In phonetics, a consonant pronounced with strong muscular tension and effort; in linguistics, describes hard or voiceless consonants like /p/, /t/, /k/.
From Latin 'fortis' (strong). Linguists adopted this Latin term to describe consonants produced with greater articulatory strength.
When you say 'pit' versus 'bit,' the 'p' is fortis (strong, voiceless) and the 'b' is lenis (weak, voiced)—your mouth is doing different work!
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