Editing Osage language (section)

===Consonants===

There are thirty-one consonant phonemes in Osage,<ref name=":0" /> twenty-two of which are voiceless and nine are voiced. However, Osage has a rich system of stop sounds, known as the stop series, or the stop sequence. (See below)

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! colspan="2" |
! [[Bilabial consonant|Bilabial]]
! [[Dentalveolar]]
! [[Postalveolar consonant|Postalveolar]]
! [[Velar consonant|Velar]]
! [[Glottal consonant|Glottal]]
|-
! colspan="2" | [[Nasal consonant|Nasals]]
| {{IPA link|m}}
| {{IPA link|n}}
|
|
|
|-
! rowspan="5" | [[Stop consonant|Stops]]
! <small>[[Preaspirated|Preaspirated (fortis)]]</small>
| {{IPA link|ʰp}}~{{IPA link|pː}}
| colspan="2" | {{IPA link|ʰt}}~{{IPA link|tː}}, {{IPA link|ʰts}}~{{IPA link|tːs}}, {{IPA link|ʰtʃ}}~{{IPA link|tːʃ}}
| {{IPA link|ʰk}}~{{IPA link|kː}}
|
|-
! <small>[[Tenuis consonant|Tenuis (lenis)]]</small>
| {{IPA link|p}}
| colspan="2" | {{IPA link|t}}, {{IPA link|ts}}, {{IPA link|tʃ}}
| {{IPA link|k}}
| ({{IPA link|ʔ}})
|-
! <small>[[Aspirated consonant|Aspirated]]</small>
| {{IPA|px}}~{{IPA|pʃ}}
| {{IPA|tx}}~{{IPA link|tsʰ}}
|
| {{IPA link|kx}}~{{IPA|kʃ}}
|
|-
! <small>[[Ejective consonant|Ejective]]</small>
| {{IPA link|pʼ}}
| {{IPA link|tsʼ}}
|
| {{IPA link|kʼ}}
|
|-
! <small>[[Voice (phonetics)|Voiced]]</small>
| {{IPA|br}}
|
|
|
|
|-
! colspan="2" | [[Fricative|Fricatives]]
|
| {{IPA link|s}}, {{IPA link|z}}
| {{IPA link|ʃ}}, {{IPA link|ʒ}}
| {{IPA link|x}}, {{IPA link|ɣ}}
| {{IPA link|h}}
|-
! colspan="2" | [[Approximant|Approximants]]
|
| {{IPA link|ð}}, {{IPA link|l}}, ({{IPA link|r}})
|
| {{IPA link|w}}
|
|}

====Stop series====

The stop series can be grouped according to five categories:

*Voiceless preaspirated or fortis: which may be pronounced as geminates or preaspirated. As in other Siouan languages they sometimes derive from h-C sequences, but not always.
*Voiceless plain or lenis: which are tenuis, and often lightly voiced.
*Postaspirated: which never appear as a surface form.<ref name="Quintero, 2004, p.19">Quintero, 2004, p.19</ref>
*Ejective {{IPA|/pʼ/, /t͡sʼ/, /kʼ/}}. They cannot appear as the second member of a consonant cluster. Historical *tʼ is {{IPA|/cʼ/}} in Osage.<ref>Quintero, 2004, p.24</ref>
*Voiced: with b being the only member in this category. The only environment this sound may appear in is in the cluster {{IPA|[br]}}. The cluster itself generally appears in the first verb form, otherwise it is somewhat infrequent.<ref name="Quintero, 2004, p.19"/>(see historical phonology section).
The ejective, fortis, and lenis series of the alphabet are not distinguished in Osage orthography.

Listed below is some features and phonological alternations of Osage:

*{{IPA|[px], [tx], [kx]}} occur before back vowels, {{IPA|[pʃ], [tsʰ], [kʃ]}} (usually) before the other vowels.<ref name=":0">Quintero, 2004, p.16</ref>
*The voiceless unaspirated affricate {{IPA|/ts/}} has two allophones: {{IPA|[tʃ]}} after {{IPA|[ʃ]}}; elsewhere it is {{IPA|[ts]}}.<ref name="article"/>
:{{IPA|/ts/ → [tʃ]/_[ʃ]}}

:Examples:
::::íðotse 'be open'
::::ihtṍtse 'son-in-law'
::::ðekṍõce 'now'
::::{{IPA|[mɑ̃ʃtʃĩ́kɛ]}} 'rabbit'
::::{{IPA|[ʃtʃɛ́]}} 'you went'

