Distinctive Features

*Each sound has distinctive phonetic features from the other sounds.
Why is it important to know about distinctive phonetic features of a sound?
1. Features exit in their own as a result of various articulatory movements and shapes of various organs of speech.

*Features represented by placing them between square brackets [ ], and we can put positive value [ + ….. ] if the
feature is existed or a negative value [ - ……. ] if the features isn't existed.

*Matrix: It is a group of phonetic features that make the sound distinctive from the other. For example, the matrix of
\e\ is described with these features:
[+syllabic]
[-consonant]
[+sonorant]
2. It can help us to classify a group of phonemes that share two or more features into natural classes.
3. We can understand the nature of allophonic variation more exactly. For example, the devoicing of glides and liquids
and the nasalization of vowels.
4. It can help us to describe precisely the changes that happen in the phonological processes like assimilation.

*How can I use or deal with phonological process?

According to distinctive features.
 Classification of Distinctive Features
*Distinctive features are classified into four major classes:
1. Major class features.
2. Laryngeal features.
3. Place features.
4. Manner features.
First : Major Class Features
These features distinguish between five natural classes of phonemes:
(Vowels, liquids, nasals, and obstruent -fricatives-plosives-affricates).

Consonantal
[+consonantal] Phonemes are produced with a major obstruction in the vocal tract including Obstruent , Liquids and
nasals.
[-consonantal] Phonemes are produced without a major obstruction in the vocal tract. In other words, they are
produced with relatively free air flow including all vowels and Glides.
Syllabic
[+syllabic] phonemes are those speech sounds can occur in the Nucleus (peak) of the syllable including all vowels,
syllabic liquid and syllabic nasals.
[-syllabic] phonemes are those speech sounds occur at the left or right margins of the Nucleus of the syllables including
obstruents, liquids, glides and nasals.
Sonorant
[+sonorant] phonemes are produced with high energy and they have a singable quality (they can be sung at various
tones) including all vowels, Liquids, glides, and nasals.
[-sonorant] phonemes are not produced with a singable quality or with various tones including all obstruents.
Vowels Glides Liquids Nasals Obstruents
[consonantal] - - + + +
[syllabic] + - +\- +\- -
[sonorant] + + + + -
examples æ, ə ,ɔː ,ɪ, ……etc. j, w l,r n, m, ŋ K, g , f, z, …….etc.

Second: Laryngeal Features

These are the features that represent the laryngeal states (states of glottis).

Voice
[+voice] sounds produced with the vibration of the vocal cords.
[-voice] sounds that do not involve vibration of the vocal cords.
Constricted Glottis [CG]
[+CG] sounds made with the glottis closed including only one sound in English which is the glottal stop \ʔ\.
[-CG] other sounds, which do not involve closing the glottis.
Spread Glottis [SG]
*this feature distinguishes aspirated from unaspirated consonants.
[+SG] aspirated sounds are only four sounds \h\ and the aspirated allophones of voiceless stops \p,k,t\.
[-SG] unaspirated consonants sounds.
 Third: Place Features
Labial
[+labial] any speech sound produced using one or both lips such as \p,b,m,f,v,w\ and the sounds that are [+round].
[-labial] sounds whose production does not involve the lips including the other consonants.
Round
[+round] sounds that are produced by protruding and rounding the lips such as \w\ and these vowels \ɒ, ɔː, ʊ, uː\.
[-round] the other sounds that we do not produce it with rounding the lips.
*All [+round] sounds are also [+labial], but sounds which are [+labial] are not necessarily [+round] such as \p,b,f,v,m\
which are [+labial] but [-round].
Coronal
[+coronal] sounds produced by the tongue tip or blade including interdental \ð , θ\ , alveolar \t,d,s,z,n,l,r\ and
alveopalatal \ʃ, ʒ, tʃ, dʒ\.
[-coronal] sounds whose production does not involve the tip of the blade of the tongue including the other consonants.
Anterior
[+anterior] sounds that are produced in front of the palate-alveolar region including bilabial \p,b\, labiodental \f,v\
interdental \ ð , θ\ ,and alveolar \t,d,s,z,n,l,r\.
[-anterior] the other consonants.
Strident
[+strident] sounds which are articulated with a noisy hissing sounds including alveolar fricatives \s,z\ alveopalatal
fricatives \ ʃ, ʒ\ and the alveopalatal affricates \ tʃ, dʒ\.
[-strident] all other consonants.
 Dorsal Features (the body of the tongue).
These are the features that represent vertical and horizontal position of the body of the tongue. These are including
five features which are used mostly for vowels.
High
[+high] speech sounds produced with the body of the tongue raised closer to the roof of the mouth including the
vowels \iː, ɪ, ʊ, uː\ and the following consonants \k,g,w,j, ŋ\.
[-high] the other vowels and consonants.
Low
[+low] Vowels that are produced with body of the tongue lowered from a central position in the mouth including \æ, ʌ,
ɑː, ɒ\.
[-low] other vowels.
Back
[+back] any sound produced behind the hard palate in the mouth including the vowels \ɑː, ɒ, ɔː, ʊ, ɒ\ and the following
consonants \k,g, ŋ,w\.
[-back] other vowels and cosonants.
Tense
[+tense] vowels whose articulation involves tensing the muscles of the mouth such as long vowels \iː, ɔː, uː, ɜː, ɑː\.
[-tense] other vowels which are short and lax.
Reduced
[+reduced] the shwa sound \ə\ is the only [+reduced] vowel in English.
*The term reduced here is synonymous with weak and it is normally unstressed.
[-reduced] all other vowels.
 Fourth: Manner Features
These features represent manner of articulatin.

