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Glite Dictionary
🤐 Not hissing 🤐 A non-hissing sound
nonsibilant

nonsibilant

8.9
Not making a hissing sound when spoken
  • adjective
  • /nɒnˈsɪbɪlənt/
  • Specialized
: no sibilante
  • The letter 'm' is considered a nonsibilant consonant that does not produce a hissing sound.

Examples

  • Unlike 's' or 'z', 'm' is classified as a nonsibilant sound.

  • The letter 'b' is a nonsibilant consonant in English.

  • Linguists often compare sibilant and nonsibilant consonants when analyzing speech patterns.

  • Words that start with nonsibilant consonants are often easier to pronounce.

  • Can you give an example of a nonsibilant sound?

  • In phonetics, nonsibilant sounds like 'b' and 't' are distinct from sibilant sounds such as 's' and 'z'.

  • When teaching pronunciation, it's helpful to note that nonsibilant consonants can be easier for some learners.

Antonyms

sibilant
  • Specialized
1 8.3

A speech sound that makes a hissing noise like s

How Sibilant

sibilant
  • Specialized
1 8.3
nonsibilant
  • Specialized
8.9

Surface Forms

nonsibilant positive

Morphology

nonsibilant = sibilant (transparent) = non + sibilant

Meaning is a direct negation formed with the productive prefix 'non-' added to 'sibilant'; the relation is compositional though 'sibilant' is a technical term.

Etymology

Nonsibilant joins non- 'not' with sibilant, from Latin sibilare 'to hiss', so it literally means 'not hissing'. That's why nonsibilant describes an adjective for sounds that do not have an 's'-like or hissing quality.