Biloxi was a Siouan language, which was once spoken by the Biloxi tribe in present-day Mississippi, Louisiana, and southeastern Texas. History The Biloxi tribe first encountered Europeans in 1699, along the Pascagoula River. By the mid-18th century, they had settled in central Louisiana. Some were also noted in Texas in the early 19th century. By the early 19th century, their numbers were already dwindling. 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 spoke the language. Classification Biloxi is an Ohio Valley, or Southeastern, Siouan language. It is related to Ofo and Tutelo. 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. Notes: May be either open-mid or close-mid. Biloxi may have a phonetic schwa, but Dorsey-Swanton (1912) and Haas (1968) are consistent in marking it. Dorsey & Swanton (1912) postulated phonemic vowel length, which was verified by Haas and Swadesh in speaking with Emma Jackson in 1934. Their findings appeared in Haas (1968). Also, there may still be some uncertainty as to whether certain words contain /ą/ or /an/. Consonants Notes: Has a marginal status Biloxi may also have a phonemic aspiration distinction for some segments. Phonotactics Syllable structure is (C)(C)(C)V(C) or (C)V(C)(C). However, clusters of three consonants are rare. Most words end in a vowel. The others usually end in /k/ or /x/ as a result of deletion: tox from toho "he fell." Few consonant clusters end syllables. Most exceptions are caused by vowel deletion: tohoxk from tohoxka "horse." The following consonant clusters are observed: Geminates do not occur. /n/ sonorants and probably /d/ occur only as the second elements of clusters. /h/ and /m/ are never the second element. Fricatives do not co-occur. There are a few three-consonant clusters, all of the form C+s+stop or C+x+glide and some with alternate forms: pst pstuki~pastuki 'she sews' psd psdehi~psudehi 'knife' (also spdehi) tsp atspąhi 'it adheres' (hadespapahi?) tsk kutska~kudeska 'fly' ątska 'infant' kst aksteke 'he is stingy' nsk apadenska 'butterfly' pxw pxwe~pxe 'he punches' txy akutxyi 'letter' kxw xoxo kxwehe 'he sits on a swing' įkxwe 'always' kxy pukxyi 'loop' Grammar Morphophonemics There are many verb roots and two mode markers with the morphophonemically-conditioned alternation e~a~i (underlying ||E||): dE 'go' andE, yukE 'be' yE 'cause' E