Phoneme

A phoneme (/ˈfnm/) is any set of similar speech sounds that is perceptually regarded by the speakers of a language as a single basic sound—a smallest possible phonetic unit—that helps distinguish one word from another.[1] All languages contains phonemes (or the spatial-gestural equivalent in sign languages), and all spoken languages include both consonant and vowel phonemes. Phonemes are primarily studied under the branch of linguistics known as phonology.

  1. ^ "phoneme". Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary. Merriam-Webster.