linguistics Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Lingu ...

, a distinctive feature is the most basic unit of

phonological Phonology is the branch of linguistics that studies how languages or dialects systematically organize their sounds or, for sign languages, their constituent parts of signs. The term can also refer specifically to the sound or sign system of a ...

structure that distinguishes one sound from another within a language. For example, the feature oicedistinguishes the two bilabial plosives: and There are many different ways of defining and arranging features into ''feature systems'': some deal with only one language while others are developed to apply to all languages. Distinctive features are grouped into categories according to the

natural classes In phonology, a natural class is a set of phonemes in a language that share certain distinctive features. A natural class is determined by participation in shared phonological processes, described using the minimum number of features necessary for d ...

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 Phonetics is a branch of linguistics that studies how humans produce and perceive sounds, or in the case of sign languages, the equivalent aspects of sign. Linguists who specialize in studying the physical properties of speech are phoneticians. ...

properties of the segments in question. For phonemes to be in a particular natural class, they have to share the same distinctive features such as articulation and/or sound similar to each other. We can find distinctive features between two words by finding the minimal pair between them. The minimal pair are when two words sound the same, but they are different in definition because the pair has different phonemes from each other. Since the inception of the phonological analysis of distinctive features in the 1950s, features traditionally have been specified by binary values to signify whether a segment is described by the feature; a positive value, denotes the presence of a feature, while a negative value, minus; indicates its absence. In addition, a phoneme may be

unmarked In linguistics and social sciences, markedness is the state of standing out as nontypical or divergent as opposed to regular or common. In a marked–unmarked relation, one term of an opposition is the broader, dominant one. The dominant defau ...

with respect to a feature. It is also possible for certain

phoneme In phonology and linguistics, a phoneme () is a unit of sound that can distinguish one word from another in a particular language. For example, in most dialects of English, with the notable exception of the West Midlands and the north-wes ...

s to have different features across languages. For example, could be classified as a continuant or not in a given language depending on how it patterns with other consonants. After the first distinctive feature theory was created by Jakobson in 1941, it was assumed that the distinctive features are binary and this theory about distinctive features being binary was formally adopted in “Sound Pattern of English” by Chomsky and Halle in 1968. Jakobson saw the binary approach as the best way to make the phoneme inventory shorter and the phonological oppositions are naturally binary. In recent developments to the theory of distinctive features, phonologists have proposed the existence of single-valued features. These features, called univalent or privative features, can only describe the classes of segments that are said to possess those features, and not the classes that are without them.

List

This section lists and describes distinctive features in linguistics.

Major class

Major class features: The features that represent the major classes of sounds. # /− syllabicref name=":0"> Syllabic segments may function as the

nucleus Nucleus ( : nuclei) is a Latin word for the seed inside a fruit. It most often refers to: *Atomic nucleus, the very dense central region of an atom * Cell nucleus, a central organelle of a eukaryotic cell, containing most of the cell's DNA Nucl ...

of a syllable, while their counterparts, the minus;syllsegments, may not. Except in the case of syllabic consonants, syllabicdesignates all

vowels A vowel is a syllabic speech sound pronounced without any stricture in the vocal tract. Vowels are one of the two principal classes of speech sounds, the other being the consonant. Vowels vary in quality, in loudness and also in quantity (l ...

, while minus;syllabicdesignates all

consonant In articulatory phonetics, a consonant is a speech sound that is articulated with complete or partial closure of the vocal tract. Examples are and pronounced with the lips; and pronounced with the front of the tongue; and pronounced ...

s (including glides). # /− consonantalref name=":1"> Consonantal segments are produced with an audible constriction in the

vocal tract The vocal tract is the cavity in human bodies and in animals where the sound produced at the sound source ( larynx in mammals; syrinx in birds) is filtered. In birds it consists of the trachea, the syrinx, the oral cavity, the upper part of the e ...

, such as

obstruent An obstruent () is a speech sound such as , , or that is formed by ''obstructing'' airflow. Obstruents contrast with sonorants, which have no such obstruction and so resonate. All obstruents are consonants, but sonorants include vowels as well a ...

nasal Nasal is an adjective referring to the nose, part of human or animal anatomy. It may also be shorthand for the following uses in combination: * With reference to the human nose: ** Nasal administration, a method of pharmaceutical drug delivery * ...

liquids A liquid is a nearly incompressible fluid that conforms to the shape of its container but retains a (nearly) constant volume independent of pressure. As such, it is one of the four fundamental states of matter (the others being solid, gas, ...

, and trills. Vowels, glides and laryngeal segments are not consonantal. # /− approximantApproximant segments include vowels, glides, and

while excluding

s and

s. # /− sonorantref name=":1" /> This feature describes the type of oral constriction that can occur in the vocal tract.

son A son is a male offspring; a boy or a man in relation to his parents. The female counterpart is a daughter. From a biological perspective, a son constitutes a first degree relative. Social issues In pre-industrial societies and some current c ...

designates the

and

sonorant In phonetics and phonology, a sonorant or resonant is a speech sound that is produced with continuous, non-turbulent airflow in the vocal tract; these are the manners of articulation that are most often voiced in the world's languages. Vowels ar ...

consonants In articulatory phonetics, a consonant is a speech sound that is articulated with complete or partial closure of the vocal tract. Examples are and pronounced with the lips; and pronounced with the front of the tongue; and pronounced w ...

