Grave and acute (phonetics)
Encyclopedia
In some schools of phonetics, sounds are distinguished as grave or acute. This is primarily a perceptual
classification, based on whether the sounds are perceived as sharp, high intensity
, or as dull, low intensity
. However, it can also be defined acoustically (acute sounds have a concentration of energy in the higher spectrum, versus graves which have a concentration of energy in the lower spectrum) or in terms of the articulation
s involved.
Acute sounds generally have high perceptual intensity, and in the case of consonants have been defined as those with an active articulation involving the tongue and a passive articulation involving anywhere on the roof of the mouth that a coronal articulation
can reach, that is, from the to the region.
Grave sounds are all other sounds, that is, those involving the lips as either passive or active articulator, or those involving any articulation in the soft palate
or throat.
Most acute sounds are , and most coronals are acute. In particular, palatal consonant
s are acute but not coronal, while linguolabial consonant
s are coronal but not acute. The distinction can be useful in diachronic linguistics, as conditional sound changes often act differently on acute and grave consonants, consonants are highly likely to preserve their acuteness/graveness through sound change; and changes between acute and grave can often be well circumscribed. (For example, palatalization applied to back grave consonants usually produces acute consonants.) In this regard, the fact that articulations are included as "acute" is important because of the acoustic similarity between true palatal and palatalized coronal consonant
s and the fact that one often changes into the other.
Similarly, "acute" and "" often overlap, but again share some differences. In particular, consonants articulated with the lip are front but not acute, and consonants with a articulation are acute but not front. A parallel relationship applies to and . Articulations with the lip as passive articulator (i.e. and ) are front but not coronal, while is coronal but not front.
In the case of vowels, "acute" typically refers to front vowel
s, which often trigger palatalization of consonants, which "grave" refers to non-front vowels.
Psychoacoustics
Psychoacoustics is the scientific study of sound perception. More specifically, it is the branch of science studying the psychological and physiological responses associated with sound...
classification, based on whether the sounds are perceived as sharp, high intensity
Sound intensity
Sound intensity or acoustic intensity is defined as the sound power Pac per unit area A. The usual context is the noise measurement of sound intensity in the air at a listener's location.-Acoustic intensity:...
, or as dull, low intensity
Sound intensity
Sound intensity or acoustic intensity is defined as the sound power Pac per unit area A. The usual context is the noise measurement of sound intensity in the air at a listener's location.-Acoustic intensity:...
. However, it can also be defined acoustically (acute sounds have a concentration of energy in the higher spectrum, versus graves which have a concentration of energy in the lower spectrum) or in terms of the articulation
Articulation (phonetics)
In phonetics and phonology, articulation is the movement of the tongue, lips, jaw, and other speech organs in order to make speech sounds. You can see a . The study of articulation in making speech is called articulatory phonetics.Sound is produced simply by expelling air from the lungs...
s involved.
Acute sounds generally have high perceptual intensity, and in the case of consonants have been defined as those with an active articulation involving the tongue and a passive articulation involving anywhere on the roof of the mouth that a coronal articulation
Coronal consonant
Coronal consonants are consonants articulated with the flexible front part of the tongue. Only the coronal consonants can be divided into apical , laminal , domed , or subapical , as well as a few rarer orientations, because only the front of the tongue has such...
can reach, that is, from the to the region.
Grave sounds are all other sounds, that is, those involving the lips as either passive or active articulator, or those involving any articulation in the soft palate
Soft palate
The soft palate is the soft 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....
or throat.
Most acute sounds are , and most coronals are acute. In particular, palatal consonant
Palatal consonant
Palatal consonants are consonants articulated with the body of the tongue raised against the hard palate...
s are acute but not coronal, while linguolabial consonant
Linguolabial consonant
Linguolabials or apicolabials are consonants articulated by placing the tongue tip or blade against the upper lip, which is drawn downward to meet the tongue. They represent one extreme of a coronal articulatory continuum which extends from linguolabial to subapical palatal places of articulation...
s are coronal but not acute. The distinction can be useful in diachronic linguistics, as conditional sound changes often act differently on acute and grave consonants, consonants are highly likely to preserve their acuteness/graveness through sound change; and changes between acute and grave can often be well circumscribed. (For example, palatalization applied to back grave consonants usually produces acute consonants.) In this regard, the fact that articulations are included as "acute" is important because of the acoustic similarity between true palatal and palatalized coronal consonant
Coronal consonant
Coronal consonants are consonants articulated with the flexible front part of the tongue. Only the coronal consonants can be divided into apical , laminal , domed , or subapical , as well as a few rarer orientations, because only the front of the tongue has such...
s and the fact that one often changes into the other.
Similarly, "acute" and "" often overlap, but again share some differences. In particular, consonants articulated with the lip are front but not acute, and consonants with a articulation are acute but not front. A parallel relationship applies to and . Articulations with the lip as passive articulator (i.e. and ) are front but not coronal, while is coronal but not front.
In the case of vowels, "acute" typically refers to front vowel
Front vowel
A front vowel is a type of vowel sound used in some spoken languages. The defining characteristic of a front vowel is that the tongue is positioned as far in front as possible in the mouth without creating a constriction that would be classified as a consonant. Front vowels are sometimes also...
s, which often trigger palatalization of consonants, which "grave" refers to non-front vowels.