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In phonology, 'minimal pairs' are pairs of words or phrases in a particular language, which differ in only one phonological element, such as a phone, phoneme, toneme or chroneme and have a distinct meaning. They are used to demonstrate that two phones constitute two separate phonemes in the language.
As an example for English vowels, the pair "l'e't" + "l'i't" proves that the phones (in l'e't) and (in l'i't) do in fact represent distinct phonemes and . An example for English consonants is the minimal pair of "'p'at" + "'b'at". In phonetics, this pair, like any other, differs in number of ways. In this case, the contrast appears largely to be conveyed with a difference in the voice onset time of the initial consonant as the configuration of the mouth is same for and ; however, there is also a possible difference in duration, which visual analysis using high quality video supports.
Phonemic differentiation may vary between different dialects of a language, so that a particular minimal pair in one accent is a pair of homophones in another. This does not necessarily mean that one of the phonemes is absent in the homonym accent; merely that it is not present in the same range of contexts.
Following pairs prove existence of various distinct phonemes in English.
In the articulation of bilabial plosives, 4 phones are defined by the characteristics voiced/unvoiced and aspirated/unaspirated: , , and . In different languages only some of these may occur and the number of phonemes formed may be different again.
The following table shows a minimal set in French distinguishing vowels, some or all of which may sound alike to an Anglophone, because the and sounds do not exist in English:
A minimal triplet of consonants in French is:
Because is not a single phoneme in French, this shows a minimal pair between the presence and absence of next to , which shares its point of articulation. and differ only in point of articulation.
There are three verbs in Hebrew which demonstrate the distinction, in some dialects, between a velar stop and an uvular stop on one hand, and a glottal stop with and without tightening of the throat on the other:
In the following two Hebrew verbs, the only distinction is a glottal stop in the middle of the first word:
In Korean, phones in "Ko'r'ea' and in "Seou'l'" are allophones of one phoneme and are perceived by native speakers of Korean as a single phoneme. The difference is that is an allophone of this phoneme before vowels.
In Spanish, and are both allophones of . appears only before voiced consonants as in ''mismo'' .
Hungarian and Italian have distinctive length of consonants, as did Latin. A differentiator for length may be called a chroneme. In the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA), lengthening can be indicated by doubling the symbol, or by the special sign . Doubling is commonly used for consonants, while the special symbol is used for vowels. E.g. in Italian:
Hungarian, German and Thai have distinctive vowel length, as did Latin. E.g. in Thai (and compare this example also to the one on tone):
Languages such as Mandarin Chinese, Thai and many African languages. (See: pitch accent and tonal language.) For example in Thai:
Spanish, Portuguese, Romanian and Italian have many minimal pairs differing only in stress. Dutch has several, e.g. (stress indicated by acute accent):
Minimal pairs may differ superficially in more than one place if one feature is dependent on the other.
For example, English ''record'' (noun) and ''record'' (verb) (and similar pairs) appear superficially not to be minimal pairs for stress because they differ in vowel quality as well. However, since the differences in vowel quality are predictable consequences of the differences in stress, such pairs are considered minimal pairs. The case is similar in Russian, eg. ''м'у'ка'' ('torture, pain') and ''мук'а''' ('flour').
★ Software that generates a list of minimal pairs from a wordlist
★ Consonant Contrasts Australian English (non-rhotic) Minimal Pair Words and Pictures from Caroline Bowen. Most of these will "work" in other dialects of English.
★ Vowel and Diphthong Contrasts: Australian English (non-rhotic) Minimal Pair Words and Pictures from Caroline Bowen. Most of these will "work" in other dialects of English.
★ Picturable Minimal Pairs ... ... and other word lists (without pictures) in English from Caroline Bowen.
★ Phonological Therapy Speech-Language Pathologists' intervention "tricks" and techniques involving minimal pairs - Words and Pictures from Caroline Bowen
★ Freebies Index Many words and pictures: singleton consonant lists, revisions and repairs, minimal pairs, etc from Caroline Bowen
As an example for English vowels, the pair "l'e't" + "l'i't" proves that the phones (in l'e't) and (in l'i't) do in fact represent distinct phonemes and . An example for English consonants is the minimal pair of "'p'at" + "'b'at". In phonetics, this pair, like any other, differs in number of ways. In this case, the contrast appears largely to be conveyed with a difference in the voice onset time of the initial consonant as the configuration of the mouth is same for and ; however, there is also a possible difference in duration, which visual analysis using high quality video supports.
Phonemic differentiation may vary between different dialects of a language, so that a particular minimal pair in one accent is a pair of homophones in another. This does not necessarily mean that one of the phonemes is absent in the homonym accent; merely that it is not present in the same range of contexts.
