allophone
Phoneme's pronunciation variant
An allophone is a variant pronunciation of a phoneme—the same underlying sound realized differently depending on context.
The "p" in "pin" (aspirated, with a puff of air) and "spin" (unaspirated) are allophones of the same phoneme; English speakers hear them as identical, though they're acoustically distinct.
Languages differ in which variations matter for meaning.
Interchangeable linguistic variants
- aspirationStrong desire for achievement
- nasalizationSound routed through nostrils
- voicingExpressing aloud
- assimilationAbsorbing into a whole
dissimilation · elision · distinctive features · articulation · consonant · vowel · segment · realization
Manner of speaking words
- dialectRegional language variety
- vernacularEveryday regional speech
- accentRegional speech pattern
- regional variationGeographic differences in practice
sociolect · idiolect · native speaker · foreign accent · interlanguage · transfer · substrate · code-switching
free variation
Interchangeable linguistic variants
- aspirationStrong desire for achievement
- nasalizationSound routed through nostrils
- voicingExpressing aloud
assimilation · dissimilation · elision · distinctive features · articulation · consonant · vowel · segment · realization · phonological rule
pronunciation
Manner of speaking words
- dialectRegional language variety
- vernacularEveryday regional speech
- accentRegional speech pattern
regional variation · sociolect · idiolect · native speaker · foreign accent · interlanguage · transfer · substrate · code-switching · diglossia