Distinctive features:

Definition:
Definitions of distinctive
feature:
•In language, an odd or unusual
characteristic. synonyms:
distinguishing characteristic,
peculiarity.
•In linguistics, a distinctive
feature is the most basic unit of
phonological structure that
distinguishes one sound from
another within a language. For
example, the feature [voice]
distinguishes the two bilabial
plosives: [p] and [b].
•Distinctive feature theory was
first formalised by Roman
Jakobson in 1941.
Why we need distinctive
features?
•Distinctive features enable us to
classify phonemes into categories,
distinguish classes of phonemes
from one another, formulate
predictions as to how classes of
phonemes will behave, and
display language-
specific
constraints(restrictions/limitations)
.

•In speech sounds, we have two

types: consonants and vowels.

Distinctive features of
consonants:
What is a consonant?
A consonant sound is one in
which the air stream coming out of
the lungs is modified in the mouth
cavity by some blockage created
by the articulators ( tongue, lips,
etc.).
How do phonetician describe
consonants?
They describe it using the PMV
parameter:
P: POA=> Place Of Articulation.
M: MOA=> Manner Of
Articulation.
V: Voicing.
Place of Articulation:
Definition: it is about the
classification of consonants
according to where in the vocal
tract the airflow obstruction
(blockage) occurs.
Bilabials: sounds produced using
both (bi) lips (labia). Example: pat,
bat and mat. These sounds are
represented by the symbol [p] is
voiceless, [b], and [m] are
voiced. [w] in way, walk, and
world can be described as bilabial.
Labiodentals: sounds formed
using the upper teeth and the
lower lip. Example: fat, vat, safe,
and save. These sounds are
represented by the symbol [f] is
voiceless [v] is voiced. Note that
even though cough and photo are
different words, they both contain
the
consonant [f].

Interdentals or Dentals: sounds

formed using the tip of the tongue
and placing it behind the upper
front teeth. Example: Thin, and
bath are both voiceless dentals.
We use the symbol [θ] called
theta. The voiced dental is
referred to with [ð] called eth.
Example: initial sound: the, there,
then, and thus. Middle sound:
feather. Final sound: bathe.

Alveolars: sounds formed using

the front part of the tongue on the
alveolar ridge, which the rough,
bony bridge situated behind and
above the upper teeth. Example:
initial sounds in top, dip, sit, zoo,
not are all alveolars. The symbols
for these sounds are [t], [d], [s],
[z], and [n]. [t] and [s] are
voiceless, but [d], [z], [n] are
voiced.
Important side note: other
alveolars are [l] and [r] in lap, lit,
and right and write.
Palatals: or alveo-palatals (the
second term usually only refers to
tch and dg, we say that because
of the combination between
alveolar t and the palatal ʃand the
combination between the alveolar
d and palatal ʒ) are sounds
produced with the tongue and the
palate. Example: shout, child,
which are both voiceless. The
"sh" sound is represented as [ʃ]
and the "ch" sound is
represented with [tʃ]. One of the
voiced palatals is represented by
[ʒ] is not very common but can be
found in words like treasure and
pleasure, or in rouge. The other
voiced palatal is [dʒ] example:
joke and gem, George and judge.
Retroflex: (plural retroflexes)
(phonetics) A consonant
pronounced with the underside
of the tongue approaching or
touching the palate. (phonetics)
A consonant pronounced with the
tip of the tongue approaching or
touching the back of the alveolar
ridge. In the International Phonetic
Alphabet, retroflex
consonants are indicated with a
hook in the bottom right, such
as [ʂ ʐ ʈ ɖ ɳ ɭ ɽ ɻ].

Velars: sounds produced with the

back of the tongue against the
velum. Example: kid, kill, car, cold,
cook, kick, and coke all contain
the voiceless velar sound
represented by [k]. The voiced
velar sound heard in go, gun,
give, bag, mug, and plague is
represented with [g]. There is
another voiced velar which is [ŋ]
referred to as angma spelled as
the two letters ng. Example: sing,
sang, and tongue.

Wet sounds/ Glides: sounds

which do not cause any
obstructions and are not
considered consonants.
Glottals: sounds produced
without the active use of the
tongue and other parts of the
mouth. Example: have, house,
who and whose.
The symbol is [h] which is a
voiceless pharyngeal glide.
[ʔ] is a pharyngeal glide.
Palatal: voiced palatal is [j] used
in words like you and yet but it is a
palatal glide.
Velar: [w] is considered a wet
labio velar glide sound.

