phoneme

Definition of Phoneme

(noun) The smallest meaningful speech sound in a language.

Example of Phoneme

• The /k/ sound in cat or key.
  

Phoneme Pronunciation

Pronunciation Usage Guide

Syllabification: pho·neme

Audio Pronunciation

International Phonetic Alphabet

• American English – /ˈfoʊˌnim/
• British English – /ˈfəʊniːm/

Usage Notes

• Plural: phonemes
• Phoneme is compared and contrasted to morpheme.
• Linguists (adverb) phonemically study (adjective) phonemic or (adjective) phonematic parts of words.

Related Videos

Additional Information

• Sociolinguistics Resources – Books, Journals, and Helpful Links
• Word origin of “phoneme” – Online Etymology Dictionary: etymonline.com

Related Terms

• grammar
• language
• morpheme
• phonology
• semantics
• sociolinguistics
• speech
• symbol

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Cite the Definition of Phoneme

ASA – American Sociological Association (5th edition)

Bell, Kenton, ed. 2014. “phoneme.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Retrieved June 5, 2023 (https://sociologydictionary.org/phoneme/).

APA – American Psychological Association (6th edition)

phoneme. (2014). In K. Bell (Ed.), Open education sociology dictionary. Retrieved from https://sociologydictionary.org/phoneme/

Chicago/Turabian: Author-Date – Chicago Manual of Style (16th edition)

Bell, Kenton, ed. 2014. “phoneme.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Accessed June 5, 2023. https://sociologydictionary.org/phoneme/.

MLA – Modern Language Association (7th edition)

“phoneme.” Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Ed. Kenton Bell. 2014. Web. 5 Jun. 2023. <https://sociologydictionary.org/phoneme/>.