Content Starts Here
phoneme
Encyclopaedia Search
Phoneme
Distinctive unit of sound from which a language is formed. For example, /t/ and /d/ are phonemes in English because they can be used to distinguish between two words, for example ‘bad’ and ‘bat’.
Although the exact sound of /t/ varies with its phonetic context (see phonetics). Phonetically, the /t/ in the words ‘top’ and ‘stop’ is different. These variants cannot be used to distinguish between two otherwise identical words. Sound variants that do not change meaning in a given language are called allophones. The study of phonemes is called phonology.
© RM 2009. Helicon Publishing is division of RM.
Advertisement starts
Advertisement ends
alphabet
blend
compound word
consonant
derivation
digraph
embedding
etymology
figurative language
generic structure
grapheme
homograph
homonym
homonymy
homophone
letter string
logogram
metalanguage
morpheme
onset
palindrome
pathos
phoneme
phonology
portmanteau word
reference
root (language)
segment
stem (grammar)
suffix
syllable
trigraph
vowel
blend
compound word
consonant
derivation
digraph
embedding
etymology
figurative language
generic structure
grapheme
homograph
homonym
homonymy
homophone
letter string
logogram
metalanguage
morpheme
onset
palindrome
pathos
phoneme
phonology
portmanteau word
reference
root (language)
segment
stem (grammar)
suffix
syllable
trigraph
vowel
Related Links
Laos Flag
White symbolizes justice and the promise of the future. Blue stands for prosperity. Red represents unity and purpose and the blood shed during the struggle for freedom. Effective date: 4 December 1975.
>>
Advertorial
Find out how to buy the things you've always wanted and sell the things you don't on ebay.
Advertisement starts
Advertisement ends
Page Footer
Access keys
You will need to use different key combinations in order to use access keys depending on your internet browser, find out which on our accessibility page.
- (0) Navigate to Accessibility page.
- (1) Navigate to Home page.
- (2) Navigate to My email.
- (3) Navigate to My Account.
- (4) Navigate to Site Map page.
- (5) Navigate to Contact us page.
- (6) Navigate to Members channel.
- (7) Navigate to Services channel.
- (8) Navigate to News & Info channel.
- (9) Navigate to Entertainment channel.
- ([) Skip down to the Primary navigation block.
- (]) Skip down to the more links within this section block.
- (=) Bypass all navigation and jump to the content.
- (x) Text only version of this page.
