Wiktionary

allophone

English

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English Wikipedia has articles on:
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Etymology

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From allo- (“different”) +‎ -phone.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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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. (Canada) A person whose mother tongue is neither English, French, nor (sometimes) an indigenous language.
      • 2025 April 24, Andy Riga, quoting Société de transport de Montréal, “No Habs No: Quebec orders STM to drop ‘Go’ from bus messages because it’s an English word”, in The Gazette‎[1], Montreal, →ISSN, retrieved 2025-04-24:
        However, “the languages used by STM staff during customer interactions are French and English,” the transit authority said. “Indeed, during phone calls or emails, STM employees speak English with anglophone or allophone customers who do not speak French.”

Derived terms

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Translations

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See also

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Adjective

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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

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See also

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French

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Etymology

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Borrowed from English allophone.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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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

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Further reading

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