Chapter 6Features

PHONOLOGY (Lane 335)

Segmental Composition

Speech sounds can be decomposed into a number of articulatory components.

Combining these properties in different ways produces different speech sounds.

properties= features

Features show what sounds have in common & how they are related or not related.

Natural class

Similar sounds that are grouped together because they share some features

Example [p, t, k] is a natural class of (alveolar stops)

Phonetic vs. Phonological Features Phonetic features: correspond to physical

articulatory or acoustic events

Phonological features:

1- look beyond the individual segments at the sound system of language.

2- features to characterize speech sounds in the languages of the world.

3- some features are relevant only for consonants; others are only for vowels.

Phonetic vs. Phonological Features To characterize place of articulation: e.g.

[palatal] & use +, or – Binary feature: a feature that has only two

values (+ or -)

Phonologists express true generalizations about phonological structure as economically as possible.

Phonological Features

Major places of articulation:

[+ anterior]: sounds produced no further back in the oral tract than the alveolar ridge

[+ coronal]: sounds produced in the area bounded by the teeth & hard palate

Major Class Features

Distinguish major classes of speech sounds:

Consonants & vowels, sonorants & obstruents

1- [+/- syllabic]: distinguish vowels from other sounds [+ syll]: function as the nucleus of a syllable

e.g: [æ ] & [ɪ ] in [r æb ɪt] [- syll]: don’t function as syllabic nuclei; [r] & [b] in [r

æb ɪt] Sounds other than vowels might be syllabic (liquids

& nasals) in [bʌ tn]

Major Class Features

2- [+/- consonantal]: distinguish consonants (obstruents, liquids, & nasals) from vowels & glides.

[+ cons]: involve oral stricture of close approximation ([p], [l], [t])

[- cons]: with stricture more open than close approximation ([j], [e])

Major Class Features

3- [+/ - sonorant]: distinguish vowels, glides, liquids, & nasals from oral stops, affricates & fricatives.

[+ son]: produced with spontaneous voicing [- son] or (obstruents) spontaneous voicing is

inhibited.

Vowels, nasals & liquids are sonorants Stops, fricatives & affricates are obstruents.

Major Class Features

Consonantal Features

1- [+/ - voice]: consonants with vibrating vocal cords & those which are not

[+ voi]: with airflow through the glottis; vocal cords close to vibrate, such as [l], [m], [n]

[- voi]: with vocal cords at rest; relevant to obstruents, such as [s], [p]

Although vowels are typically voiced, we find voiceless vowels in languages like Mexican

Place Features

[+/ - coronal]: distinguish sounds which involve the front of the tongue from others

[+ cor]: articulated with the tongue tip or blade raised

[j, l, r, n, t, d, θ, ð, s, z, ʃ , ʒ , tʃ , dʒ ] [- cor] sounds which don’t involve the front of

the tongue

[w, m, ŋ , k, g, h, f, v, p, b]

Place Features

[+/ - anterior]: distinguishes between sounds produced in the front of the mouth (labials, dentals & alveolars) and other sounds

[+ ant]: produced at or in front of the alveolar ridge[l, r, n, m, t, d, θ, ð, s, z, f, v, p, b]

[- ant]: produced further back in the oral cavity than the alveolar ridge

[j, w, ŋ, ʃ, ʒ, tʃ, dʒ, k, g, h]

Place Features

Labials:

[- cor, + ant] [m, f, v, p, b] Dentals/ Alveolars:

[+ cor, + ant] [ l, r, n, t, d, θ, ð, s, z] palato- Alveoars/ palatals:

[+ cor, - ant] [j,ʃ, ʒ, tʃ, dʒ ] Velars/Glotals/ pharyngeals/uvulars:

[- cor, - ant] [w, ŋ, k, g, h, ?]

Manner Features

1- [+/ - continuant]: distinguishes between stops & other sounds

[+ cont]: there is airflow through the oral cavity[j, w, l, r, θ, ð, s, z, ʃ, ʒ, h, f, v] [- cont]: in which the airflow is stopped in the

oral cavity[n, m, ŋ, t, d, tʃ, dʒ, k, g, p, b]

Manner Features

2- [+/- nasal]: distinguish nasal & non-nasal sounds

[+ nas]: produced with the velum lowered & air flow through the nasal cavity

[n, m, ŋ ]

[- nas]: without airflow through nasal cavity

[j, w, l, r, d, θ, ð, s, z, ʃ, ʒ, tʃ, dʒ, k, g, h, f, v, p, b]

Manner Features

3- [+/- strident]: separates turbulent sounds from others

[+ strid]: complex constriction resulting in noisy airflow

[s, z, ʃ, ʒ, tʃ, dʒ, f, v]

[- strid]: without such constriction

[j, w, l, r, n, m, ŋ, t, d, θ, ð, k, g, h, p, b]

Manner Features

4- [+/- lateral]: separates [l] sounds from others

[+ lat]: central oral obstruction & airflow passing over one or both sides of the tongue

[l] [- lat]: all other sounds

Manner Features

5- [+/- delayed release]: distinguishes affricates from other [- cont] segments

[+ del rel]: produced with stop closure in the oral cavity followed by frication at some point

[tʃ, dʒ]

[- del rel]: without frication

Vocalic Features (vowels)

1- [high]:

[+ hi]: body of the tongue raised above the neutral position in [ə]

Vowels [iː, ɪ, ʊ, uː ]

Consonants [j, k]

[- hi]: the body of the tongue is not raised

Vocalic Features

2- [low] [+ lo]: body of the tongue is lowered with

respect to the neutral position

Consonants: [?], [h]

Vowels: [ɒ, ɑː, ʌ, æ]

[- lo]: without such lowering

Vocalic Features

3- [back]

[+ back]: body of the tongue is retracted from neutral position

Consonants: [k, g, ŋ]

Vowels: [ʊ, uː, ɔ, oː, ɒ, ɑː]

[- back]: tongue is not retracted

All English consonants except the velars are [ -back]

Vocalic Features

4- [front]

[+ front]: sounds for which the tongue is fronted from the neutral position

[ɪ, iː, æ, e, ɜː]

[- front]: the tongue is not fronted.

Vocalic Features

5- [round]

[+ rnd]: produced with rounded lips

Consonants: [w]

Vowels: [ʊ, uː, ɒ, ɔ, oː]

[- rnd]: produced with neutral or spread lips

Vocalic Features

6- [tense]

[+ tns]: involve muscular constriction (longer sounds)

[iː, uː, ɑː, eː] [ - tns]: no constriction (shorter sounds)

Vocalic Features

7- [Advanced Tongue Root]

for describing West African & other languages vowels (vowel harmony)

words have vowels from certain sets & not a mixture of both sets

[+ ATR]: the root of the tongue pushed forward

[- ATR]: tongue root is not pushed forward.

Problems with the features

There are some problems of these features; For example:

Some combinations represents physical impossibility [+ hi, + lo]

The system overgenerates; represents types not found in human languages.

Using the feature [back] doesn’t represent languages with central vowels.