feature

→ A linguistic term for ‘property’ or ‘component’

which can be used to classify phonemes
 /m/ has the features:
consonantal, voiced, labial, nasal
 /n/ has the features:

consonantal, voiced, - , nasal

 /n/ has all the features of phoneme /m/, except
it lacks the feature labial.
 Therefore the feature labial distinguishes the
two phonemes.
 It is called distinctive feature
Distinctive features

When a feature distinguishes

one phoneme from another, it is
a distinctive feature (or a
phonemic feature)

A single feature has two values

(binary feature) :
+ and –
 Binary features

 [+consonantal]  [+tense][– tense]

[–consonantal]  [+back] [–back]
 [+ voiced] [–voiced]  [+high] [–high]
 [+ nasal ] [–nasal ]

[+ anterior ] [– anterior ]

 [+ sonorant] [– [ sonorant]
 [+continuant] [–continuant]
 [+ sibilant ] [–
[ sibilant ]
 [+aspirated] [–
[ aspirated ]
 bat – mat
[b] [m]
oral nasal rack – rock
[–nasal] [+nasal]
[æ] [ɒ]
front vowel
 van – fan
back
[v] [f]
[–back] [+back]
voiced voiceless
[+voiced] [–voiced]
 Predictable Feature: nasalization of vowel
bee [bi:] bead [bi:d] bean [bǐ:n]
lay [le] lace [les] lame [lẽm]
baa [bæ] bad [bæd] bang [bǽŋ]
 Oral vowels occur in final position and before oral (non-nasal)
consonants
 Nasal vowels occur before nasal consonants
 Predictable Rule:
a vowel or diphthong will be nasalized when it
occurs before a word-final nasal consonant or
syllabic-final nasal consonant
This nasality of vowel is predictable or redundant feature in
English. If the vowel occurs before a nasal consonant in the
same syllable, the vowel is predictably [+nasal]; the value of
this feature is redundant (=It is not needed, not useful)

Redundant: the difference arises automatically in different

contexts, but does not convey any new information.
 Kitchen cupboard
/k/ /k/
[k] [c]

 car keys
/k/ /k/
[k] [c]
 Phonological Rule

input → output / environment

A → B / Y ____ X
 A is realized as B in the environment between Y and X
becomes whenever
 The arrow ‘→’ means ‘is
‘ realized as’ or
‘becomes’
‘ the environment of’
 The slash ‘/‘ means ‘in

‘ the context of’, or ‘whenever

or ‘in ‘ ’
 Horizontal bar ‘ ___ ‘ indicates the structural

slot, with information preceding (before)

and/or following (after) it.
 Phonological Rule
 vowel → nasalized / ___ # C [+nasal]
or V → [+nasal] / ____ # C [+nasal]
The mark ‘ # ‘ means ‘word boundary’
A vowel is nasalized whenever it occurs before a
word-final or syllabic-final nasal consonant

 /k/ → [kh] / $ _____ [– consonantal]

[+stress]
$ means ‘syllable’
 Phoneme /k/ is realized as aspirated [ kh ] in
the environment that it is in the initial syllable
stress
[-voiced] [+aspirated] / $ __ [-consonantal]
[-continuant] [+stress]
 Feature Specifications of Consonants

mn ŋ p t k b d g f θ s ʃ v ð z ӡ l r w j h

consonant
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + – – +
Sonorant
+ + + – – – – – – – – – – – – – – + + + + –
continuant
– – – – – – – – – + + + + + + + + + + + + +
Anterior
+ + – + + – + + – + + + – + + + – + – – – –
Coronal
– + – – + – – + – – + + + – + + + + + – – –
Voice
+ + + – – – + + + – – – – + + + + + + + + –
Nasal
+ + + – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
Lateral
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – + – – – –
Sibilant
– – – – – – – – – – – + + – – + + – – – – –
Strident
– – – – – – – – – + – + + + – + + – – – – –
 Feature Specifications of Vowels

i: ı u: q e æ ә ɜ: ʌ ɒ ɔ: ɑ:
Consonantal
– – – – – – – – – – – –
Sonorant
+ + + + + + + + + + + +
Continuant
+ + + + + + + + + + + +
Back
– – + + – – – – – + + +
High
+ + + + + – – + – – + +
Low
+ + + – – – + + + + + +
Round
– – + + – – – – – + + –
Tense
+ – + – – – – + – – + +
 Natural Classes
 Classes of sounds that share a feature or
features and that pattern together in sound
systems.

