Continuant

For the mathematical term, see Continuant (mathematics).

In phonetics, a continuant is a speech sound produced without a complete closure in the oral cavity. By one definition, continuant is a distinctive feature that refers to any sound produced with an incomplete closure of the vocal tract, thus encompassing all sounds (including vowels) except stops, affricates and nasals.[1][2][3][4][5] By another definition, it refers exclusively to consonantal sounds produced with an incomplete closure of the oral cavity, prototypically approximants and fricatives,[6][7] but sometimes also trills.[8]

Compare sonorants (resonants), a class of speech sounds which includes vowels, approximants and nasals (but not fricatives), and contrasts with obstruents.

  1. ^ "continuant" in Bussamann, Routledge dictionary of language and linguistics, 1996
  2. ^ Hayes, Bruce (2009). Introductory Phonology. Blackwell. p. 78. ISBN 978-1-4051-8411-3.
  3. ^ Chalker, Sylvia. (1998). The Oxford dictionary of English grammar. Weiner, E. S. C., Oxford University Press. (1st rev. ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-172767-2. OCLC 49356718.
  4. ^ "continuant" in Crystal, A dictionary of linguistics and phonetics, 6th ed, 2008
  5. ^ Matthews, P.H. (2014). The Concise Oxford English Dictionary of Linguistics (3 ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780191753060.
  6. ^ "continuant" in Bussamann, Routledge dictionary of language and linguistics, 1996
  7. ^ Matthews, P.H. (2014). The Concise Oxford English Dictionary of Linguistics (3 ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780191753060.
  8. ^ Anderson, Catherine; Bjorkman, Bronwyn; Denis, Derek; Doner, Julianne; Grant, Margaret; Sanders, Nathan; Taniguchi, Ai (2022-02-28), "3.4 Describing consonants: Manner", Essentials of Linguistics (2nd ed.), McMaster University, retrieved 2023-08-28