Research Guides: North American Indigenous Linguistics, Languages & Language Revitalization: Language Learning Resources

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Description

This section of the guide suggests highlights resources for language acquisition materials including dictionaries, audio, corpora, and other language learning materials related to the Cheyenne, Ute, and Arapaho languages. These digital resources can serve as starting points for language acquisition and revitalization, as well as further research development.

Arapaho (Algic Language Family)

Arapaho Language Project
This website was created to support the revitalization of the Arapaho language and be a helpful resource for Arapaho language learners. In addition to the Arapaho Lessons and Dictionary, this website also features a Pronunciation Guide, examples of the language being used for everyday life, scanned bilingual curriculum materials and other resources helpful in learning this language.
Home with Arapaho
This project is an expression of respect for individual Arapaho people and the spirit of the Arapaho language, in gratitude for the strength of family and spirituality given to those on Wind River Reservation.
Native Languages (Arapaho Language)
Arapaho (also spelled Arapahoe or Arrapahoe) is an Algonquian language spoken by 1000 people, most of them in Wyoming. It is a polysynthetic language with long, complex verbs and fairly free word order. Many linguists consider Gros Ventre an Arapaho dialect-- though the two tribes maintain distinct identities, the languages are primarily mutually comprehensible. Most Arapaho and Gros Ventre speakers are elderly, but the Arapaho community is working to revitalize the language by teaching it to younger Arapahos.
Omniglot (Northern Arapaho)
Arapaho (Hinónoʼeitíít) | Arapaho is a Plains Algonquian language spoken mainly on the Wind River Indian Reservation in Wyoming, and also in western Oklahoma in the USA. In 2007 there were thought to be about 1,000 speakers of Arapaho, which is also known as Arapahoe or Arrapahoe.

Northern Arapaho | Endangered Languages Archive (ELA)
This Arapaho text corpus documents the Northern Arapaho language as spoken by the Northern Arapaho at the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming.
Arapaho | Open Language Archives (OLAC)
This dataset contains word and character n-gram frequencies and lists of URLs for Arapaho from the 2018 Crúbadán Language Project.

Arapaho Language Hinóno'éítiit Playlist
Arapaho Language Playlist
Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes Television: CATV channel 35.1 (K35MV-D) is owned and operated by the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma.

Cheyenne (Algic Language Family)

Native Languages (Cheyenne Language)
Cheyenne is an Algonquian Indian language spoken by about 1500 Native Americans in Montana and central Oklahoma. It is related to Arapaho but has a much more complex phonology, with vowel devoicing and tones. Some children are still learning Cheyenne as a native language, but due to the small number of speakers there is fear that the language may die out if effort is not put into revitalizing it. Cheyenne is a verb-based polysynthetic language with long words, complex morphology, and fairly free word order.
Omniglot (Cheyenne)
Cheyenne is a Plains Algonquian language spoken by about 2,100 people in Montana and Oklahoma in the USA. It is spoken specifically on the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation in the south east of Montana and in central Oklahoma. Most Cheyenne speakers are over 50, and the language is classified as by UNESCO as "definitely endangered" in Montana, and "critically endangered" in Oklahoma.
Northern Cheyenne Curriculum Materials
Stories of the Northern Cheyenne Series. Created for Busby School of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe and hosted by the Woodenlegs Memorial Library at Chief Dull Knife College.
Cheyenne Language
The Cheyenne language is spoken in southeastern Montana on the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation and in central Oklahoma. It is a member of the large Algonquian language family of North America which includes other languages such as Arapaho, Blackfoot, Cree, Ojibwa, Menomini, Fox, Kickapoo, Potawatomi, Massachusett, Delaware, Shawnee, Micmac, and Naskapi.

Cheyenne Language Dictionary
The Cheyenne language is spoken on the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation in southeastern Montana by approximately 1,200 individuals. Cheyenne is also spoken in central Oklahoma where the average age of the youngest speakers is approximately 65. There are far fewer remaining speakers of Cheyenne in Oklahoma than in Montana. There are a handful of words which are different between the Cheyenne spoken in Oklahoma and Montana. Both the Northern Cheyenne (Montana) and Southern Cheyenne (Oklahoma) forms of the language are found in this dictionary. The authors have attempted to make this a complete dictionary for Cheyennes in both Oklahoma and Montana. The grammar (morphosyntax) of Cheyenne spoken in Oklahoma and Montana is identical as is the phonology (sound system). Research for this dictionary took place both in Oklahoma and Montana. This is not a dictionary of a Northern Cheyenne language. It is a dictionary of the Cheyenne language, as it is spoken in both Oklahoma and Montana.

