Cheyenne (language)
Cheyenne ( Tsêhesenêstsestôtse ) | ||
---|---|---|
Spoken in |
United States | |
speaker | 1700 | |
Linguistic classification |
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Language codes | ||
ISO 639 -2 |
chy |
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ISO 639-3 |
chy |
Cheyenne ( Cheyenne: Tsêhesenêstsestôtse ) is an indigenous North American language of the Algonquin language family , spoken by approximately 1,700 Cheyenne in the states of Montana and Oklahoma in the United States .
Phonology
Phonologically, Cheyenne is a typical Algonquian language: it is characterized by a small phoneme inventory , but has a highly complex system of morphophonological processes at the morpheme boundaries . The phonemes are in detail:
Consonants
Bilabial | Dental | Postalveolar | Velar | Glottal | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Plosive | p | t | k | ʔ | |
Fricative | v | s | ʃ | x | H |
nasal | m | n |
Vowels
Front | Central | Back | |
---|---|---|---|
Closed | e | O | |
Open | a |
A and E can be pronounced voiceless (whispered). This is characteristic of the Cheyenne language, in which both pronunciations produce different phonemes and are not interchangeable. In this article, the voiceless vowels are written as ḁ and e̥.
grammar
Like other North American languages, Cheyenne is a polysynthetic language with e.g. T. fusional trains. The pronominal system has an inclusive / exclusive distinction .
Modes
Independent forms | Cheyenne | German |
---|---|---|
indicative | épe̥hêvahe | He is good. |
Interrogative | épe̥hêvḁhe | Is he good? |
Dubitative | mópe̥hêvḁhehe-he | I think he's good. |
Attributive | épe̥hêvḁhese̥stse | It is said that he is good. |
Media | éhpe̥hêvḁhêhoo'o | He was good. |
The indicative is used for simple statements, the truth of which the speaker can testify himself. Interrogative forms are used for questions. Dubitative forms are chosen when the speaker wants to tone down the assertion he is making. Attributive forms describe statements that the speaker has heard from a third person. Mediate forms refer to statements in time and space and are often used for narratives (compare the use of the past tense in German).
Conjunctional forms | Cheyenne | German |
---|---|---|
indicative | tséhpe̥hêvaese | when he was good. |
conjunctive | mḁhpe̥hévaestse | if he's good. (unnoticed) |
Iterative | ho'pe̥hévaestse | whenever he's good. |
Iterative subjunctive | ǫhpe̥hévḁhese̥stse | if he's good. (general) |
participle | tsépe̥hêvaestse | the one who is good. |
Interrogative | éópe̥hêvaestse | is he good? |
Mandatory | áhpe̥hêvḁhese̥stse | it should be good. |
Optional | momóxepe̥hévaestse | i wish he was good |
Negation (intense) | móho'nópe̥hevaestse | no doubt he's no good. |
Imperative forms | Cheyenne | German |
---|---|---|
Immediately (directly) | méseestse | Eat! |
Delayed (direct) | mése̥heoˀo | Eat (later)! |
Hortative | mése̥heha | Let him eat! |
Hortative | nétanéméne | Let's eat! |
The forms of the hortative can appear in the singular as well as in the plural.
Pronominal affixes
There are three basic pronominal prefixes in Cheyenne:
ná- first person, né- second person, é- third person
These three basic prefixes can be combined with various suffixes to express all Cheyenne pronominal differences. For example the prefix "ná-" can be combined with the verb suffix "-me" to express the first person plural (exclusive = "we, without you"). nátahpetame , "Wir.EXCL are great."
Individual evidence
- ↑ according to Ethnologue
- ^ A b c d Marianne Mithun: The Languages of Native North America. Cambridge University Press 1999, p. 172. ISBN 0-521-29875-X
Web links
- The Cheyenne language on westerntreff.de ( Memento from October 16, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
- English-Cheyenne Dictionary
- Cheyenne-English Dictionary. Chief Dull Knife College, accessed November 19, 2013 .
- Cheyenne Language Web Site. private website, January 11, 2020, accessed January 11, 2020 .