Experiencing Phones, Phonemes, and Phonetic Symbols (Oh My!)

In Module Nine , Experiencing Phones, Phonemes, and Phonetic Symbols (Oh My!) , readers are led through the territory of defining and disambiguating the terms “phone,” “phoneme,” and “phonetic symbol.” A “phone” is defined as any distinct speech sound. In order to explore the concept of a “phoneme”-or a distinct speech sound that, if changed, changes the meaning of the word in a particular language-readers are asked to explore various articulatory gestures. Some gestures, while different phones, can be considered part of the same phonemic category within a particular language. These sounds are defined as “allophones.” Other phones, if changed, change the meaning within a particular language, marking them as separate phonemes. The module culminates in an exercise where readers are asked to create an unbroken chain of minimal pairs in their language.