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Distinctive features and laryngeal control

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 April 2026

Leigh Lisker  and
Arthur S. Abramson
Leigh Lisker
Affiliation:
University of Pennsylvania Haskins Laboratories, New Haven
Arthur S. Abramson
Affiliation:
University of Connecticut Haskins Laboratories, New Haven
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Abstract

Physiological, acoustic, and perceptual data indicate that the timing of events at the glottis relative to articulation differentiates homorganic stops in many languages. Such categories are variously described in terms of voicing, aspiration, and force of articulation. Chomsky & Halle 1968 have proposed a universal set of phonetic features, four of which—voice, tensity, glottal constriction, and heightened subglottal pressure—allegedly operate to control the onset timing of laryngeal pulsing. But the observational basis for their analysis is flimsy, and Chomsky & Halle have no substantive argument for rejecting the possibility of temporal control of laryngeal function.

Information

Type
Research Article
Information
Language , Volume 47 , Issue 4 , December 1971 , pp. 767 - 785
Copyright
Copyright © 1971 by Linguistic Society of America

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