单击此处编辑母版标题样式,,单击此处编辑母版文本样式,,第二级,,第三级,,第四级,,第五级,,*,Chapter Two,,,Speech Sounds,As human beings we are capable of making all kinds of sounds, but only some of these sounds have become units in the language system.,,We can analyze speech sounds from various perspectives and the two major areas of study are,phonetics,and,phonology,.,Phonetics,studies how speech sounds are produced, transmitted, and perceived.,Articulatory Phonetics,is the study of the production of speech sounds.,,Acoustic Phonetics,is the study of the physical properties of speech sounds.,,Perceptual,or,Auditory Phonetics,is concerned with the perception of speech sounds.,Phonology,is the study of the sound patterns and sound systems of languages.,,It aims to ‘discover the principles that govern the way sounds are organized in languages, and to explain the variations that occur’.,,In phonology we normally begin by analyzing an individual language, say English, in order to determine its,phonological structure,, i.e. which sound units are used and how they are put together.,,Then we compare the properties of sound systems in different languages in order to make hypotheses about the rules that underlie the use of sounds in them, and ultimately we aim to discover the rules that underlie the sound patterns of all languages.,1. How speech sounds are made,1.1 Speech organs,The diagram of speech organs,Lips,,Teeth,,Teeth ridge (,al’veolar,),,Hard palate,（硬腭）,,Soft palate (velum),,’Uvula,（小舌）,,Tip of tongue,,Blade of tongue,（舌面）,,Back of tongue,,Vocal cords,（声带）,,Pharyn’geal,cavity,（咽腔）,,Nasal cavity,Position of the vocal folds: voiceless,Position of the vocal folds: voicing (initial & the widest aperture),Position of the vocal folds: glottal stop,1.2 The IPA,In 1886, the Phonetic Teachers’ Association was inaugurated by a small group of language teachers in France who had found the practice of phonetics useful in their teaching and wished to popularize their methods.,,It was changed to its present title of the,International Phonetic Association,(IPA) in 1897.,One of the first activities of the Association was to produce a journal in which the contents were printed entirely in,phonetic transcription,.,,The idea of establishing a,phonetic alphabet,was first proposed by the Danish grammarian and phonetician Otto Jespersen,奥托,.,耶斯伯森,(1860-1943) in 1886, and,,the first version of the,International Phonetic Alphabet,(the,IPA chart,) was published in August 1888.,Its main principles were that,,there should be a separate letter for each distinctive sound, and,,that the same symbol should be used for that sound in any language in which it appears.,,The alphabet was to consist of as many Roman alphabet letters as possible, using new letters and diacritics only when absolutely necessary.,,These principles continue to be followed today.,The International Phonetic Alphabet,(Revised to 2005),肺部气流音,非肺部气流音、连音和其它符号,,,Diacritics: the additional symbols or marks used together with consonant and vowel symbols to indicate nuances of change in their pronunciation.,,,变音符号（附加符号）,,变音符号（附加符号）是加在音标周围的小记号，以标示此音标发音须作的变化，或作更精确的描述。
