Two words that differ from each other in pronunciation by only one phoneme are called what?

Two words that differ from each other in pronunciation by only one phoneme are called what?

• A. Minimal pair
• B. Modal verbs
• C. Model sentence
• D. Marker sentence

Answer: (A)

Minimal pairs are two words that differ in pronunciation by only one phoneme and are otherwise identical in sound sequence. That single sound difference changes meaning, showing that the two sounds are distinct phonemes in the language. For example, pat and bat differ solely in the initial consonant (/p/ vs /b/), with all other sounds the same. This concept helps linguists identify which sounds contrast to create meaning. The other terms listed refer to grammar or discourse, not to sound contrasts: modal verbs are auxiliary verbs, a model sentence is an example of grammar, and a marker sentence is used for analysis—none of these describe a pair of words distinguished by one phoneme.

Minimal pairs are two words that differ in pronunciation by only one phoneme and are otherwise identical in sound sequence. That single sound difference changes meaning, showing that the two sounds are distinct phonemes in the language. For example, pat and bat differ solely in the initial consonant (/p/ vs /b/), with all other sounds the same. This concept helps linguists identify which sounds contrast to create meaning. The other terms listed refer to grammar or discourse, not to sound contrasts: modal verbs are auxiliary verbs, a model sentence is an example of grammar, and a marker sentence is used for analysis—none of these describe a pair of words distinguished by one phoneme.