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Daniel al-Autistiqui wrote:
> Can someone give a precise definition of the phoneme? I'm starting to
> doubt whether this and other "emic" concepts really exist.
>
> daniel mcgrath
> --
> Daniel Gerard McGrath, a/k/a "Govende":
> for e-mail replace "invalid" with "com"
>
> Developmentally disabled;
> has Autism (Pervasive Developmental Disorder),
> Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder,
> & periodic bouts of depression.
> [This signature is under construction.]
SIL have a fairly straightforward definition:
"...the smallest contrastive unit in the sound system of a language"
(http://www.sil.org/linguistics/GlossaryOflinguisticTerms/WhatIsAPhoneme.htm)
Since Kenneth Pike wrote extensively on the emic/etic distinction this
seems a safe place to start.
What puzzles you about this? What do you mean by "really exist"? Do
you doubt that phoneme has explanatory power in phonology? Do you
doubt that there is "categorical perception". You wouldn't be alone in
either case.
The fact is that phonemes are theoretical constructs - they really
exist in so far as you hold mainstream views on the reality of
theoretical constructs and in so far as you accept some theory that
posits the existence of phonemes.
Jim
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