The table below represents the consonant inventory of Romanian. Consider the highlighted sounds.

  Bilabial Labiodental Dental Alveolar Postalveolar Retroflex Palatal Velar Glotal
(Oral) Stop p b         t d             k g    
(Nasal) Stop   m           n                    
Tap or Flap               ɾ                    
Affricate             ts   tʃ dʒ                
Fricative     f v     s z ʃ ʒ             h  
Central approximant   w                       j        
Lateral
approximant 		              l                    

Do the highlighted sounds above form a natural class?

Yes No

Try again. These sounds share the properties of voicing and fricative. Check to see if there is one or more other sounds that also share these properties.

Correct! There is no feature or combination of features that these sounds share that are not shared with other sounds in the inventory.

If one of these sounds were added to the list, which would make it a natural class?

Incorrect. A natural class is the set of all sounds that share one or more features.

Correct! [v, z, ʒ] do form a natural class.

Now, from the menus below select the minimal number of features necessary to define the natural class.

Voicing: Place: Manner:

Reconsider 'voicing'.

Reconsider 'place'.

Reconsider 'manner'.