Other sounds found in

other languages:
French and Arabic: [q] ‫[ ق‬X]‫[ خ‬Y]‫غ‬
These sounds are called
Uvulars : this sound involves the
usage of the uvula. These sounds
are produced by raising the back
of the tongue to the uvula. That
flesh that is hanging from the
velum touches the back of the
tongue which causes friction.

How does phoneticians

describe these places of
articulation in terms
of distinctive features?
Do we put +bilabial when we meet
with the sounds m/b/p? Or is there
a another way to describe it?
The answer to this question is No.
•Phoneticians divided all
consonants into two types. They
draw a line on the vocal tract to
distinguish between the sounds
produced at the front part of the
mouth and the sounds produced
at the back part of the mouth. The
line is exactly in the alveolar
ridge meaning there is a
difference between sounds
produced in front of the
alveolar ridge and the sounds
produced behind it.
• Phoneticians came up with
names for these two divided parts:
interiors and non interiors or
interior articulation and posterior
articulation.
Interiors are: bilabials,
labiodentals, interdentals, and
also alveolars. These are
interiors because in their
production the air is blocked
somewhere in the front part of
the
mouth meaning either at the
alveolar ridge or in front of it.
=>We give these sounds the
feature +interior.
Posteriors are: palatals, velars,
uvulars, and the glottals. These
are called this way because in
their production the air is
blocked behind the alveolar
ridge.
=>We give these sounds the
feature -interior.

The second category of distinctive

features is coronals.
•Phoneticians tried to describe the
place of articulations because
they have noticed that all or the
majority of consonants are
produced using the tongue. So
phoneticians tried to understand
what are does sounds that involve
in their production the use of
tongue. The focus is precisely on
the usage of the front part of the
tongue. This organ is divided into
3 main areas we have the tip, the
blade, and the back.
The tip(example: interdentals,
alveolars)
+blade(example: palatals)=
front part of the tongue.
Back part of the tongue
example velars.
•phoneticians came up with a
name called Coronals. What are
coronals?
Coronals: are those sounds
which are articulated by raising
the front part of the tongue (either
the tip or the blade). Coronal
consonants can be divided into
two types, we have the apical
using the tip of the tongue and
also laminal using the blade of the
tongue.
Coronals Feature: [+coronal] =>
alveolars, alveopalatals,
interdentals.
Non-coronals: are sounds which
in their production the back of the
tongue is involved or the tongue is
not involved at all.
Non-coronal Feature: [-coronal]
=> bialbials, labiodentals,
velars, glottals, uvulars.
•To further distinguish coronals,
we have the feature [+ /-
distributed]. It makes the
difference between sounds which
are
produced with the blade(laminal)
of the tongue and others which
are produced with the tip(apical).
[+distributed] laminals =>
dentals and palato-alveolar.
=blade => contact is long,
measured front to back.
[-distributed] apicals =>
alveolars and retroflex. =tip =>
contact is short, measured front
to back.
Another feature is [+/- labial] also
known as labial or non labial.
Definition: Labial consonants are
consonants in which one or
both lips are the active articulator.
The two common labial
articulations are bilabials,
articulated using both lips,
and labiodentals, articulated with
the lower lip against the upper
teeth, both of which are present
in English. (+rounded vowels).
Dorsal features: Dorsal
consonants are consonants
articulated with the back of the
tongue (the dorsum). They
include the
palatal, velar, pharyngeal, glottal
and uvular consonants.
[ DORSAL ] Dorsal sounds are
articulated by raising the dorsum
of the tongue. All vowels are
dorsal sounds. Dorsal
consonants include palatal, velar
and uvular consonants. These
features are given the features [-
ant, -corn], and we also use the
vowel features back, low, high,
and front.
Trills and taps:
In phonetics, a trill is a
consonantal sound produced
by vibrations between the
active articulator and passive
articulator. Standard Spanish ⟨rr⟩
as in perro, for example, is an
alveolar trill. A trill is made by the
articulator being held in place and
the airstream causing it to vibrate.
The feature is : [tr]. The symbol is
⟨r⟩.
The voiced alveolar tap or flap is a
type of
consonantal sound, used in some
spoken languages. The symbol in
the International Phonetic
Alphabet that represents a dental,
alveolar, or postalveolar tap or flap
is ⟨ɾ⟩. The terms tap and flap are
often used interchangeably. (Side
note: The standard SPE
analysis is that a flap is a
sonorant stop, and the feature
assignment is [+cons,-cont,
+son,+coronal]).
Manner of Articulation:
This is the second parameter
which helps us answer two main
questions:
1/ How does the air move through
the vocal tract above the glottis?
2/ What kind of constriction is
there in the vocal tract?
Definition: it is about showing
how the air moves through the
vocal tract above the glottis and
the kind constriction that takes
place in it.
Q1=>A1: When the lungs pushes
air out of your chest through the
vocal tract, the velum is either
found raised up blocking air from
escaping through the nose, or it is
not in its raised position but
lowered allowing air to escape
through the nose and the mouth
sometimes. •The result is the
production of two types of sounds:
Nasal sounds <m, n, ng>
{articulated while lowering the
velum allowing air to pass through
the nasal cavity} and oral sounds
{articulated while raising the
velum allowing air to pass through
the oral
cavity}.
Feature: +nasal / -nasal.
Q2=>A2: The airflow can be
released by the vocal tract in at
least 4 distinct ways:
1. Total obstruction: obstructing
air totally causing an explosive
effect.
Here we find the first category
which we refer to as stops.
Definition:
Stops in producing consonants
the airstream may be completely
stopped and blocked in the vocal
tract.
In English we can find four
categories of stops:
a. Bilabials: p, b, m => the
airstream is stopped by the lips.
b. Alveolars: t, d, n => the
airstream is stopped by the
tongue making a closure at the
alveolar ridge.
c. Velars: k, g, ng => the
airstream is stopped by
complete closure at the velum.
d. Glottals: ʔ => the airstream is
completely
stopped at the glottis.
All these stops are to be given the
feature:
[-continuant] => non continuant
why? Because in their articulation,
there is total obstruction of the
airstream in the oral cavity,
meaning, the air is stopped and
not continuant.
2. Friction: obstructing air
partially while allowing it to
squeeze through the obstruction
causing vibration.
Here we find a category of sounds
named fricatives.

