In phonology, a natural class is a set of phonemes in a language that share certain distinctive features.[1] A natural class is determined by participation in shared phonological processes, described using the minimum number of features necessary for descriptive adequacy.
To give a further example, the system of Chomsky and Halle defines the class of voiceless stops by the specification of two binary features: [-continuant] and [-voice].[3] Any sound with both the feature [-continuant] (not able to be pronounced continuously) and the feature [-voice] (not pronounced with vibration of the vocal cords) is included in the class, thus specifying all and only the voiceless stops.
By implication, the class is also described as not having the features [+continuant] or [+voice]. This means that all sounds with either the feature [+continuant] (able to be lengthened in pronunciation) or [+voice] (pronounced with vibration of the vocal cords) are excluded from the class. This excludes all natural classes of sounds besides voiceless stops. For instance, it excludes voiceless fricatives, which have the feature [+continuant], voiced stops, which have the feature [+voice], and liquids and vowels, which have the features [+continuant] and [+voice].
Voiceless stops also have other, redundant, features, such as [+consonantal] and [-lateral]. These are not relevant to the description of the class and are unnecessary, since the features [-continuant] and [-voice] already include all voiceless stops and exclude all other sounds.
It is expected that members of a natural class will behave similarly in the same phonetic environment, and will have a similar effect on sounds that occur in their environment.
Referencesedit
^Giegerich, Heinz J. (1992-10-15). English Phonology: An Introduction. Cambridge University Press. ISBN9780521336031.
^Jakobson, Roman (2002-01-01). Phonological Studies. Walter de Gruyter. ISBN9783110173628.
^Chomsky, Noam; Halle, Morris (1991-01-01). The Sound Pattern of English. MIT Press. ISBN9780262530972.
External linksedit
Glossary of linguistic terms: What is a natural class?
November 11, 2023
natural, class, phonology, natural, class, phonemes, language, that, share, certain, distinctive, features, natural, class, determined, participation, shared, phonological, processes, described, using, minimum, number, features, necessary, descriptive, adequac. In phonology a natural class is a set of phonemes in a language that share certain distinctive features 1 A natural class is determined by participation in shared phonological processes described using the minimum number of features necessary for descriptive adequacy Overview editClasses are defined by distinctive features having reference to articulatory and acoustic phonetic properties 2 including manners of articulation places of articulation voicing and continuance For example the set containing the sounds p t and k is a natural class of voiceless stops in American Standard English This class is one of several other classes including the voiced stops b d and g voiceless fricatives f 8 s ʃ and h sonorants and vowels To give a further example the system of Chomsky and Halle defines the class of voiceless stops by the specification of two binary features continuant and voice 3 Any sound with both the feature continuant not able to be pronounced continuously and the feature voice not pronounced with vibration of the vocal cords is included in the class thus specifying all and only the voiceless stops By implication the class is also described as not having the features continuant or voice This means that all sounds with either the feature continuant able to be lengthened in pronunciation or voice pronounced with vibration of the vocal cords are excluded from the class This excludes all natural classes of sounds besides voiceless stops For instance it excludes voiceless fricatives which have the feature continuant voiced stops which have the feature voice and liquids and vowels which have the features continuant and voice Voiceless stops also have other redundant features such as consonantal and lateral These are not relevant to the description of the class and are unnecessary since the features continuant and voice already include all voiceless stops and exclude all other sounds It is expected that members of a natural class will behave similarly in the same phonetic environment and will have a similar effect on sounds that occur in their environment References edit Giegerich Heinz J 1992 10 15 English Phonology An Introduction Cambridge University Press ISBN 9780521336031 Jakobson Roman 2002 01 01 Phonological Studies Walter de Gruyter ISBN 9783110173628 Chomsky Noam Halle Morris 1991 01 01 The Sound Pattern of English MIT Press ISBN 9780262530972 External links editGlossary of linguistic terms What is a natural class Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Natural class amp oldid 1138358131, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
