Editing Muscogee language (section)

==Phonology==
The phoneme inventory of Muscogee consists of thirteen [[consonant]]s and three [[vowel quality|vowel qualities]], which distinguish [[vowel length|length]], [[tone (linguistics)|tone]] and [[nasalization]].<ref>Hardy 2005:211-12</ref> It also makes use of the [[gemination]] of [[stop consonant|stops]], [[fricative consonant|fricatives]] and [[sonorant]]s.<ref>Martin, 2011, p. 50–51</ref>

===Consonants===
{| class="wikitable" style=text-align:center
|+ [[Consonant]] [[phonemes]] of Muscogee<ref name="Martin_a">Martin, 2011, p. 83</ref>
!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]]
| {{IPAlink|m}}
| {{IPAlink|n}}
|
|
|
|
|-
! [[Plosive]]
| {{IPAlink|p}}
| {{IPAlink|t}}
|
| {{IPAlink|tʃ}}
| {{IPAlink|k}}
|
|-
! [[Fricative]]
| {{IPAlink|f}}
| {{IPAlink|s}}
| {{IPAlink|ɬ}}
|
|
| {{IPAlink|h}}
|-
! [[Approximant]]
| {{IPAlink|w}}
|
| {{IPAlink|l}}
| {{IPAlink|j}}
|
|
|}

====Plosives====
There are four voiceless stops in Muscogee: {{IPA|/p t t͡ʃ k/}}. {{IPA|/t͡ʃ/}} is a [[voiceless palatal affricate]] and patterns as a single consonant and so with the other voiceless stops. {{IPA|/t͡ʃ/}} has an [[alveolar consonant|alveolar]] [[allophone]] {{IPAblink|t͡s}} before {{IPA|/k/}}.<ref>Martin, 2011, p.48-49</ref> The [[obstruent]] consonants {{IPA|/p t t͡ʃ k/}} are voiced to {{IPA|[b d d͡ʒ ɡ]}} between [[sonorant]]s and [[vowel]]s but remain voiceless at the end of a [[syllable]].<ref>Martin, 2011, p. 62</ref>

Between instances of {{IPAblink|o}}, or after {{IPA|[o]}} at the end of a syllable, the velar {{IPA|/k/}} is realized as the uvular {{IPAblink|q}} or {{IPAblink|ɢ}}. For example:<ref name="Martin">Martin, 2011, p. 63</ref>
:{|
|''in-co'''k'''o''
|
|'his or her house'
|
|{{IPA|[ɪnd͡ʒʊɢo]}}
|-
|''to'''k'''ná:wa''
|
|'money'
|
|{{IPA|[toqnɑːwə]}}
|}

====Fricatives====
There are four voiceless fricatives in Muscogee: {{IPA|/f s ɬ h/}}. {{IPA|/f/}} can be realized as either labiodental {{IPAblink|f}} or bilabial {{IPAblink|ɸ}} in [[place of articulation]]. Predominantly among speakers in Florida, the articulation of {{IPA|/s/}} is more [[laminal]], resulting in {{IPA|/s/}} being realized as {{IPAblink|ʃ}}, but for most speakers, {{IPA|/s/}} is a voiceless apico-alveolar fricative {{IPAblink|s}}.<ref>Martin, 2011, p. 49</ref>

Like {{IPA|/k/}}, the glottal {{IPA|/h/}} is sometimes realized as the uvular [{{IPA|[[Voiceless uvular fricative|χ]]}}] when it is preceded by {{IPA|[o]}} or when syllable-final:<ref name="Martin" />
:{|
|''o'''h'''-leyk-itá''
|
|'chair'
|
|{{IPA|[oχlejɡɪdə]}}
|-
|''o'''h'''ɬolopi:''
|
|'year'
|
|{{IPA|[oχɬolobiː]}}
|}

====Sonorants====
The sonorants in Muscogee are two nasals ({{IPA|/m/}} and {{IPA|/n/}}), two [[semivowel]]s ({{IPA|/w/}} and {{IPA|/j/}}), and the lateral {{IPA|/l/}}, all [[voice (phonetics)|voiced]].<ref>Martin, 2011, p.49-50</ref> Nasal assimilation occurs in Muscogee: {{IPA|/n/}} becomes {{IPAblink|ŋ}} before {{IPA|/k/}}.<ref name="Martin" />

Sonorants are devoiced when followed by {{IPA|/h/}} in the same syllable and results in a single voiceless consonant:<ref>Martin, 2011, p.64</ref>
:{|
|''ca'''mh'''cá:ka''
|
|'bell'
|
|{{IPA|[t͡ʃəm̥t͡ʃɑːɡə]}}
|-
|''akcá'''wh'''ko''
|
|'a type of water bird'
|
|{{IPA|[ɑkt͡ʃəw̥ko]}}
|}

