archiphoneme
[ ahr-kuh-foh-neem, ahr-kuh-foh-neem ]
/ ˈɑr kəˌfoʊ nim, ˌɑr kəˈfoʊ nim /
noun Linguistics.
an abstract phonological unit consisting of the distinctive features common to two phonemes that differ only in that one has a distinctive feature lacking in the other. The archiphoneme is said to be realized when in a certain position an otherwise phonemic opposition is neutralized; thus, in German, while p and b are separate phonemes differing only in the distinctive feature of voicing, in final position the voicing or unvoicing of the labial stop is nondistinctive, and the p-sound of leib “body” may be called the realization of the archiphoneme.
such a unit occurring in a position where the contrast between two or more phonemes is neutralized.
Words nearby archiphoneme
archimedes' screw,
archine,
arching,
archipelago,
archipenko,
archiphoneme,
archiplasm,
archit.,
architect,
architect's table,
architectonic
British Dictionary definitions for archiphoneme
archiphoneme
/ (ˈɑːkɪˌfəʊniːm, ˌɑːkɪˈfəʊniːm) /
noun
phonetics
an abstract linguistic unit representing two or more phonemes when the distinction between these has been neutralized: conventionally shown by a capital letter within slashes, as /T/ for /t/ and /d/ in German Rat and Rad