What is a phoneme?

A phoneme is defined as the smallest unit of sound in a particular language. This means it is a distinct sound that can differentiate meaning between words. For example, in English, the words "bat" and "pat" differ in their initial sounds, represented by the phonemes /b/ and /p/. Phonemes do not necessarily correspond directly to letters in writing; rather, they are about the sounds themselves and how they are perceived in speech.

Understanding phonemes is crucial in linguistics and phonetics, as they form the building blocks of spoken language. The distinction made by phonemes is important in language development and speech perception, influencing how individuals learn to speak and understand language.