Which option correctly defines 'distinctive features'?

• A. Meaning differentiating units which are the same as phonemes
• B. All of the above
• C. Based on the phonotactics of the language in question
• D. Atomic constituents of sound segments which cannot be broken down any further

Answer: (D)

Distinctive features are the basic, indivisible properties used to describe how sound segments differ in a language. They are the smallest building blocks of phonological description—the atomic constituents of sound segments that cannot be broken down any further. By combining these features (like [+voice], [+consonantal], [+nasal]), we can account for contrasts between phonemes.

That’s why the best answer is the one that defines distinctive features as atomic constituents of sound segments that cannot be reduced further. The idea that they are the same as phonemes is not correct—the phonemes are larger units that these features help to distinguish. Phonotactics concerns permissible sound sequences, not the fundamental building blocks of sounds themselves, so defining features by phonotactic constraints isn’t accurate. And “All of the above” isn’t correct because the other statements aren’t correct.