Position of the soft palate and the velum:

1. oral (consonants are produced when the soft palate is raised and the air escapes through the mouth): the rest of the consonants;

2. nasal (consonants are produced with the soft palate lowered while the air-passage through the mouth is blocked. As a result, the air escapes through the nasal cavity): [m], [n], [ŋ].

In each minimal pair the opposition is based either on:

• one feature (single opposition): [pit – bit]: voiceless (fortis) vs. voiced (lenis);

• two features (double opposition): [til – bil]: voiceless (fortis) vs. voiced (lenis) and alveolar vs. labial;

• more than two features (multiple): [fil – bil]: voiceless (fortis) vs. voiced (lenis), labio-dental vs. labial, fricative vs. oral stop (plosive).