ALLOPHONE


Meaning of ALLOPHONE in English

/ ˈæləfəʊn; NAmE -foʊn/ noun

1.

( phonetics ) a sound that is slightly different from another sound, although both sounds belong to the same phoneme and the difference does not affect meaning. For example, the /l/ at the beginning of little is different from the /l/ at the end.

2.

( CanE ) a person who comes to live in Canada, especially Quebec, from another country, whose first language is neither French nor English

►  allo·phone adjective :

Within French-speaking Quebec, anglophone, allophone and Aboriginal minorities also exist.

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WORD ORIGIN

1930s: from allo- other, different + phoneme .

Oxford Advanced Learner's English Dictionary.      Оксфордский английский словарь для изучающик язык на продвинутом уровне.