Biloxi language

Extinct Siouan language of Southern US Biloxi (Biloxi: Tanêksąyaa) is an extinct Siouan-Catawban language formerly spoken by the Native American Biloxi tribe in present-day Mississippi, Louisiana, and southeastern Texas. Classification Biloxi is an Ohio Valley, or Southeastern, Siouan language. It is related to Ofo and Tutelo. History A Dictionary of the Biloxi and Ofo Languages The Biloxi tribe first encountered Europeans in 1699, along the Pascagoula River. By the mid-18th century, they had settled in central Louisiana. Some Biloxi were also noted in Texas in the early 19th century. By the early 19th century, their numbers had already begun to dwindle. By 1934, the last native speaker, Emma Jackson, was in her eighties. Morris Swadesh and Mary Haas spoke with her in 1934 and confirmed that she knew the language. Phonology Multiple possible inventories have been suggested. This article follows that of Einaudi (1976). Vowels Along with contrastive nasalization, Biloxi also has phonemic vowel length. Dorsey & Swanton (1912) postulated phonemic vowel length, which Haas and Swadesh verified in speaking with Emma Jackson in 1934. Their findings appeared in Haas (1968). Also, there ma