Topic summary
Phonology
Phonology (formerly also phonemics or phonematics) is the branch of linguistics that concerns how languages organize the foundational elements that make their words. In spoken languages, these are phonemes like vowel and consonant sounds that affect meaning. Examples of this effect can be found in comparisons of English words like bat and gnat. In sign languages, these are components of signs such as hand shape and location. Examples can be found in comparisons of American Sign Language signs glossed as CAR and WHICH (hand shape contrasts) and APPLE and ONION (location contrasts). At one time, the study of phonology related only to the study of the systems of phonemes in spoken languages, but now it may relate to any linguistic analysis either:
- at a level beneath the word (including syllable, onset and rime, articulatory gestures, articulatory features, mora, etc.), or
- all levels of language in which sound or signs are structured to convey linguistic meaning.