Extranormal Phonetics

the branch of phonetics that studies special noncanonical sound production that is not considered part of normal speech, that is, speech directed toward communicating linguistic information.

The sphere of extranormal phonetics includes sounds that do not have corresponding phonemes in the language as well as a variety of unusual sound clusters. Such clusters can occur in specific interjections, imitative words, articulatory gestures, commands given to animals, and sound groups used to attract or drive away animals; spontaneous children’s speech may demonstrate such sound clusters as [gm], [ki∫], [ts], and [∫juiţ]. Elements of extranormal phonetics may serve as a means of expressivity in artistic discourse; for example, in a description of a nightingale’s singing. Extranormal phonetics studies both the evidence of poetic sound innovation and the specific variations of canonical sounds and sound clusters generated in rapid, careless speech.