In linguistics, a distinctive feature is the most basic unit of phonological structure that distinguishes one speech sound from another within a language. They are grouped into categories according to the natural classes of segments they describe: major class features, laryngeal features, manner features, and place features. These feature categories are in turn further specified on the basis of the phonetic properties of the segments in question. This Euler diagram illustrates a typical classification of speech sounds, represented in the International Phonetic Alphabet, with the relationship between manners of articulation and related categories, including distinctive features.Diagram credit: Nardog