32:
409:, for example, has a three-way contrast among stops and affricates; the three series are often transcribed as - - . The contrast between the series and the series is sometimes said to be a function of tenseness: the former are lax and the latter tense. In this case the definition of "tense" would have to include greater glottal tension; see
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representing the corresponding tense vowels. Some languages like
Spanish are often considered as having only tense vowels, but since the quality of tenseness is not a phonemic feature in this language, it cannot be applied to describe its vowels in any meaningful way. The term has also occasionally
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than lax vowels, but this varies, and in some languages, it is the lax vowels that are more advanced, or a single language may be inconsistent between front and back or high and mid vowels (Ladefoged and
Maddieson 1996, 302–4). The traditional definition, that tense vowels are produced with more
347:"muscular tension" than lax vowels, has not been confirmed by phonetic experiments. Another hypothesis is that lax vowels are more centralized than tense vowels. There are also linguists (Lass 1976, 1-39) who believe that there is no phonetic correlation to the tense–lax opposition.
447:, there is a contrast between and . Again, the former set have sometimes been described as lax and the latter set as tense. It is not clear what phonetic characteristics other than greater duration would then be associated with tenseness.
297:, the feature can be interpreted only relatively, often with a perception of greater tension or pressure in the mouth, which, in a language like English, contrasts between two corresponding vowel types: a
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dialects because they have two series of them that are identically voiceless and unaspirated. However, it is debated whether the distinction is really a result of different muscular tension and not of
154:
458:( vs. ), is in fact better analyzed as tenseness since the latter set is voiceless in Southern German. German linguists call the distinction
202:: the pronunciation of a vowel with relatively more centralization, shorter duration, and more widening (perhaps even lowering).
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of a sound with greater muscular effort or constriction than is typical. More specifically, tenseness is the pronunciation of a
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Halle, Morris (1977). "Tenseness, Vowel Shift, and the
Phonology of the Back Vowels in Modern English."
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Occasionally, tenseness has been used to distinguish pairs of contrasting consonants in languages.
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are articulated with a strong articulation, and , to better distinguish them from weaker
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are contrasted by the vowel sound being tense in the first word but not the second; i.e.,
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In general, tense vowels are more close (and correspondingly have lower first
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Germanic languages prefer tense vowels in open syllables (so-called
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rather than tense and lax. Tenseness is especially used to explain
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Contrasts between two vowels on the basis of tenseness, and even
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Pronunciation of a sound with greater muscular effort than normal
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This article is about a contrast in vowels. For other uses, see
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Phonetics and
Phonology of Tense and Lax Obstruents in German
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tense vowels are longer in duration than lax vowels, but in
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Modern Irish: Grammatical
Structure and Dialectal Variation
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378:, there is no such correlation. The standard variety of
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186:(i.e. either more fronting or more backing), longer
141:. For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see
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450:Some researchers have argued that the contrast in
550:Journal of the International Phonetic Association
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391:) and lax vowels in closed syllables (so-called
155:IPA § Brackets and transcription delimiters
519:The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Linguistics
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382:has only lax vowels, and no tense vowels.
209:, are common in many languages, including
676:English Phonology and Phonological Theory
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317:representing lax vowels, and the letters
213:. For example, in most English dialects,
116:Learn how and when to remove this message
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239:) is the tense counterpart to the lax
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627:. Oxford University Press. pp.
145:. For the distinction between ,
54:adding citations to reliable sources
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656:The Sounds of the World's Languages
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326:been used to describe contrasts in
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615:Kim, Nam-Kil (1987). "Korean". In
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521:. Oxford University PRess. p. 403.
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700:. Cambridge University Press.
678:. Cambridge University Press.
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517:Matthews, Peter Hugoe (2014).
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596:Jessen, Michael (1998).
372:General American English
21:Tension (disambiguation)
484:Checked and free vowels
257:); the same is true of
133:phonetic transcriptions
174:is, most broadly, the
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659:. Oxford: Blackwell.
674:Lass, Roger (1976).
544:Kleine, Ane (2003).
439:In some dialects of
344:advanced tongue root
295:distinctive features
50:improve this article
694:Ó Siadhail, Mícheál
546:"Standard Yiddish"
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499:Trisyllabic laxing
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388:free vowels
299:tense vowel
106:August 2018
65:"Tenseness"
720:Categories
556:(2): 263.
505:References
472:gemination
401:Consonants
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354:, such as
328:consonants
307:Vietnamese
182:with less
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303:lax vowel
275:) versus
168:tenseness
164:phonology
696:(1989).
653:(1996).
478:See also
350:In many
340:formants
188:duration
147:/ /
143:Help:IPA
619:(ed.).
466:of the
380:Yiddish
289:(as in
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