Definition: in the production of

some consonants, the airflow is
partially obstructed creating
friction. When these sounds are
produced, air escapes through a
small passage making a hissing
sound. These sounds are
therefore called fricatives.
In English we find five categories
of fricatives:

a. Labiodentals: f and v => they

are produced
by pressing the lower lip against
the upper teeth, allowing a
restricted airflow between the
upper teeth.
b. Dentals: θ and ð => they allow
air to flow around the tongue
between the teeth.
c. Alveolars: s and z => they are
produced with the tongue against
the alveolar ridge, forcing air over
the edge of the teeth.
d. Palato-Alveolars/ Palatals: ch
and dg => the tongue is at the
back of the alveolar ridge forcing
air through a groove formed in the
tongue.
e. Glottals: h => the glottis is
narrowed causing friction.
Fricatives are given the feature
+continuant (continuants are
those sounds which are
articulated while the stream of
air flows continuously out of
the mouth with no stoppage in
the vocal tract.).

Within friction, we can find another

category called affricates.
Definition: Affricates are sounds
that are produced by a stop
closure followed immediately by a
gradual release of the closure that
produces an effect characteristic
of a fricative. Church /tʃ/ and
judge /dʒ/.
Affricates are given the feature
[+DR] meaning delayed release.
The delay refers to the stop part of
the sound while the release refers
to the fricative part of it.
3. Approximation: narrowing the
vocal tract with no obstruction or
friction.
In this category, we find sounds
which are called approximants.
Definition: In approximants, the
two articulators are close together
but not close enough to cause
turbulent air flow. The sounds [w] ,
[j] , [r] , and [l] are alternatively
called approximants because the
articulators approximate a
frictional closeness, but no actual
friction occurs.
For these sounds we can divide
them into two. The liquids and
glides.
Definition:
Liquids: the liquids are two: [r] and
[l] => in the production of these
sounds, there is some obstruction
of the airstream in the mouth, but
not enough to cause any real
constriction or friction. These
liquids are divided into two:
[l] is a lateral approximant =>
feature [+lateral].
[r] is a central approximant =>
feature [-lateral].
Definition:
Glides: these sounds { [w] and [j] }
are produced with little to no
obstruction of the airstream of the
mouth. They are always preceded
or followed directly by a vowel and
do not occur at the end of words.
In articulating these sounds, the
tongue moves rapidly in gliding
fashion either towards or away
from neighboring vowel.
Very important to note: [w] and [j]
are not consonants, they are semi
vowels. Their features => -
consonantal and -syllabic.
Very important to note: [h] and the
glottal
stop are also not consonants but
semi vowels. They are
pharyngeals and are
-consonantal -syllabic.
Another feature we deal with to
describe consonants are what we
call stridents and sibilants {these
two are very interrelated}.
Definition:
Stridents: are those sounds which
are characterized by an acoustic
rather than an articulatory
property of its members. They
have a characteristically intense
sound example: calling someone
using "psss!" Or quieting someone
using "shhhhh!". Non-interdentals
fricatives + affricates.
The English stridents are: /f, v, s,
z,ʒ, ʃ, tʃ, dʒ/
The feature for these sounds is
