Definitions from the Web
Allophone
Definition:
An allophone refers to any of the variant forms of a phoneme, which are used in a particular language or dialect. Allophones do not change the meaning of a word or affect its comprehensibility; instead, they represent the variations in pronunciation.
Examples:
- Aspirated [pʰ] and unaspirated [p] forms of the phoneme /p/ in English are considered different allophones. For instance, in the words "pin" and "spin," the initial sound varies, but it does not change the meaning of the words.
- In Canadian English, the vowel sounds /ɒ/ and /ɔː/ are treated as allophones, distinguishing words like "cot" and "caught."
- In Spanish, the pronunciation of the letter "b" as a voiced bilabial stop [b] or a voiced post-alveolar fricative [β̞] represents allophonic variation within the language.
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