Editing Cherokee language (section)

=== Vowels ===
There are six short vowels and six long vowels in the Cherokee inventory.{{sfn|Feeling|1975|p=ix}} As with all Iroquoian languages, this includes a nasalized vowel.<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|page=337}} In the case of Cherokee, the nasalized vowel is a mid central vowel usually represented as ''v'' and is pronounced {{IPA|[ə̃]}}, that is as a [[schwa]] vowel like the unstressed "a" in the English word "comma" plus the nasalization. It is similar to the nasalized vowel in the French word ''un'' which means "one".

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+Cherokee vowels
!
! [[Front vowel|Front]]
! [[Central vowel|Central]]
! [[Back vowel|Back]]
|-
! [[Close vowel|Close]]
| {{IPA link|i}} &nbsp; {{IPA link|iː}}
|
| {{IPA link|u}} &nbsp; {{IPA link|uː}}
|-
! [[Mid vowel|Mid]]
| {{IPA link|e}} &nbsp; {{IPA link|eː}}
| {{IPA link|ə̃}} &nbsp; {{IPA link|ə̃ː}}
| {{IPA link|o}} &nbsp; {{IPA link|oː}}
|-
! [[Open vowel|Open]]
|
| {{IPA link|a}} &nbsp; {{IPA link|aː}}
|
|}

{{IPA|/u/}} is weakly rounded and often realized as {{IPA|[ɯ ⁓ ʉ]}}.

Word-final vowels are short and nasalized, and receive an automatic high or high-falling tone: {{lang|chr-Latn|wado}} {{IPA|chr|wadṍ|}} 'thank you'.{{sfn|Montgomery-Anderson|2008a|p=45}} They are often dropped in casual speech: {{lang|chr-Latn|gaáda}} {{IPA|chr|ɡaátʰ|}} 'dirt'.{{sfn|Uchihara|2016|p=49}} When deletion happens, trailing {{IPA|/ʔ/}} and {{IPA|/h/}} are also deleted and any resulting long vowel is further shortened:{{sfn|Montgomery-Anderson|2008a|p=78}} {{lang|chr-Latn|uùgoohvv́ʔi}} becomes {{lang|chr-Latn|uùgoohv́}} 'he saw it'.

Short vowels are devoiced before {{IPA|/h/}}: {{lang|chr-Latn|digadóhdi}} {{IPA|chr|diɡadó̥hdĩ́|}}.{{sfn|Montgomery-Anderson|2008a|p=45}} But due to the phonological rules of [[#Vowel deletion|vowel deletion]], [[#H-metathesis|laryngeal metathesis]] and [[#Laryngeal alternation|laryngeal alternation]] (see below), this environment is relatively rare.

Sequences of two non-identical vowels are disallowed and the vowel clash must be resolved. There are four strategies depending on the phonological and morphological environments:{{sfn|Uchihara|2013|pp=127-130}}
# the first vowel is kept: {{lang|chr-Latn|uù-aduulíha}} becomes {{lang|chr-Latn|uùduulíha}} 'he wants',
# the second vowel is kept: {{lang|chr-Latn|hi-ééga}} becomes {{lang|chr-Latn|hééga}} 'you're going',
# an [[epenthetic]] consonant is inserted: {{lang|chr-Latn|jii-uudalééʔa}} becomes {{lang|chr-Latn|jiiyuudalééʔa}},
# they merge into a different vowel or tone quality.

These make the identification of each individual morpheme often a difficult task:

{{interlinear|indent=4|abbreviations=3B:Set B third person
|top= '''dúu'''daanv́vneelvv́ʔi
|d'''ee-''' '''ii-''' '''uu-''' '''a'''daa(d)- nv́vneel -vv́ʔi
|DIST- ITER- 3B- REFL- give:PFV -EXP
|"he gave them right back to him"}}

{{interlinear|indent=4|abbreviations=1A:Set A first person
|top= d'''éena'''suúléésgo
|d'''ee-''' '''iinii-''' '''a'''suúléésg -o
|DIST- 1A.DU- wash.hands:IPFV -HAB
|"you and I always wash our hands"}}