Editing Choctaw language (section)

==Phonology==
* More information on suffixes is in the [[#Morphology|Morphology]] section.

===Consonants===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
! rowspan="2" |
! rowspan="2" | [[Labial consonant|Labial]]
! colspan="2" | [[Alveolar consonant|Alveolar]]
! rowspan="2" | [[Palatal consonant|Palatal]]
! rowspan="2" | [[Velar consonant|Velar]]
! rowspan="2" | [[Glottal consonant|Glottal]]
|-
! <small>[[Central consonant|central]]</small>
! <small>[[Lateral consonant|lateral]]</small>
|-
! [[Nasal consonant|Nasal]]
| {{IPA link|m}}
| {{IPA link|n}}
|
|
|
|
|-
! [[Stop consonant|Stop]]{{ref|1|1}}
| {{IPA link|p}} &nbsp; {{IPA link|b}}
| {{IPA link|t}}
|
|
| {{IPA link|k}}
| {{IPA link|ʔ}}{{ref|2|2}}
|-
! [[Affricate consonant|Affricate]]
|
|
|
| ch [{{IPA link|tʃ}}]
|
|
|-
! [[Fricative consonant|Fricative]]
| {{IPA link|f}}
| {{IPA link|s}}{{ref|3|3}}
| {{IPA link|ɬ}}
| sh [{{IPA link|ʃ}}]{{ref|3|3}}
|
| {{IPA link|h}}
|-
! [[Approximant consonant|Approximant]]
|
|
| {{IPA link|l}}
| y [{{IPA link|j}}]
| {{IPA link|w}}
|
|}

#{{note|1}} The only [[Voice (phonetics)|voiced]] stop is {{IPA|/b/}}. The [[Voicelessness|voiceless]] stops {{IPA|/p/}}, {{IPA|/t/}}, and {{IPA|/k/}} may become partially voiced between vowels, especially {{IPA|/k/}} and for male speakers. Also, the voiceless stops are slightly [[Aspirated consonant|aspirated]] at the onset of words<ref name="Broadwell15 2006">Broadwell (2006:15)</ref> and before stressed syllables, behaving like English voiceless plosives.
#{{note|2}} Controversially, some analyses suggest that all nouns end in an [[Underlying representation|underlying]] consonant phoneme.<ref name="Broadwell19-20 2006">Broadwell (2006:19-20)</ref> Nouns apparently ending in a vowel actually have a [[glottal stop]] {{IPA|/ʔ/}} or a [[voiceless glottal fricative|glottal fricative]] {{IPA|/h/}} as the final consonant. Such consonants become realized when suffixes are attached.
#{{note|3}} The distinction between phonemes {{IPA|/s/}} and {{IPA|/ʃ/}} is [[phoneme#Neutralization, archiphoneme, and underspecification|neutralized]] at the end of words.

====Free variation====
* There is [[free variation]] of some consonants in Choctaw with some speakers:<ref name="Broadwell15-20 2006">Broadwell (2006:15-20)</ref>
# /ɬ/, the voiceless lateral fricative, is pronounced as a voiceless dental fricative [θ]:<ref name="Broadwell15-20 2006" /> {{IPA|/ɬ/}}→{{IPA|[θ]}}.
# The voiceless labiodental fricative /f/ is pronounced as a voiceless bilabial fricative [ɸ]:<ref name="Broadwell15-20 2006" /> {{IPA|/f/}}→{{IPA|[ɸ]}}.

====Phonological processes of consonants====
* In Choctaw {{IPA|/k/}}, the [[voiceless velar plosive]], is often pronounced as {{IPA|[ɣ]}}, a [[voiced velar fricative]], between vowels.<ref name="Broadwell15 2006" />
: {{IPA|/k/}}→{{IPA|[ɣ]}}/V_V
: ''im-ofi-aki̱lih'' → [ɪmofiyəɣẽːlih]
: III-dog-indeed
: 'his own dog'

* The [[voiceless glottal fricative]] {{IPA|/h/}} is often pronounced like a [[voiceless palatal fricative]] {{IPA|[ç]}} when it precedes the [[voiceless palato-alveolar affricate]] {{IPA|/tʃ/}}.<ref name="Broadwell16 2006" />
: {{IPA|/h/}}→{{IPA|[ç]}}/_{{IPA|tʃ}}
: ''katihchish'' → [katɪçtʃɪʃ]
: 'how'

===Vowels===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
! rowspan="2" |
! colspan="2" |[[Short vowel|Short]]{{ref|v1|1}}
! rowspan="2" |[[Long vowel|Long]]
! rowspan="2" |[[Nasal vowel|Nasal]]{{ref|v2|2}}
|-
!<small>tense</small>
!<small>lax</small>
|-
! [[Close front unrounded vowel|Close front]]
|{{IPA|i}}
|{{IPA|ɪ}}
|{{IPA|iː}}
|{{IPA|ĩː~ẽː}}
|-
! [[Close-mid back unrounded vowel|Close-mid back]]
|{{IPA|o}}
|{{IPA|ʊ}}
|{{IPA|oː}}
|{{IPA|õː}}
|-
! [[Open central unrounded vowel|Open central]]
|{{IPA|a}}
|{{IPA|ə}}
|{{IPA|aː}}
|{{IPA|ãː}}
|}

