Contrast and Vowel Features

This study explores the upper bound of possible segments in the world's languages and the features that define it. I limit the discussion to vowels in two databases of phoneme inventories: UPSID and P‐Base. Common problems in using such databases are considered and a method to avoid them is int...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inThe Segment in Phonetics and Phonology pp. 218 - 235
Main Author Duanmu, San
Format Book Chapter
LanguageEnglish
Published Chichester, UK John Wiley & Sons, Ltd 04.05.2015
Subjects
contrast
features
phoneme inventories
vowels
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Summary:This study explores the upper bound of possible segments in the world's languages and the features that define it. I limit the discussion to vowels in two databases of phoneme inventories: UPSID and P‐Base. Common problems in using such databases are considered and a method to avoid them is introduced, where the notion of contrast plays a central role. The results show no compelling evidence for any language to require a three‐way contrast in any feature dimension. In addition, while [high] and [low] are commonly used to define three degrees of vowel height, one is found to be sufficient, giving two degrees of height. I conclude that there are far fewer possible vowels, and far fewer features needed, than often assumed.
ISBN:9781118555408
1118555406
DOI:10.1002/9781118555491.ch10