Examples
Differentiations in English
Following pairs prove existence of various distinct phonemes in English.
| word 1 | word 2 | IPA 1 | IPA 2 | note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| pin | bin | initial consonant | ||
| rot | lot | |||
| zeal | seal | |||
| bin | bean | / | vowel | |
| pen | pan | / | ||
| hat | had | final consonant |
Differentiating consonants with same location and manner of articulation
In the articulation of bilabial plosives, 4 phones are defined by the characteristics voiced/unvoiced and aspirated/unaspirated: , , and . In different languages only some of these may occur and the number of phonemes formed may be different again.
| Pattern | Language(s) | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
 | English | Phones as in "spin" and as in "pin" both occur, but are allophones of the phoneme and no minimal pair can be found to distinguish them, but the word "bin" shows that the phone forms a phoneme separate from . |
 | Mandarin | Only phones (and phonemes) and occur. In the Pinyin transcription is written "p" and is written "b" (using the two available Latin letters for the two phonemes). |
 | French | In romance languages and other European languages only phones (and phonemes) and occur. |
 | Hindi/Urdu | All four phones are separate phonemes. |
 | Thai | Three phones occur and form three phonemes, as in these examples: ★ ใบ "sheet" ★ ไป "to go" ★ ภัย "danger" |
Differentiating vowels
The following table shows a minimal set in French distinguishing vowels, some or all of which may sound alike to an Anglophone, because the and sounds do not exist in English:
| word | IPA | meaning |
|---|---|---|
| cire | wax | |
| sûre | sure | |
| sœur | sister | |
| sieur | sir | |
| sueur | sweat |
Differentiating consonants
A minimal triplet of consonants in French is:
| word | IPA | meaning |
|---|---|---|
| bête noire | black beast, pet peeve | |
| baie noire | black berry (not blackberry, which is mûre sauvage) | |
| baignoire | bathtub |
Because is not a single phoneme in French, this shows a minimal pair between the presence and absence of next to , which shares its point of articulation. and differ only in point of articulation.
There are three verbs in Hebrew which demonstrate the distinction, in some dialects, between a velar stop and an uvular stop on one hand, and a glottal stop with and without tightening of the throat on the other:
| word | IPA | meaning |
|---|---|---|
| קרא | read, call | |
| קרע | tear apart | |
| כרע | kneel |
In the following two Hebrew verbs, the only distinction is a glottal stop in the middle of the first word:
| word | IPA | meaning |
|---|---|---|
| לראות | see | |
| לירות | shoot |
In Korean, phones in "Ko'r'ea' and in "Seou'l'" are allophones of one phoneme and are perceived by native speakers of Korean as a single phoneme. The difference is that is an allophone of this phoneme before vowels.
In Spanish, and are both allophones of . appears only before voiced consonants as in ''mismo'' .
Differentiating chronemes
Hungarian and Italian have distinctive length of consonants, as did Latin. A differentiator for length may be called a chroneme. In the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA), lengthening can be indicated by doubling the symbol, or by the special sign . Doubling is commonly used for consonants, while the special symbol is used for vowels. E.g. in Italian:
| word | IPA | meaning |
|---|---|---|
| pala | spade | |
| palla | ball |
Hungarian, German and Thai have distinctive vowel length, as did Latin. E.g. in Thai (and compare this example also to the one on tone):
| word | IPA | RTGS | quality | meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| เขา | khǎo | short, rising tone | he/she | |
| ขาว | khǎo | long, rising tone | white | |
| เข้า | khâo | short, falling tone | enter | |
| ข้าว | khâo | long, falling tone | rice | |
| เข่า | khào | short, low tone | knee | |
| ข่าว | khào | long, low tone | news |
Differentiating tonemes
Languages such as Mandarin Chinese, Thai and many African languages. (See: pitch accent and tonal language.) For example in Thai:
| word | IPA | RTGS | quality | meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ขาว | khǎ:o | rising tone | white | |
| ข้าว | khâ:o | falling tone | rice | |
| ข่าว | khà:o | low tone | news |
Differentiating stress
Spanish, Portuguese, Romanian and Italian have many minimal pairs differing only in stress. Dutch has several, e.g. (stress indicated by acute accent):
| language | word | IPA | meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dutch | voorkómen | prevent | |
| Dutch | vóórkomen | occur | |
| Romanian | copíi | children | |
| Romanian | cópii | copies | |
| Portuguese | andarão | will walk | |
| Portuguese | andaram | walked | |
| Italian | becchino | undertaker | |
| Italian | becchino | let them peck | |
| Spanish | límite | (the) limit | |
| Spanish | limite | he/she limits, you (formal) limit | |
| Spanish | limité | I limited |
Minimal pairs may differ superficially in more than one place if one feature is dependent on the other.
For example, English ''record'' (noun) and ''record'' (verb) (and similar pairs) appear superficially not to be minimal pairs for stress because they differ in vowel quality as well. However, since the differences in vowel quality are predictable consequences of the differences in stress, such pairs are considered minimal pairs. The case is similar in Russian, eg. ''м'у'ка'' ('torture, pain') and ''мук'а''' ('flour').
External links
★ Software that generates a list of minimal pairs from a wordlist
★ Consonant Contrasts Australian English (non-rhotic) Minimal Pair Words and Pictures from Caroline Bowen. Most of these will "work" in other dialects of English.
★ Vowel and Diphthong Contrasts: Australian English (non-rhotic) Minimal Pair Words and Pictures from Caroline Bowen. Most of these will "work" in other dialects of English.
★ Picturable Minimal Pairs ... ... and other word lists (without pictures) in English from Caroline Bowen.
★ Phonological Therapy Speech-Language Pathologists' intervention "tricks" and techniques involving minimal pairs - Words and Pictures from Caroline Bowen
★ Freebies Index Many words and pictures: singleton consonant lists, revisions and repairs, minimal pairs, etc from Caroline Bowen
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psst.. try this: add to faves
