[nonvocalic]

Definition

Phonemes that are [vocalic] “are produced with an oral cavity in which the most radical constriction does not exceed that found in the high vowels [i] and [u] and with vocal cords that are positioned as to allow spontaneous voicing” (Chomsky & Halle 1968:302). When producing [nonvocalic] sounds, one or both of these conditions go unsatisfied (Chomsky & Halle 1968:302).

Purpose

Used alongside [consonantal]/[nonconsonantal] to make accurate binary distinctions among the major class phonemes (vowels, consonants, liquids, and glides).

History

In 1949, Jakobson and Lotz introduced the opposition [vowel]/[consonant] with no distinct definition. However, they noted that [r] and [l] create a complex “combining the consonantal characteristics with a vocalic one” (Jakobson & Lotz 1949:427). The footnotes of the page state that they may be “vowel-like consonants” (Jakobson & Lotz 1949:427).

Liquids [l] and [r] have a sharply defined formant structure, similar to the formant structure of vowels. They may either have rather low intensity, like consonants, or they may possess intensity as high as or higher than that of adjoining vowels, and “their first formant often has higher frequency than the first formant of close vowels” (Fischer-Jørgensen 1975: 156-157). These inconsistent characteristics create a discrepancy in the way that liquids are characterized vocalically.

Because of the discrepancy with liquids, the original opposition was broken up into two sets: [vocalic]/[nonvocalic] and [consonantal]/[nonconsonantal] (Fischer-Jørgensen 1975:156). Jakobson and Halle declared: “VOWELS  are vocalic and non-consonantal. CONSONANTS are consonantal and non-vocalic. LIQUIDS are vocalic and consonantal (with both free passage and obstruction in the buccal cavity and with the corresponding acoustic effect). GLIDES are non-vocalic and non-consonantal…” (Jakobson & Halle 1971:41). These distinctions make clearer the distinctions between vowels, consonants, liquids, and glides.  

References

Chomsky, Noam; and Morris Halle. 1968. The sound pattern of English. New York: Harper and Row.

Fischer-Jørgensen, Eli. 1975. Trends in phonological theory: A historical introduction. Copenhagen: Akademisk Forlag. 

Jakobson, Roman; and John Lotz. 1949. Notes on the French phonemic pattern. Word 5.151-158. Reprinted in 1962 in Selected writings: Vol. 1: Phonological studies, ed. by Roman Jakobson, 426-434. ’S-Gravenhage: Mouton.

Jakobson, Roman; and Morris Halle. 1971. Fundamentals of language, 2^nd revised edn. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.

Author

Ainsley Graf