Which term refers to the smallest unit of sound in a spoken word?

Which term refers to the smallest unit of sound in a spoken word?

• A. Phoneme
• B. Rhyme
• C. Onset
• D. Morpheme

Answer: (A)

The smallest unit of sound in a spoken word is a phoneme. Phonemes are the distinct sounds that, when combined, create words and differentiate meaning. Think of the word “cat”: it has three phonemes—/k/, /æ/, and /t/. If you change any one of these sounds, you typically get a different word or a different meaning. For example, swapping /k/ for /p/ gives “pat,” changing /æ/ to /e/ changes the vowel sound, and altering /t/ at the end changes the word altogether. Rhyme refers to the part of a syllable that includes the vowel and any following consonants, not the smallest sound units themselves. Onset is the initial consonant sound or cluster of a syllable, not the smallest sound unit. Morpheme is a meaningful unit of language (such as a word or a prefix/suffix), which is larger than a single sound. So the best term for the smallest unit of sound is phoneme.

The smallest unit of sound in a spoken word is a phoneme. Phonemes are the distinct sounds that, when combined, create words and differentiate meaning. Think of the word “cat”: it has three phonemes—/k/, /æ/, and /t/. If you change any one of these sounds, you typically get a different word or a different meaning. For example, swapping /k/ for /p/ gives “pat,” changing /æ/ to /e/ changes the vowel sound, and altering /t/ at the end changes the word altogether.

Rhyme refers to the part of a syllable that includes the vowel and any following consonants, not the smallest sound units themselves. Onset is the initial consonant sound or cluster of a syllable, not the smallest sound unit. Morpheme is a meaningful unit of language (such as a word or a prefix/suffix), which is larger than a single sound.

So the best term for the smallest unit of sound is phoneme.