What is an obstruent in linguistics?
An obstruent (/ˈɒbstruːənt/) is a speech sound such as [k], [d͡ʒ], or [f] that is formed by obstructing airflow.
What condition allows for the devoicing of fricatives?
It is a continuous variable to which (1) place of articulation; (2) position; (3) manner class and voicing of adjacent phones; (4) emphatic stress and (5) free variation in force of articulation can contribute.
Does English have final Devoicing?
Final devoicing in linguistics refers to the devoicing of syllable-final voiced consonants. Voiced consonants require the vocal cords to vibrate, whereas devoiced consonants are made without vocal cord vibration. Final devoicing is a characteristic of the German language, but English does not utilize it.
What does complementary distribution mean in linguistics?
In linguistics, complementary distribution, as distinct from contrastive distribution and free variation, is the relationship between two different elements of the same kind in which one element is found in one set of environments and the other element is found in a non-intersecting (complementary) set of environments.
What is sonorant and obstruent?
Sonorants are the whole group of pretty-sonorous sounds, including vowels, glides, liquids, and nasals, while obstruents are the group of not-very-sonorous sounds, including fricatives, affricates, and stops, the last two of which I’ll get to in a sec.
What types of consonants are obstruents?
An obstruent is a plosive, a fricative, or an affricate, that is, any consonant where airflow through the vocal tract is obstructed either completely or at least enough to create turbulence.
Is Devoice a word?
verb (used with object), de·voiced, de·voic·ing. to pronounce (an ordinarily voiced speech sound) without vibration of the vocal cords; make voiceless. to devoice a speech sound. …
What is voicing in Old English?
Intervocalic voicing In Old English the voiced fricatives [v, z, ð] were not independent system units (phonemes) but rather predictable from their environment. Where /f, s, θ/ occurred between vowels they were automatically voiced. Thus a word like wif [wi:f] ‘woman’ was wifas [wi:vəs] with a voiced [v] in plural.
What type of consonant is S?
Summary of English consonants
| [p] | voiceless | bilabial |
|---|---|---|
| [s] | voiceless | alveolar |
| [z] | voiced | alveolar |
| [ʃ] | voiceless | postalveolar |
| [ʒ] | voiced | postalveolar |