Phonology 3 - Distinctive & Non-Distinctive Features PDF

DISTINCTIVE AND NONDISTINCTIVE FEATURES If we know that voiceless oral stops are always aspirated in initial position, then we can predict where and when we will find aspirated voiceless oral stops in English. Aspiration is a nondistinctive feature in English. 23 23 A Look At Some Other Feature...

DISTINCTIVE AND NONDISTINCTIVE FEATURES If we know that voiceless oral stops are always aspirated in initial position, then we can predict where and when we will find aspirated voiceless oral stops in English. Aspiration is a nondistinctive feature in English. 23 23 A Look At Some Other Features ¢Consider the two English words: [zɪp] and [sɪp] ¢What is the phonetic difference between the initial sounds in these two words? ¢[z] is [+voice] and [s] is [-voice] ¢Does this difference matter to a native speaker of English? How do you know? ¢Is voicing [±voice] a distinctive feature in English? A Look At Some Other Features ¢Tenseness: beat [bit] versus bit [bɪt] [i] is [+tense] and [ɪ] is [-tense] ¢Is tenseness [±tense] a distinctive feature in English? A Look At Some Other Features — Length of vowels and consonants [±long] Think about the difference in the vowel in [slæp] versus [slæb]. — Vowels before voiced consonants can sometimes be a bit longer in English (not a core phonetic property) We can show the length feature like this: [slæ:b] — Is length [±long] a distinctive feature in English? A Look At Some Other Features: Crosslinguistic Variation — Whether or not a feature is distinctive will vary from one language to another. — Do you remember this data set from Danish? — Is length a distinctive feature in Danish with respect to vowels? — Danish [vilə] wild [menə] remind [viːlə] rest [meːnə] mean 27