The Arapaho language (also Arapahoe) language is a Plains Algonquian language spoken almost entirely by elders in Wyoming. The language, which is in great danger of becoming extinct, has diverged very significantly phonologically from its posited proto-language, Proto-Algonquian (Proto-Algonquian *maθkwa, "bear," became Arapaho wox, and Proto-Algonquian *we-θali, "her husband," became Arapaho ííx). ISO 639 is one of several international standards that lists short codes for language names. ... SIL International is a non-profit, Christian, scientific organization with the main purpose to study, develop and document lesser-known languages for the purpose of expanding linguistic knowledge, promoting world literacy and aiding minority language development. ... This list of languages is alphabetical by English name. ...

Sounds

As mentioned above, the Plains Algonquian languages are phonologically very distinct from other Algonquian languages and from Proto-Algoquian. The International Phonetic Alphabet. ... Phonetic (pho-NET-ic) is a nationwide voicemail-to-text messaging service available for most digital mobile phones in which a subscriber is provided a custom voice mailbox for the purpose of receiving all incoming voice messages as actual transcribed text for reading via short messaging (also known as SMS... In computing, Unicode is the international standard whose goal is to provide the means to encode the text of every document people want to store in computers. ...

Vowels

Arapaho has a series of four short vowels /i e ɔ u/ and four long vowels /iː eː ɔː uː/. It also contains three diphthongs, /ei/, /ɔu/, and /ie/.

Consonants

The consonant inventory of Arapaho is given in the table below. Voiceless stops are voiceless word-finally and word-medially and voiced word-initally (except for /p/, which is [b] intially and medially). /j/ is normally transcribed as <y>, /ʧ/ as <c>, /ʔ/ as <'>, and /θ/ as <3>.

Labials are consonants articulated either with both lips (bilabial articulation) or with the lower lip and the upper teeth (labiodental articulation). ... Dentals are consonants articulated with either the lower or the upper teeth, or both. ... Alveolars are consonants articulated with the tip of the tongue against the alveolar ridge, the internal side of the upper gums (known as the alveoles of the upper teeth). ... Palatal consonants are consonants articulated with the middle or back part of the tongue raised against the hard palate (the middle part of the roof of the mouth). ... Velars are consonants articulated with the back part of the tongue (the dorsum) against the soft palate (the back part of the roof of the mouth, known also as the velum). ... The vocal cords, also known as vocal folds, are composed of twin infoldings of mucous membrane stretched horizontally across the human larynx. ... The word stop has several possible meanings in the English language. ... An affricate is a consonant that begins like a stop (most often an alveovelar, such as [t] or [d]) and that doesnt have a release of its own, but opens directly into a fricative (or, in one language, into a trill). ... Note: This page contains phonetic information presented in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) using Unicode. ... (adj. ... Semivowels (also called semiconsonants or glides) are vowels that function phonemically as consonants. ...

Prosody

Arapaho is a tonal language. Vowels can have a mid tone (unmarked), high tone (marked with an acute accent), or falling tone (marked with a circumflex).

Links

Ethnologue Report for Arapaho
The Arapaho Language
Arapaho Language Archives, with many dialogues and narratives in Arapaho with glosses
A Guide to Learning the Northern Arapaho Alphabet

References

Mithun, Marianne. The Languages of Native North America. Cambridge: University Press, 1999.