下标的变音附号（平常置于音标或符号下方的记号）若要加,在,降部,的音标时，可以改置于字母上方当,i,加上变音附号后，上方的点可能会和附加符号产生混淆时，应使用不含点的,i,有些,IPA,符号也可作为附加符号，以描述语音细节：,tˢ (,擦音除阻,), bʱ (,漏气音,), ˀa (,喉音起始,), ᵊ (,置入,schwa),,oʊ,(,双元音化,),suprasegmental,phoneme,,n.,超音段音位（又,prosodeme,, secondary phoneme,）一些分析中，特别是美国结构主义语言学家的分析中，超音段成分被看做是音位时，叫做超音段音位，它大致同普通音段音位相等．,Bloomfield(1933),早些时候把它叫做次音位，用主音位指音段音位suprasegmental,,adj. n.,超音段,[,的,],（又,non-segmental,,plurisegmental,）（关于音系音段）辖域大于单个音段的，要描写其语音实现只能涉及同一语句中的比邻辖域最常见的这种成分是重音和声调（或音高），不过有时人们认为还有其他的成分超音段成分基本上是同韵律成分相同的。
这一术语由美国结构主义语言学家提出，然而始终在广泛运用中继萨氏和布氏之后二人的学生派克把音位的概念进一步抽象他认为在元音、辅音里能区别意义的是“音段音位”把音长、重音和音高等称为“超音段音位,.”,到,60,年代美国结构学派的语言学家在分析英语语音系统时把元音、辅音、半元音、音渡、重音、调末的方向都列为音位（称为“非音质音位”或“超音段音位”）,,D.J.,音标,Daniel Jones Phonetic Symbol,D.J.,音标与,K.K.,音标对比,John S Kenyon & Thomas A Knott,2. Consonants and vowels,,Consonants,are produced ‘by a closure in the vocal tract, or by a narrowing which is so marked that air cannot escape without producing audible friction’.,,By contrast, a,vowel,is produced without such ‘,stricture,’ so that ‘air escapes in a relatively unimpeded way through the mouth or nose’.,,The distinction between vowels and consonants lies in the,obstruction of airstream,.,,As there is no obstruction of air in the production of vowels, the description of the consonants and vowels cannot be done along the same lines.,2.1 Consonants,,In the production of consonants at least two,articulators,are involved.,,For example, the initial sound in,bad,involves both lips and its final segment involves the blade (or the tip) of the tongue and the alveolar ridge.,,The categories of consonant, therefore, are established on the basis of several factors.,The,manner of articulation,refers to ways in which articulation can be accomplished:,,the articulators may close off the oral tract for an instant or a relatively long period;,,they may narrow the space considerably; or,,they may simply modify the shape of the tract by approaching each other.,Stop (or Plosive),（,闭塞音或破擦音）,,Oral & Nasal,（,鼻音,）,,Fricative,（,摩擦音,）,,(Median) Approximant,（,近音）,,Lateral (Approximant),（,边音,）,,Trill,（,颤音,）,,Tap or Flap,（,闪音,）,,Affricate,（,塞擦音,）,The,place of articulation,refers to the point where a consonant is made.,,Practically consonants may be produced at any place between the lips and the vocal folds.,,Eleven places of articulation are distinguished on the IPA chart:,Bilabial,（,双唇音,）,,Labiodental,（,唇齿音,）,,Dental,（,齿音,）,,Alveolar,（,齿龈音）,,Postalveolar,（,齿龈后音）,,Retroflex,（,卷舌音,）,,Palatal,（,上颚音,）,,Velar,（,软锷音,）,,Uvular,（,小舌音,）,,Pharyngeal,（,喉音）,,Glottal,（,声门音,）,,,2.2 Vowels,,Cardinal Vowels,, as exhibited by the vowel diagram in the IPA chart, are a set of vowel qualities arbitrarily defined, fixed and unchanging, intended to provide a frame of reference for the description of the actual vowels of existing languages.,,十九世纪末，英国语言学家,D.,琼斯（,D.Jones,),用,X,光从口腔左侧拍摄了八个基本元音的近颚点（舌面离上颚最近点）的舌位图。
确立了八个基本元音的位置Jones: An Outline of English Phonetics (1918),Black: IPA,,Red: English,,八个基本元音就像八根定点的柱子，撑起了元音的大厦，其它所有的元音都可参照他们的位置找到自己的处所基本元音指基本元音系统内的任何一个元音由琼斯提出，用以描写任何语言中的元音它们不属于某一特定语言，而是作为元音可能存在的参照点所有的基本元音都是单元音,,The problematic area is that the initial sound in,hot,gives little turbulence, depending on how forcefully it is said, and in,yet,and,wet,the initial segments are obviously vowels.,,To get out of this problem, the usual solution is to say that these segments are neither vowels nor consonants but midway between the two categories. For this purpose, the term ‘,semi-vowel,’ is often