Phone Calls in Arapaho
![](../photos/cell phones.jpg)
Answering
When you answer the phone, the easiest thing to say is
heeyó, meaning 'what?' or 'what is it?' Or you can just say
hee if you're a boy or man, meaning 'yes (I'm here, I hear you).'
If the person you're calling doesn't recognize you or doesn't know you, you can say
huut nenééninoo (+ your name), meaning 'here I am (your name).'
Leaving a Message
If you're leaving a message and you want someone to call you back, say
hetcihwóteikuuton 'you must call me.' If you want to say 'us' rather than 'me', it's
hetcihwóteikuuton-éi'ee.
Recording an Answer Message
If you're recording a message to put on your phone and you want to say 'I'm not here,' you say néíhoowéentoo or for 'we,'
néíhoowéentóó-be.
If you want to say 'leave a message' or 'leave me a message,' you say cih'éí'towuun-í or for 'us,' cih'éí'towuun-éi'ee.
To say 'I will call you back' you say
heetce'wóteikuuton-é3en. We will call you back is
heetce'wóteikuutón-een.
(Notice how close this is to 'I will see you again' - heetce'noohob-e3en or 'we will see you again' - heetce'noohob-een. Noohob- means 'see' while woteikuuton- means 'call on the phone', heet- indicates future time, and ce'- means 'again, back.')
Hanging up
When the conversation is over, men say wohei 'okay' and hang up, or sometimes
wohei tous, 'okay then.' Women say 'ine.
Vocabulary
Wóteikuuton- = call on the phone
Wóteikuu3oo = phone
No-wóteikuu3oo = my phone
Ho-wóteikuu3oo = your phone
Hi-wóteikuu3oo = his, her phone
Wóteikuu3oonéhe' = cell phone, smart phone, or iPhone ('little phone')
Ce'wóteikuuton- = call back
Hoowéentoo = no answer ('he/she is not there') or hoowéentootiin ('no one is there')
Hoowuusiitéyoon = no signal, out of range ('it's not catching, not receiving')
hoowce'éis = no money left, no minutes left on the phone ('there's nothing in there')
Benéetookóóyei-noo = I have used up all my money, minutes ('I drank it up to the end, finished it off') or just
beneeto'oo-' ('it has run out')
Heet-ciinóhowoo-noo = I will put minutes on, in the phone ('I will pour myself some (more)') or just
heetn-ii3itonceestii-noo ('I will get some more')