# {{note|v1}} Lax vowels occur more often in closed syllables.<ref name="Broadwell16-18 2006" /> In traditional orthography, ''ʋ'' usually indicates {{IPA|[ə]}} and ''u'' usually indicates {{IPA|[ʊ]}}. Exceptions include ''pokoli'' (''traditional'') for {{IPA|/pʊk.koli/}}, ''imalakusi'' for {{IPA|/imaːlakosi/}}. The traditional orthography does not distinguish lax and tense front vowels; instead it indicates {{IPA|/iː/}} with ''e''.
# {{note|v2}} Nasal vowels are intrinsically long.

====Pitch====
# In Choctaw, very few words are distinguished only by pitch accent.<ref name="Broadwell16-18 2006">Broadwell (2006:16-18)</ref> Nouns in Choctaw have pitch realization at the penultimate syllable or the ultimate syllable.<ref name="Broadwell16-18 2006" /> Verbs in Choctaw will have pitch realization at morphemes indicating tense, but sometimes, pitch directly precedes the tense morpheme.<ref name="Broadwell16-18 2006" />

===Syllable structure===
{| class="wikitable"
|+Syllables of Choctaw<ref name="Broadwell18-19 2006">Broadwell (2006:18-19)</ref>
! Light !! example !! meaning
|-
| V|| '''a'''.bih|| 'to kill'
|-
| CV|| '''no'''.sih|| 'to sleep
|-
! Heavy !! example !! meaning
|-
| VV|| '''ii'''.chih|| 'to drive'
|-
| CVV|| '''pii'''.ni'|| 'boat, train'
|-
| V̱|| '''a̱'''.chi'|| 'quilt'
|-
| CV̱|| '''ta̱'''.chi'|| 'corn'
|-
| VC||''' ish'''.ki'|| 'mother'
|-
| CVC|| ha.'''bish'''.ko'|| 'nose'
|-
! Superheavy !! example !! meaning
|-
| VVC|| '''óok'''.cha-cha|| 'she/he woke up and ...'
|-
| CVVC|| '''náaf'''.ka|| 'dress'
|-
| V̱C|| '''a̱t'''|| 'come and'
|-
| CV̱C|| ok.'''hi̱sh'''|| 'medicine'
|}

# As is in the chart above, there are three syllable structure types in Choctaw: light, heavy, and super heavy. Possible syllables in Choctaw must contain at least one vowel of any quality.<ref name="Broadwell18-19 2006">Broadwell (2006:18-19)</ref>
# Syllables cannot end with a consonant clusters CC. However, there is an exception with the structure *(C)VCC if a word in Choctaw ends with the suffix /-t/.<ref name="Broadwell18-19 2006" />
# Syllables do not begin with consonant clusters CC, but there is an exception in an initial /i-/ deletion, which results in a syllable *CCV .<ref name="Broadwell18-19 2006" />

====Rhythmic lengthening====
* Rhythmic lengthening is the process of lengthening the vowel duration of an even-numbered CV syllable in Choctaw. However, vowels at the end of words are not permitted to undergo that process. Also, if an even-numbered syllable is a verbal prefixes class I or III, the affix's vowel may not undergo lengthening, and the same holds true for noun prefixes class III as well.<ref name="Broadwell 21-26 2006">Broadwell (2006:21-26)</ref>
: CV-CV-CVC→CV-CV<big>'''꞉'''</big>-CVC
:salahatok→sala꞉hatok

====Smallest possible word====
* The smallest possible word in Choctaw must contain either two short vowels or one long vowel.<ref name="Broadwell 20 2006">Broadwell (2006:20)</ref>
*: ''ofi''' 'dog'
*: ''waak'' 'cow'

* /a-/ insertion: there are verbs with only one short vowel in their roots. Without an affix attached to the verb root, the verbs become impossible utterances because Choctaw requires either two short vowels or a long vowel for a word to be formed. An initial A-prefix is thus attached to the root of the verb.<ref name="Broadwell18-21 2006">Broadwell (2006:18-21)</ref>
: *bih → a-bih

===Phonological processes===
====Glide insertion====
* When a verb root ends with a long vowel, a glide /w/ or /j/ is inserted after the long vowel.<ref name="Broadwell125 2006">Broadwell (2006:125)</ref>
* ∅→/wa/ <big>'''/'''</big> V꞉____
# Where V꞉ is oo
# boo-a-h→bóowah
* ∅→/ja/ <big>'''/'''</big> V꞉____
# Where V꞉ can be either ii or aa
# talaa-a-h→talaayah

