A Dictionary of Linguistics and Phonetics David Crystal

distinctiveness 151
Other factors have to be recognized to handle systems which do not work with
their elements separated in such a symmetrical way.
displaced articulation In phonetics, an articulation in which the active
articulator moves away from its neutral position. An example is labio-dental
[f], where the lower lip is displaced, being retracted to approach the upper
incisors. By contrast, a bilabial articulation is a neutral articulation, since the
upper and lower lips need not move from their normal position to make the
sound.
displaced speech
see displacement
displacement (n.) A suggested defining property of human language (contrasting
with the properties of many other semiotic systems), whereby language can
be used to refer to contexts removed from the immediate situation of the
speaker (i.e. it can be displaced). For example, if someone says I was afraid, it is
not necessary that the speaker still is afraid, whereas animal calls seem generally
tied to specific situations, such as danger or hunger, and have nothing comparable
to displaced speech (unless this is artificially taught to them, as some experiments
with chimpanzees have tried to do).
dissimilation (n.) A general term in phonetics and phonology to refer to the
influence exercised by one sound segment upon the articulation of another,
so that the sounds become less alike, or different. Such changes have mainly
been noticed in historical linguistic studies, where the effects have manifested
themselves over a long period of time (e.g. pilgrim from Latin peregrinus,
with the first r ‘dissimilating’ to l), but synchronic dissimilations are also
possible, as when we avoid a sequence of identical sounds (cf. the difficulty of
tongue-twisters such as Will will willingly . . . ). As with the opposite effect,
assimilation, it is possible to classify dissimilations into types, based on the
place, degree and direction of the changes involved.
distance assimilation
see assimilation
distinctiveness (n.) A term used in linguistics for any feature of speech (or
writing) which enables a contrast to be made between phonological, grammatical
or semantic units. Such contrasts might also be labelled ‘relevant’,
functional or significant. The main use of the term has been in phonology, as
part of the phrase distinctive feature, where it refers to a minimal contrastive
unit recognized by some linguists as a means of explaining how the sound
system of languages is organized. Distinctive features may be seen either as part
of the definition of phonemes, or as an alternative to the notion of the phoneme.
The first of these views is found in the approach of the Prague School,
where the phoneme is seen as a bundle of phonetic distinctive features: the
English phoneme /p/, for example, can be seen as the result of the combination
of the features of bilabial, voice, plosive, etc. Other phonemes will differ
from /p/ in respect of at least one of these features. In distinctive feature theories
of phonology, however, the phoneme is not considered to be a relevant unit of
explanation: symbols such as p, b, etc., are seen simply as convenient abbreviations