used.,Languages also frequently make use of a distinction between vowels where the quality remains constant throughout the articulation and those where there is an audible change of quality.,,The former are known as,pure,or,monophthong,vowels,and the latter,,vowel glides,.,,If a single movement of the tongue is involved, the glides are called,diphthongs,.,,,,A double movement produces a,triphthong,（三元音）,, which is ‘a glide from one vowel to another and then to a third, all produced rapidly and without interruption’.,,They are really diphthongs followed by the,schwa,[ə], (,中性原音）,found in English words like,wire,[,waɪə,] and,tower,[,taʊə,].,,元音音渡：语音能区分发音过程中的性质恒定的元音和发音过程中有听觉上变化的元音之间的区别。
前者为纯原音或单元音，后者就是元音音渡如果舌头只运动一次，这种音渡叫双元音，运动两次叫三元音Shwa,:,中性元音：据构拟，共同印欧语的元音组成有长短,a, e, i, o, u,另外至少还有一个弱化元音,[ə],,这是由长元音在非重读音中弱化而成的，音值是个中性元音学界借用希伯来语术语称之为,Shwa,2.3 The sounds of English,,Received Pronunciation (RP),,General American (GA),,,English consonants,The consonants of English can be described in the following manner:,,[p] voiceless bilabial stop,,[b] voiced bilabial stop,,[s] voiceless alveolar fricative,,[z] voiced alveolar fricative,English vowels,The description of English vowels needs to fulfill four basic requirements:,,the height of tongue raising (,high,,,mid,,,low,);,,the position of the highest part of the tongue (,front,,,central,,,back,);,,the length or,tenseness,of the vowel (,tense,vs.,lax,or,long,vs.,short,), and,,lip-rounding,(,rounded,vs.,unrounded,).,We can now describe the English vowels in this way:,,[,,] high front tense unrounded vowel,,[,,] high back lax rounded vowel,,[,,] mid central lax unrounded vowel,,[,,] low back lax rounded vowel,3. From phonetics to phonology,Speech is a continuous process, so the vocal organs do not move from one sound segment to the next in a series of separate steps. Rather, sounds continually show the influence of their neighbors.,,For example,,map,,,lamb,.,3.1 Coarticulation,When such simultaneous or overlapping articulations are involved, we call the process,coarticulation,（协同发音）,.,,If the sound becomes more like the following sound, as in the case of,lamb,, it is known as,anticipatory,coarticulation,（逆化协同发音）,.,,If the sound shows the influence of the preceding sound, it is,perseverative,coarticulation,（重复性协同发音）,, as is the case of,map,.,,[p] is,aspirated,in,peak,and,unaspirated,in,speak,.,,This aspirated voiceless bilabial stop is thus indicated by the,diacritic,,h,, as [p,h,], whereas the unaspirated counterpart is transcribed as [p].,When we use a simple set of symbols in our transcription, it is called a,broad transcription,.,,The use of more specific symbols to show more phonetic detail is referred to as a,narrow transcription,.,,Both are,phonetic transcriptions,so we put both forms in square brackets [ ].,,3.2 Phonemes,,Phonology,is not specifically concerned with the physical properties of the speech production system.,,Phoneticians are concerned with how sounds differ in the way they are pronounced while phonologists are interested in the patterning of such sounds and the rules that underlie such variations.,,E.g. [ t ] in tea [ i; ] front vowel,,[ t ] in too [ u; ] back vowel,,Crystal,（,1997,）,: ‘Phonological analysis relies on the principle that certain sounds cause changes in the