Cheyenne Language Playlist
Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes Television: CATV channel 35.1 (K35MV-D) is owned and operated by the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma. We
Cheyenne Arapaho Language
Cheyenne Language Audio Recordings
Cheyenne language audio recordings by Elaine Strangeowl.
Let's Talk Cheyenne: An Audio Course
These audio files introduce you to the Cheyenne alphabet and how to pronounce its sounds. It then teaches useful Cheyenne phrases, Cheyenne questions and answers, aspects of the basic grammar of Cheyenne, and ends with sample conversations in Cheyenne.

Ute (Uto-Aztecan Language Family)

Native Languages (Ute)
Ute also known as Southern Paiute is a Uto-Aztecan language of the Western Plateau. It is spoken natively by more than 1500 people in Utah, Nevada, Colorado, and Arizona. The (Southern) Ute dialect (núu-'apaghapi / núuchi) is spoken on the Southern Ute Indian Reservation in northeastern Utah, and on the Uintah-Ouray (or Northern Ute) and Ute Mountain reservations in southern Colorado. The Southern Paiute dialect is spoken in southwest Utah, northern Arizona, southern Nevada and northwest New Mexico. The Chemehuevi dialect is spoken along the lower Colorado river in California. It was first documented in the early 20th century. In 2008 there were just three speakers of Chemehuevi. The Chemehuevi call themselves Nüwüwü (The People) or Tantáwats (Southern Men). The name Chemehuevi comes from a Mojave word meaning ' those that play with fish'.
Omniglot (Ute)
Southern Paiute is a member of the Southern Numic branch of the Uto-Aztecan language family. It is spoken in parts of Colorado, Utah, Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico and California in the USA by about 1,640 (in 2010). The majority of speakers are over 50 years old, although some children are still acquiring Southern Paiute from their parents. Southern Paiute is also known as Colorado River Numic, Ute, Ute-Southern Paiute or Ute-Chemehuevi. There are three dialects: Chemehuevi, Southern Paiute and (Southern) Ute, which are considered separate languages by some. Each of the dialects has a number of subdialects.
Ute Mountain Ute Dictionary Online
The Ute Dictionary was made possible by the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe and the contributions of numerous language consultants, advisors, linguists, and technical staff from across Colorado, Utah, Ute Country, and what is today the United States. We are proud to acknowledge each contribution. Collectively, the following people have created a volume that will help preserve the beautiful Ute language for future generations.

Ute-Southern Paiute | Phoible 2.0
PHOIBLE is a repository of cross-linguistic phonological inventory data, which have been extracted from source documents and tertiary databases and compiled into a single searchable convenience sample.
Paiute (Southern) | WALS
The World Atlas of Language Structures (WALS) is a large database of structural (phonological, grammatical, lexical) properties of languages gathered from descriptive materials (such as reference grammars).

Ute/Southern Paiute | Endangered Languages Project
Ute-Chemehuevi is a dialect chain within Southern Numic that extends from central Colorado westward across Utah and southern Nevada to the eastern Mojave Desert in California. There are three major regional varieties, all mutually intelligible. Ute (Colorado and central Utah), Southern Paiute (southern Utah, Arizona, and Nevada), and Chemehuevi (southern California).
Speak Ute Now | Southern Ute Indian Montessori Academy
Ute language writing lessons and curriculum.
Seasons of the Nuche: Tales of the Ute People
Nina Gabianelli of the Aspen Historical Society and special guest, Skylar Lomahaftewa of the Northern Ute Tribe look at the role of storytelling in the history of native peoples in Colorado.

Indigenous Language Databases & Digital Archives

Languages

World Atlas of Language Structures (WALS)
This freely available database covers phonological, grammatical, and lexical aspects of languages around the world.
Open Language Archives Community (OLAC)
OLAC, the Open Language Archives Community, is an international partnership of institutions and individuals who are creating a worldwide virtual library of language resources by: (i) developing consensus on best current practice for the digital archiving of language resources, and (ii) developing a network of interoperating repositories and services for housing and accessing such resources.
Archives of the Indigenous Languages of Latin America
AILLA is a digital language archive of recordings, texts, and other multimedia materials in and about the Indigenous languages of Latin America. AILLA's mission is to preserve these materials and make them available to Indigenous Peoples, researchers, and other friends of these languages now and for generations to come.
Alaska Native Language Archive (ANLA)
In order to support the Alaska Native Language Center's mission of documenting, promoting, cultivating, and revitalizing Alaska Native languages and culture, the Alaska Native Language Archive houses documentation of the various Native languages of Alaska and helps to preserve and cultivate this unique heritage for future generations. As the premier repository worldwide for information relating to the Native languages of Alaska, the Archive is responsible for conserving and facilitating access to documentation and resources on Alaska's 20+ Native languages, including through partnerships with Native organizations across the state. ANLA serves researchers, teachers and the Alaska Native communities.
California Language Archive
The California Language Archive is a physical and digital archive for materials related to the Indigenous languages of the Americas, housed in the Survey of California and Other Indian Languages in the Department of Linguistics at the University of California, Berkeley. This catalog also includes sound recordings held by the Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology.