Distinctive features of English sounds

A phoneme is a set of distinctive features. The thoneme is abstract. There is always definite set of such features which is required to deffirintiate one phoneme from the other. For most languages a set of around 12 features is considered to be sufficient. They are distinctive features. They are identified through the test of contrastive and non-contrastive distribution. This point of view was taken by an American linguist Charles Hockett who defined the phonological system of any language as a network of differences between phonemes. Thus, the elements of any system can`t be defined positively. They are only identified negatively in terms what they are not. It was called the functional approach to the phoneme. Some features of consonantal and vowel sounds are neutralized (нейтрализующая оппозиция). Neutralized features are considered non-distinctive.

Distinctive and non-distinctive features of consonants

Non distinctive feature is the opposition of voiced and voiceless consonants. X-P:X.

The opposition of voiceless and voiced consonants is neutralized. For example – absorb (s-z), conclusive (s-z). In the intervocal position is not distinguished, it is variants of different phoneme. Presence or absence of a voice in a consonant is not a distinctive feature.

Distinctive features of eng consonants – 1) manner of production which includes articulatory features produced by the type of obstraction to the air stream and the way these obstractions are overcome. When the obstraction to the air is complete occlusive consonants are formed (stopped). Plosives are formed when the air stream breaks through the complete abstraction producing an effect of an exposure. We have nasals (sonorants) – смычные носовые (m, n).

Another type of abstraction is incomplete when the constrictives (spirals) when the air meets an incomplete abstraction and the air passage is consticted and air produces noise. We have fricatives ( s, z, sh, f, v). Constrictive sonorants (liguids) – w, l, r,i.

The third type of sounds is produced when the obstraction to the air stream is complety in the beginning but it is not broken down completely, thus the air stream goes thorough producing noice. Such sounds are called affricates (tch, dg).

The sounds of the forth type don`t exist in English. They are produced when the obstraction is formed and released regularly causing by vibration (r) .

The second distinctive feature is formed by articulatory features produced by the work of active organs of speech such as lips and tongue. According to the work of lips consonants are devided into bilabial and labiodentals. According to the work of the tongue and its position to the teeth consonants are described as interdental, alveolar (l,d,t), post-alveolar (r) cacuminal, palatal alveolar (tch, dg). Intedental consonants are вэ, фэ. According to the work of part of the tongue consonants are devided into 4 lingual and apical (the tip of the tongue is active), medial lingual (palatal) when the middle of the tongue is envolved and back lingual (wela) when the back of the tongue is active.

There is one consonant which is formed in glottis – h.

The third type of distinctive features is formed by the amount of muscular energy and tension involved in the production of the sound. Consonants are devided into fortis requiring more mascular enery and tension and linis requiring less muscular attention and energy.

It is very important to know all eng voiceless consonants are forties which means that they require more muscular tension.

The forth distinctive feature is formed by the work of the resonator.

{p} – 1) occlusive, plosive 2) bilabial 3)fortis 4)oral

{b} – 3) раличие. {m} 1) plosive 2) sonant. P –b двусторонняя оппозиция. {m} и p многосторонняя