Phoneme: Difference between revisions

In [[linguistics]] and specifically [[phonology]], aA '''phoneme''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|f|oʊ|n|iː|m}}) is any set of similar ''[[Phone (phonetics)|phones]]'' (speech sounds)]] that is perceptually regarded by the speakers of a language as a single distinct unit, a single basic sound, whichthat helps distinguish one [[word]] from another.<ref>{{Cite_Merriam-Webster|phoneme}}</ref> To put it in another way, it is the smallest unit of [[Phonetics|phonetic]] difference that distinguishes meaning. Phonemes are primarily associated with the branch of [[linguistics]] known as [[phonology]].

AnThe example is that theEnglish words ''cell'' and ''set'' have the exact same sequence of sounds, except for being distinguisheddifferent byin their final consonant sounds: {{IPA|/sɛl/}} versus {{IPA|/sɛt/}} in the [[International Phonetic Alphabet]] (IPA), a writing system that can be used to represent phonemes. Thus, {{IPA|/l/}} and {{IPA|/t/}} are each examples of phonemes inof the English language, since they alone distinguish certain words from other words. Specifically they are consonant phonemes, along with {{IPA|/s/}}, while {{IPA|/ɛ/}} is a vowel phoneme. The spelling of English does not strictly conform to its phonemes, so that the words ''knot'', ''nut'', and ''gnat'', regardless of their spelling, all share the consonant phonemes {{IPA|/n/}} and {{IPA|/t/}}, differing only by their internal vowel phonemes: {{IPA|/ɒ/}}, {{IPA|/ʌ/}}, and {{IPA|/æ/}}, respectively. InSimilarly, {{IPA|/pʊʃt/}} is the IPA,notation thesefor wordsa maysequence beof transcribedfour phonemicallyphonemes, as{{IPA|/p/}}, {{IPA|/nɒtʊ/}}, {{IPA|/nʌtʃ/}}, and {{IPA|/nætt/}}, respectivelythat together constitute the word ''pushed''.

Sounds that are perceived as phonemes differvary betweenby languages and dialects, so that {{IPAblink|n|audio=y}} orand {{IPAblink|ŋ|audio=y}} are separate phonemes in English (distinguishingsince they distinguish words like ''sin'' from ''sing'' ({{IPA|/sɪn/}} versus {{IPA|/sɪŋ/}}), butyet they constitutecomprise a single phoneme in some other languages, such as Spanish, in which {{IPA|[pan]}} and {{IPA|[paŋ]}}, for instance, are merely interpreted by Spanish speakers as regional or dialect-specific ways of pronouncing the same word (''pan'': the Spanish word for "bread"). Such spoken variations of a single phoneme are known by linguists as ''[[allophone]]s''. In the IPA, linguistsLinguists use [[Slash (punctuation)|slashes]] in the IPA to transcribe phonemes but [[square brackets]] to transcribe more precise pronunciation details, including allophones; they describe this basic distinction as ''phonemic'' versus ''phonetic''. Thus, the pronunciation patterns of ''tap'' versus ''tab'', or ''pat'' versus ''bat'', can be transcribedrepresented phonemically and are written between slashes (including {{IPA|/p/}}, {{IPA|/b/}}, etc.), while nuances of exactly how a speaker pronounces {{IPA|/p/}} are phonetic and written between brackets, such aslike {{IPA|[p]}} (for the ''p'' in ''spit'') versus {{IPA|[pʰ]}} (for the ''p'' in ''pit'', which in English is an [[aspirated consonant|aspirated]] allophone of /p/ (i.e., pronounced with an extra burst of air).

There are variousmany views as to exactly what phonemes are and how a given language should be analyzed in phonemic terms. Generally, a phoneme is regarded as an [[abstraction]] of a set (or [[equivalence class]]) of spoken sound variations that are nevertheless perceived as a single basic unit of sound by the ordinary native speakers of a given language. ForWhile examplephonemes are considered an abstract [[underlying representation]] for sound segments within words, the corresponding [[phonetic]] realizations of those phonemes&mdash;each phoneme with its various allophones&mdash;constitute the surface form that is actually uttered and heard. Allophones each have technically different articulations inside particular words or particular [[Phonetic environment|environments within words]], yet these differences do not create any [[semantics|meaningful]] distinctions. Alternatively, at least one of those articulations could be feasibly used in all such words with these words still being recognized as such by users of the language. An example in [[American English]], is that the sound spelled with the symbol ''t'' is usually [[Articulatory phonetics|articulated]] with a [[glottal stop]] {{IPA|[ʔ]}} (or a similar glottalized sound) in the word ''cat'', an [[alveolar flap]] {{IPA|[ɾ]}} in ''dating'', an [[voiceless alveolar plosive|alveolar plosive]] {{IPA|[t]}} in ''stick'', and an [[aspirated consonant|aspirated]] alveolar plosive {{IPA|[tʰ]}} in ''tie''; however, EnglishAmerican speakers perceive or "hear" all of these sounds (usually with no conscious effort) as merely being variants (allophones) of a single phoneme: thatthe isone traditionally transcribedrepresented in the IPA as {{IPA|/t/}}. Allophones each have technically different articulations, yet their differences do not create meaningful distinctions between words. Phonemes are often considered to constitute an abstract [[underlying representation]] for segments of words, while speech sounds make up the corresponding [[phonetic]] realization, or the surface form that is actually uttered and heard.