meaning of a word or phrase, whereas other sounds do not’.,,Minimal pairs,:,Minimal pairs are pairs of words that except for one phonemic difference sound alike. The one phoneme difference can make a significant difference in meaning between the two words. e.g. beat-bear, wet-wit, ten-teen etc.,,Minimal pairs test,,Phonemes,,,Minimal pairs: Two words in a language which differ from each other by only one distinctive sound ( one phoneme) and which also differ in meaning. For example,,,the English words bear and pear are a minimal pair as they differ in meaning and their initial phoneme / b / and / p / form a contrast.,,,Minimal pair :a pair of words, as,pin,and,,bin,,or,bet,and,bed,,differing only by one,sound,in the same position in each,,,word,, especially when such a pair is taken,,as evidence for the existence of a,,phonemic contrast between the two sounds.,,,E.g. [ b ] and [ p ]: bin / pin,,[ t ] and [ d ]: bet / bed,,,Phonemes:,,the smallest unit of speech that can be used to make one word different from another word, such as the ‘b’ and the ‘p’ in ‘big’ and ‘pig’ .,(,帮助理解）,,Phoneme: The smallest phonetic unit in a language that is capable of conveying a distinction in meaning, as the,m,of,mat,and the,b,of,bat,in English.,（帮助理解）,,Phoneme: one of the set of speech sounds in any given language that serve to distinguish one word from another. A phoneme may consist of several phonetically distinct articulations, which are regarded as identical by native speakers, since one articulation may be substituted for another without any change of meaning. Thus /p/ and /b/ are separate phonemes in English because they distinguish such words as,pet,and,bet,,whereas the clear and dark /l/ sounds in,little,are not separate phonemes since they may be transposed without changing meaning.,（理解记忆）,,,The word ‘,phoneme,’ simply refers to a ‘unit of explicit sound contrast’: the existence of a minimal pair automatically grants phonemic status to the sounds responsible for the contrasts.,,By selecting one type of sound instead of another we can distinguish one word from another.,,,音素是人类语言在一次发音中从音质角度切分出来的最小的语音单位。
音位是具体语言或方言在一类发音中从能否区别词或语素的角度划分或归并出来的最小的语音形式音位本身没有意义，也不能直接区别意义，而是能区别语素或词的语音形式，从而区别意义音位的归纳及归纳音位应遵循的原则,,音位的归纳通常是把一些音放在相同的语音环境中来进行替换比较，看它们能否区别 意义 如果能够区别意义，这些音就应分别归纳为不同的音位；如果不能区别意义，这些音则应该 归属同一个音位以音素为材料，从音质,(,即音色,),的角度分析归纳出来的音位叫“音质音位” 其中从 辅音中归纳出来的音位叫“辅音音位”，从元音中归纳出来的音位叫 “元音音位”,,Languages differ in the selection of contrastive sounds.,,In English, the distinction between aspirated [p,h,] and unaspirated [p] is not,phonemic,.,,In Chinese, however, the distinction between /p/ and /p,h,/ is phonemic. [ P,A51,] (,爸,),、,[P’,A51,] (,怕,),,,英语中送气音和不送气音是在一定条件下使用的，即在重读音节中读送气音，在,【s 】,和非重读音节中读非送气音或送气极弱，因而，英语中送气音或不送气音不具有区别意义的作用，属于同一音位的不同变体。
汉语中送气音和不送气音具有区别意义的作用,,,它们属于不同的音位汉语送气音,p,、,t,、,k,、,c,、,ch,、,q,,汉语非送气音,b,、,d,、,g,、,z,、,zh,、,j,,By convention,,phonemic transcriptions,are placed between slant lines (/ /) while,phonetic transcriptions,are placed between square brackets ([ ]).,,In phonetic terms, phonemic transcriptions represent the ‘broad’ transcriptions.,,,phoneme,,phone,,English,,/,不区分,汉语,/,区分,,,,/ p /,[ p ],,,,[,p,h,,],,u,naspirated,,,,aspirated,speak [,spi;k,],,,,p,eak [,pi;k,],宾,bin,,,拼,pin,phonetics,phonetician,phone,P,honetic transcription,S,quare mark [ ],phonology,phonologist,phoneme,P,honemic transcription,S,lant lines,,/ /,,关于音素、音位；,,1,、音素（,phone):,人们在言语交际过程中所发出和所能听到的语音，是语音学的基本单位。
