Cheyenne
PrintPrimary tabs
A language of United States
ISO 639-3
Alternate Names
Tsitsistas
Population
1,920 (2015 census). Spoken by 1,700 in Montana, 400 in Oklahoma (Golla 2007). Ethnic population: 4,000 (Golla 2007). In Montana.
Location
Montana: northern Cheyenne Reservation; central Oklahoma, Hammon and Seiling.
Language Status
6b (Threatened). Language of registered tribe: Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes, Northern Cheyenne Tribe of the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation.
Classification
Typology
Polysynthetic language; fairly free word order; animate/inanimate nouns; tonal.
Language Use
Summer camp for children in Montana where Cheyenne taught by fluent speakers (1998). Taught in Dull Knife Memorial College and at Saint Labre Indian School in Montana (Golla 2007). Middle-aged or older in Oklahoma, some children in Montana. Also use English [eng].
Language Development
Literacy rate in L1: 1%–5%. Literacy rate in L2: 50%–100%. Dictionary. Grammar. NT: 1934–2007.
Language Resources
Writing
Latin script [Latn].