Pitch pairs
Cheyenne has two distinctive (phonemic) pitches:
1. high (marked with the acute accent, as in á)
2. low (unmarked)
It also has three variations of these two pitches, which can be
accounted for by the pitch rules described in my IJAL article of 1981
(see my bibliography at the main Cheyenne page):
3. raised high (now with the regular high pitch mark)
4. mid pitch, marked with the macron, as in ē
5. lowered high (now with no mark)
Here are pairs of Cheyenne words which differ only in the pitch (tone) on their vowels:
hē'e woman
he'e liver
hóoma mosquito, blanket
hoóma on the other side
éhoó'ta It is closed.
éhóó'ta It is exposed.
hoēstȯtse dress
hoéstȯtse Read it!
táa'e night
taā'e Beat your (pl.) wives!
taa'e in a pile
éé'eehe he was hung
ée'eehe he moved camp up (e.g. into the hills)
éó'eotse it has dried out
éo'eotse it has been defecated upon (?)
éhéstána he acquired it from there
éhestāna he took it
ésáahésȯhane it's not from there
ésáahesóhane it's not that way
énėhetoemo he is related to him so
énėhetoemóho he counted him (obv.) so
énoōhta he left it
énóóhta he drank it from a vessel
náhésého I fought him over it
náhesēho I blamed him
éhesėhāhtse he inhaled it
éhésėhahtse he fought over it (éhésėháhtse?)
hóehoo'o(??) Restrain him from leaving (at some time in the future)!
hoéhoo'o Stay on (here) in the future!
návé'hoéto I reprimanded him
návé'hoēto I wrapped him up
éo'eoestȧsóho he scalped him (obv.)
éó'eoestȧsóho he dried him (obv.) out with rapid motion
nánéha I chased it
náneha she breastfed/nursed me
ého'tahe Is it here?
éhó'tahe he was defeated
náhóhtanaa'e it (for example, a car) ran over me
náhóhtanāā'e they (an.) ran over me
náómotòme I am breathing
naómotòme my breath
éhóhpeotse it melted (inchoative)
éhohpéotse he is sweating
neše two of
néše grandchild (vocative; for addressing your grandchild)
ma'e blood
má'e Be careful!/Don't touch it (e.g. a hot stove)!
ésáanémenéhe he isn't singing
ésáanéménéhe he doesn't have a crooked face
xáa'e weasel
xaa'e Urinate (plural addressee)!
náa'e otter
naa'e Die (plural addressee)!
navenȯtse my marrow bones
navénótse at/to my dwelling/home/tepee (locative)
ó'he'e river
o'hé'e at/in the river (locative)
énaa'e he died
énaā'e he doctored
hó'ésta Whoop (plural addressee)!
ho'ēsta fire
éahanóhta he bit it
éáhanōhta it froze to death
éónėstána he opened it (e.g. door or gate)
éonéstána he tested it by feeling
navéamoo'o my bed partner
návéamoo'o I slept with them (an.)
namėhāne my older sister
námȧháne I gathered firewood (mėha- and mȧha- are both pronounced \mha\)
éo'eoestȧsóho he scalped him (obv.)
éó'eoestȧsóho he dried him (obv.) with rapid motion (e.g. flapping in air)
heške his mother
héške male exclamation
asenoota Start to leave him (plural addressee)!
asénoòta Sing an honor song to him (plural addressee)!
éó'ȯseotse It's the wrong way.
éó'ȯséotse It/He burst open.
náe'ha He is afraid of me.
nae'ha my son
A number of nouns are differentiated in number (singular vs. plural) by a pitch
contrast, for example:
vé'ho'e whiteman/spider
vé'hó'e whitemen/spiders
héta'e gland
hetā'e glands
hóma'e beaver
homā'e beavers
hexóva'e bedbug
hexová'e bedbugs
hótame dog
hotāme dogs
koohkóva'e quail/bobwhite
koohkovā'e quails/bobwhites
ma'háhko'e badger
ma'hahkō'e badgers
oónȧhe'e frog
oonȧhē'e frogs
éstsema'e mole
éstsémá'e moles
héna'e goose
henā'e geese
šéstótó'e pine tree
šéstotó'e pine trees
héško'e leech
heškō'e leeches
hoóxe'e lodgepole/tepee pole
hoóxé'e lodgepoles/tepee poles
hetané'hame male horse
hetané'háme male horses
nanóse'hame cougar/mountain lion
nanósé'háme cougars/mountain lions
Some conjunct order (subordinate) verbs have person-marking suffixes differing only in pitch,
for example:
tséhmaneto when you (sg.) drank
tséhmanéto when I drank
tsémanese those who drink
tsémanése you (plural) who drink
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