A sonority hierarchy or sonority scale is a ranking of speech sounds (or phones) by amplitude. For example, if you say the vowel [a], you will produce much louder sound than if you say the plosive [t]. Sonority hierarchies are especially important when analyzing syllable structure; rules about what segments may appear in onsets or codas together, such as SSP, are formulated in terms of the difference of their sonority values. Some languages also have assimilation rules based on sonority hierarchy, for example, the Finnish potential mood (e.g. -tne- ? -nne-). Sonority hierarchies vary somewhat in which sounds are grouped together. The one below is fairly typical: Sonority scale In English, the sonority scale, from lowest to highest, is the following: References PhonotacticsPhonology Skeul an hesonerezhSo

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