Sequence of consonant strength
The sequence of consonant strength is a linguistic concept of Theo Vennemann , which describes the syllable structure of the sound classes of the consonants. The sequence is the opposite of the sonority hierarchy .
The consonants are graded according to loudness and assigned to the individual sound classes.
Hierarchy
The sequence of the consonant strength runs from the voiceless plosives with increasing volume to the lower vowels ("The speech sounds become louder"):
- voiceless plosives / p, t, k /
- voiced plosives / b, d, g /
- voiceless fricatives / f, s /
- voiced fricatives / v, z /
- Nasals / m, n, Ν /
- Lateral liquids (l-sounds) / l /
- central liquid (r-sounds) / r /
- high vowels / i, u /
- middle vowels / e, o /
- low vowels / a /