segmentaalisia

Segmentaalisia is a Finnish term used in linguistics to refer to segmental features of speech. In contrast to suprasegmental features such as intonation, stress, and rhythm, segmental features are the discrete units that comprise the phonemic inventory of a language, namely consonants and vowels.

Typically, segmental analysis examines the properties that distinguish sounds, including place and manner of articulation and voicing for consonants, and height, backness, and rounding for vowels. Some languages also treat length, nasalization, or secondary articulations as segmental, depending on how phonemic contrasts are organized. Segmental inventories are language-specific and interact with phonotactic rules that govern allowable sound sequences.

Analytically, segmental data are organized in feature systems or matrices that encode contrasts with symbols such as + or − for features like [+voice], [+nasal], or [+front]. This helps linguists compare languages, describe phoneme inventories, and model sound change. Segmental analysis often complements studies of how sounds combine into syllables and how segments interact with other linguistic levels, including morphology and syntax.

Applications of segmental analysis appear in field descriptions of languages, documentation projects, and language technology, including speech recognition and text-to-speech systems. The concept is foundational in phonology and is frequently discussed alongside suprasegmental phenomena to explain how languages pattern at both the level of individual sounds and higher-level prosody.

See also: segmental phonology, phoneme, phonology, prosody.