Phonemes and syllables | B.ED HONS, PART-I, SEMESTER-II
Phoneme
Definition: The smallest unit of sound in a language that can distinguish one word from another.
Key Points:
- Phonemes are the building blocks of spoken language.
- They don't have meaning on their own, but changing a phoneme can change a word's meaning (e.g., "bat" vs. "pat").
- The number of phonemes varies across languages (English has around 44).
- Letters can represent different phonemes depending on the word (e.g., "the" vs. "thin").
Syllable
Definition: A unit of sound in a word that groups phonemes together, typically containing a vowel sound (nucleus) with optional consonants before (onset) and after (coda).
Key Points:
- Syllables are larger units than phonemes.
- They determine the rhythm and flow of spoken language.
- The number of syllables in a word doesn't always match the number of phonemes (e.g., "ship" - 1 syllable, 3 phonemes).
- Counting syllables is often easier than counting phonemes because syllables follow natural speaking breaks.
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