>>Now we're getting somewhere. What is a segment?
>
>If you're familiar with the notion of a phoneme, that is close to the
>notion of a segment. In phonology and phonetics, the simplifying
>assumption is made that the speech stream can be segmented into discrete
>units. Each of these would be atomic in the sense that is something that
>can be more or less independently articulated. There are also aspects of
>phonology that are "supra-segmental". These are characteristics of the
>speech stream that can span multiple segments: e.g. stress, tone,
>intonation.

I meant to add but forgot to: In mid-20th century work on phonology, Roman
Jakobson introduced the notion that segments could be analysed in terms of
collections of articulatory features. These would include all of the
features needed to make any necessary distinction within the phonological
system of any language. Probably one of the most readily accessible
treatment of phonological features is in Chomsky and Halle, "The sound
pattern of English". Different phonologists over the years have endorsed
slightly differing sets of features, though the basic idea is assumed in
current work on phonology.


- Peter


---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Peter Constable

Non-Roman Script Initiative, SIL International
7500 W. Camp Wisdom Rd., Dallas, TX 75236, USA
Tel: +1 972 708 7485
E-mail: <peter_constable@...>