(namely glides,

, and

s) that are produced without an imbalance of air pressure in the vocal tract that might cause turbulence. minus;sondescribes the

s, articulated with a noticeable turbulence caused by an imbalance of air pressure in the vocal tract.

Laryngeal

Laryngeal features: The features that specify the glottal states of sounds. # /− voiceref name=":0" /> This feature indicates whether vibration of the

vocal folds In humans, vocal cords, also known as vocal folds or voice reeds, are folds of throat tissues that are key in creating sounds through vocalization. The size of vocal cords affects the pitch of voice. Open when breathing and vibrating for speech ...

occurs with the articulation of the segment. # /− spread glottisref name=":0" /> Used to indicate the aspiration of a segment, this feature denotes the openness of the glottis. For sg the vocal folds are spread apart widely enough for frication to occur; for minus;sg there is not the same friction-inducing spreading. # /− constricted glottisref name=":0" /> The constricted glottis features denotes the degree of closure of the glottis. cgimplies that the vocal folds are held closely together, enough so that air cannot pass through momentarily, while minus;cgimplies the opposite.

Manner

Manner features: The features that specify the

manner of articulation In articulatory phonetics, the manner of articulation is the configuration and interaction of the articulators ( speech organs such as the tongue, lips, and palate) when making a speech sound. One parameter of manner is ''stricture,'' that is, ...

. # /− continuant">continuant.html" ;"title="/− continuant">/− continuantref name=":1" /> This feature describes the passage of air through the vocal tract. [+cont] segments are produced without any significant obstruction in the tract, allowing air to pass 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. #

] This feature describes the position of the Soft palate, velum. [+nas] segments are produced by lowering the velum so that air can pass through the nasal cavity, nasal tract. [−nas] segments conversely are produced with a raised velum, blocking the passage of air to the nasal tract and shunting it to the oral tract. # /− stridentref name=":0" /> The strident feature applies to obstruents only and refers to a type of friction that is noisier than usual. This is caused by high energy

white noise In signal processing, white noise is a random signal having equal intensity at different frequencies, giving it a constant power spectral density. The term is used, with this or similar meanings, in many scientific and technical disciplines, ...

. #

lateral Lateral is a geometric term of location which may refer to: Healthcare *Lateral (anatomy), an anatomical direction * Lateral cricoarytenoid muscle * Lateral release (surgery), a surgical procedure on the side of a kneecap Phonetics *Lateral co ...

] 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. # /− delayed releaseref name=":0" /> This feature distinguishes

stops Stop may refer to: Places *Stop, Kentucky, an unincorporated community in the United States * Stop (Rogatica), a village in Rogatica, Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina Facilities * Bus stop * Truck stop, a type of rest stop for truck dr ...

from

affricates An affricate is a consonant that begins as a stop consonant, stop and releases as a fricative consonant, fricative, generally with the same place of articulation (most often coronal consonant, coronal). It is often difficult to decide if a stop a ...

. Affricates are designated

del rel Del, or nabla, is an operator used in mathematics (particularly in vector calculus) as a vector differential operator, usually represented by the nabla symbol ∇. When applied to a function defined on a one-dimensional domain, it denotes t ...

Place

Place features: The features that specify the

place of articulation In articulatory phonetics, the place of articulation (also point of articulation) of a consonant is a location along the vocal tract where its production occurs. It is a point where a constriction is made between an active and a passive articul ...

. *

LABIAL The term ''labial'' originates from '' Labium'' (Latin for "lip"), and is the adjective that describes anything of or related to lips, such as lip-like structures. Thus, it may refer to: * the lips ** In linguistics, a labial consonant ** In zoolo ...

] Labial segments are articulated with the lips. As consonants, these include bilabial consonant, bilabial and labiodental consonants. #[+/− round]: [+round] are produced with lip rounding, while minus;roundare not. * CORONAL ">Coronal_consonant.html" ;"title="Coronal consonant">CORONAL ref name=":0" /> Coronal sounds are articulated with the

tip Tip commonly refers to: * Tip (gambling) * Tip (gratuity) * Tip (law enforcement) * another term for Advice Tip or TIP may also refer to: Science and technology * Tank phone, a device allowing infantry to communicate with the occupants of an armo ...

and/or

blade A blade is the portion of a tool, weapon, or machine with an edge that is designed to puncture, chop, slice or scrape surfaces or materials. Blades are typically made from materials that are harder than those they are to be used on. Historica ...

of the tongue. These include a large number of consonants, which can be made with the tip, blade or underside of the tongue (

apical Apical means "pertaining to an apex". It may refer to: * Apical ancestor, refers to the last common ancestor of an entire group, such as a species (biology) or a clan (anthropology) *Apical (anatomy), an anatomical term of location for features l ...

, laminal consonant">laminal A laminal consonant is a phone (speech sound) produced by obstructing the air passage with the blade of the tongue, the flat top front surface just behind the tip of the tongue in contact with upper lip, teeth, alveolar ridge, to possibly, as ...

List

Major class

Laryngeal

Manner

Place

Vowel space

Jakobsonian system

Sonority

Protensity

Tonality

Other uses

See also

References

Sources