Difference between revisions of "Lax (definition)"

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'''Lax''' sounds are produced with minimal tension in the tongue or a more retracted tongue root. They contrast with [[Tense (definition)|tense]] sounds that are characterized by the greater tension in the articulators and an advanced tongue root.
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'''Lax''' sounds are produced with minimal tension in the tongue or a more retracted tongue root. They contrast with [[Tense (definition)|tense]] sounds that are also said to be [+ATR]; such sounds are characterized by the greater tension in the articulators caused by pulling the tongue root forward. English [i] (as in ''beet'') is a tense sound compared to English [ɪ] (as in ''bit'') which is the lax equivalent.  
  
Sounds with Lax articulation are in contrast to [[Tense (definition)|tense]] sounds. Lax sounds are produced with either less tongue tenseness or with less [[Advanced Tongue Root (definition)|advanced tongue root]] than tense sounds. English [i] (beet) is a tense sound, English [ɪ] (bit) is the equivalent. Gaelic also has the tense/lax distinction, but in the [[Sonorant (definition)|sonorant]] sounds -- this is sometimes also called ''lenis''.  
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Gaelic has a tense/lax contrast in its sonorants (l, n, r); the contrast is sometimes referred to a fortis/lenis distinction, where ''fortis'' is to tense as ''lenis'' is to lax.
  
 
==See Also==
 
==See Also==
 
*[[Fortis (definition)]]
 
*[[Fortis (definition)]]
*[[Sounds of Gaelic]]
 
*[[Tense (phonetics)]]
 
 
*[[Tense in Phonetics (definition)]]
 
*[[Tense in Phonetics (definition)]]
 
*[[Advanced Tongue Root (definition)]]
 
*[[Advanced Tongue Root (definition)]]
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*[[Sounds of Scottish Gaelic]]
  
 
==External Links==
 
==External Links==

Revision as of 15:08, 30 November 2020

Lax sounds are produced with minimal tension in the tongue or a more retracted tongue root. They contrast with tense sounds that are also said to be [+ATR]; such sounds are characterized by the greater tension in the articulators caused by pulling the tongue root forward. English [i] (as in beet) is a tense sound compared to English [ɪ] (as in bit) which is the lax equivalent.

Gaelic has a tense/lax contrast in its sonorants (l, n, r); the contrast is sometimes referred to a fortis/lenis distinction, where fortis is to tense as lenis is to lax.

See Also

External Links

The link below takes you away from the Gaelic Wiki to Wikipedia. Since wikipedia pages can be edited by anyone, they often contain inaccurate information. So be careful!

References

  • Ladefoged, D. (2010) A Course in Phonetics. 6th Edition. Wadsworth Publishing.