Phonemic Analysis Useful Hints

1. Look for minimal pairs. Are there any? YES: List them. They are phonemes. NO: Assume they are not phonemes, but allophones belonging to the same phoneme. 2. Determine the distribution of the phones. Are they in complementary distribution. YES: Are the phones phonetically similar? If so, Are these phonetic variants contextually determined?. If so, State the distribution of the allophones.

For example: They are allophones in complementary distribution. [x] occurs in X environment/phonetic context, whereas [x] occurs in X environment/phonetic context or ELSEWHERE. Produce examples. [unless the phonetic context cannot be accurately specified and/or if the occurrence of an allophone in this particular context or contexts cannot be phonetically justified] NO: If the phones occur in exactly the same environment but do not distinguish word meaning, they must be allophones in free variation. 3. If no minimal pairs can be found and the phones do not occur in complementary distribution, they may be phonemes. Try to find near-minimal pairs.