Question

The /k/ in cream and scream are:

• A. Allomorphs
• B. Minimal pairs
• C. Morpheme variants
• D. Allophones

Answer 1

Answer:

D. Allophones

In cream /kriːm/, the /k/ is typically aspirated [kʰ] because it occurs at the start of a stressed syllable.
➡ In scream /skriːm/, the /k/ is typically unaspirated [k] because it follows /s/.

➡ Even though they sound slightly different (aspirated vs unaspirated), they are variations of the same phoneme /k/ in different phonetic contexts.

they are allophones: context-dependent variations of the same phoneme /k/ that do not change meaning.