Glosario / Glossary

minus sign (): a symbol used, especially in phonological analysis, to mark the absence of a particular feature, or to prohibit it. For example, [anterior] means that the segment referred to is not classified as anterior (front) (that is, it is back). For typographical reasons, a hyphen (-) is often used as a substitute for the minus sign. However, when these two symbols are distinguished, the minus sign is longer and thinner than the hyphen. See plus sign [1] (+), exclamation point [3] (!). [Spanish: signo de menos]