nucleus
[noun]
the central and typically sonorous part of a syllable, usually occupied by a vowel or a vowel-like sound
onset
[noun]
the initial sound or sounds of a syllable that come before the vowel, forming the beginning part of a syllable and can consist of one or more consonant sounds
cluster
[noun]
a sequence of two or more consonant sounds that occur together without an intervening vowel in a syllable
phoneme
[noun]
the smallest unit of sound in a language that can distinguish meaning, often represented by a specific symbol in phonetic notation
minimal pair
[noun]
a pair of words in a language that differ in meaning by only one phoneme, demonstrating that the phoneme contrast is significant for distinguishing words
phonological rule
[noun]
a systematic pattern or process in a language that governs the way phonemes or sounds interact with each other, influencing their pronunciation or distribution within words and sentences
assimilation
[noun]
a phonological process where a sound becomes more similar to a neighboring sound in terms of one or more of its phonetic features
elision
[noun]
the phonological process of omitting or deleting a sound or sounds in connected speech, typically in order to facilitate smoother and faster pronunciation
dissimilation
[noun]
a phonological process in which two similar or adjacent sounds in a word become less similar or distinct from each other
epenthesis
[noun]
a phonological process in which a sound or phoneme is inserted into a word, typically to break up a consonant cluster or improve phonotactic constraints
deletion
[noun]
a phonological process in which a sound or phoneme is removed or omitted from a word
distinctive feature
[noun]
a characteristic or property of a sound that distinguishes it from other sounds in a particular language
juncture
[noun]
the way speech sounds are connected and organized, including pauses, sound blending, and overall rhythm, influencing word boundaries and speech interpretation
metathesis
[noun]
a phonological process in which sounds or syllables in a word are rearranged or switched positions, resulting in a change in the order of phonemes or syllables within the word
neutralization
[noun]
the phonological process in which phonemic distinctions between sounds are lost or neutralized in specific phonetic contexts, resulting in a single phonetic realization
sonority
[noun]
the relative loudness, prominence, or audibility of speech sounds, often associated with their acoustic properties and the degree of constriction in the vocal tract during their production
stress-timed language
[noun]
a type of language where the syllables are organized in a way that the stressed syllables occur at relatively regular intervals, resulting in a rhythmic pattern of speech
syllable-timed language
[noun]
a type of language where each syllable is given roughly equal time and stress, resulting in a more evenly paced and rhythmic pattern of speech
lenition
[noun]
a phonological process where a consonant becomes weaker or less prominent in terms of articulation, often resulting in its softening, reduction, or loss of certain features
rendaku
[noun]
a phonological phenomenon in Japanese where the initial consonant of the second element in a compound word undergoes voicing or consonant softening
sandhi
[noun]
the phonological process in which the pronunciation of sounds changes when they occur in specific phonetic contexts or in continuous speech
consonant gradation
[noun]
a phonological process where a consonant undergoes systematic changes in its articulation or voicing depending on its position within a word or in certain morphological contexts
vowel harmony
[noun]
a phonological process in which vowels within a word or across adjacent words become more similar or assimilate to each other in terms of certain phonetic features, typically involving vowel height, backness, or rounding
tone sandhi
[noun]
the phonological phenomenon where the tone of a word or syllable changes based on its position or interaction with neighboring tones, typically occurring in tonal languages
tonal language
[noun]
a language in which variations in pitch or tone can distinguish different words or convey different meanings
imbrication
[noun]
a phonological process in which adjacent or alternating segments in a word share a common feature, resulting in the assimilation or co-occurrence of certain articulatory or acoustic characteristics
syncope
[noun]
(phonetics) the omission or loss of one or more sounds from the pronunciation of a word
digraph
[noun]
two successive letters (especially two letters used to represent a single sound: `sh' in `shoe')
nasalization
[noun]
the process of producing a sound with nasal resonance, where air flows through the nasal cavity while a sound is being articulated
insertion
[noun]
the process of adding sounds, typically vowels or consonants, into a word or morpheme that are not present in its underlying or base form
prothesis
[noun]
a phonological process in which a sound or phoneme is added at the beginning of a word, typically to facilitate pronunciation or conform to phonotactic constraints
terminal devoicing
[noun]
a phonological process in which voiced consonants at the end of a word are pronounced as voiceless
ablaut
[noun]
a phonological phenomenon where a vowel in a word changes systematically to indicate grammatical or derivational distinctions, often resulting in different word forms or meanings
regressive assimilation
[noun]
a phonological process in which a sound is modified or assimilated to match a neighboring sound that comes after it
haplology
[noun]
a phonological process in which a repeated or similar sequence of sounds within a word or phrase is simplified or deleted, resulting in the loss of one of the similar elements
intervocalic voicing
[noun]
a phonological process in which a voiceless consonant between two vowels becomes voiced, typically due to the influence of the surrounding vowel sounds
vowel reduction
[noun]
the process in which a vowel in an unstressed position or in a particular phonological context becomes centralized and/or weakened, resulting in a reduced vowel quality
palatalization
[noun]
a phonological process in which a sound, typically a consonant, becomes palatal or acquires palatal characteristics under the influence of a neighboring palatal sound or due to the position within a particular linguistic environment
vrddhi
[noun]
a phonological process in Sanskrit and other Indo-Aryan languages where a vowel lengthens or becomes long as a result of specific phonetic and phonological conditions, often related to the presence of certain consonants or morphological factors
crasis
[noun]
the linguistic phenomenon where two or more adjacent words merge together, typically resulting in the contraction or fusion of sounds or syllables
zero consonant
[noun]
a phonological phenomenon where a consonant sound is not pronounced in a particular position within a word or a specific language context, often resulting in a phonetic gap or absence of sound
allomorph
[noun]
any of the variant forms of a morpheme, which are phonetically or phonologically conditioned
sound symbolism
[noun]
the phenomenon where certain sounds or phonetic patterns are associated with specific meanings or qualities, often independent of linguistic convention or arbitrary assignment
mora
[noun]
a unit of phonological timing that determines the length or duration of a syllable or a vowel sound
null allomorph
[noun]
a silent or phonetically empty form of a morpheme that represents its absence in certain linguistic environments
cluster reduction
[noun]
a phonological process in which one or more consonants in a consonant cluster are omitted or simplified in pronunciation
rhotacism
[noun]
a phonological process or phenomenon where a non-"r" sound is changed or replaced by an "r" sound, commonly observed in language evolution or dialectal variations
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