Construct · 1 fields · 1 citations

minimal pair: a standalone construct

One name. One construct. A landmark on the map.

● anchor · a single construct in one field Nearest construct by meaning·not indexed
minimalpair1 CONSTRUCTMinimal pairTRUBETZKOY · PAIR

A single standalone construct; nearby constructs are located against it in the Collider. Tap a field for its definition, unit, and measures.

Phonology

Two words differing in just one sound

A minimal pair is two words that differ in meaning yet differ in form by only a single sound in the same position, such as pat and bat or ship and sheep. Because the one differing segment is all that separates the words, the pair demonstrates that the two sounds belong to distinct phonemes in that language rather than being variants of one. Trubetzkoy's Principles of phonology, first published in 1939, made such oppositions the central diagnostic of phonological structure. The referent is a methodological test for contrast, the standard tool for establishing a language's phoneme inventory.[1]

Unit
A pair of distinct words separated by exactly one segment in one position
Recovery means
Not applicable
Measured by
Established by finding word pairs that contrast in meaning while differing in a single segment, confirming a phonemic opposition

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Nearby constructs

contrast4 fields · 4 citationsjingle · one word, four constructsbeing3 fields · 3 citationsjingle · one word, three constructsform4 fields · 7 citationsjingle · one word, four constructs

References

  1. Trubetzkoy, N. S. (1969). Principles of phonology (C. A. M. Baltaxe, Trans.). University of California Press. (Original work published 1939) ISBN 9780520015357

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