Editing Yuchi language (section)

===Vowels===

Yuchi has oral and nasal vowels. Oral vowels are defined as being created by the raising of the soft palate to the nasopharyngeal wall, creating a velopharyngeal space within the oral cavity; nasal vowels, on the other hand, are typically defined as being created by the lowering of the soft palate, allowing air to escape through the nasal cavity.<ref>{{cite book |last=Crystal |first=David |title=The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language |edition=Third |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2010 |page=136}}</ref><!-- <ref>{{Cite web |last=gazettejohnbaglione |date=2017-11-21 |title=Yuchi Language Project seeks to revitalize indigenous identity through common tongue |url=https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2017/11/yuchi-language-project-seeks-to-revitalize-indigenous-identity-through-common-tongue/ |access-date=2025-01-10 |website=Harvard Gazette |language=en-US}}</ref> -->

Two vowel charts appears below.{{sfn|Linn|2001|p=55}} The vowels below represent the ''phonetic'' inventory, meaning the set of all (or most) sounds in the language. The ''phonemic'' inventory, those sounds which contrastively mark differences in meaning, are highlighted in the list below the vowel charts.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+ Oral Vowels
!
![[Front vowel|Front]]
![[Central vowel|Central]]
![[Back vowel|Back]]
|-
![[Close vowel|Close]]
|{{IPA link|i}}
|
|{{IPA link|ʊ}}, {{IPA link|u}}
|-
![[Close-mid vowel|Close-mid]]
|{{IPA link|e}}
|
|{{IPA link|o}}
|-
![[Mid vowel|Mid]]
|
|{{IPA link|ə}}
|
|-
![[Open-mid vowel|Open-mid]]
|{{IPA link|ɛ}}
|
|{{IPA link|ʌ}}, {{IPA link|ɔ}}
|-
![[Open vowel|Open]]
|{{IPA link|æ}}, {{IPA link|a}}
|
|
|}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+ Nasal Vowels
!
![[Front vowel|Front]]
![[Central vowel|Central]]
![[Back vowel|Back]]
|-
![[Close vowel|Close]]
|{{IPA link|ĩ}}, {{IPA link|ɪ̃}}
|
|
|-
![[Close-mid vowel|Close-mid]]
|{{IPA link|ẽ}}
|
|{{IPA link|õ}}
|-
![[Mid vowel|Mid]]
|
|{{IPA link|ə̃}}
|
|-
![[Open-mid vowel|Open-mid]]
|{{IPA link|ɛ̃}}
|
|{{IPA link|ɔ̃}}
|-
![[Open vowel|Open]]
|{{IPA link|æ̃}}, {{IPA link|ã}}
|
|
|}

The phonemic vowels of Yuchi are {{IPA|/i, u, e, o, æ, a, ĩ, ẽ, õ, æ̃, ã/}}; some levels of phonological or morphological variation must therefore be occurring in order for all of the sounds above to be possible.

====Phonological variation====

Phonological variation often occurs in different kinds of morphological environments. For example, the phoneme {{IPA|/o/}} is often pronounced as {{IPA|/ʊ/}} in 1st-person singular and impersonal 3rd-person pronouns by Big Pond speakers. Also, the phonemes {{IPA|/a/}} and {{IPA|/o/}} can become {{IPA|[ə]}} in unstressed environments.{{sfn|Linn|2001|p=43}}

====Length====

Vowel length indicates grammatical function, such as superlative or comparative adjective forms or emphasis. It may also indicate contracted morphemes, and thus is not a phonological process but rather a morphological one.{{sfn|Linn|2001|p=52}}