Phonology
Distinctive Features Distinctive feature When a feature distinguishes one phoneme from another, it is a distinctive feature. This difference also accounts for the meaning difference. See the following minimal pairs. seal seal vs. zeal here, here, the distinct distinctive ive feature feature [voice [voice]] tells tells [s] from [z]. The two are contra contrasti sting ng phone phonemes mes.. But the two are neithe neitherr alloph allophone oness nor nor in comple complemen mentary tary distri distribut bution ion.. The The only only difference is the distinctive feature [voicing]. bat/mat, rack/rock, see/zee Nondistinctive features Are identical phonemes, no different meanings, but just allophones. The allophones are predictable, redundant, nondistinctive, and nonphonemic. Example 1: nasality bean/bead The nasality feature occur before syllable-word-final nasal consonants. But the nasality doesn’t contribute to phonemes in English. Example 2: aspiration a. possible in the syllable initial position or before a stressed vowel: pill, till, kill, etc b. not possible after a syllable initial /s/: spill, still, skill In linguistics linguistics,, a distinctive feature is the most basic unit of phonological of phonological structure that may be analyzed in phonological theory. Distinctive features are grouped into categories according to the natural classes of segments they describe: major class features, laryngeal features, manner features, and place features. These feature categories in turn are further specified on the basis of the phonetic properties of the segments in question. Since the inception of the phonological analysis of distinctive features in the 1950 1950's, 's, featur features es traditi traditiona onally lly have have been been specifi specified ed by assign assigning ing them them binary binary values values to signif signify y that that the segment being described by the feature either possesses that phonetic property or it does not. Therefore, a positive value, [+], denotes the presence of a feature, while a negative value, [-], indicates its absence.
Major Class Features: The features that represent the major classes of sounds. 1.
[+/- consonantal] Consonantal segments are produced with an audible constriction in
the vocal tract, tract, like plosives plosives,, affricates affricates,, fricatives fricatives,, nasals nasals,, laterals and [r]. Vowels, glides and laryngeal segments are not consonantal. 2.
[+/- sonorant] This feature describes the type of oral constriction that can occur in the
vocal tract. [+son] designates the vowels and sonorant consonants consonants,, which are produced without without the imbalance imbalance of air pressure in the vocal tract that might cause turbulence. turbulence. [-son] alternatively describes the obstruents obstruents,, articulated with a noticeable turbulence caused by an imbalance of air pressure in the vocal tract.
3.
[+/- syllabic] Syllabic segments may function as the nucleus of a syllable syllable,, while their
counterparts, the [-syll] segments, may not. Laryngeal Features: Features : The features that specify the glottal states of sounds. 1.
[+/- voice] This feature indicates whether vibration of the vocal folds occurs with the
articulation of the segment. 2.
[+/- spread glottis] Used to indicate the aspiration of a segment, this feature denotes
the openness of the glottis. For [+sg] the vocal folds are spread apart wide enough for frication to occur; for [-sg] there is not the same friction-inducing spreading. 3.
[+/[+/- const constri rict cted ed glott glottis is]] The cons constri trict cted ed glot glotti tiss featur features es deno denote tess the degr degree ee of clos closur uree
of the glottis. [+cg] implies that the vocal folds are held closely together, enough so that air cannot pass through momentarily. [-cg] implies the opposite. articulation. Manner Features: The features that specify the manner of articulation. 1.
[+/[+/- conti continu nuan ant] t] Conti Continu nuan antt feat featur ures es desc descri ribe be the pass passag agee of air thro throug ugh h the the voca vocall
tract. [+cont] segments are produced without any significant obstruction in the tract, and so air passes through in a continuous stream. [-cont] segments on the other hand have such an obstruction, and so occlude the air flow at some point of articulation. 2.
[+/- nasal] This feature describes the position of the velum velum.. [+nas] segments are
produced by lowering the velum so that air can pass through the nasal tract. tract. [-nas] segments conversely are produced with a raised velum, blocking the passages of air to the nasal tract and shunting it to the oral tract. 3.
[+/- strident] The strident feature applies to obstruents only and refers to a type of
friction that is noisier that usual. This is caused by high energy white noise. noise. 4.
[+/- lateral] This feature designates the shape and positioning of the tongue with
respect to the oral tract. [+lat] segments are produced as the center of the tongue rises to contact the roof of the mouth, thereby blocking air from flowing centrally through the oral tract and instead forcing more lateral flow along the lowered side(s) of the tongue. 5.
[+/- delayed delayed release] release] This feature distinguish distinguishes es stops from affricates affricates.. Affricates are
designated [+dr]. the place of articulation. articulation. Place Features: The features that specify the place
[ LABIAL ] Labial segments are articulated with the lips. 1.
[+/[+/- roun round] d] [+ro [+roun und] d] are are pro produ duced ced with with lip lip rou round ndin ing. g. [-r [-rou ound nd]] are are not. not.
[ CORONAL ] Coronal sounds are articulated with the tip and/or blade blade of the tongue.
1. [+/[+/- ante anteri rior or]] Anter Anterio iorr segm segmen ents ts are are artic articul ulate ated d with with the the tip or or blad bladee of the the tongu tonguee at or in front of the alveolar ridge. 2. [+/[+/- dist distri ribu bute ted] d] For For [+dis [+dist] t] segm segmen ents ts the the tongu tonguee is exte extend nded ed for for some some dis dista tanc ncee in the the mouth. [ DORSAL ] Dorsal sounds are articulated by raising the dorsum of the tongue. All vowels are DORSAL sounds.
1.
[+/- high] [+high] segments raise the dorsum close to the palate palate.. [-high] segments do
not. 2. [+/[+/- low low]] [+lo [+low] w] seg segme ment ntss bunc bunch h the the dors dorsum um to to a pos posit itio ion n low low in the the mout mouth. h. 3. [+/[+/- back back]] [+ba [+back ck]] segm segmen ents ts are are produ produce ced d with with the tong tongue ue dors dorsum um bunc bunche hed d and retracted slightly to the back of the mouth. [-back] segments are bunched and extended slightly forward. [+/- tense] This feature (mainly) applies to the position of the root of the tongue 4. when articulating vowels. [+tense] vowels have an advanced tongue root. In fact, this feature is often referred to as Advanced tongue root, root , though there is a debate on whether tense and ATR are same or different features.
[ RADICAL ] Radical sounds are articulated with the root of the tongue.
Some properties of distinctive features: a. They are binary: [+F] and [-F]. b. Most segments have some value for every feature. c. Features are universal: sounds of all languages are describable by using the same feature set. d. Rules apply to features or feature groups, not lists of sounds.
How distinctive features help the analysis: a. They reveal the basic similarity between processes that appear to be quite different. b. They permit an explanation of the fact that certain processes are widespread, while others are infrequent or non-existent. c. They explain how speakers extend phonological processes to non-native sounds. Example
