Segment (linguistics)
(Redirected from Speech segment)
Categories: Linguistics stubs | Phonology
In linguistics (and phonetics), segment is used primarily “to refer to any discrete unit that can be identified, either physically or auditorily, in the stream of speech” (after A Dictionary of Linguistics & Phonetics, David Crystal, 2003, pp. 408–409).
In phonetics, the smallest perceptible segment is a phone.
In phonology, there is a subfield of segmental phonology. It deals with the analysis of speech into phonemes (or segmental phonemes), which correspond fairly well to phonetic segments of the analysed speech.
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References
David Crystal, A Dictionary of Linguistics & Phonetics, Blackwell Publishing, 2003. Info at Google Print.