*The glottal stop {{IPA|[ʔ]}} appears in clusters only after p, c, k, and it is not considered a true consonant of Osage. It is best thought of as a phonetic device used occasionally at utterance level, and it is typically to separate vowels that would otherwise contract.<ref>Quintero, 2009, p.xviii</ref>
*{{IPA|/x/}} has two allophones, {{IPA|[x]}} and {{IPA|[ɣ]}}. {{IPA|[ɣ]}} occurs between vowels, elsewhere it is {{IPA|[x]}}.
:{{IPA|/x/ → [ɣ]/V__V}}

:Examples:
::::{{IPA|[hóxpe]}} 'cough'
::::{{IPA|[hpéɣe]}} 'gourd'
::::{{IPA|[nɑ̃́ɑ̃ɣe]}} 'spirit'
::::{{IPA|[hkáɣe]}} 'crow'

*The phoneme {{IPA|/h/}} is always voiceless.
*{{IPA|/ð/}} usually has a single allophone {{IPA|[ð]}}, but in the Hominy dialect it has two allophones: {{IPA|[d]}} initially before {{IPA|/a/}} and {{IPA|[ð]}} elsewhere.<ref name="article"/>
:{{IPA|/ð/ → [d]/#__a}}
 
:Examples:
::::ðɑ̃lĩ {{IPA|[dɑ̃dlĩ]}} 'good'
::::ðɑ̃brĩ {{IPA|[dɑ̃bəðĩ]}} 'three'
::::ðĩe {{IPA|[ðĩɛ]}} 'you'
::::cʼéðe {{IPA|[tsʼɛˑðɛ]}} 'he killed it'

*The {{IPA|/br/}} cluster also depends on dialect. It is sometimes pronounced {{IPA|[bəl]}} or {{IPA|[bər]}}.<ref name="article"/>
*In some instances, due to morphologically complex formations, {{IPA|[r]}} is an allophone of {{IPA|/ð/}}<ref name="Quintero, 2004, p.19"/>

:Examples:
:::: {{IPA|brĩiʃtɑ̃}} 'I'm finished'
:::: {{IPA|abrĩ}} 'I have'
:::: {{IPA|waabrṍ}} 'I am unable'
:

The dentalveolar obstruents are often fricated: the ejective always (though it has other sources as well), and the other series before the front vowels {{IPA|/i ĩ e u/}}. Exceptions occur due to compounding and other derivational processes. For example, from ''hką́ą́ce'' 'fruit' and ''oolá'' 'put in' is ''hkąącóla'' 'pie'. (The fricated allophone is written ''c''.)

''Č, hč'' are rare, and only found in diminutives: ''č'' only in two words, ''čóopa'' 'a little', ''čáahpa'' 'squat', and ''hč'' for ''hc'' in endearment forms of kin terms like ''wihčóšpa'' 'my grandchild'. In Hominy, ''šc'' is pronounced ''šč''.

====Consonant clusters====

Osage has a simple expanded CV syllabic template: (C(C)) V (V).<ref>Quintero, 2004, p.4</ref> All consonants occur initially and medially; they never occur in final position. Consonant clusters of the type CC only occur in initial and medial positions. Furthermore, only voiceless consonants form clusters, with the exception of {{IPA|[br]}}.<ref name="article"/> 
The initial clusters are {{IPA|[pʃ] [kʃ] [tsʼ] [st] [sts] [sk] [ʃt] [ʃk] [br]}}, excluding aspirated stops.

:
:Examples:
::::          pʃĩta 'I'll come (to your house)'
::::          kʃí 'he reached home'
::::          ʰtséka 'crazy'
::::          stúʒa 'you wash it'
::::          stsétse 'long'
::::          skɑ̃ 'white'
::::          ʃtátɑ̃ 'you drank it'
::::          ʃkṍʃta 'you wanted it'
::::          bráze 'torn'
:
Medial clusters may be divided into two groups:

*Cluster whose first C is p, t, c, or k

:
:Examples:
::::          tapʼõkʼe 'he hit it'
::::          wécʼa 'snake'
::::          nɑ̃ḱṍ 'he heard it'
::::          aṍpha 'I understand it'
::::          áthɑ̃ 'he kicked it'
::::          áððikhɑ̃ 'he lay down'
::::          épʃe 'I spoke'
::::          ðacpé 'to eat'
::::          nĩ́kʃe 'you are here'
::::          nã́kwĩ 'both, we two'
:
*Cluster whose first C is s, ʃ, x, or h
:
:Examples:
::::          ĩ́spe 'ax'
::::          laská 'flower'
::::          ókisce 'half'
::::          ðaʃtú 'to bite'
::::          paʃpú 'to chip'
::::          iʃtá 'eyes'
::::          walúʃks 'bug'
::::          mɑ̃ʃcĩ́ke 'rabbit'
::::          mɑ̃xpú 'clouds'
::::          ðaxtáke 'to bite'
::::          mõĩ́xka 'soil/dirt'
::::          wĩ́xci 'one'
: