Practice question · Multiple choice
Aspiration is predictable in English and distinguishes words in Thai. What does this show about the phoneme?
Hints
- The same physical difference has a different status in the two languages.
- If the sounds are the same and the status differs, the status comes from somewhere else.
Show the answer
C. Phonemic status is a property of a language's system, not of the sounds themselves
Why
That phonemic status belongs to the system, not to the acoustics. The same physical difference is inaudible to English speakers as a contrast and fully meaningful to Thai speakers, because English uses it to fill in a predictable detail and Thai uses it to distinguish words.
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