Pitch pairs
Cheyenne has two distinctive (phonemic) pitches:
1. high (marked with the acute accent, as in �)
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 (which I usually now simply mark with the regular high pitch mark)
4. mid pitch, marked here with umlauts (double dots over vowels, as in �), because they are available in many computer fonts, although which we prefer to mark these vowels with the macron
5. lowered high (marked with the grave accent, as in �)
Here are pairs of Cheyenne words which differ only in the pitch (tone) on their vowels:
h�'e woman
he'e liver
h�oma mosquito, blanket
ho�ma on the other side
�ho�'ta It is closed.
�h��'ta It is exposed.
ho�st�tse dress
ho�st�tse Read it!
taa'e night
ta�'e Beat your (pl.) wives!
t�a'e in a pile (taa'e?)
��'eehe he was hung
�e'eehe he moved camp up (e.g. into the hills)
��'eotse it has dried out
�o'eotse it has been defecated upon (?)
�h�st�na he acquired it from there
�hest�na he took it
�s�ah�s�hane it's not from there
�s�ahes�hane it's not that way
�n�heto�mo he is related to him so
�n�hetoem�ho he counted him (obv.) so
�no�hta he left it
�n��hta he drank it from a vessel
n�h�s�ho I fought him over it
n�hes�ho I blamed him
�hes�h�htse he inhaled it
�h�s�hahtse he fought over it (�h�s�h�htse?)
h�ehoo'o(??) Restrain him from leaving (at some time in the future)!
ho�hoo'o Stay on (here) in the future!
n�v�'ho�to I reprimanded him
n�v�'ho�to I wrapped him up
�o'eoest�s�ho he scalped him (obv.)
��'eoest�s�ho he dried him (obv.) out with rapid motion
n�n�ha I chased it
n�neha she breastfed/nursed me
�ho'tahe Is it here?
�h�'tahe he was defeated
n�h�htanaa'e it (for example, a car) ran over me
n�h�htan��'e they (an.) ran over me
n��mot�me I am breathing
na�mot�me my breath
�h�hpeotse it melted (inchoative)
�hohp�otse he is sweating
n�e two of
n�e grandchild (vocative; for addressing your grandchild)
ma'e blood
m�'e Be careful!/Don't touch it (e.g. a hot stove)!
�s�an�men�he he isn't singing
�s�an�m�n�he he doesn't have a crooked face
x�a'e weasel
xaa'e Urinate (plural addressee)!
n�a'e otter
naa'e Die (plural addressee)!
nav�n�tse my marrow bones
nav�n�tse at/to my dwelling/home/tepee (locative)
�'he'e river
o'h�'e at/in the river (locative)
�naa'e he died
�na�'e he doctored (these are near minimal pairs since -ae here sounds
identical (or nearly so) to the vowel sequence -aa)
h�'�sta Whoop (plural addressee)!
ho'�sta fire
�ahan�hta he bit it
��han�hta it froze to death
��n�st�na he opened it (e.g. door or gate)
�on�st�na he tested it by feeling
nav�amoo'o my bed partner
n�v�amoo'o I slept with them (an.)
nam�h�ne my older sister
n�m�h�ne I gathered firewood (m�ha- and m�ha- are both pronounced \mha\)
�o'eoest�s�ho he scalped him (obv.)
��'eoest�s�ho he dried him (obv.) with rapid motion (e.g. flapping in air)
he�ke his mother
h�ke male exclamation
asenoota Start to leave him (plural addressee)!
as�no�ta Sing an honor song to him (plural addressee)!
��'�seotse It's the wrong way.
��'�s�otse It/He burst open.
n�e'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:
v�'ho'e whiteman/spider
v�'h�'e whitemen/spiders
h�ta'e gland
het�'e glands
h�ma'e beaver
hom�'e beavers
hex�va'e bedbug
hexov�'e bedbugs
h�tame dog
hot�me dogs
koohk�va'e quail/bobwhite
koohkov�'e quails/bobwhites
ma'h�hko'e badger
ma'hahk�'e badgers
o�n�he'e frog
oon�h�'e frogs
�stsema'e mole
�sts�m�'e moles
h�na'e goose
hen�'e geese
��st�t�'e pine tree
��stot�'e pine trees
h�ko'e leech
he�k�'e leeches
ho�xe'e lodgepole/tepee pole
ho�x�'e lodgepoles/tepee poles
hetan�'hame male horse
hetan�'h�me male horses
nan�se'hame cougar/mountain lion
nan�s�'h�me cougars/mountain lions
Some conjunct order (subordinate) verbs have person-marking suffixes differing only in pitch,
for example:
ts�hmaneto when you (sg.) drank
ts�hman�to when I drank
ts�manese those who drink
ts�man�se you (plural) who drink
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