[+stridents].
Definition:
Sibilants: because all sibilants are
also stridents, the terms are
sometimes used interchangeably.
However, the terms do not mean
the same thing. The English
stridents are /f, v, s, z,ʒ, ʃ, tʃ, dʒ/.
The English sibilants
are more high pitched subset of
the stridents. The English sibilants
are /s, z,ʒ, ʃ, tʃ, dʒ/. /f/ and /v/ are
stridents but not sibilants because
they are lower in pitch.
4. Sonorance: obstructing the
vocal tract at one point while
allowing air to flow freely from
another point causing some
musicality.
As we know, consonants are
+consonantal and -syllabic. In the
manner of articulation we divide
them into two: obstruents which
are all the sounds made with a
high degree of obstruction. Their
feature is [-sonorant].
The obstruents are: the stops { -
cont }, the fricatives { +cont }, and
the affricates { +DR }.
The second category is sonorants
which are all the sounds made
with much less obstruction and
are very high in sonority, meaning,
they are very musical. Their
features is [+sonorant].
The sonorants are: the
liquids{ [l] +lateral and [r] -
lateral}, the nasals { m and n
and ng +nasal}, and the semi-
vowels{ -cons -syl }.
Voicing:
Definition: The state of the vocal
cords during the airflow: whether
or not the vocal cords vibrate
when making a sound.
The process: first the air is pushed
out by the lungs up through the
windpipe to the larynx. Inside the
larynx are located the vocal cords,
which take two basic positions:

1. When the vocal cords are

spread apart, the air from the
lungs passes between them
unimpeded (not delayed). The air
arrives and passes freely through
the glottis without making the
vocal cords vibrate. Sounds
produced in this way are
described as voiceless. Their
feature is [-voice].
Examples: seal, sweep, seat,
seek.

2. When the vocal folds are drawn

together, the air from the lungs
repeatedly pushes them apart as
it passes through, creating a
vibration effect. Sounds produced
this way
are described as voiced.
Their feature is [+voice].
Examples: zeal, bate, mate, gate.

Side Note: The distinction can be

felt physically if you place a
fingertip gently on the top of your
Adam's apple.
Distinctive features of
vowels:
What is a vowel?
Definition: A vowel is an
articulated sound produced with
relatively free passage of the
airstream; the articulators do not
touch and so do not significantly
obstruct the flow of the air from
the lungs.
There are two types of vowels:
1. Monophtongs: vowels
produced with a single,
unchanging sound quality. Like
the vowel in English in the word
"do" [du].
2. Diphthongs: combination of
two vowels and it is produced with
a gradually changing articulation,
like the vowel in Engel in the word
"cow" [kaʊ].
To explain how vowels are
produced, the famous
phonetician Daniel Jones
developed the Cardinal Vowel
Chart. He noticed, along with
other phoneticians, that the
tongue has four reference
extreme points that it reaches
while producing vowels.

Definition:
•The cardinal vowel chart is a set
of reference
vowels used by phoneticians in
describing the sounds of
languages. This description is
based on three parameters:

position, height, and

roundness.
The first parameter: position.
They are classified depending on
the position of the tongue which
means how far, forward, or back is
the tongue.
The second parameter: height.
Vowels are classified according to
how high or low they are to the

roof of the mouth.

