Appendix:Choctaw pronunciation

The charts below show the way in which the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) represents Choctaw pronunciations in Wiktionary entries.

See Choctaw phonology at Wikipedia for a more thorough look at the sounds of Choctaw.

Consonants
IPA Examples English approximation
Traditional Modern
/b/ bok ball
// chahta Choctaw
/f~ɸ/ foni fuss
/h/ hattak, konih hut
/k/ koni cold
/l/ lapish last
/ɬ~θ/ alhpoa ether
/m/ mahli must
/n/ nvni nani not
/p/ pokkoli puck
/s/ sakli fast
/ʃ/ shunshi shoshi shall
/t/ takkon tall
/w/ wak water
/j/ yakni yard
/ʔ/[1] ofi vt ofi'at the glottal stop in uh-oh
Allophones
/ç/ hohchifo human
/ɣ/ oka Like Spanish agua
Pitch accent
á chokfi
([chókfi])
a high tone on the stress syllable
Vowels
IPA Examples English approximation
Short vowels
/a/ oka brat
/i/ ofi pique
/o/ ofi storm
Long vowels
/aː/ ayokla spa
/iː/ tik see
/oː/ pokkoli low
Nasal vowels
// a no equivalent
// o song
/ĩː~ẽː/ siti sing
Lax vowels
/ə/ hattak uh
/ɪ/ ishki kit
/ʊ/ pokkoli put
Marginal vowels
// yakoke Mary
  1. ^ The glottal stop [ʔ] is usually not pronounced. Some linguists purport that all final vowels in Choctaw are followed by [ʔ] or[h].