Data Pattern #1 – Minimal Pairs

Based on definition: Phomemes are contrastive.

When you have two or more sounds, found in identical 

environments, (transcribed identically except for one sound) that 

mean different things.

Example:

[bij] ‘bee’   [phij] ‘pea’/‘pee’

The sounds [b] and [ph] contrast in minimal pairs and thus belong 

to separate phonemes.

[suw] ‘sue’    [zuw]  ‘zoo’

The sounds [s] and [z] contrast in minimal pairs and thus belong to 
separate phonemes.

Data Pattern #2 –
Complementary Distribution, cont.

Some General Enviornments

 & Notations:

1. Word boundaries 

¡word initial   #_____

¡word final    ______#

2. Before certain sounds; before sound classes

¡___i, ____s, ____ N, ___ palatals, ___C, ___V

3. After certain sounds; after sound classes

¡i ___, s ____, N ____, palatals ___, C___, V___

4. Between certain sounds; sound classes

¡i____i, s____s, N___N, pal.___pal., C__C, V__V

Data Pattern #2 – 

Complementary Distribution, cont.

Example: Spanish

[dexo]    ‘finger’

[donde]  ‘where’ 

[naxa]  ‘nothing’

[pixe]   ‘3p sing. asks’

[pwexe]  ‘3p sing. can’ 

[pared]   ‘wall’

[r]= flap (symbol won’t show)

Also, [d] = dental

Note that phones are phonetically similar

¡Both dental (dental vs. interdental)

¡Both voiced

[d] occurs in:  elsewhere

  #___e

  #___o

  n___e

  e___#

[x] e___o  V___V

  a___a

  i___e

  e__e

 

The phones [d] and [x]  are found in 

complementary distribution and thus belong to

 the same phoneme. [d] and [x] are allophones of the same phoneme /d/.

/d/

[x]  V_V

[d] elsewhere

Data Pattern #3 – 

Analogous Environments

Based on definition: Phomemes are contrastive.

This pattern is when you find two sounds in 

nearly the same environments, but do not have 

data for a minimal pair.  The appearance of these 

two sounds does not seem to be conditioned by 

any specific phonetic environments, because 

they both occur in analogous environments.

Data Pattern #3 –
Analagous Environments, cont.

lExample:

Environment of [s]  Environment of 

#___a  #____a

i___a  i_____a

  i_____a

These phones are found in analogous 

environments and thus belong 

to different phonemes. These sounds are 

allophones of different 

phonemes.

Data Pattern #4 –
Free Variation

Based on definition: Phomemes are realized by allophones

This pattern is when you find two sounds in the same environments, and there does not seem to be a change in meaning. In other words, it appears that the phones can interchange with one another with no effect in meaning.  This is usually a result of phonetic distinction that you perceive that is not contrastive in this language.

Data Pattern #4 –
Free Variation, cont.

Example: English

Both of these phones are found in identical 

environments, and yet, unlike the analogous 

environments examples, alternation of these 

phones does NOT create differences in meaning.

Thus, both the [p] and the [p] (unreleased) 

are allophones of, and thus belong to, the 

same phoneme.

To summarize…

To show you have allophones of the same phoneme:

1.Complementary Distribution

¡phones occur in unique, separate, 

individual environments

¡environment of sounds conditions 

allophone

2.Free Variation

¡Phones occur in the exact same 

environments or near-identical 

environments but don’t change 

meaning

¡Seem to be used interchangeably, or 

substitute for one another,

are realized as allophones.

Phonemes

To show you have allophones of different phonemes:

1.Minimal Pairs –

¡sounds occur in exactly the same 

environments – in an IDENTICAL set 

- AND changes meaning of words

¡

2.Analogous Environments

¡Phones occur in overlapping 

environments, and in near-identical 

environments, but word meanings are

 different

●

Phonemes are contrastive.