The third parameter:

roundedness.
Vowels are classified according to
the position of the lips, meaning
that either the lips are rounded or
unrounded while producing a
certain vowel.
How are the vowel
sounds distributed within
the cardinal vowel chart?
•Vowels found in the right side of
the cardinal chart are all
considered front vowels. We give
them the feature [-back]. Example:
[i] and [a]
{in their production the tongue is
pushed to the front part of the
mouth}.
•Vowels found in the left side of
the cardinal chart are all
considered back vowels. We give
them the feature [+back].
Example: [u] and [ɑ] {in their
production the tongue is pushed
to the back part of the mouth}.
•Vowels found in the upper side of
the chart are all considered high
vowels. We give them the feature
[+high]. Example: [i] and [u] {in
their production the tongue is in a
high position}.
•Vowels found in the lower part of
the chart are to be considered low
vowels. We give them the feature
[-high]. Example: [a] and [ɑ] {in
their production the tongue is in a
low position}.

Quick summary of what we've

seen right now:
[i] is a high front vowel => [-back
+high].
[u] is a high back vowel => [+back
+high].
[a] is a low front vowel => [-back -
high].
[ɑ] is a low back vowel => [+back -
high].

•Phoneticians noticed that there

are other vowels that in their
production, the tongue is neither
high nor low. That's why another
set of vowels was added by
Daniel Jones. This set is exactly
referred to as mid vowels. As an
example we can mention [e] "bait"
and [o] "boat" {these two are
called mid high vowels because in
their production the tongue is
slightly high} or [ɛ] bet and [ɔ] boar
{these two are called mid low
vowels because in their
production the tongue is slightly
lowered}.

Quick summary of what we've

seen right now:
[e] is a mid high front vowel
=>[+high -low -back].
[o] is a mid high back vowel
=> [+high -low +back].
[ɛ] is a mid low front vowel
=> [-high +low -back].
[ɔ] is a mid low back vowel
=> [-high +low +back].

•Phoneticians also noticed that

there are other vowels that in their
production the tongue is neither
high nor low, neither front nor
back. That's why another set of
vowels was added, his set is
referred to as mid central
vowels. Examples of these sets
of vowels are two: [ə] {central
vowel} "About" and [ʌ] {lower mid
central vowel} "but".
Quick summary of what we've
seen right now:
[ə] [-back -low -high +central].
[ʌ] [-back +low -high +central].
•Phoneticians also describe
sounds through the parameter of
the roundedness of the lips.
Vowels also differ as to whether
the lips are rounded or spread in
their production. The back vowels
[u] true [ʊ] book [o] boat [ɔ] boar
are all considered rounded vowels
except for [ɑ] ==> We can say that
all rounded vowels are back, but
not all back vowels are rounded.
Their feature [+back +round].
Quick summary of what we've
seen right now:
[u] is a high back unrounded
vowel
=> [+high +back +round].
[i] is a high front unrounded vowel
=> [+high -back -round].
[ɔ] is a mid low back rounded
vowel
=> [-high +back +round].
==> In addition to the three
parameters we just covered,
phoneticians use also the
parameter tense/lax distinction
to describe vowels.

Definition:
Tense/lax distinction: refers to
how swiftly the tongue is held
during the production of a vowel.
•It is noticed that some vowels are
produced with greater tension of
the tongue muscles than others
and are often a little longer in
duration. These features can be
distinguished through the features
tense vs lax. Tense [+tense] and
lax [-tense]. The difference is
noticed in how long you hold your
tongue while producing the vowel
sounds. On the other hand, while
producing sounds which are more
relaxed, we are producing lax
vowels.

ATR:
Advanced tongue root,
abbreviated ATR or +ATR, also
called expanded, involves the
expansion of the pharyngeal
cavity by moving the base of the
tongue forward and often lowering
the larynx during the
pronunciation of a vowel. The
lowering of the larynx sometimes
adds a breathy quality to the
vowel.
[+ATR] vowels are /i, u, e, o/ and
[–ATR] vowels are /ɪ, ɛ, a, ɔ, ʊ/.
Sara Moufki.
Remark: if u finished this lesson
and understood it, then please all I
want is a sincere dua for me or my
parents<3
‫اللهم وفق الجميع‬.