Fortis Consonants

[iffr762 at utxvms.cc.utexas.edu]

	The term "fortis" is not really one which has a clear and
objective phonetic meaning.  According to Catford, "the terms tense/lax,
strong/weak, fortis/lenis, and so on should never be loosely and
carelessly used without precise phonetic specification."  Ironically
though Catford does "believe in" a fortis/lenis distinction, which he
finds in some languages of the Caucasus, I must agree with Ladefoged and
Maddieson that in the cases Catford points to (at least the one I have
heard) the distinction seems to be primarily long/short.
	Other sounds, such as those in Korean, which have been described
as "fortis" have turned out on closer examination to be laryngealized to
some degree.
	Overall I would agree with Ladefoged and Maddieson, who say (if I
have understood them correctly) that the term "fortis" should have a
language-specific application, referring to a distinction that is more
phonological than phonetic.  The meaning I would assign is more or less
"long and/or laryngealized", but it is only these terms that have true
phonetic meaning, at a level of salience high enough to have phonemic
significance.

					DLW