Question

In phonetics, which term describes the smallest unit of sound that can distinguish meaning?

• A. Morpheme
• B. Syllable
• C. Phoneme
• D. Grapheme

Answer 1

Answer:

C. Phoneme

In phonetics, the term that describes the smallest unit of sound that can distinguish meaning is a phoneme.

A phoneme is a distinctive sound in a language that can change the meaning of a word. For example:

• /p/ and /b/ in "pat" /pæt/ vs. "bat" /bæt/ change the meaning, so /p/ and /b/ are different phonemes in English.