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In linguistics
Linguistics

Linguistics is the science study of natural language. Linguistics encompasses a number of sub-fields. An important topical division is between the study of language structure and the study of Meaning ....
, a distinctive feature is the most basic unit of phonological
Phonology

Phonology is the systematic use of sound to encode meaning in any spoken human language, or the field of linguistics studying this use. Just as a language has syntax and vocabulary, it also has a phonology in the sense of a sound system....
 structure that may be analyzed in phonological theory.

Distinctive features are grouped into categories according to the natural classes of segments
Segment (linguistics)

In linguistics , the term segment may be defined as "any discrete unit that can be identified, either physically or auditorily, in the stream of speech."...
 they describe: major class features, laryngeal features, manner features, and place features. These feature categories in turn are further specified on the basis of the phonetic
Phonetics

Phonetics is a branch of linguistics that comprises the study of the sounds of human speech. It is concerned with the physical properties of speech sounds , and the processes of their physiological production, auditory reception, and neurophysiological perception....
 properties of the segments in question.






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In linguistics
Linguistics

Linguistics is the science study of natural language. Linguistics encompasses a number of sub-fields. An important topical division is between the study of language structure and the study of Meaning ....
, a distinctive feature is the most basic unit of phonological
Phonology

Phonology is the systematic use of sound to encode meaning in any spoken human language, or the field of linguistics studying this use. Just as a language has syntax and vocabulary, it also has a phonology in the sense of a sound system....
 structure that may be analyzed in phonological theory.

Distinctive features are grouped into categories according to the natural classes of segments
Segment (linguistics)

In linguistics , the term segment may be defined as "any discrete unit that can be identified, either physically or auditorily, in the stream of speech."...
 they describe: major class features, laryngeal features, manner features, and place features. These feature categories in turn are further specified on the basis of the phonetic
Phonetics

Phonetics is a branch of linguistics that comprises the study of the sounds of human speech. It is concerned with the physical properties of speech sounds , and the processes of their physiological production, auditory reception, and neurophysiological perception....
 properties of the segments in question. Since the inception of the phonological analysis of distinctive features in the 1950's, features traditionally have been specified by assigning them binary values to signify that the segment being described by the feature either possesses that phonetic property or it does not. Therefore, a positive value, [+], denotes the presence of a feature, while a negative value, [-], indicates its absence. However, in recent developments to the theory of distinctive features, phonologists have proposed the existence of single-valued features. These features, called univalent features, can only describe the classes of segments that are said to possess those features, and not the classes that are without them.

Major Class Features: The features that represent the major classes of sounds.
  1. [+/- consonantal] Consonantal segments are produced with an audible constriction in the vocal tract
    Vocal tract

    The vocal tract is the cavity in animals where sound that is produced at the sound source is filtered. In birds it consists of the Vertebrate trachea, the Syrinx , the oral cavity, the upper part of the esophagus, and the beak....
    , like plosives, affricates
    Affricate consonant

    Affricate consonants begin as stop consonants but release as a fricative consonant rather than directly into the following vowel....
    , fricatives, nasals, laterals and [r]. Vowels, glides and laryngeal segments are not consonantal.
  2. [+/- sonorant] This feature describes the type of oral constriction that can occur in the vocal tract. [+son] designates the vowels and sonorant
    Sonorant

    In phonetics and phonology, a sonorant is a speech sound that is produced without turbulent airflow in the vocal tract. Essentially this means a sound that's "squeezed out" or "spat out" is not a sonorant....
     consonants, which are produced without the imbalance of air pressure in the vocal tract that might cause turbulence. [-son] alternatively describes the obstruent
    Obstruent

    An obstruent is a consonant sound formed by obstructing airflow, causing increased air pressure in the vocal tract. In phonetics, Manner of articulation may be divided into two large classes, obstruents and sonorants....
    s, articulated with a noticeable turbulence caused by an imbalance of air pressure in the vocal tract.
  3. [+/- syllabic] Syllabic segments may function as the nucleus
    Syllable nucleus

    In phonetics and phonology, the nucleus is the central part of the syllable, most commonly a vowel. In addition to a nucleus, a syllable may begin with an syllable onset and end with a syllable coda, but in most languages the only part of a syllable that is mandatory is the nucleus....
     of a syllable
    Syllable

    A syllable is a unit of organization for a sequence of Speech communication sounds. For example, the word water is composed of two syllables: wa and ter....
    , while their counterparts, the [-syll] segments, may not.


Laryngeal Features: The features that specify the glottal states of sounds.
  1. [+/- voice] This feature indicates whether vibration of the vocal folds
    Vocal folds

    The vocal folds, also known commonly as vocal cords, are composed of twin infoldings of mucous membrane stretched horizontally across the larynx....
     occurs with the articulation of the segment.
  2. [+/- spread glottis] Used to indicate the aspiration
    Aspiration (phonetics)

    In phonetics, aspiration is the strong burst of Earth's atmosphere that accompanies either the release or, in the case of preaspiration, the closure of some obstruents....
     of a segment, this feature denotes the openness of the glottis. For [+sg] the vocal folds are spread apart wide enough for frication to occur; for [-sg] there is not the same friction-inducing spreading.
  3. [+/- constricted glottis] The constricted glottis features denotes the degree of closure of the glottis. [+cg] implies that the vocal folds are held closely together, enough so that air cannot pass through momentarily. [-cg] implies the opposite.


