Tsetsėhestȧhese and So'taeo'o (Cheyenne) Language: Grammar Sketch for Learners

Abstract

This master’s thesis is about the Tsetsėhestȧhese and So’taeo’o (Cheyenne) language, which is part of the Algonquian language family. According to oral history, the two nations had an encounter on the prairie one day and were about to go into battle against each other until they realized they could understand each other’s speech (Grinnell 1928:9). It was then that the So’taeo’o called them Tsetsėhestȧhese with the intended meaning, “those who are like us” (Medicine Bull, 2022). During these older times, our people were able to recognize each other as relatives because of the language, and they re-united. This is a two-part paper. Part I is about the web-based online Cheyenne Language Survey 2022 results. The goal of the survey was to capture a snapshot of this moment in time of the Northern Cheyenne language, and not necessarily to countdown how many speakers are left, but to investigate language vitality, including attitudes toward the language, and possibilities of where to go next. The survey method was an online questionnaire with Google Forms that contained 30 questions, multiple choice with some short answers. This method was chosen because it was a way to get quick results. Part II focuses on Language Structures, which will describe some aspects of the structure of Cheyenne language. Part II will cover a description of phonetics, phonology, morphology, and syntax of the Cheyenne language. The phonetics and phonology section will review the sounds of Cheyenne and feature a “Pronunciation Guide for the Cheyenne Language Orthography” to help language learners with understanding syllable breaks to help with pronunciation efforts. The morphology section focuses on nouns, verbs, and the different grammatical categories of verbs, including – transitivity, animacy, tense, modality, person hierarchy, voice, obviation, verb agreement, and causatives. The syntax includes constituency and sentence types. Each section of Part II is full of color-coded highlights to help engage language learners. Because colors were limited, some colors get recycled, but know that the colors represent different items in each section. Part II was also designed to be accessible for the community or any Indigenous community navigating Linguistics for language revitalization.