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. Linguis ...

, 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-west o ...

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 Nucle ...

of a

syllable A syllable is a unit of organization for a sequence of speech sounds typically made up of a syllable nucleus (most often a vowel) with optional initial and final margins (typically, consonants). Syllables are often considered the phonological "bu ...

, while their counterparts, the minus;syllsegments, may not. Except in the case of

syllabic consonant A syllabic consonant or vocalic consonant is a consonant that forms a syllable on its own, like the ''m'', ''n'' and ''l'' in some pronunciations of the English words ''rhythm'', ''button'' and ''bottle''. To represent it, the understroke diacrit ...

syllabic Syllabic may refer to: *Syllable, a unit of speech sound, considered the building block of words **Syllabic consonant, a consonant that forms the nucleus of a syllable *Syllabary, writing system using symbols for syllables *Abugida, writing system ...

designates 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 (leng ...

, 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 wit ...

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 (biology), syrinx in birds) is filtered. In birds it consists of the Vertebrate trachea, trachea, the Syrinx (bio ...

, 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 as ...

s, nasals,

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, an ...

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

while excluding nasals 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 are ...

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 wit ...

(namely glides,

, and nasals) 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, h ...

. # /−_continuant.html" ;"title="continuant.html" ;"title="/− continuant">/− 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. # nasal.html"_;"title="Nasalization.html"_;"title="/−__Nasalization">nasal">Nasalization.html"_;"title="/−__Nasalization">nasalref_name=":1"_/>_This_feature_describes_the_position_of_the_Soft_palate.html" "title="Nasalization">nasal.html" ;"title="Nasalization.html" ;"title="/− Nasalization">nasal">Nasalization.html" ;"title="/− Nasalization">nasalref name=":1" /> This feature describes the position of the Soft palate">velum Velum may refer to: Human anatomy * Superior medullary velum, anterior medullary velum or valve of Vieussens, white matter, in the brain, which stretches between the superior cerebellar peduncles ** Frenulum of superior medullary velum, a sligh ...

List

Major class

Laryngeal

Manner

Place

Vowel space

Jakobsonian system

Sonority

Protensity

Tonality

Other uses

See also

References

Sources