/ | ganǫhsoht /ɡanõhsoht/ |
| Dog | oeškeso /oːʃkeso/ | mwáakaneew /mwaːkaneːw/ | kicʔariːh /kitsʔaɾiːh/ | anēm /aneːm/ | héʼ /héʔ/ | érhar /erhar/ | só:wa:s /soːwaːs/ |
| Cat | pó'po /poʔpo/ | póshiis /poʃiːs/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | cécee /tʃétʃéː/ | takós /takos/ | takó:s /takoːs/ |
| Eat | mésehe /mésehe/ | mit /mit/ | taʔac /taʔats/ | mīcew /miːtʃew/ | betébí /betébí/ | kekhwa /kekʰwa/ | ekho:ne' /ekʰoːneʔ/ |
| Drink | mane /mane/ | mneew /mneew/ | kiːckiriʔeːhirʔa /kiːtskiɾiʔeːhiɾʔa/ | menew /menew/ | bénee /bénéː/ | kahnek /kahnek/ | ehnega:i'ron /ehneɡaːiʔron/ |
| One | no'ka /noʔka/ | ngwútii /ŋɡwutiː/ | cʔiːʔas /tsʔiːʔas/ | nekot /nekot/ | ceeséeʼ /tʃeːséːʔ/ | enska /enska/ | ska:t /skaːt/ |
| Two | neše /nɛʃɛ/ | niisha /niːʃa/ | wic /wits/ | nīs /niːs/ | niis /niːs/ | tékeni /teːɡeni/ | tékni /teɡni/ |
| Hello | Haaahe /haːhe/ | hé /heː/ | nakahaʔahirʔa /nakahaʔahiɾʔa/ | posoh /posoh/ | héébe /héːbe/ | she:kon /ʃeːkon/ | sgë:nǫʼ /skẽːnõʔ/ |
| Thank you | néá'eše /néáʔeʃe/ | wanìshi /waniʃi/ | — /—/ | wāēwāēnen /wɛːwɛːnen/ | hohóu /hohóu/ | niáwen /niawen/ | nya:wę' /njaːwɛ̃ʔ/ |
| Good | pevohto /pevohto/ | weltóok /weltoːk/ | — /—/ | menwāewen /menwaːewen/ | hetééʼ /hetéːʔ/ | ioiánere /jojánere/ | oyá:nre /ojaːnre/ |
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