phoneme
Smallest meaningful sound
A phoneme is the smallest unit of sound in a language that distinguishes one word from another.
The difference between "bat" and "pat" comes down to a single phoneme—the initial consonant sound.
English has roughly 44 phonemes, though the exact count varies by dialect.
Phonemes are abstractions; the actual sounds people produce when speaking are more varied and context-dependent.
Of tooth sockets
- bilabialMade with both lips
- velarSoft-palate speech sound
- plosiveConsonant with blocked release
- fricativeConsonant with audible friction
affricate · nasal · glottal · palatal · dental · uvular · manner · place
Starting point of something
- codaClosing musical passage
- nucleusCentral controlling part
- clusterGathered group nearby
- syllableUnit of pronunciation
assimilation · elision · deletion · reduction · distribution · complementary · free variation · feature
Smallest meaningful language unit
- allophoneNon-distinctive sound variation
- graphemeMinimal written symbol unit
- phoneticsStudy of speech sounds
- segmentalDivided into sections
contrastive · distinctive · underlying · surface · inventory · opposition · neutralization · systematic
Sound notation system
- symbolRepresentational mark or sign
- bracketSupport or category
- slashAngled line or swipe
- narrowOf small width
broad · diacritic · notation · alphabet · romanization · respelling · dictionary · pronunciation key
Graphed oscillation pattern
- spectrogramFrequency-over-time display
- formantSpectral concentration in speech
- frequencyRate of recurrence
- acousticRelating to sound
perception · auditory · signal · duration · spectral · analysis · speech sound · production
Ability to read, write
- readingInterpreting written text
- phonicsSound-based reading instruction
- decodingExtracting meaning from symbols
- awarenessState of perceiving reality
segmentation · blending · spelling · dyslexia · instruction · sounding out · early reading · emergent
alveolar
Of tooth sockets
fricative · affricate · nasal · glottal · palatal · dental · uvular · manner · place · voicing
onset
Starting point of something
syllable · assimilation · elision · deletion · reduction · distribution · complementary · free variation · feature · distinctive feature
morpheme
Smallest meaningful language unit
- allophoneNon-distinctive sound variation
- graphemeMinimal written symbol unit
- phoneticsStudy of speech sounds
segmental · contrastive · distinctive · underlying · surface · inventory · opposition · neutralization · systematic · abstract
IPA
Sound notation system
narrow · broad · diacritic · notation · alphabet · romanization · respelling · dictionary · pronunciation key · schwa
waveform
Graphed oscillation pattern
- spectrogramFrequency-over-time display
- formantSpectral concentration in speech
- frequencyRate of recurrence
acoustic · perception · auditory · signal · duration · spectral · analysis · speech sound · production · recognition
literacy
Ability to read, write
- readingInterpreting written text
- phonicsSound-based reading instruction
- decodingExtracting meaning from symbols
awareness · segmentation · blending · spelling · dyslexia · instruction · sounding out · early reading · emergent · kindergarten
- language termsgrammar, word, vocabulary, syntax, synonym
- spoken languagespeech, spoken word, pronunciation, accent, dialect
- etymologyword origins, word history, word origin, etymon, root words
- linguisticslinguistics, morpheme, morphemes, lexeme, nouns
- linguistic unitsword, morpheme, grapheme, syllable, letter
- Phonics Termsphonics, blending, decoding, syllable, vowel
- cell phonesWireless handheld communication devices
- mobile phonesPortable wireless communication devices
- pay phonesCoin-operated public communication devices
- pay-as-you-go phonesPrepaid mobile devices
- flip phonesFolding cellular handsets
- home phonesFixed residential telephone units