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| | '''Phonology''' is the study of the organization and use of sounds in natural languages.<ref>[http://www.sil.org/linguistics/GlossaryOfLinguisticTerms/WhatIsPhonology.htm Phonology, from LinguaLinks Library]</ref> Phonologists describe and categorize the sounds of speech using the [[IPA|international phonetic alphabet]], a system of symbols used to unambiguously represent individual speech sounds in all the world's languages. | | '''Phonology''' is the study of the organization and use of sounds in natural languages.<ref>[http://www.sil.org/linguistics/GlossaryOfLinguisticTerms/WhatIsPhonology.htm Phonology, from LinguaLinks Library]</ref> Phonologists describe and categorize the sounds of speech using the [[IPA|international phonetic alphabet]], a system of symbols used to unambiguously represent individual speech sounds in all the world's languages. |
| | ==Terms used in phonology== | | ==Terms used in phonology== |
| − | A '''phoneme''' is the smallest unit of sound whose change can change the meaning of what is said.<ref>[http://grammar.about.com/od/pq/g/phonemeterm.htm Definition of phoneme]</ref> | + | A '''phoneme''' is the smallest unit of sound whose change can change the meaning of what is said.<ref>[http://grammar.about.com/od/pq/g/phonemeterm.htm Definition of phoneme]</ref> In English there are 44 phonemes: |
| | + | *19 consonants |
| | + | *5 short vowels |
| | + | *5 long vowels |
| | + | *7 digraphs |
| | + | ::Consonants: ch, ng, sh, th |
| | + | ::Vowels: ai, air, ar, ear, ee, er, igh, oa, oo, or, ur, ow, oi, ure |
| | + | ::Other: aw, au, ay, ou, ie, ea, oi, ir, ph, ew, oe, ue, wh |
| | + | *5 r-related sounds, |
| | + | *2 distinct "oo" sounds (as in book/rook and moon/food/fool) |
| | + | *2 diphthongs |
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| | A '''minimal pair''' is a pair of words that differ by only one phoneme, e.g., ''hit'' and ''hid''. The existence or not of a minimal pair tests whether two apparently different sounds are actually phonemes.<ref>[http://grammar.about.com/od/mo/g/minpairterm.htm Definition of minimal pair]</ref> | | A '''minimal pair''' is a pair of words that differ by only one phoneme, e.g., ''hit'' and ''hid''. The existence or not of a minimal pair tests whether two apparently different sounds are actually phonemes.<ref>[http://grammar.about.com/od/mo/g/minpairterm.htm Definition of minimal pair]</ref> |