In linguistics, a segment is "any discrete unit that can be identified, either physically or auditorily, in the stream of speech". The term is most used in phonetics and phonology to refer to the smallest elements in a language, and this usage can be synonymous with the term phone.
In spoken languages, segments will typically be grouped into consonants and vowels, but the term can be applied to any minimal unit of a linear sequence meaningful to the given field of analysis, such as a mora or a syllable in prosodic phonology, a morpheme in morphology, or a chereme in sign language analysis.
Segments are called "discrete" because they are, at least at some analytical level, separate and individual, and temporally ordered. Segments are generally not completely discrete in speech production or perception, however. The articulatory, visual and acoustic cues that encode them often overlap. Examples of overlap for spoken languages can be found in discussions of phonological assimilation, coarticulation, and other areas in the study of phonetics and phonology, especially autosegmental phonology.
Other articulatory, visual or acoustic cues, such as prosody (tone, stress), and secondary articulations such as nasalization, may overlap multiple segments and cannot be discretely ordered with them. These elements are known as suprasegmentals.
Types
In phonetics, the smallest perceptible segment is a phone. In phonology, there is a subfield of segmental phonology that deals with the analysis of speech into phonemes (or segmental phonemes), which correspond fairly well to phonetic segments of the analysed speech.
The segmental phonemes of sign language (formally called "cheremes") are visual movements of hands, face, and body. They occur in a distinct spatial and temporal order. The SignWriting script represents the spatial order of the segments with a spatial cluster of graphemes. Other notations for sign language use a temporal order that implies a spatial order.
Marginal segments
When analyzing the inventory of segmental units in any given language, some segments will be found to be marginal, in the sense that they are only found in onomatopoeic words, interjections, loan words, or a very limited number of ordinary words, but not throughout the language. Marginal segments, especially in loan words, are often the source of new segments in the general inventory of a language.[example needed]
Suprasegmentals
Some contrastive elements of speech cannot be easily analyzed as distinct segments but rather belong to a syllable or word. These elements are called suprasegmental, and include intonation and stress. In some languages nasality and vowel harmony are considered suprasegmental or prosodic by some phonologists.
See also
- Emic unit
- Speech segmentation
References
Citations
- Crystal 2003, pp. 408–409.
- Bussmann 2006, p. 1038.
- Palmer, F.R. (1970). Prosodic Analysis. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-437036-3.
- Firth, J.R. (1948). "Sounds and Prosodies". Transactions of the Philological Society. 47: 127–152. doi:10.1111/j.1467-968X.1948.tb00556.x.
Sources
- Crystal, David (2003), A Dictionary of Linguistics & Phonetics, Blackwell
- Gussenhoven, Carlos; Jacobs, Haike (2005) [1998], Understanding Phonology (2nd ed.), Hodder & Arnold
- Bussmann, Hadumod (2006), Routledge Dictionary of Language and Linguistics, Routledge, ISBN 978-1-134-63038-7
In linguistics a segment is any discrete unit that can be identified either physically or auditorily in the stream of speech The term is most used in phonetics and phonology to refer to the smallest elements in a language and this usage can be synonymous with the term phone In spoken languages segments will typically be grouped into consonants and vowels but the term can be applied to any minimal unit of a linear sequence meaningful to the given field of analysis such as a mora or a syllable in prosodic phonology a morpheme in morphology or a chereme in sign language analysis Segments are called discrete because they are at least at some analytical level separate and individual and temporally ordered Segments are generally not completely discrete in speech production or perception however The articulatory visual and acoustic cues that encode them often overlap Examples of overlap for spoken languages can be found in discussions of phonological assimilation coarticulation and other areas in the study of phonetics and phonology especially autosegmental phonology Other articulatory visual or acoustic cues such as prosody tone stress and secondary articulations such as nasalization may overlap multiple segments and cannot be discretely ordered with them These elements are known as suprasegmentals TypesIn phonetics the smallest perceptible segment is a phone In phonology there is a subfield of segmental phonology that deals with the analysis of speech into phonemes or segmental phonemes which correspond fairly well to phonetic segments of the analysed speech The segmental phonemes of sign language formally called cheremes are visual movements of hands face and body They occur in a distinct spatial and temporal order The SignWriting script represents the spatial order of the segments with a spatial cluster of graphemes Other notations for sign language use a temporal order that implies a spatial order Marginal segmentsWhen analyzing the inventory of segmental units in any given language some segments will be found to be marginal in the sense that they are only found in onomatopoeic words interjections loan words or a very limited number of ordinary words but not throughout the language Marginal segments especially in loan words are often the source of new segments in the general inventory of a language example needed SuprasegmentalsSome contrastive elements of speech cannot be easily analyzed as distinct segments but rather belong to a syllable or word These elements are called suprasegmental and include intonation and stress In some languages nasality and vowel harmony are considered suprasegmental or prosodic by some phonologists See alsoEmic unit Speech segmentationReferencesCitations Crystal 2003 pp 408 409 Bussmann 2006 p 1038 Palmer F R 1970 Prosodic Analysis Oxford University Press ISBN 978 0 19 437036 3 Firth J R 1948 Sounds and Prosodies Transactions of the Philological Society 47 127 152 doi 10 1111 j 1467 968X 1948 tb00556 x Sources Crystal David 2003 A Dictionary of Linguistics amp Phonetics Blackwell Gussenhoven Carlos Jacobs Haike 2005 1998 Understanding Phonology 2nd ed Hodder amp Arnold Bussmann Hadumod 2006 Routledge Dictionary of Language and Linguistics Routledge ISBN 978 1 134 63038 7
