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
Eastern Algonquian constitutes a separate genetic subgroup.
Family
The Plains Algonquian languages are well known for having diverged significantly from
Proto-Algonquian (the parent of all Algonquian languages), both
phonologically and
lexically. For example, Proto-Algonquian ''*keriwa'', "eagle", becomes
Cheyenne ''netse''; Proto-Algonquian ''*weθali'', "her husband", becomes
Arapaho
The Arapaho ( ; , ) 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 bands formed t ...
''ííx'', ''*nepyi'', "water" becomes
Gros Ventre ''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).
* Plains Algonquian
**
Blackfoot ''(also known as Blackfeet or Siksiká)''
**
Arapahoan
*** Arapaho–Atsina
****
Arapaho
The Arapaho ( ; , ) 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 bands formed t ...
''(also known as Arapahoe or Arapafoe)''
****
Gros Ventre ''(also known as Atsina, Aáni, Ahahnelin, Ahe, A'aninin, A'ane, or A'ananin)''
**** Besawunena
***
Nawathinehena
*** Ha’anahawunena
**
Cheyenne
*** Cheyenne
*** Sutaio ''(also known as Soʼtaaʼe)''
See also
*
Algonquian peoples
The Algonquians are one of the most populous and widespread North American indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous American groups, consisting of the peoples who speak Algonquian languages. They historically were prominent along the East ...
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