E.g. top & stop [ t ],,2,、音位（,phoneme):,音位是一种语言或方言中能区分意义的最小的语言单位E.g. / h /,和,/ k /,h,ook,c,ook,,[ p ],和,[,,p,h,],p,eak s,p,eak,,,,音素强调语音差异 音位强调意义差异,,,音位的特征：,,,1,、音位是能区别意义的语音单位2,、音位是最小的语音单位3,、音位总是属于某种特定的语言或方言3.3 Allophones,,[p, p,h,] are two different,phones,and are variants of the,phoneme,/p/. Such variants of a phoneme are called,allophones,音位变体）,,of the same phoneme.,,In this case the allophones are said to be in,complementary distribution,,（互补分配）,because they never occur in the same context:,,[p] occurs after [s] while [p,h,] occurs in other places.,/p/,,[p] / [s] _____,,[p,h,] elsewhere,,/p/ speak speech space speed spell,,[p,h,] pace pad page paid pain paint,,,This phenomenon of variation in the pronunciation of phonemes in different positions is called,allophony,（音位变体现象）,,or,allophonic variation,.,,Velarization,:,clear,l,and,dark,l,,,/,,/,,[,,] / _____ V,,[,,] / V _____,,,Think about,tell,and,telling,!,Phonetic similarity,: the allophones of a phoneme must bear some phonetic resemblance.,,E.g.,[p, p,h,],,Free variants,and,free variation,,either, neither, direction, interesting, often,,南方方言中的,f,和,h,不分， 也属于自由变体,,,,,,音位分布：,,互补分布（,complementary distribution),,,相似的音素若是同一音位的音位变体，则它们处于互补分布。
如：,【 p 】/【 p,h,】 peak / speak,,清晰音,/ l /,和模糊音,/ l /,处于互补分布l,ittle /,,te,ll,,音位对立,( phonemic contrast ),,,相似的音素若不是同一音位的音位变体，则它们处于音位对立如：,p,et /,b,et,,,音位变体,( allophone):,同一音位在不同语言环境下的实现方式E.g.,,,音位,/ t /,在,stop,中的实现方式是,/ t /,,,音位,/ t /,在,top,中的实现方式是,/,t,h,,/,,,则,/ t /,和,/,t,h,,/,都是音位,/ t /,的音位变体,,,,,关于音位变体的注意点：,,,1,、音位和音位变体是一般与个别的关系一个音位中的任何一个音素都是变体变体并不是相对于一个正体而言的音位是一个类，变体是这个类下的成员如：清晰边音,【l】,，模糊边音,【l】,和清辅音,【l】,都是音位,【l】,的变体2,、各个变体中往往要选一个来代表这个音位，所选者往往是最常见，受临近音影响最小的那个变体3,、因为是特定系统的成员，不但要看他是什么，还要看他不是什么，如送气音，不送气音。
因此，不同语言表面上相同的音实质是不同的语音近似原则：,,属于一个音位的各个变体在语音上是近似的，至少本地人听起来近似，否则，即使是互补关系也不能归并为一个音位如：世界， 商品， 鲜血，三角,,最小对立体：,( minimal pair ),,若两个词除了相同位置上的两个音之外，其余的音都相同，则它们构成最小对立体如：,pill / bill,,,因素和音位的区别,,音素是构成音节的最小单位或最小的语音片段它是从音色的角度划分出来的音位是一个语音系统里能够区别意义的最小语音单位，是按语音的辨意作用归拿出的音类成词语素和不成词语素就是看能不能独立成词，能的是成词语素,,音位是一个具体的语音系统中能够区别意义的最小的语音单位其特点如下,: 1,、音位是属于一个具体的语言的,,,如汉语音位不同于英语的音位没有超语言的音位,,,这也是音位区别于音素的根本所在音位和音素是两个不同而又有联系的概念音素是从音质角度划分出来的最小语音单位，音质不同,,,音素也就不同而音位则是从区别词的语音形式的角度确立的语音单位，这种确立只注意那些与意义的区别相对应的语音差别，而对那些与意义的区别无关的音质上的差别则不加以考虑。
音位和音素的关系则表现为，音位是由一组彼此的差别没有区别词的语音形式作用而音感上又相似的音素概括而成的音类 音位是抽象的，音素则是具体的音位的抽象以具体的音素与音素之间的关系作为基础音素之间存在着两种重要的关系，一是,",对立关系,",，一是,",互补关系,",几个音质不同的音素，只要处于互补关系，而且发音相似，就可以把它们看作是同一个音类的成员，归并为一个音位在具体发音时，抽象的音位实现为具体的音素 音位总是具体语言或方言的特定语音系统的成员，不存在超语言或超方言的音位由于存在音位，在不同语言中的相同的音素，在不同的系统中所起的作用不一定相同比如英语和汉语普通话都有辅音音素,[p],和,[p'],，英语里,[p],和,[p'],的差别不能区别意义，它们同属于一个音位,/p/,；汉语普通话里,[p],和,[p'],的差别能够区别意义，因而它们分属,/p/,和,/p'/,两个音位音位是具体语言里有区别词的语音作用形式的最小语音类型单位,;,音素是语言中音义结合的最小单位,,,再不能分解出更小的意义单位,;,二者关系,:,音素是从音质角度划分出来的最小语音单位,,,音质不同音素就不同,.,音位是从区别词的语音形式的角度确立的语言类型单位,.,音位在音素的基础上形成,,,是某种语言借助于音素来区别的词的语音形式,,,近而区别词义的工具,.,音素着眼于自然属性,,,音位着眼于社会属性,.,音节是音位和音位组合起来的最小结构单位,.,一个音节可以由一个音位构成,,,也可以由两个或两个以上的音位构成,.,音位是最小的能够辨别意义的语音单位。
