Editing Cheyenne language (section)

=== Pitch and tone ===
There are several rules that govern pitch use in Cheyenne.  Pitch can be ˊ = high, unmarked = low, ˉ = mid, and ˆ = raised high. According to linguist Wayne Leman, some research shows that Cheyenne may have a stress system independent from that of pitch. If this is the case, the stress system's role is very minor in Cheyenne prosody. It would have no grammatical or lexical function, unlike pitch.{{sfn|Leman|1981}}

====High-raising====
A high pitch becomes a raised high when it is not preceded by another high vowel and precedes an underlying word-final high.{{sfn|Leman|1979|p=219}}
* {{IPA|/ʃéʔʃé/|lang=chy}} {{Lang|chy|š'''ê'''<nowiki>'</nowiki>še}} 'duck'; 
* {{IPA|/sémón/|lang=chy}} {{Lang|chy|s'''ê'''mo}} 'boat'

====Low-to-high raising====
A low vowel is raised to the high position when it follows a high and is followed by a word final high.{{sfn|Leman|1979|p=219}}
* {{IPA|/méʃené/|lang=chy}} {{Lang|chy|méš'''é'''ne}} 'ticks'; 
* {{IPA|/návóomó/|lang=chy}} {{Lang|chy|návó'''ó'''mo}} 'I see him'; 
* {{IPA|/póesón/|lang=chy}} {{Lang|chy|pó'''é'''so}} 'cat'

====Low-to-mid raising====
A low vowel becomes a mid when it is followed by a word-final high but not directly preceded by a high vowel.{{sfn|Leman|1979|p=219}}
* {{IPA|/kosán/|lang=chy}} {{Lang|chy|k'''ō'''sa}} 'sheep (sg.)'; 
* {{IPA|/heʔé/|lang=chy}} {{Lang|chy|h'''ē'''<nowiki>'</nowiki>e}} 'woman'; 
* {{IPA|/éhomosé/|lang=chy}} {{Lang|chy|éhom'''ō'''se}} 'he is cooking'