====/i-/ deletion====
* In Choctaw, there is a group of nouns which contain an initial /i-/ that encodes for 3rd person possession. It may be deleted, but if the /i/ is part of a VC syllable structure, the C is also deleted, because the resulting CCV syllable is rarely a permissible syllable structure at the onset of words.<ref name="Broadwell60-62 2006">Broadwell (2006:60-62)</ref>
:/i/→∅ <big>'''/'''</big> #____
: Part 1: /i + C/→∅ + /C/ <big>'''/'''</big> #____
: Part 2: /∅ + C/→∅ <big>'''/'''</big> #____
:ippókni'→ppókni'→pókni'

====/-l-/ infix assimilation====
* The verbal infix /l/ is pronounced /h, ch, or ɬ/ when /l/ precedes a voiceless consonant.<ref name="Broadwell124-125 2006">Broadwell (2006:124-125)</ref>
:l → {h, tʃ, ɬ} /_C<sub>[-voice]</sub>
:ho-l-tinah → ho-ɬ-tinah

====Phonological processes of the suffix /-li/====

* There are several assimilation processes that occur with the suffix /-li/. When the verbal suffix /-li/ is preceded by /f/ /ɫ/ /h/ /m/ /n/ or /w/, the /l/ assimilates to the corresponding consonant that precedes it.<ref name="Broadwell26-27 2006">Broadwell (2006:26-27)</ref> Also, the verbal suffix /-li/ is preceded by the consonant /b/, the /l/ is realized as /b/.<ref name="Broadwell26-27 2006" /> Third, when the verbal suffix /-li/ is preceded by the consonant /p/, the /p/ is pronounced as /b/.<ref name="Broadwell26-27 2006" /> Lastly, when the verbal suffix /-li/ is preceded by the consonant /t/, the /t/ is pronounced as /l/.<ref name="Broadwell26-27 2006" />
:/l/→/f, ɫ, h, m, n, w/ <big>'''/'''</big> /f, ɫ, h, m, n, w/____
: /kobaf-li-h/→ kobaaffih

: /l/→/b/ <big>'''/'''</big> /b/____
: /atob-li-h/→ atobbih

: /p/→/b/ <big>'''/'''</big> ____/l/
: /tap-li-h/→ tablih

: /t/→/l/ <big>'''/'''</big> ____/l/
: /palhat-li-h/→ pallalih

* There are two deletion processes that occur with the suffix /-li/. If the verbal suffix /-li/ precedes the verbal suffix /-tʃi/, the suffix /-li/ may be deleted if the resulting syllable, after deletion, is a consonant cluster.<ref name="Broadwell130 2006">Broadwell (2006:130)</ref> The other process occurs when the verbal suffix /-li/ precedes the suffix /-t/, which results with the suffix /-li/ being sometimes deleted if the syllable /-li/ has not already gone under phonological processes as described above.<ref name="Broadwell219 2006">Broadwell (2006:219)</ref>
:/li/→∅ <big>'''/'''</big> ____/tʃi/
:balii-li-chi-h→balii-chi-h

:/li/→∅ <big>'''/'''</big> ____/t/
:balii-li--h→balii-t

====Schwa insertion====
* Schwa insertion: when a glottal fricative {{IPA|/h/}} or a velar stop {{IPA|/k/}} precedes a voiced consonant within a consonant cluster, a schwa {{IPA|/ə/}} is inserted to break up the consonant cluster.<ref name="Broadwell16 2006">Broadwell (2006:16)</ref>
:∅→{{IPA|/ə/}} <big>'''/'''</big> {{IPA|/h/}}____[+voiced] consonant
:∅→{{IPA|/ə/}} <big>'''/'''</big> {{IPA|/k/}}____[+voiced] consonant
:'ahnih'→/ahənih/

====Vowel deletion====
* Vowel deletion is the process of a short vowel being deleted at a morpheme boundary. It occurs when an affix containing a short vowel at the morpheme boundary binds to a word that also contains a short vowel at the morpheme boundary.<ref name="Broadwell26 2006">Broadwell (2006:26)</ref>
# For most vowel deletion cases, the preceding short vowel is deleted at the morpheme boundary.<ref name="Broadwell26 2006" />
:V→∅ <big>'''/'''</big> ____V
:/baliil<big>'''i-aa'''</big>tʃĩ-h/→baliil<big>'''aa'''</big>tʃĩh
# If a class II suffix attaches to a word that results with two short vowels occurring together, the short vowel that follows the class II suffix is deleted.<ref name="Broadwell26 2006" />
:V→∅ <big>'''/'''</big> V____
:/s<big>'''a-i'''</big>baa-waʃoohah/→s<big>'''a'''</big>baa-waʃoohah