aspirata, aspirate (n.)

aspiration (n.)

A term in PHONETICS for the audible breath which may accompany a sound’s ARTICULATION, as when certain types of PLOSIVE CONSONANT are released. It is usually symbolized by a small raised [^h] following the main symbol. In examples such as English pin [p^hIn], the aspiration may be felt by holding the back of the hand close to the mouth while saying the word; the contrast with bin, where there is no aspiration, is noticeable. Some languages, such as Hindi, have contrasts of aspiration applying to both voiceless and VOICED STOPS, viz. a four-way contrast of [p-], [p^h-], [b-], and [b^h-]. In some phonetic environments the aspiration effect varies, as when in English the PLOSIVES are followed by /l, r, w, j/: here the aspiration devoices these consonants, as in please, twice, queue. Following initial /s/, the aspiration contrast is lost altogether, as in [spIn]. Sounds other than plosives may be aspirated, but they are less commonly encountered. In a more detailed analysis, pre-aspiration (aspiration before the consonant) can be distinguished from post-aspiration (aspiration after the consonant); both features occur, for example, in Scottish Gaelic. In nineteenth-century comparative PHILOLOGY, the term aspirate (or aspirata) was applied to any sound involving audible breath in the articulation, including voiceless plosives and FRICATIVES.

مواضيع ذات صلة

Word sharing and dialects: Dialects generally borrow from dialects

Dialects—Where Do You Draw the Line?

The standard

Koinés

Externally motivated change

Chain shifts

Changes to make life easier

Systemic changes

Weakening of intervocalic unvoiced stops

Simplification of consonant clusters

Assimilation

Reduction/loss of unstressed vowels