[Algonquiana] Cree nehiyaw- etc.

[Goddard, Ives]

Proto-Algonquian *ni:heraw-, *ni:herw- '(by) oneself, own' is the source of the Cree autonym (~ 'we ourselves'), with an odd replacement of the first vowel.  (Actually, a sound law PA *ni:he- > pre-Cree *ne:he- would seem to have no exceptions.)  There are several cognates (Ojibwe, Delaware, Massachusett); Arapaho ni:hen 'by itself' (in the word for 'car').  Modern Innu nenu- must be < *nehnu- < the same.  This element is not related to any word for 'speak'.

Ives Goddard
Senior Linguist, Emeritus
Department of Anthropology
Smithsonian Institution