ITA360H1 Chapter Notes - Chapter 4: Minimal Pair, Free Variation, Phoneme
25 Dec 2015
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Phoneme: minimal unit of sound that distinguishes meaning of different. Vocabulary words in a language: e. g. , /n/ is a phoneme. Minimal pair: pair like pane cane in which the forms are the same except in one sound in the same position. Contrast (opposition): the minimal difference between two elements. Free variation: existence of two variant forms: e. g. , tra and fra: rare but usually happens b/c of how a language alters based upon differing regions, e. g. , some people pronounce the english word economics" with an [i] Allophone: variant of a phoneme the actual form that a phoneme takes in a word. For example, the [s] and [z] sounds are allophones of /s/: the voiced one, [z], occurs before another voiced consonant (sbaglio) and between vowels (casa); the latter occurs elsewhere (specchio, segno, etc. ) Complementary distribution: process whereby one form does not occur in the same environment as the other. Phonological rule: rule that specifies how a phoneme is realized.
