Minimal pair: Difference between revisions
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In [[linguistics]], two words differing by only one unit of sound, or [[phoneme]], are called a '''minimal pair'''. Minimal pairs are widely used in language teaching. Examples are 'cat' and 'mat', 'fish' and 'wish', 'abortion' and 'apportion'. Spelling can disguise the fact of a minimal pair: | In [[linguistics]], two words differing by only one unit of sound, or [[phoneme]], are called a '''minimal pair'''. Minimal pairs are widely used in language teaching. Examples are 'cat' and 'mat', 'fish' and 'wish', 'abortion' and 'apportion'. Spelling can disguise the fact of a minimal pair: 'bane' and 'boon', 'league' and 'leak', and 'do' and 'two' are all examples. | ||
Revision as of 11:14, 3 April 2008
In linguistics, two words differing by only one unit of sound, or phoneme, are called a minimal pair. Minimal pairs are widely used in language teaching. Examples are 'cat' and 'mat', 'fish' and 'wish', 'abortion' and 'apportion'. Spelling can disguise the fact of a minimal pair: 'bane' and 'boon', 'league' and 'leak', and 'do' and 'two' are all examples.