Minimal pair words differ by what?

Minimal pair words differ by what?

• A. A single phoneme
• B. Two syllables
• C. Same phoneme
• D. A single feature

Answer: (A)

Minimal pairs show a contrast between two words that are identical in every sound except one. That one sound, a single phoneme, is what makes the words different in meaning. For example, pat and bat share the same sequence /æt/ after the initial consonant, but the initial sound is /p/ in pat and /b/ in bat. Those two sounds are different phonemes in English, so swapping them changes the word and its meaning. The whole point is that only one phoneme differs, not the number of syllables or just a single articulatory feature. Therefore, minimal pair words differ by a single phoneme.

Minimal pairs show a contrast between two words that are identical in every sound except one. That one sound, a single phoneme, is what makes the words different in meaning. For example, pat and bat share the same sequence /æt/ after the initial consonant, but the initial sound is /p/ in pat and /b/ in bat. Those two sounds are different phonemes in English, so swapping them changes the word and its meaning. The whole point is that only one phoneme differs, not the number of syllables or just a single articulatory feature. Therefore, minimal pair words differ by a single phoneme.