FW: Minimal pairs

[Michael Covarrubias]

this came up in august when randy mentioned the same definition. it was
a new one to me. i use 'minimal pair' to describe any difference of a
single phoneme, not limited to a single feature difference.

arnold zwicky said regarding the differing conventions:

> the ESL lists are indeed of minimal pairs (in
> the standard sense), but they give only the
> distinctions in english that are likely to be
> problematic for learners -- problematic
> because they involve small phonetic
> differences that are not contrastive in many
> languages.


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Janet Marting wrote:
> Minimal pairs was one difference in a phone/sound that appears in the same
> position (e.g. sip-dip-lip-tip).
>
> Jinny Marting
>

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