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The Plains Algonquian languages are commonly grouped together as a subgroup of the larger Algonquian family, itself a member of the Algic family. Though the grouping is often encountered in the literature, it is an areal grouping rather than a genetic one. In other words, the languages are grouped together because they were spoken near one another, not because they are more closely related to one another than to any other Algonquian language. Most studies indicate that within the Algonquian family, only
The languages are listed below along with dialects and subdialects. This classification follows Goddard (1996, 2001) and Mithun (1999).
1. Blackfoot (also known as Blackfeet)
2. Arapahoan : i. Arapaho-Atsina ::*
Algonquian Family
Eastern Algonquian
The Eastern Algonquian languages constitute a subgroup of the Algonquian languages. Prior to European contact, Eastern Algonquian consisted of at least 17 languages, whose speakers collectively occupied the Atlantic coast of North America and adj ...
constitutes a separate genetic subgroup.
Family
The Plains Algonquian languages are well known for having diverged significantly fromProto-Algonquian
Proto-Algonquian (commonly abbreviated PA) is the proto-language from which the various Algonquian languages are descended. It is generally estimated to have been spoken around 2,500 to 3,000 years ago, but there is less agreement on where it was ...
(the parent of all Algonquian languages), both phonologically
Phonology is the branch of linguistics that studies how languages or dialects systematically organize their sounds or, for sign languages, their constituent parts of signs. The term can also refer specifically to the sound or sign system of a ...
and lexically. For example, Proto-Algonquian ''*keriwa'', "eagle", becomes Cheyenne
The Cheyenne ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains. Their Cheyenne language belongs to the Algonquian language family. Today, the Cheyenne people are split into two federally recognized nations: the Southern Cheyenne, who are enroll ...
''netse''; Proto-Algonquian ''*weθali'', "her husband", becomes Arapaho
The Arapaho (; french: Arapahos, ) are a Native American people historically living on the plains of Colorado and Wyoming. They were close allies of the Cheyenne tribe and loosely aligned with the Lakota and Dakota.
By the 1850s, Arapaho band ...
''ííx'', ''*nepyi'', "water" becomes Gros Ventre
The Gros Ventre ( , ; meaning "big belly"), also known as the Aaniiih, A'aninin, Haaninin, Atsina, and White Clay, are a historically Algonquian-speaking Native American tribe located in north central Montana. Today the Gros Ventre people are ...
''níc'', ''*wa·poswa'', "hare" becomes Arapaho ''nóóku'', ''*maθkwa'', "bear" becomes Arapaho ''wox'', and ''*sakime·wa'', "fly" becomes Arapaho ''noubee''. Proto-Algonquian *'' eθkwe·wa'' 'woman' becomes Arapaho ''hisei'', Cheyenne ''hé’e'', Gros Ventre ''iiθe'', and Nitsitapi ''skiima'' "female animal" and ''-ohkiimi-'' "have a wife".Berman (2006:280)
Family division
The languages are listed below along with dialects and subdialects. This classification follows Goddard (1996, 2001) and Mithun (1999).
1. Blackfoot (also known as Blackfeet)2. Arapahoan : i. Arapaho-Atsina ::*
Arapaho
The Arapaho (; french: Arapahos, ) are a Native American people historically living on the plains of Colorado and Wyoming. They were close allies of the Cheyenne tribe and loosely aligned with the Lakota and Dakota.
By the 1850s, Arapaho band ...
''(also known as Arapahoe or Arapafoe)''
::* Gros Ventre
The Gros Ventre ( , ; meaning "big belly"), also known as the Aaniiih, A'aninin, Haaninin, Atsina, and White Clay, are a historically Algonquian-speaking Native American tribe located in north central Montana. Today the Gros Ventre people are ...
''(also known as Atsina, Aáni, Ahahnelin, Ahe, A'aninin, A'ane, or A'ananin)'' ''(†)''
::* Besawunena ''(†)''
:* Nawathinehena
The Arapaho (; french: Arapahos, ) are a Native Americans in the United States, Native American people historically living on the plains of Colorado and Wyoming. They were close allies of the Cheyenne tribe and loosely aligned with the Lakota p ...
''(†)''
:* Ha’anahawunena ''(†)''
3. Cheyenne
The Cheyenne ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains. Their Cheyenne language belongs to the Algonquian language family. Today, the Cheyenne people are split into two federally recognized nations: the Southern Cheyenne, who are enroll ...
:* Cheyenne
:* Sutaio ''(also known as Soʼtaaʼe)'' ''(†)''
See also
*Algonquian peoples
The Algonquian are one of the most populous and widespread North American native language groups. Historically, the peoples were prominent along the Atlantic Coast and into the interior along the Saint Lawrence River and around the Great Lakes. T ...
References
External links
Algonquian Family
Bibliography
* Berman, Howard (2006). "Studies in Blackfoot prehistory". ''International Journal of American Linguistics'', vol. 72, no. 2, 264–284. * Campbell, Lyle (1997). ''American Indian languages: The historical linguistics of Native America''. New York: Oxford University Press. . * Goddard, Ives (1994). "The West-to-East Cline in Algonquian Dialectology." In William Cowan, ed., ''Papers of the 25th Algonquian Conference'' 187-211. Ottawa: Carleton University. *———— (1996). "Introduction". In Ives Goddard, ed., "Languages". Vol. 17 of William Sturtevant, ed., ''The Handbook of North American Indians''. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution. *———— (2001). "The Algonquian Languages of the Plains". In Raymond J. DeMaille, ed., "Plains". Vol. 13 of William Sturtevant, ed., ''The Handbook of North American Indians''. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution. * Mithun, Marianne (1999). ''The languages of Native North America''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. (hbk); . {{Algonquian languages Algonquian languages Indigenous languages of the North American Plains Indigenous languages of North America