allophone

noun

Pronunciation: /ˈæləfoʊn/

Definition

A phonetic variation of a single phoneme that does not change the meaning of a word.

Examples

• Linguists study how allophones are distributed based on the surrounding sounds in a word.

• The two distinct pronunciations of the letter 't' in 'top' and 'stop' are considered allophones in many dialects of English.

• Students often find it difficult to hear the difference between allophones because their brains categorize them as the same sound.

Synonyms of allophone

Words with a similar meaning to allophone:

• variant
• realization
• phonetic variant
• allophonic variation

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