 Onein which the number of features that

must be specified to define that class is
smaller than the number of features
required to distinguish any member of that
class.
 Natural Classes
+ sonorant
+ continuant → approximants / l, r, w, j /

– sonorant
+ continuant → fricatives / f,v, θ,ð, s,z, ʃ,ӡ,h /

+ sonorant
– continuant → nasal stops / m, n, ŋ /

– sonorant
– continuant → oral stops / p, t, k, b, d, g /
 Natural Classes
/ p,t,k / / p,t / / p /

– sonorant – sonorant – sonorant

– continuant – continuant – continuant
– voice – voice – voice
– nasal – nasal – nasal
+ anterior + anterior
– coronal
 morphophonemics
 Morphophonemics: classification of the phonological
factors which affect the appearance of morphemes
Allomorphs: alternative phonetic forms of a morpheme.
 /s/→[s]
Where the final sound of the stem is voiceless consonant / p, t,
k, f, θ, h /
cats → / kæts
k /
 /s/→[z]
Where the final sound of the stem is voiced consonant / b, d,
g, m, n, ŋ, v, ð, z, ӡ , l , r, w, j / or vowel
e.g. ‘dogs’ → / dɒgz d /
‘boys’ → / bɔi z /
 / s / → [ iz ] or [ әz ]
Where the final sound of the stem is sibilant (hissing sound)
/ s, z, ʃ, ӡ, tʃ ,dӡ /
e.g. ‘houses’ → / hausiz /
 Phonetic-changing/conditioning
Process
 ASSIMILATION
A term which refers to a change to a sound under the
influence of another, so that the sounds become more alike
or identical, or to assimilate to one another.

‘ten bikes’ / ten baiks / → / tembaiks /

‘ten minutes’ / ten mınıts / → / temmınıts /
‘ten pounds’ / ten paundz / → / tempaundz /

/n/ has fallen under the influence of the following /b/

or /m/ (bilabial), becoming /m/
‘input’ / ınput / → / ımput /
 What is the process of assimilation for?
For making speech easier since it minimizes the
movement that the articulators have to undergo.
 assimilation

‘ white paper ‘
‘ten cakes’ /waıt peıpә/ → /waıp peıpә/
/te keıks/ → /teŋ
/ten /te keıks/ ‘ wet blanket ‘
‘unkind’’ /wet bl kıt/→ /wep
/we blæŋ bl kıt/
/we blæŋ
/ʌ kaınd / →
/ʌn ‘ statement ‘
/ʌŋ
/ʌ kaınd/ /steıtmәnt/ → /steıpmәnt/

‘broadcast ‘ ‘ night cap ‘

/brɔ:dka:st/ /naıt kæp/ → /naık kæp/
→ /brɔ:gka:st/ ‘ on the house
‘don’t you ‘ /ɒn ðә haqs/ → /ɒn nә haqs/
/ dәqn jq / → / dәqntʃq
 DISSIMILATION

A term which refers to a change to a sound

under the influence of another, so that the
sounds become less alike or identical.
 Latin ‘peregrinus’ → ‘pilgrim’ with the first
/r/ dissimilating to / l /
 DELETION / ELISION
It refers to omission/deletion of a phoneme.
Elision of / ә /
 Mystery / mıstәrı / → / mıstrı /
 General / dӡәnәrәl / → / dӡәnrәl /
 Memory /memәrı/ → /memrı/
 Vigorous /vıgәrәs/ → /vıgrәs /
 Camera /kæmәrә/ → /kæmrә/
 ‘cup of tea’ / f / is dropped
/ cʌp әf ti: / → / cʌpә ti: /
 ‘boys and girls’
/ bɔız әnd gɜ:lz / → / bɔız n gɜ:lz /
 ‘tasteless’
/ teıstlәs / → / teıslәs / /t/ is dropped
 liaison (the converse of elision)
a term refers to a type of transition between sounds,
where a sound is introduced at the end of a word if a
certain context follows.
The insertion of an extra sound.

Linking /r/
‘sooner’ /su:nә/ → ‘sooner or later’ /su:nә rɔ:
leıtә/
‘hear’ /hıә/ → ‘hear it’ / hıәrıt /
‘idea’ /aıdıә/ → ‘idea is’ /aıdıәrız/
‘law’ /lɔ:/ → ‘law and’ /lɔ: r nd/
‘we saw a film’ / wı sɔ: r ә fılm /