Linguistics: tense and lax consonants in English

AI Thread Summary
Tenseness and laxness of consonants in English are established phonetic concepts, with "fortis" referring to tense consonants and "lenis" to lax consonants. The discussion suggests that the perception of these consonants may vary based on individual pronunciation, but the distinction exists in the language. For those interested in improving their English pronunciation, listening to skilled speakers like Christopher Hitchens and Richard Dawkins is recommended. However, the thread highlights that inquiries about linguistics may be better suited for dedicated language forums rather than physics discussions.
fxdung
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Do tenseness and laxness of consonants in English depend on people saying them?Or are there tense and lax consonants in English?If there are, which consonants(in English) are tense and which are lax consonants?
 
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fxdung said:
Do tenseness and laxness of consonants in English depend on people saying them?Or are there tense and lax consonants in English?If there are, which consonants(in English) are tense and which are lax consonants?
Yes. If you want to learn classical BBC English then listen to Christopher Hitchens. Probably the most beautiful orator I have ever come across.
Richard Dawkins is also very well spoken and speaks what I would regard as perfect English.
Aesthetically pleasing on the ear to a Brit but that is just me. Others may differ.
 
I've a question for you. Why are you asking these questions here, on >physics< forums? I don't think we have a single working linguist active on these boards. Or an EFL teacher. You'd be better served in a dedicated forum for learners of English.
 
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The better question is whether he asks his physics questions on the language forums. :wink:
 
You might try searching for fortis and lenis, which are the technical terms that linguists use for "tense" and "lax". I remember them from a textbook on German phonetics that I used when I was an undergraduate. I think I mentioned that book in one of your other threads on pronunciation.
 

Thread 'Why is the plural for moose not meese?'

The piece came-up from the "Lame Jokes" section of the forum. Someobody carried a step from one of the posts and I became curious and tried a brief web search. A web page gives some justification of sorts why we can use goose(s)-geese(p), but not moose(s)-meese(p). Look for the part of the page headed with "Why isn't "meese" the correct plural?" https://languagetool.org/insights/post/plural-of-moose/
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