Editing Cheyenne language (section)

==Historical development==
[[File:Cheyennecatechism page 9.jpg|thumb|Cheyenne catechism page 9]]
Like all the Algonquian languages, Cheyenne developed from a reconstructed ancestor referred to as [[Proto-Algonquian language|Proto-Algonquian]] (often abbreviated "PA"). The sound changes on the road from PA to modern Cheyenne are complex, as exhibited by the development of the PA word {{Lang|alg-x-proto|*erenyiwa}} 'man' into Cheyenne {{Lang|chy|hetane}}:

*First, the PA suffix {{Lang|alg-x-proto|-wa}} drops ({{Lang|alg-x-proto|*erenyi}})
*The [[geminate]] vowel sequence {{Lang|alg-x-proto|-yi-}} simplifies to {{IPA|/i/}} ([[semivowel]]s were phonemically vowels in PA; when PA *{{IPA|/i/}} or *{{IPA|/o/}} appeared before another vowel, it became non-syllabic) ({{Lang|alg-x-proto|*ereni}})
*PA *{{IPA|/r/}} changes to {{IPA|/t/}} ({{Lang|alg-x-proto|*eteni}})
*{{IPA|/h/}} is added before word-initial vowels ({{Lang|alg-x-proto|*heteni}})
*Due to a vowel chain-shift, the vowels in the word wind up as {{IPA|/e/}}, {{IPA|/a/}} and {{IPA|/e/}} (PA *{{IPA|/e/}} sometimes corresponds to Cheyenne {{IPA|/e/}} and sometimes to Cheyenne {{IPA|/a/}}; PA *{{IPA|/i/}} almost always corresponds to Cheyenne {{IPA|/e/}}, however) ({{Lang|chy|hetane}}).
PA *''θk'' has the Sutaio reflex ' in {{Lang|chy|e-nete'e}} 'she tells lies', but the Cheyenne-Proper reflex '''k'' in {{Lang|chy|hetone'ke}} 'tree-bark'. According to linguist Paul Proulx, this gave off the appearance that "speakers of both Cheyenne dialects—perhaps mixed bands—were involved in the Arapaho contact that led to this unusual reflex of PA *k.".{{sfn|Proulx|1982}}