Nasal
[+nasal] sounds that are produced with the uvula lowered thus allowing the airflow to escape through the nasal
passage including \m,n, ŋ, \.
[-nasal] all other consonants and vowels.
Continuant
[+continuant] sounds produced with free or relatively free airflow in the mouth including all vowels, fricatives, liquids
and glids.
[-continuant] all other sounds.
*Notice that nasals, although their airflow passes freely in the nose, their airflow is blocked in the mouth and
consequently they are still [-continuant] because [+continuant] refers to the free airflow in the mouth and not in the
nose.
Lateral
[+lateral] the consonant \l\ is the only [+lateral] sound in English. It involves the escaping of the airflow from both sides
of the tongue.
[-lateral] including all other sounds. This feature is considered as synonymous of the feature [+central] which involves
the passing of airflow from the center of the mouth.
Delayed Release [DL]
[+DL] \tʃ, dʒ\ are the only two sounds including in this feature, their articulation involves the delay of the release stage.
[-DL] all other consonants. This feature is considered as synonymous of the feature [abrupt release].
 The Feature Matrix for English Vowels

Features i: ɪ e æ ʌ ə ɜ: ɑ: ɒ ɔ: ʊ u:
Major Class Features [consonantal - - - - - - - - - - - -
[sonorant] + + + + + + + + + + + +
[syllabic] + + + + + + + + + + + +
Laryngeal Features [voice] + + + + + + + + + + + +
Place Features [round] - - - - - - - - + + + +
Dorsal Features [high] + + - - - - - - - - + +
[low] - - - + + - - + + - - -
[back] - - - - - - - + + + + +
[tense] + - - - - - + + - + - +
[reduced] - - - - - + - - - - - -
Manner place [continuant] + + + + + + + + + + + +
 The Feature Matrix for English Consonants
p pʰ b t tʰ d k kʰ g f v s z θ ð ʃ ʒ t ʃ dʒ m n ŋ l r j w h ʔ
Major [consonantal] + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + - - - -
Class
Features
[sonorant] - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - + + + + + + + - -
[syllabic] - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -\+ -\+ -\+ -\+ -\+ - - - -
Laryngeal [voice] - - + - - + - - + - + - + - + - + - + + + + + + + - - -
Features
[CG] - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - +
[SG] - + - - + - - + - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - + -
Place [labial] + + + + + - - - - - - - - - - - - - - + - - - - - + - -
Features
[round] - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - + - -
[coronal] - - - + + + - - - - - + + + + + + + + - + - + + - - - -
[anterior] + + + + + + - - - + + + + + + - - - - - + - + + - - - -
[strident] - - - - - - - - - - - + + - - + + + + - - - - - - - - -
Dorsal [high] - - - - - - + + + - - - - - - - - - - - - + - - + + - -
Features
[back] - - - - - - + + + - - - - - - - - - - - - + - - - + - -
Manner [nasal] - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - + + + - - - - - -
Features
[continuant] - - - - - - - - - + + + + + + + + - - - - - - + + + + -
[lateral] - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - + - - - - -
[delayed - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - + + - - - - - - - - -
Release]