43:
420:, 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
358:"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.
458:, 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.
308:, 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
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469:( vs. ), is in fact better analyzed as tenseness since the latter set is voiceless in Southern German. German linguists call the distinction
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213:: 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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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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389:, there is no such correlation. The standard variety of
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197:(i.e. either more fronting or more backing), longer
152:. For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see
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461:Some researchers have argued that the contrast in
561:Journal of the International Phonetic Association
402:) and lax vowels in closed syllables (so-called
166:IPA § Brackets and transcription delimiters
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530:The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Linguistics
393:has only lax vowels, and no tense vowels.
220:, are common in many languages, including
687:English Phonology and Phonological Theory
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328:representing lax vowels, and the letters
224:. For example, in most English dialects,
127:Learn how and when to remove this message
521:
250:) is the tense counterpart to the lax
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638:. Oxford University Press. pp.
156:. For the distinction between ,
65:adding citations to reliable sources
667:The Sounds of the World's Languages
337:been used to describe contrasts in
626:Kim, Nam-Kil (1987). "Korean". In
590:English Phonology: An Introduction
532:. Oxford University PRess. p. 403.
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711:. Cambridge University Press.
689:. Cambridge University Press.
592:. Cambridge University Press.
528:Matthews, Peter Hugoe (2014).
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611:. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
465:, traditionally described as
588:Giegerich, Heinz J. (1992).
634:The World's Major Languages
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607:Jessen, Michael (1998).
383:General American English
32:Tension (disambiguation)
495:Checked and free vowels
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185:is, most broadly, the
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670:. Oxford: Blackwell.
685:Lass, Roger (1976).
555:Kleine, Ane (2003).
450:In some dialects of
355:advanced tongue root
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18:Tense and lax vowels
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399:free vowels
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117:August 2018
76:"Tenseness"
731:Categories
567:(2): 263.
516:References
483:gemination
412:Consonants
367:RP English
365:, such as
339:consonants
318:Vietnamese
193:with less
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737:Phonetics
387:Icelandic
314:lax vowel
286:) versus
179:tenseness
175:phonology
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154:Help:IPA
630:(ed.).
477:of the
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