Cheyenne: Major Constituent Order

Cheyenne narratives exhibit all possible orders for the three major constituents of subject, object, and verb. In this book, the author explores factors that could possibly influence the order of major constituents in Cheyenne narrative. Through the analysis of texts elicited from Cheyenne speakers, she concludes that the newsworthy first principle provides an accounting for alternate constituent order and can be used to predict constituent order. Cheyenne, an Algonquian language, is spoken by Native Americans living in Montana and Oklahoma. The author has done language research with those in Montana since 1975. The theoretical basis of this study comes from her work toward earning a master's degree at the University of Oregon.