{"id":355,"date":"2025-06-17T14:01:49","date_gmt":"2025-06-17T14:01:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/atomsofsound.org\/?p=355"},"modified":"2026-06-27T08:14:20","modified_gmt":"2026-06-27T12:14:20","slug":"lax","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/atomsofsound.org\/?p=355","title":{"rendered":"lax"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

[lax]<\/h1>\n\n\n\n
\n
\n

Counterpart<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

[tense<\/a>]<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

\n

Feature System<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Jakobsonian Features<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Definition<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The [lax] phonemes are sounds that are produced with less muscular effort,
reduced articulatory tension, and lower total energy compared to their [tense]
counterparts. They typically involve smaller deviations from the neutral
articulatory position, and their articulation often shows a tendency toward
centralization. In terms of perception, lax phonemes are generally less audible
than [tense] phonemes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Purpose<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The [tense]\/[lax] opposition captures vowel qualities exemplified by English
\/i \/ deed vs. \/\u026a\/ did. It also aimed to capture the voiced obstruents of English
\/b, d, \u0261, t\u0283, v, z\/ (Jakobson, Halle, Fant 1968:36). In contrast, the voiceless
stops are [tense].<\/p>\n\n\n\n

History<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The feature [lax] has long been recognized primarily as the counterpart to
[tense], but its theoretical definition has remained vague and dependent on
comparative framing. Both Jakobson and Lotz (1949) and Jakobson, Halle,
Fant (1952) juxtapose [lax] with [tense], without it having an independent
definition. This oppositional framing reinforces Jakobson\u2019s broader view that
distinctive features operate in binary opposition. Similarly, in The sound
pattern of English (SPE) (Chomsky & Halle 1968), the opposition is
represented as [tense] vs. [non-tense], indicating a privative interpretation of
the feature. Lax vowels, such as [\u026a], are described as having narrower tongue
restrictions and reduced articulatory precision compared to their [tense]
counterparts.
Perkell (1969), using X-ray motion films of speech, observes that [tense]
vowels maintain a stable pharyngeal width, while [lax] vowels show
variability, suggesting that the tongue is less constrained during the
articulation of lax vowels. He suggests that during the articulation of a lax
vowel, the tongue shape in the lower pharynx isn’t tightly controlled and can
easily be affected by the surrounding sounds, whereas tense vowels maintain a
more rigid tongue posture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


Clements and Halle (1983) also allude to [lax], associating it with less
muscular effort than [tense], though without offering a clear featural
specification. In typological contexts, the term has broader utility. Kim et al.
(2015) note that [lax] is used descriptively in Korean phonology and is often
rendered as [-tense], emphasizing its status as a negative or relational feature
rather than a primary one. Similarly, Anderson (2021:145) discusses the
[tense]\/[lax] contrast in Danish obstruents, where initial \/t\/ and \/d\/ contrast<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Similarly, Anderson (2021:145) discusses the [tense]\/[lax] contrast in Danish obstruents, where initial \/t\/ and \/d\/ contrastwith post-vocalic \/d\/ and \/\u00f0\/, interpretable as a distributional pattern of [tense] vs. [lax] consonants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


Some scholars have attempted to clarify the articulatory or phonological
underpinnings of [lax]. Lindau (1978) questions the consistency of tongue
root advancement as a basis for the [tense]\/[lax] distinction. In a later work,
Lindau (1979) proposes defining [lax] as [-peripheral], highlighting the
centralizing tendency of such vowels in vowel space. Hawkins (1984) even
connects the [tense]\/[lax] opposition to voicing distinctions. He proposes that
tense consonants align with the feature [voiceless] and [lax] ones with
[voiced]. Altogether, the feature [lax] remains theoretically unstable, often described
only by its contrast to [tense], variably grounded in articulatory, perceptual, or
distributional criteria across languages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

References<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Anderson, Stephen R. 2021. Phonology in the twentieth century: Second
edition, revised and expanded (History and Philosophy of the Language
Sciences 5). Berlin: Language Science Press.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


Clements, G. N., & Morris Halle. 1983. The phonetics and phonology of
Semitic pharyngeals. MIT Working Papers in Linguistics 2. 33\u201382.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jakobson, Roman, & Jean Lotz. 1949. Notes on the French phonemic pattern.
Word 5. 425\u2013434. Reprinted in Phonological Studies. Berlin\/Boston: De
Gruyter, 2002.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kim, Hyunsoon, Young-Key Kim-Renaud, Mi-Ryoung Kim, & Juwon
Hwang. 2015. The feature [tense]. In Annie Rialland, Rachid Ridouane &
Harry van der Hulst (eds.), Features in phonology and phonetics, vol. 21,
159\u2013178. Berlin: De Gruyter.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lindau, M. 1978. Vowel features. Language 54. 541\u2013563.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lindau, M. 1979. The feature expanded. Journal of Phonetics 7. 163\u2013176.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Perkell, Joseph S. 1969. Physiology of speech production: Results and
implications of a quantitative cineradiographic study. Cambridge, MA:
MIT Press.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Further Reading<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Duanmu, San, & Haruo Kubozono. 2022. The East Asian tradition. In B. Elan
Dresher & Harry van der Hulst (eds.), The Oxford history of phonology.
Oxford: Oxford University Press.
https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1093\/oso\/9780198796800.003.0004
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kingston, John. 2022. Phonetic explanation in phonology. In B. Elan Dresher
& Harry van der Hulst (eds.), The Oxford history of phonology. Oxford:
Oxford University Press.
https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1093\/oso\/9780198796800.003.0028<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mendousse, Kevin. 2007. Le dilemme de Roman Jakobson face \u00e0 l\u2019opposition de tension\/laxit\u00e9 vocalique. Histoire \u00c9pist\u00e9mologie Langage<\/em> 29(1).29-68. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3406\/hel.2007.2911<\/a>
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Author<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Bex Colley<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[lax] Counterpart [tense] Feature System Jakobsonian Features Definition The [lax] phonemes are sounds that are produced with less muscular effort,reduced […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"disabled","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-355","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/atomsofsound.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/355","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/atomsofsound.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/atomsofsound.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atomsofsound.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atomsofsound.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=355"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/atomsofsound.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/355\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":714,"href":"https:\/\/atomsofsound.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/355\/revisions\/714"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/atomsofsound.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=355"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atomsofsound.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=355"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atomsofsound.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=355"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}