What does phoneme mean?

Definitions for phoneme
ˈfoʊ nimpho·neme

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word phoneme.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. phonemenoun

    (linguistics) one of a small set of speech sounds that are distinguished by the speakers of a particular language

Wiktionary

  1. phonemenoun

    An indivisible unit of sound in a given language. A phoneme is an abstraction of the physical speech sounds (phones) and may encompass several different phones.

  2. Etymology: From φώνημα, from φωνέω, from φωνή.

Wikipedia

  1. Phoneme

    In phonology and linguistics, a phoneme is a unit of sound that can distinguish one word from another in a particular language. For example, in most dialects of English, with the notable exception of the West Midlands and the north-west of England, the sound patterns (sin) and (sing) are two separate words that are distinguished by the substitution of one phoneme, /n/, for another phoneme, /ŋ/. Two words like this that differ in meaning through the contrast of a single phoneme form a minimal pair. If, in another language, any two sequences differing only by pronunciation of the final sounds [n] or [ŋ] are perceived as being the same in meaning, then these two sounds are interpreted as phonetic variants of a single phoneme in that language. Phonemes that are established by the use of minimal pairs, such as tap vs tab or pat vs bat, are written between slashes: /p/, /b/. To show pronunciation, linguists use square brackets: [pʰ] (indicating an aspirated p in pat). There are differing views as to exactly what phonemes are and how a given language should be analyzed in phonemic (or phonematic) terms. However, a phoneme is generally regarded as an abstraction of a set (or equivalence class) of speech sounds (phones) that are perceived as equivalent to each other in a given language. For example, the English k sounds in the words kill and skill are not identical (as described below), but they are distributional variants of a single phoneme /k/. Speech sounds that differ but do not create a meaningful change in the word are known as allophones of the same phoneme. Allophonic variation may be conditioned, in which case a certain phoneme is realized as a certain allophone in particular phonological environments, or it may otherwise be free, and may vary by speaker or by dialect. Therefore, 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.

ChatGPT

  1. phoneme

    A phoneme is the smallest unit of sound in speech that can be used to distinguish one word from another. It is a category of sounds thought of as sharing certain significant characteristics, only those differences that affect the meaning of the words in a language. For example, in English, the sounds represented by the letters "p" and "b" in the words "pat" and "bat" are different phonemes.

Wikidata

  1. Phoneme

    A phoneme is a basic unit of a language's phonology, which is combined with other phonemes to form meaningful units such as words or morphemes. The phoneme can be described as "The smallest contrastive linguistic unit which may bring about a change of meaning". In this way the difference in meaning between the English words kill and kiss is a result of the exchange of the phoneme for the phoneme. Two words that differ in meaning through a contrast of a single phoneme are called minimal pairs. Within linguistics there are differing views as to exactly what phonemes are and how a given language should be analyzed in phonemic terms. However, a phoneme is generally regarded as an abstraction of a set of speech sounds which are perceived as equivalent to each other in a given language. For example, in English, the "k" sounds in the words kit and skill are not identical, but they are distributional variants of a single phoneme. Different speech sounds representing the same phoneme are known as allophones, and such variation may be conditioned, in which case a certain phoneme is realized as a certain allophone in particular phonological environments, or it may be free in which case it may vary randomly. In this way, phonemes are often considered to constitute an abstract underlying representation for words, while speech sounds make up the corresponding phonetic realization, or surface form.

Editors Contribution

  1. phoneme

    Is a perfect, accurate and specific unit of the phonology of a language.

    The symbols used for particular phonemes are often taken from the International Phonetic Alphabet.


    Submitted by MaryC on March 12, 2020  

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Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of phoneme in Chaldean Numerology is: 3

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of phoneme in Pythagorean Numerology is: 4

Popularity rank by frequency of use

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"phoneme." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Mar. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/phoneme>.

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