What is phonological symmetry?

Phonological symmetry is the even distribution of phonemes throughout the articulatory possibilities of a given language.

The inventory of sounds in a given language tends to be symmetrical. Sounds tend to be spread out evenly throughout the articulatory possibilities of a language.

The symmetrical patterning of phonemes in language makes the following easier:

• Perception

  Differences between sounds are most easily perceived when

  • sounds are distributed uniformly in the articulatory space (place and manner of articulation), and
  • the extremes of articulatory space are used (particularly for vowels).

• Production

  It is more efficient to use the same place of articulation or manner of articulation repeatedly.

Here is an example of a symmetrical vowel system:

Spanish is an example of a symmetrical five vowel system. The five vowel system is the most common among languages of the world.

Here is an example of an asymmetrical vowel system that is not known to exist:

Consonant systems are symmetrical in their

• points of articulation, and
• manners of articulation.

A symmetrical consonant system is one in which the following occur:

• Phones with the same points of articulation are repeated using several different manners of articulation.

  Example:

  For each voiceless plosive there is a corresponding voiced plosive (for example, [t] and [d]).

• Phones with the same manners of articulation are repeated using several different points of articulation.

  Example:

  Nasal consonants occur at some of the same points of articulation as other plosives, fricatives, or affricates (for example, [m], [n], [N])

The following three parameters define the articulatory space for vowel sounds:

• Tongue height
• Point of articulation
• Rounding

A symmetrical vowel system is one in which vowels are near the extremes of the articulatory space available for the sounds in a given language.

Symmetrical systems tend to be arranged in a “V-shaped” formation on a phone chart.

• What is a phonological universal?

Context for this page:

• Concept module: phonological symmetry
• In overview module: Glossary (Linguistics): P
• In modular book: Glossary of linguistic terms, by Eugene E. Loos (general editor), Susan Anderson (editor), Dwight H., Day, Jr. (editor), Paul C. Jordan (editor), and J. Douglas Wingate (editor)
• In bookshelf: Linguistics

This page is an extract from the LinguaLinks Library, Version 5.0 published on CD-ROM by SIL International, 2003. [Ordering information.]

Page content last modified: 5 January 2004

© 2004 SIL International