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Glite Dictionary
consonantal system

consonantal system

7.9
The set of consonant sounds a language uses and how they are arranged
  • noun
  • /ˌkɒnsəˈnætl ˈsɪstəm/
  • Specialized
translation icon : sistema consonántico
  • Arabic has a particularly rich consonantal system with sounds not found in English.

Examples

  • The consonantal system of English includes sounds like /b/, /d/, and /k/.

  • The consonantal system of English includes both voiced and voiceless sounds.

  • Linguists study the consonantal system of a language to understand its phonetic structure.

  • Many languages have unique consonantal systems that differ significantly.

  • Linguists examine the consonantal system of each language to identify its unique features.

  • The consonantal system in Mandarin Chinese is complex and includes several tones.

  • In phonology, the consonantal system is crucial for analyzing speech sounds in languages.

Synonyms

consonant system
vsconsonantal system
  • Specialized
7.5

All the sounds a language uses that are not vowels, like b and p

focuses on how those sounds are organized and related within the language

How Complex

phonemic system
  • Specialized
6.9
consonantal system
  • Specialized
7.9

Surface Forms

consonantal system singular
consonantal systems plural

Morphology

consonantal + system

The phrase is a straightforward composition of 'consonantal' (pertaining to consonants) and 'system' (an organized set), so its meaning 'the organization/system of consonants in a language' is directly derivable from the parts. There is no idiomatic or metaphorical shift and the structure is cross-linguistically regular, so a learner who knows the constituents would understand it.

Etymology

Consonantal system is a phrase that joins consonantal (about the speech sounds called 'consonants', like 'b', 't', 's', made by the mouth) and system (a set that works together). So it means the organised set of those consonant sounds that a language uses.