allophone

English

Etymology

From allo- (“different”) +‎ -phone.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈaləˌfəʊn/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈæləˌfoʊn/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• (General Australian) IPA^(key): /ˈæləˌfəʉn/

Noun

allophone (plural allophones)

1. (phonology) Any of two or more alternative pronunciations for a phoneme.

   In some languages, [ʋ] is an allophone of /v/.

   • 2003, Mikhail Sergeevich Andronov, A Comparative Grammar of the Dravidian Languages, Otto Harrassowitz Verlag, →ISBN, page 33:

     In the former the bilabial phone forms an allophone of the phoneme /v/ in word-final position after /a/ and an allophone of the phoneme /u/ when it is preceded by an obstruent and followed by /a/; […]

2. A person whose mother tongue is one other than that spoken by the majority.
   1. (Quebec) A person whose mother tongue is neither English, French, nor (sometimes) an indigenous language.

Derived terms

• allophonic
• allophonics
• allophony
• complementary allophone

Translations

alternative pronunciation for a phoneme

• Armenian: ենթահնչույթ (hy) (entʻahnčʻuytʻ), ալլոֆոն (hy) (allofon)
• Catalan: al·lòfon (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 同位異音／同位异音 (tóngwèi yìyīn)

• Dutch: allofoon (nl), foonvariant, stemvariant
• Esperanto: alofono
• Finnish: allofoni (fi)
• French: allophone (fr) m
• Galician: alófono (gl) m
• German: Allophon (de) n, Allofon n, Phonemvariante f, Fonemvariante f, Lautvariante f
• Irish: allafón m
• Italian: allofono m, variante combinatoria
• Japanese: 異音 (ja) (いおん, ion)
• Korean: 이음(異音) (ko) (ieum)
• Mongolian: авиалбарын хувилбар (avialbaryn xuvilbar)
• Polish: alofon (pl) m, allofon (pl) m
• Portuguese: alófono m
• Russian: аллофо́н (ru) m (allofón)
• Serbo-Croatian: alofon m
• Sorbian:

  Lower Sorbian: alofon m

• Spanish: alófono (es) m
• Swedish: allofon (sv) c
• Turkish: alofon
• Vietnamese: tha âm vị, tha âm

person whose mother tongue is neither English nor French

• Cree:

  Plains Cree: opîtatowêw sg

• Finnish: muuta kuin englantia tai ranskaa äidinkielenään puhuva
• French: allophone (fr) m or f

person whose mother tongue is one other than that spoken by the majority

• Finnish: vähemmistökieltä äidinkielenään puhuva
• French: allophone (fr) m or f
• German: Allophoner m, Allophone (de) f
• Spanish: alófono (es) m, alófona f

See also

• allomorph

Adjective

allophone (comparative more allophone, superlative most allophone)

1. (Canada) Of or relating to those whose mother tongue is neither English, French, nor (sometimes) an indigenous language of Canada.
   • 2010, Charles Boberg, The English Language in Canada: Status, History and Comparative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 23:

     In every case the allophone population is vastly larger than the proportion of francophones, which ranges from 4.2 percent […] from other parts of Canada more than international immigration from abroad: despite a growing allophone presence, […]

   • 2010, Statistics Canada, Canada Year, →ISBN:

     As immigration increases from different parts of the world, the linguistic makeup of Canada changes. In 2006, the allophone population—individuals whose mother tongue is neither English nor French—totalled 6.3 million, […]

2. That which is of a language other than that spoken by the majority.

Translations

of a language neither English nor French

• Finnish: muuta kuin englantia tai ranskaa äidinkielenään puhuva
• French: allophone (fr)

of a language other than that spoken by the majority

• Finnish: vähemmistökieltä äidinkielenään puhuva
• French: allophone (fr)
• German: allophon
• Spanish: alófono (es)

See also

• complementary distribution

French

Etymology

Borrowed from English allophone.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /a.lɔ.fɔn/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Audio (Canada):

  (file)

Noun

allophone m (plural allophones)

1. (phonetics, phonology) allophone (any of two or more alternative pronunciations for a phoneme)

   Coordinate term: phonème

2. allophone (person whose mother tongue is one other than that spoken by the majority)

See also

• allomorphe
• allochtone

Further reading

• “allophone”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.