Editing Oneida language (section)

==Structure==

===Phonology===

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
! rowspan="2" |
! rowspan="2" | [[Alveolar consonant|Alveolar]]
! colspan="2" | [[Velar consonant|Dorsal]]
! rowspan="2" | [[glottal consonant|Glottal]]
|- style="font-size: x-small;"
! plain
! [[Labialization|labial.]]
|-
! [[Nasal consonant|Nasal]]
| {{IPA|n}}
| || || |
|-
! [[Stop consonant|Plosive]]
| {{IPA|t}}
| {{IPA|k}}
| {{IPA|kʷ}}
| {{IPA|ʔ}}
|-
! [[Affricate consonant|Affricate]]
| {{IPA|ts}}
| || || |
|-
! [[Fricative consonant|Fricative]]
| {{IPA|s}}
| || |
| {{IPA|h}}
|-
! [[Approximant consonant|Approximant]]
| {{IPA|l}}
| {{IPA|j}}
| {{IPA|w}}
|
|}

There are four oral vowels, {{IPA|/i e o a/}}, and two nasal vowels, {{IPA|/ũ/}} (written {{angbr|u}}) and {{IPA|/ə̃/}} (written {{angbr IPA|ʌ}}). Vowel length is indicated with a following [[colon (letter)|colon]], {{angbr|꞉}}.

Like other Iroquois languages, Oneida has a relatively limited inventory of vowels and a fairly standard set of consonants, though it is exceptional for lacking [[bilabial consonants]]. According to Gick, "all consonants sound similar to English" with a few exceptions involving fricatives and the glottal stop. Oneida lacks bilabial stops and labiodental fricatives.<ref name="nvtc">See [http://www.nvtc.gov/lotw/months/october/Iroquoian.html National Virtual Translation Center. Iroquoian Language Family] (Accessed 1 Dec 2008). {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090117220456/http://www.nvtc.gov/lotw/months/october/Iroquoian.html |date=January 17, 2009 }}</ref> Oneida syllables are largely CV, and VV appears in disyllabic sequences ai, ae, ao, and au.<ref>{{harvp|Michelson|1988|p=11}}</ref> Consonants can also cluster in particular arrangements up to CCCCC in the word-medial position; word-initial or word-final clusters are limited to CCC.<ref>{{harvp|Michelson|1988|pp=16–17}}</ref> Oneida generally accents on the penultimate syllable, and shares with Mohawk the "PLI rules that ... lengthen an accented open penult".<ref>{{harvp|Michelson|1988|p=66}}</ref> Basic register tone results from the Oneida accent system but is not contrastive.<ref>{{harvp|Michelson|1988|p=68}}</ref><ref name="WALS" />

===Morphology===
Oneida is [[polysynthetic language|polysynthetic]] and has substantial [[noun incorporation]].<ref>{{harvp|Michelson|1988|pp=47–48}}</ref> Affixes are both prefixing and suffixing depending on precise usage.<ref name=":2">[https://www.uwgb.edu/UWGBCMS/media/Oneida-Language/files/teaching-grammar-revised4.pdf Abbott, Clifford (2006)]. "Oneida Teaching Grammar". ''20-26''</ref> Verbs take three [[grammatical aspect|aspects]]: habitual, punctual, and stative, which are marked via suffixing.<ref>{{harvp|Michelson|1988|p=47}}</ref> Modal prefixes (future, factual, and optative) fill the role of verb tense; non-modal prefixes are often adpositional.<ref name="Michelson_46">{{harvp|Michelson|1988|p=46}}</ref> Oneida is head-marking, and designates person and number in this way.<ref name="WALS" /><ref name="Michelson_46"/> These so-called "patient prefixes" take singular, dual, or plural forms to mark the inclusive-exclusive distinction.<ref name="Michelson_46"/>

Oneida exhibits three parts of speech: [[Verb|verbs]], [[Noun|nouns]], and [[Particle (linguistics)|particles]]. Adjectives are described as [[Attributive verb|attributive verbs]] in all cases. Verbs are always marked for [[Person (linguistics)|person]] and [[Gender (linguistics)|gender]], of which there are 4 (masculine, neuter, feminine-zoic, and feminine-indefinite). There is one main difference between the two feminine genders, in that the feminine-indefinite is always used as an [[epicene]], while the feminine-zoic is used for both inanimate referents and feminine animals. Other differences are controversial between speakers, although the use of the feminine-zoic can indicate a more [[Formality level|informal]] relation, while the feminine-indefinite can indicate a [[Formality level|formal]] relation.<ref name=":2" /><ref>''Abbott, Clifford (1984). ''"Two Feminine Genders in Oneida"''. Anthropological Linguistics. '''26''' (2): 125–137. ''[[doi:10.2307/30027499]]''.''</ref>

==== Incorporated counting ====
To say one of any object involves the following pattern:
* ''s- + ka-'' + '''root''' + ''w-'' (for a-stems) + ''-at'' (iterative)
: prepronominal prefix + pronoun prefix + noun root + (plus extender) + verb root

<section begin="list-of-glossing-abbreviations"/><div style="display:none;">
PRENOM:prepronominal prefix
NMZ:nominalizer
</div><section end="list-of-glossing-abbreviations"/>
{{interlinear|indent=3
|top= {{lang|one|skanáskwat}}
|s + ka + '''násk''' + w + at
|PRENOM + 3 + {count noun "animal"} + {extender} + {verb root}
|"one animal"}}

{{interlinear|indent=3
|top= {{lang|one|skawístat}}
|s + ka + '''wíst''' + at
|PRENOM + 3 + {count noun "money"} + {verb root}
|"one dollar (one money)"}}

To say two of any object involves the following pattern:
* ''te- + ka-'' + '''root''' + ''w-'' (for a-stems) + ''-ake'' (dualic)
: prepronominal prefix + pronoun prefix + noun root + (plus nominalizer) + verb root

{{interlinear|indent=3
|top= {{lang|one|tekanáskwake}}
|te + ka + '''násk''' + w + ake
|PRENOM + 3 + {count noun "animal"} + NMZ + {verb root}
|"two animals"}}

{{interlinear|indent=3
|top= {{lang|one|tekahwístake}}
|te + ka + '''hwíst''' + ake
|PRENOM + 3 + {count noun "money"} + {verb root}
|"two dollars (two money)"}}

(Oneida Indian Nation 34–36)

===Syntax===
Oneida either is verb-initial or has no dominant form.<ref name="WALS">See [http://wals.info/languoid/lect/wals_code_ond WALS Online].</ref> Interpretation of Elm's portion of the text of the Creation Story itself reveals a clear verb-initial word order,<ref>{{harvp|Elm|Antone|2000|pp=35–61}}</ref> but Antone's portion<ref>{{harvp|Elm|Antone|2000|pp=30–35}}</ref> does not, suggesting that word order is variable by speaker and that flexible usage is grammatically acceptable. Oneida constructs sentences in the [[active voice]] only.<ref name="WALS" />