sonority: meaning, definition, pronunciation and examples
C2Technical/Academic
Quick answer
What does “sonority” mean?
The quality or state of being resonant or full of sound.
Audio
Pronunciation
Definition
Meaning and Definition
The quality or state of being resonant or full of sound; richness of sound.
In linguistics/phonology: a property of speech sounds (e.g., vowels, sonorant consonants) that relates to their loudness or resonance relative to other sounds; a rank in a sonority hierarchy (e.g., vowels are more sonorous than stops). In music: the resonance or tonal quality of an instrument or voice.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
No significant differences in meaning or spelling. Pronunciation differs slightly.
Connotations
In both varieties, strongly connotes specialised academic or artistic discourse.
Frequency
Equally rare in general use in both regions; confined to technical fields.
Grammar
How to Use “sonority” in a Sentence
[adjective] + sonoritysonority + of + [noun]verb (e.g., possess, have, lack) + sonorityVocabulary
Collocations
Examples
Examples of “sonority” in a Sentence
verb
British English
- (Not standard; the verb is 'resonate'. 'Sonority' is not used as a verb.)
American English
- (Not standard; the verb is 'resonate'. 'Sonority' is not used as a verb.)
adverb
British English
- (Not standard; the adverb is 'sonorously'. 'Sonority' is not used as an adverb.)
American English
- (Not standard; the adverb is 'sonorously'. 'Sonority' is not used as an adverb.)
adjective
British English
- The sonority-based analysis is key to understanding syllable structure.
American English
- The linguist proposed a new sonority-based model for consonant clusters.
Usage
Meaning in Context
Business
Virtually never used.
Academic
Common in linguistics and musicology papers. E.g., 'The study analysed the sonority profile of the language.'
Everyday
Extremely rare. If used, it sounds formal/poetic. E.g., 'I love the sonority of that cello.'
Technical
Core term in phonology (sonority sequencing principle) and acoustics/music theory.
Watch out
Common Mistakes When Using “sonority”
- Using it as a synonym for 'volume' or 'noise'.
- Misspelling as 'sonarity' or 'sonoraty'.
- Using it in casual conversation where 'sound' or 'tone' would be appropriate.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
No. Loudness is perceptual intensity (volume). Sonority is an inherent, relative property related to a sound's resonance and openness of the vocal tract. A whispered vowel has high sonority but low loudness.
It is very formal and technical. In most everyday contexts, words like 'tone', 'sound', 'resonance', or 'richness' are more natural and appropriate.
A linguistic principle stating that the sonority of sounds in a syllable must rise to a peak (the nucleus, usually a vowel) and then fall. This explains why 'blend' is a possible start to an English syllable but 'lbend' is not.
The most common adjective is 'sonorous'. 'Sonority-based' is also used in technical contexts.
The quality or state of being resonant or full of sound.
Sonority is usually technical/academic in register.
Sonority: in British English it is pronounced /səˈnɒr.ə.ti/, and in American English it is pronounced /səˈnɔːr.ə.t̬i/. Tap the audio buttons above to hear it.
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “None. This is not an idiomatic word.”
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Think of SONORity as the SONORous qualITY of a sound. 'Sonorous' means loud and deep.
Conceptual Metaphor
SOUND IS A LIQUID (fullness, richness, depth, resonance).
Practice
Quiz
In which field is the term 'sonority hierarchy' most precisely used?