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Choctaw language

Choctaw language

1 9.9
A language the Choctaw people speak in the southeastern United States
  • noun
: idioma choctaw
  • The congregation was mostly Choctaw, and services were conducted in the Choctaw language.

Examples

  • Although she was not an Indian, Pauline had command of the Choctaw language and was a member of the congregation at Chish Oktok.

    Academic text (1990)
  • Her rich interior life could only be released in the soft words of the Choctaw language, in the conversations she had with her children, in the stories she told her grandchildren, and in the songs she sang to them.

    Academic text (1990)
  • The congregation was mostly Choctaw, and services were conducted in the Choctaw language.

  • Her rich interior life could only be released in the soft words of the Choctaw language.

  • Although she was not an Indian, Pauline had command of the Choctaw language.

Synonyms

Choctaw
vsChoctaw language
1 9.9

A Native American language spoken by the Choctaw people

is the same language but specifies its traditional southeastern region
Chahta language
vsChoctaw language
9.9

The language spoken by the Choctaw people in parts of Mississippi and Oklahoma

is the same language but presented with a different name form
Chahta
vsChoctaw language
9.9

A Native American language spoken by the Choctaw people

is the same language but highlights its traditional southeastern location

Surface Forms

Morphology

Choctaw + language

The meaning 'the language of the Choctaw people' is directly and compositionally derived from the constituents 'Choctaw' (the name of the people/language) and 'language' (a system of speech). This proper-name + noun pattern is cross-linguistically common (e.g., 'Spanish language') and should be immediately understandable to a B1 learner who knows both words.

Etymology

Choctaw language gets its name from the Choctaw people, who call themselves 'Chahta'. So Choctaw language simply means the language spoken by that group today.