例如：,boy,和,toy,语音上是通过,[b],和,[t],来显示区别的，,[b],和,[t],起了辨别意义的作用，又因为,[b],和,[t],都已经是最小的无法继续切分下去的语音，所以,[b],和,[t],是两个因为又譬如,kill,和,skill,中的,k,，实际发音稍有不同（不妨自己试试），国际音标可以分别记做,[k'],和,[k],（送气的,k,和不送气的,k,）,,[k],总是出现在,[s],之后而,[k'],不可能出现在,[s],之后，两者出现的环境是对立的，因此，是同一音位的不同变体4. Phonological processes, phonological rules and distinctive features,,4.1 Assimilation,Nasalization,（鼻音化）,,,dentalization,（齿龈化）,, and,velarization,（腭音化）,,are all instances of,assimilation,, a process by which one sound takes on some or all the characteristics of a neighboring sound.,,If a following sound is influencing a preceding sound, we call it,regressive assimilation,（逆同化）,.,,The converse process, in which a preceding sound is influencing a following sound, is known as,progressive assimilation,（顺同化）,.,English Fricative Devoicing,,The first column of symbols show the way these phrases are pronounced in slow or careful speed; the second column shows how they are pronounced in normal connected speech.,,Devoicing: a process by which voiced sounds become voiceless.,,,浊音化规则：在,/s/,音后头的,/,p,t,k,/,和作为音节开头的,/,p,t,k,/,语音特点是不同的，这种语音变化称作“浊化”。
（省力原则，有争议）,,,stand speak sky,,清音化规则：,,/v/, [f] /z/ [s] etc.,,voiced fricative voiceless / ____ voiceless,,,Nasalization rule:,,[-nasal] [+nasal] / ____ [+nasal],bean green,,Dentalization rule:,,[-dental], [dental] / ____ [dental],tenth ninth,,Velarization rule:,,[-velar], [+velar] / ____ [+velar],sink mink,4.2 Epenthesis, rule ordering and the Elsewhere Condition,,a hotel, a boy, a use, a wagon, a big man, a yellow rug, a white house,,an apple, an honor, an orange curtain, an old lady,,,Epenthesis,(Insertion) Rule:,,何为增音？,,你快看啊！,,儿童们正跑得欢儿呢。
Plurals in English,a. The [,,] appears after voiceless sounds.,,b. The [,,] appears after voiced sounds.,,c. The [,,] appears after sibilants.,,,/,,/,,[,,] / [–voice, C] _____ (Devoicing),,,,,[,,] / [+sibilant] _____ [,,] (Epenthesis),Rule ordering,,The Elsewhere Condition,,The more specific rule applies first.,,4.3 Distinctive features,,The idea of,Distinctive Features,was first developed by Roman Jacobson (1896-1982) in the 1940s as a means of working out a set of phonological contrasts or oppositions to capture particular aspects of language sounds.,,Since then several versions have been suggested,.,Some of the major distinctions include [consonantal], [sonorant], [nasal] and [voiced].,,The feature [consonantal] can distinguish between consonants and vowels, so all consonants are [+consonantal] and all vowels [–consonantal].,,[sonorant] distinguishes between what we call,obstruents,,闭塞音,(stops, fricatives and affricates) and,sonorants,,响音,,(all other consonants and vowels), with,obstruents,being [–sonorant] and others [+sonorant].,,[nasal] and [voiced] of course distinguish nasal (including nasalized) sounds and voiced sounds respectively.,These are known as,binary,,features,because we can group them into two categories: one with this feature and the other without.,,Binary features have two values or specifications denoted by ‘ + ’ and ‘ – ’ so voiced obstruents are marked [+voiced] and voiceless obstruents are marked [–voiced].,,[ + ] the feature is present,,[ – ] the feature is not present,,,The place features are not binary features – they are divided up into four values:,,[PLACE: Labial],唇音,,[PLACE: Coronal],舌前音,,[PLACE: Dorsal],舌背音,,[PLACE: Radical],腭音,,They are often written in shorthand forms as,,[,Labial]p,,[,Coronal]p,,[,Dorsal]p,,[,Radical]p,何为近音？,近音一般被视为辅音，因为它们比对应的元音较短促，口形亦没有元音那么明显。
硬颚,近音与,前元音,对应；,软颚,近音与,后元音,对应；,圆唇,的近音则对应,圆唇元音,近音（前称无擦通音）在,语音学,中是指一类介乎,元。