Editing Ho-Chunk language (section)

==Phonology==
=== Phonemic inventory ===
Ho-Chunk's vowel sounds are distinguished by nasality and length. That is to say, the use of a [[nasal vowel]] or a [[long vowel]] affects a word's meaning.  This is evident in examples such as {{lang|win|pąą}} {{IPA|/pãː/}} {{gloss|bag}} compared to {{lang|win|paa}} {{IPA|/paː/}} {{gloss|nose}}, and {{lang|win|waruc}} {{IPA|/waˈɾutʃ/}} {{gloss|to eat}} compared to {{lang|win|waaruc}} {{IPA|/waːˈɾutʃ/}} {{gloss|table}}.<ref name=":02">{{Cite book|title=Hocak Teaching Materials, Volume 1|last1=Helmbrecht|first1=Johannes|last2=Lehmann|first2=Christian|publisher=SUNY Press|year=2010|isbn=978-1-4384-3339-4}}</ref> All of Ho-Chunk's vowels show a length distinction, but only {{IPA|/i a u/}} have nasal counterparts.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! rowspan="2" | 
! colspan="2" | [[Front vowel|Front]]
! colspan="2" | [[Central vowel|Central]]
! colspan="2" | [[Back vowel|Back]]
|-
! <small>[[Oral vowel|oral]]</small> || <small>[[Nasal vowel|nasal]]</small>
! <small>oral</small> || <small>nasal</small>
! <small>oral</small> || <small>nasal</small>
|-
! [[High vowel|High]]
| {{IPA link|i}} || {{IPA link|ĩ}}
| ||
| {{IPA link|u}} || {{IPA link|ũ}}
|-
! [[Mid vowel|Mid]]
| {{IPA link|e}} ||
| ||
| {{IPA link|o}} ||
|-
! [[Low vowel|Low]]
| ||
| {{IPA link|a}} || {{IPA link|ã}}
| ||
|}

Ho-Chunk's consonants are listed in the following table:

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! colspan="2" |
! [[Labial consonant|Labial]]
! [[Alveolar consonant|Alveolar]]
! [[Postalveolar consonant|Postalveolar]]
! [[Palatal consonant|Palatal]]
! [[Velar consonant|Velar]]
! [[Glottal consonant|Glottal]]
|-
! colspan="2" | [[Nasal consonant|Nasal]]
| {{IPA link|m}}
| {{IPA link|n}}
|
|
|
|
|-
! rowspan="3" | [[Plosive]]/<br/>[[Affricate]]
! {{small|[[Voicelessness|Voiceless]]}}
| {{IPA link|p}}
| {{IPA link|t}}
| {{IPA link|tʃ}}
|
| {{IPA link|k}}
| {{IPA link|ʔ}}
|-
! {{small|[[Voice (phonetics)|Voiced]]}}
| {{IPA link|b}}
| {{IPA link|d}}
| {{IPA link|dʒ}}
|
| {{IPA link|g}}
|
|-
! {{small|[[Ejective consonant|Ejective]]}}
| {{IPA link|pʼ}}
| {{IPA link|tʼ}}
|
|
| {{IPA link|kʼ}}
|
|-
! rowspan="3" | [[Fricative]]
! {{small|[[Voicelessness|Voiceless]]}}
|
| {{IPA link|s}}
| {{IPA link|ʃ}}
|
| {{IPA link|x}}
| {{IPA link|h}}
|-
! {{small|[[Voice (phonetics)|Voiced]]}}
|
| {{IPA link|z}}
| {{IPA link|ʒ}}
|
| {{IPA link|ɣ}}
|
|-
! {{small|[[Ejective consonant|Ejective]]}}
|
| {{IPA link|sʼ}}
| {{IPA link|ʃʼ}}
|
| {{IPA link|xʼ}}
|
|-
! colspan="2" | [[Trill consonant|Trill]]
|
| {{IPA link|r}}
|
|
|
|
|-
! colspan="2" | [[Approximant]]
| {{IPA link|w}}
|
|
| {{IPA link|j}}
| ({{IPA link|w}})
|
|}

Typical of Mississippi Valley Siouan languages, Ho-Chunk has aspirated {{IPA|/p/}} and {{IPA|/k/}} phonemes but no aspirated {{IPA|/t/}}.

=== Nasalization patterns ===
In Ho-Chunk, vowels {{IPA|/i a u/}} always occur as nasalized when they follow nasal consonants {{IPA|/m n/}}. Nasality spreads to an adjacent vowel if that vowel is nasalizable as well.<ref name=":02"/>  [[Consonant harmony|Nasality spreads]] across syllable or word boundaries and can move across consonants {{IPA|/h/}} and {{IPA|/w/}}, but is blocked by all other consonants. Examples include {{lang|win|nąįžą}} {{IPA|/nãĩʒã/}} {{gloss|a tree}} and {{lang|win|ha'ųwį}} {{IPA|/haʔũwĩ/}} {{gloss|we (exclusive) do}}:

{{interlinear|number=ex:
|top= nąįžą
|nąą hižą
|tree one
|'a tree'}}

{{interlinear|number=ex:
|top= ha'ųwį
|ha- ųų -wi
|1.EX.A- do -PL
|'We (exclusive) do'}}

