Glossary of Linguistic Terms

Sonority Scale

Definition: 

The sonority scale is a list of phonetic segments showing the relative resonance of phonetic segments in relation to other segments.

Discussion: 

Sonority is the resonance of a sound in relation to other sounds. A sonority scale shows the sonority of a sound in relation to other sounds.

See Also: 
Also Known As: 
The scale of consonantal strength
Additional Information: 

Here is a diagram that shows the relative sonority of different phones: 

Glossary Hierarchy