The smallest distinctive sound unit of language is a
A) prefix.
B) syllable.
C) morpheme.
D) phoneme.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Phoneme is the smallest distinctive sound unit in language. It is the basic building block of language and can change the meaning of a word when substituted with another phoneme. For example, changing the /b/ sound in "bat" to /p/ creates a different word "pat." Prefixes and morphemes are meaningful units in language, but they are composed of one or more phonemes. Syllables are also composed of one or more phonemes, but they are not considered to be the smallest unit of sound in language.

The Smallest Distinctive Sound Unit of Language Is a