transition (n.)

A term used in PHONOLOGY to refer to the way adjacent sounds are linked. There are many ways in which the relationships between successive ARTICULATIONS may be described: one general classification which has been suggested distinguishes between close transitions and open transitions, similar to the distinction between close and open JUNCTURE. Close transitions refer to those articulations where there is an articulatory continuity between successive sounds; in open transition, by contrast, there is a break in the continuity of the articulation. The distinction can be seen in the s–s sequences heard in this sort and this assortment, where the former illustrates a close and the latter an open transition.

The term is also used in ACOUSTIC PHONETICS for the acoustic change which takes place as the vocal organs move to and from the articulatory positions of CONSONANTS, especially PLOSIVES. The transitional features, or transients, can be clearly seen on a SPECTROGRAM, by the way the FORMANTS of the adjacent VOWELS are bent upwards or downwards, depending on which consonant is articulated.