Another frequently occurring nasalization pattern is /r/ to [n] alternation: /r/ is pronounced as [n] when it immediately follows a nasal vowel. That is shown in the definite marker /ra/ on the verb 'have' ''-nį'''-''''', which occurs as [nã] in the sentence 'My knife is dull' below:

{{interlinear|number=ex:
|top= Mąąhį haanįną juujuxšąną
|Mąąhį ha&lt;ha&gt;nį{{=}}ra juujux-šąną
|knife &lt;1.EX.A&gt;have{{=}}DEF dull-DECL
|'My knife is dull'}}

=== Dorsey's law===
There is a notable sound law in Ho-Chunk called Dorsey's law{{cn|date=May 2025}} which dictates the following:
* /ORS/ → [OSRS] 
where O is a voiceless obstruent, R is a resonant, and S a syllabic sound. In other words, if there is an underlying voiceless obstruent (in Ho-Chunk, /p/, /c/, /k/, /s/, /š/, and /x/) followed by resonant (/r/, /n/, or /w/), the vowel following the resonant is copied into the proceeding consonant cluster. All Dorsey's Law sequences attested in the language are listed below, with V representing the copied vowel:<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal|last1=Miner|last2=Dorsey|date=1979|title=Dorsey's Law in Winnebago-Chiwere and Winnebago Accent|journal=International Journal of American Linguistics|volume=45|pages=25–33|doi=10.1086/465571|s2cid=144853982}}</ref> 
* pVnV 
* pVrV 
* kVnV 
* kVrV 
* kVwV 
* sVnV 
* sVrV 
* sVwV 
* šVnV 
* šVrV 
* šVwV 
* cVwV 
* xVnV 
* xVrV 
* xVwV

Multiple sources advocate that Dorsey's law is a [[synchrony and diachrony|synchronic]] process in the language because of the way that other processes like stress assignment and the morphological process of [[reduplication]] are affected by it.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Miner|first=Kenneth L.|date=1989|title=Winnebago Accent: The Rest of the Data|journal=Anthropological Linguistics}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Miner|first=Kenneth|date=1993|editor-last=Oliverio|editor-first=Giulia|editor2-last=Linn|editor2-first=Mary Sarah|title=On some theoretical implications of Winnebago phonology|journal=Kansas Working Papers in Linguistics|volume=18}}</ref>

Dorsey's law can apply within a single morpheme, as in /pra/ becoming [para] in the word ''paras'' '(be) wide, flat', or across morpheme boundaries, as in /šra/ becoming [šara] in the word ''šaraše'' 'you go there', where ''š'' is the second person pronominal prefixing to the verb ''rahe'' 'to be going there'.

=== Metrical structure ===
Ho-Chunk is a [[Mora (linguistics)|mora]] counting, but syllable accenting language. The stress placement of words spoken in isolation is extremely regular. Single-syllable words always have a long vowel (two moras), and stress falls on the first mora (e.g. ''áa'' 'arm').  Two-syllable words have two moras, and primary stress falls on the second mora (e.g. ''wajé'' 'dress'). In words longer than two syllables, primary stress most often falls on the third syllable, with secondary stress on each even numbered vowel after the point of primary stress (e.g. ''waǧįǧį́ '' 'ball', or ''hocįcį́k'' 'boy').<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Hale|first1=Kenneth|last2=White Eagle|first2=Josie|date=1980|title=A preliminary metrical account of Winnebago accent|journal=International Journal of American Linguistics|publisher=University of Chicago Press|volume=46|issue=2|doi=10.1086/465641|pages=117–132|s2cid=145803863}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=Rara & rarissima: Documenting the fringes of linguistic diversity|last=Helmbrecht|first=Johannes|publisher=De Gruyer Mouton|year=2010|isbn=9783110228557|editor-last=Wohlgemuth|editor-first=Jan|location=Berlin|pages=117–143|chapter=The accentual system of Hocąk|editor-last2=Cysouw|editor-first2=Michael}}</ref> A few rare examples of words with primary stress not on the third syllable include ''booráxux'' 'you break something into pieces' and ''gikąnąhé'' 'to invite somebody'.  These and other exceptions are a result of syllable weight affecting stress location.<ref name=":0" />  As seen in ''booráxux'' 'you break something into pieces', when one of the first two syllables of a multiple-syllable word is a heavy syllable, then the main stress falls on the second syllable

Generally when words are spoken in sequence to form sentences, each retains its own stress domain.  However, when two or more words are [[Compound (linguistics)|compounded]], they are treated as a single word and form a new single stress domain in which the aforementioned patterns apply.  Examples include ''hąąbókahi'' 'every day' (a compound consisting of ''hąąp'' 'day' and ''hokahí'' 'every') and ''wąągwácek'' 'young man' (''wąąk'' 'man' and ''wacék'' 'young').<ref name=":0" />

Ho-Chunk's stress system is substantially different from that of other Siouan languages, which have main stress on the second syllable or second mora.  It is theorized that Ho-Chunk underwent a stress shift one mora to the right at some point in its history.<ref name=":0" />