featuresphonology

Features phonology is a theoretical approach in linguistics that analyzes phonological systems in terms of feature properties of segments. In its classical form, distinctive feature theory treats phonemes as bundles of binary or privative features that distinguish them from one another. Phonological rules or constraints operate on these features to derive allophony, harmony, assimilation, and other processes, rather than modeling segments as primitive units alone. The approach aims to explain regular patterns across languages by positing a common set of features and organizing rules around them.

Origins and development extend from mid-20th-century work by Roman Jakobson, Gunnar Fant, and Morris Halle, among others, and became central to generative phonology in the 1960s and 1970s. The framework evolved with advances such as feature geometry and autosegmental representations, allowing features to be shared or linked across temporal or vocalic domains. While the exact inventory and status of features have varied, the core idea remains: phonological structure is grounded in a compact set of features.

Core concepts include the use of feature values (binary or privative), feature geometry that encodes dependencies among features, and the notion that phonological processes manipulate features (through spreading, agreement, or deletion). Features can apply to consonants and vowels, and are used to derive patterns such as assimilation, coalescence, and vowel harmony. Common inventories include consonantal features like [±voice], [±nasal], [±continuant], [±sonorant], [±spread/glottis], [±constricted], and place features like [±labial], [±coronal], [±dorsal], as well as vowel features such as [±high], [±low], [±front], [±back], [±round].

Applications include explaining cross-language patterns and teaching phonological systems, though criticisms cite cross-language variability and debates about feature universals. Some frameworks prefer constraint-based approaches, but feature-based phonology remains influential in linguistic analysis.