Manner Features: The features that specify the manner of articulation
Manner of articulation

In linguistics , manner of articulation describes how the tongue, lips, jaw, and other speech organs are involved in making a sound make contact....
.
  1. [+/- continuant] Continuant features describe the passage of air through the vocal tract. [+cont] segments are produced without any significant obstruction in the tract, and so air passes through in a continuous stream. [-cont] segments on the other hand have such an obstruction, and so occlude the air flow at some point of articulation.
  2. [+/- nasal] This feature describes the position of the velum
    Soft palate

    The soft palate is the soft biological_tissue constituting the back of the roof of the mouth. The soft palate is distinguished from the hard palate at the front of the mouth in that it does not contain bone....
    . [+nas] segments are produced by lowering the velum so that air can pass through the nasal tract
    Nasal cavity

    The nasal cavity is a large air-filled space above and behind the nose in the middle of the face....
    . [-nas] segments conversely are produced with a raised velum, blocking the passages of air to the nasal tract and shunting it to the oral tract.
  3. [+/- strident] The strident feature applies to obstruents only and refers to a type of friction that is noisier that usual. This is caused by high energy white noise
    White noise

    White noise is a random signal with a flat power spectral density. In other words, the signal contains equal power within a fixed bandwidth at any center frequency....
    .
  4. [+/- lateral] This feature designates the shape and positioning of the tongue
    Tongue

    The tongue is skeletal muscle on the floor of the mouth that manipulates food for chewing . It is the primary organ of taste. Much of the upper surface of the tongue is covered in papillae and taste buds....
     with respect to the oral tract. [+lat] segments are produced as the center of the tongue rises to contact the roof of the mouth, thereby blocking air from flowing centrally through the oral tract and instead forcing more lateral flow along the lowered side(s) of the tongue.
  5. [+/- delayed release] This feature distinguishes stops
    Stop consonant

    A stop, plosive, or occlusive is a consonant sound produced by stopping the airflow in the vocal tract. The terms plosive and stop are usually used interchangeably, but they are not perfect synonyms....
     from affricates
    Affricate consonant

    Affricate consonants begin as stop consonants but release as a fricative consonant rather than directly into the following vowel....
    . Affricates are designated [+dr].


Place Features: The features that specify the place of articulation
Place of articulation

In articulatory phonetics, the place of articulation of a consonant is the point of contact, where an obstruction occurs in the vocal tract between an active articulator and a passive articulator ....
.
  • [ LABIAL
    Labial consonant

    Labials are consonants articulated either with both lips or with the lower lip and the upper teeth . English is a bilabial nasal consonant sonorant, and are bilabial stop consonant , and are labiodental fricative consonant....
     ] Labial segments are articulated with the lips.
  1. [+/- round] [+round] are produced with lip rounding. [-round] are not.
  • [ CORONAL
    Coronal consonant

    Coronal consonants are articulated with the flexible front part of the tongue. Only the coronal consonants can be divided into apical consonant , laminal consonant , domed consonant , or sub-apical consonant , as well as a few rarer orientations, because only the front of the tongue has such dexterity....
     ] Coronal sounds are articulated with the tip
    Apical consonant

    An apical consonant is a Phone produced by obstructing the air passage with the apex of the tongue . This contrasts with laminal consonants, which are produced by creating an obstruction with the blade of the tongue ....
     and/or blade
    Laminal consonant

    A laminal consonant is a Phone produced by obstructing the air passage with the blade of the tongue, which is the flat top front surface just behind the tip of the tongue on the top....
     of the tongue.
  1. [+/- anterior] Anterior segments are articulated with the tip or blade of the tongue at or in front of the alveolar ridge.
  2. [+/- distributed] For [+dist] segments the tongue is extended for some distance in the mouth.
  • [ DORSAL
    Dorsal consonant

    Dorsal consonants are articulated with the mid body of the tongue . They contrast with coronal consonants articulated with the flexible front of the tongue, and radical consonants articulated with the root of the tongue....
     ] Dorsal sounds are articulated by raising the dorsum of the tongue. All vowels are DORSAL sounds.
  1. [+/- high] [+high] segments raise the dorsum close to the palate
    Palate

    The palate is the roof of the mouth in humans and vertebrate animals. It separates the oral cavity from the nasal cavity. The palate is divided into two parts, the anterior bony hard palate, and the posterior fleshy soft palate or velum....
    . [-high] segments do not.
  2. [+/- low] [+low] segments bunch the dorsum to a position low in the mouth.
  3. [+/- back] [+back] segments are produced with the tongue dorsum bunched and retracted slightly to the back of the mouth. [-back] segments are bunched and extended slightly forward.
  4. [+/- tense] This feature (mainly) applies to the position of the root of the tongue when articulating vowels. [+tense] vowels have an advanced tongue root. In fact, this feature is often referred to as Advanced tongue root
    Advanced tongue root

    In phonetics, advanced tongue root and retracted tongue root, abbreviated ?ATR, are contrasting states of the root of the tongue during the pronunciation of vowels in some languages, especially in West Africa....
    , though there is a debate on whether tense and ATR are same or different features.
  • [ RADICAL
    Radical consonant

    Radical consonants are those consonants articulated with the root of the tongue in the throat. They include the pharyngeal consonant and epiglottal consonant places of articulation....
     ] Radical sounds are articulated with the root of the tongue.