Linguist Forum
Specializations => Phonetics and Phonology => Topic started by: zaba on February 16, 2014, 12:47:26 AM
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What's a good visual analogy to understand the differences between these words? djr33 once compared phonemes to abstract shapes (which may not exist in the real world, f.e. a triangle), whereas phones were street signs (f.e. a yield sign) that showed an INSTANCE of the abstract shape.
Is this an accurate example? Is there a different one that may be more accurate or intuitive?
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There have been more explanations of the difference between phonemes and phones on this board recently than I've seen in the last couple of years. I think we need to change tactic and figure out what isn't clear to you about this distinction. Forget about the weird analogies. I think it's a good idea for you to try to explain the difference to us and then if/when there is a mention of something not quite right, that specific part can be corrected and it's probably a much easier way to make the distinction quite clear.
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I agree. The distinction is not that complicated, at least at an abstract level. There are plenty of complications in practice, but the prototypical/hypothetical examples should be clear.
Why/how are you trying to apply this? Maybe context would help.