====Geminates====
All plosives and fricatives in Muscogee can be [[gemination|geminated]] (lengthened). Some sonorants may also be geminated, but {{IPA|[hh]}} and {{IPA|[mm]}} are less common than other sonorant geminates, especially in roots. For the majority of speakers, except for those influenced by the [[Alabama language|Alabama]] or [[Koasati language|Koasati]] languages, the geminate {{IPA|[ww]}} does not occur.<ref name="Martin_b">Martin, 2011, p. 51</ref>

===Vowels===
The vowel phonemes of Muscogee are as follows:<ref name="Martin_a" />

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
!
! [[Front vowel|Front]]
! [[Central vowel|Central]]
! [[Back vowel|Back]]
|-
! [[Close vowel|Close]]
| {{IPAlink|i}}   {{IPAlink|iː}}
|
|
|-
! [[Close-mid vowel|Close-mid]]
|
|
| {{IPAlink|o}}   {{IPAlink|oː}}
|-
! [[Open vowel|Open]]
|
| {{IPAlink|ɑ}}   {{IPAlink|ɑː}}
|
|}

There are three short vowels {{IPA|/i ɑ o/}} and three long vowels {{IPA|/iː ɑː oː/}}. There are also the nasal vowels {{IPA|/ĩ ɑ̃ õ ĩː ɑ̃ː õː/}} (in the linguistic orthography, they are often written with an [[ogonek]] under them or a following superscript "n"). Most occurrences of nasal vowels are the result of nasal assimilation or the nasalizing grade, but there are some forms that show contrast between oral and nasal vowels:<ref name="Martin_c">Martin, 2011, p. 168-169</ref>
:{|
|''p'''ó'''-ɬki''
|
|'our father'
|-
|''op'''ó<sup>n</sup>'''ɬko''
|
|'cutworm'
|}

====Short vowels====
The three short vowels {{IPA|/i ɑ o/}} can be realized as the lax and centralized ({{IPA|[ɪ ə ʊ]}}) when a neighboring consonant is [[coronal consonant|coronal]] or in closed syllables. However, {{IPA|/ɑ/}} will generally not centralize when it is followed by {{IPA|/h/}} or {{IPA|/k/}} in the same syllable, and {{IPA|/o/}} will generally remain noncentral if it is word-final.<ref name="Martin_b" /> Initial vowels can be deleted in Muscogee, mostly applying to the vowel {{IPA|/i/}}. The deletion will affect the pitch of the following syllable by creating a higher-than-expected pitch on the new initial syllable. Furthermore, initial vowel deletion in the case of single-morpheme, short words such as ''ifa'' 'dog' or ''icó'' 'deer' is impossible, as the shortest a Muscogee word can be is a one-syllable word ending in a long vowel (''fóː'' 'bee') or a two-syllable word ending with a short vowel (''ací'' 'corn').<ref>Martin, 2011, pp. 64, 72-23</ref>

====Long vowels====
There are three long vowels in Muscogee ({{IPA|/iː ɑː oː/}}), which are slightly longer than short vowels and are never centralized.

Long vowels are rarely followed by a sonorant in the same syllable. Therefore, when syllables are created (often from suffixation or contractions) in which a long vowel is followed by a sonorant, the vowel is shortened:<ref>Martin, 2011, p. 64–65</ref>
:{|
|''in-ɬa:m-itá''
|
|'to uncover, open'
|-
|''in-ɬam-k-itá''
|
|'to be uncovered, open'
|}

====Diphthongs====
In Muscogee, there are three diphthongs, generally realized as {{IPA|[əɪ ʊj əʊ]}}.<ref name=":0">Martin, 2011, p. 183</ref>

====Nasal vowels====
Both long and short vowels can be nasalized (the distinction between {{lang|mus|acces}} and {{lang|mus|ącces}} [[#Nonstandard orthography|below]]), but long nasal vowels are more common. Nasal vowels usually appear as a result of a contraction, as the result of a neighboring nasal consonant, or as the result of nasalizing grade, a grammatical [[ablaut]], which indicates intensification through lengthening and nasalization of a vowel ({{transliteration|mus|likoth-}} 'warm' with the nasalizing grade intensifies the word to {{lang|mus|likŏ:<sup>n</sup>th-os-i:}} 'nice and warm').<ref>Martin, 2011, pp. 53–54, 95</ref> Nasal vowels may also appear as part of a suffix that indicates a question ({{lang|mus|o:sk-ihá:<sup>n</sup>}} 'I wonder if it's raining').<ref name="Martin_c" />

====Tones====
There are three phonemic tones in Muscogee; they are generally unmarked except in the linguistic orthography: high (marked in the linguistic orthography with an [[acute accent]]: '''á''', etc.), low (unmarked: '''a''', etc.), and falling (marked with a [[circumflex]]: '''â''', etc.).